Time Turner Wanted

So, I thought that once I signed that paper and sent off my deposit, I was done as far as decisions go. Of course, I was wrong. Now that the process of application and enrollment is over, it is time to face the excruciating pleasure of constructing my schedule.

This task is not difficult in and of itself--I have an abnormal affinity for planners, calendars, and such paraphernalia, which will no doubt prove an invaluable asset. I also have a generally vague idea about how I want to structure my days--contiguous courses in the morning and early afternoon with not too much gap time in between, so I have a significant portion of unstructured free time (read: homework load and last minute cramming) in the afternoons and evenings. I also want to make the most of my time, and divide my activities among rigorous academics, self-study, socializaing (heh.), exercise, reading and, of course, writing. Many of the courses I'm interested in incorporate one or more of the first four aspects, and I'm fairly positive that I'll be doing some reading and writing in virtually any course I enroll in.

So, not an arduous process, at least from the outset. No, what gets to me is the other facet of schedule-making--determining what specific courses and activities to fill in on those inviting blank spaces. My chronic indecision does not come in handy here. Looking through the course catalog, I found no shortage of courses to satisfy my interests. After marking off enough courses to last me beyond an entire four years--all of which I intended to take in my first semester--I realized I needed some outside help.

Assistance came in the form of my more experienced cousin, who has been through the process herself. She proved much more decisive, sharing my excitement but helping me sort through my conflicting interests, drawing a firm line through courses that simply wouldn't fit on my schedule, no matter how interesting I thought they sounded.

It comes down to a choice between fulfilling requirements and selecting electives, between bearing myself willingly to the grindstone and preserving my health and sanity. Sigh. Why must our choices always be so extreme?


The most interesting courses seem to have a nasty habit of being scheduled at conflicting times. I find the idea of a lone late afternoon class unsavory, to say the least, but what am I to do when a unique and fun course is scheduled for 3-4:30? It is really very unforgivable of the administration to write the course schedule without consulting me first. Because everything simply must conform to my petty preferences. Really. *Aristocratic Sniff*

I have not even mentioned dance and music, two activities I hold very dear to my heart and which I cannot imagine doing without. Yet it looks as if I may not be taking ballet this fall, for the first time in my living memory. To that fact I cannot reconcile. So this leaves me with only one option:

Find a time turner, at all costs. I know the Ministry's whole supply was destroyed at the end of Order of the Phoenix, but I can't believe they haven't had *time* to construct a new one. If Hermione could do it, so can I.