Reflections of a “PAWS” addict

One lazy August morning around 3 p.m. I logged on to PAWS to switch my ridiculously early Biodiversity class for a later one that allowed for the most sleep. Simple enough, I thought-three or four clicks and I’d be sleeping my way through noon every day.
Then, it happened.

Standing in the way of my slumber were two obstacles: a small red stop sign with a black X and its partner in crime, the phrase, “You’ve made too many attempts to register this term. Contact your registrar for assistance.”

Let’s rewind real quick, and I’ll explain how this tragedy happened.

Hi, my name is Matt, and I am an addict.

Some teens are addicted to cigarettes, porn, or the evil of all evil, Gossip Girl.

How easy my life would be if this was the case!

Instead, I am addicted to checking PAWS for classes.

I check PAWS in search of the perfect schedule at least twice a day, sometimes more. I never have found the perfect schedule to sleep in, go to class, and then work part time, but I have had satisfying schedules so far.

So when the red stop sign appeared on my screen, my life was shattered. In an attempt to reconcile the problem I dug into my little bag of computer tricks-restarted my computer a few times. That didn’t work, I decided to listen to the error message and called for reinforcements.

A nice sounding lady, Rose, answered the Registrar office’s phone and I explained my crisis. After giving her my information, Rose read my account and laughed, I certainly had reached the limit. I used indecisiveness as my excuse for all the changes (the denial stage of my addiction). She promised to call back with some help.

Later, my phone rang and I was happy to hear back from Rose only 45 minutes after we talked. She informed me that the technology department could do nothing and that I’d have to register in person. Rose also mentioned that I was the second person in GCSU history that this has happened to.

After hearing that, my whole mood changed. I went from being slightly annoyed to feeling honored and, frankly, special.
How many people can say that they have been blocked from adding or dropping classes?

Two, that’s it. Me and one other person.

By now you’re thinking of me in one of two ways. You either respect and admire my accomplishment, or you think I’m totally nuts.

It doesn’t matter to me which mindset you have, but I feel it’s my moral duty as a history buff to inform others of this very little-known limit to adding and dropping classes via PAWS.

So the next time you decide to get a later class, be careful, it might be your last, electronically at least.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 5 2008. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry