This morning, I received word that my thesis had been approved by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies, and to please come collect the approval certificate to hand over to the Archives Department of the library. So I got Sterling and myself and the necessary documents/forms/copies of my thesis all ready to go, which is a process that should not rightfully be able to be described in a sentence as short as this one. Sterling was tired-fussy, but I assumed he'd fall asleep in the stroller. Babies who are tired either cry, or fall asleep.
Unfortunately, Sterling chose to cry.
He cried on the way to the ATM. He cried at the ORGS while I collected my approval documents. He cried in the elevator up to the second floor of the library, where I was trying to get to the Archives Department.
And then, ladies and gentlemen, he cried in the "SHHHH! QUIET ROOM. NO TALKING. NO WHISPERING. NO MOBILE PHONES" closed-glass room of the library, off of which the Archives Department is located. I could not pick him up out of the stroller because my one free non-pushing arm was full of three copies of my thesis and its paperwork accoutrements. The door to the Archives was inexplicably locked, so I stood there with my baby screaming away in his stroller, knocking and knocking in vain on the door as head after head popped up over the study carrels in the QUIET ROOM to see how on earth there came to be such a ruckus there.
It was just too ridiculous. So I left. On my way out of the library, I ran into the Archives lady coming back in, and she took charge of the situation. I picked Sterling up and the librarian handled the documents and the stroller. We headed back up to her office and got 'r done.
Well, I still have to go back to the Main Building to pay the fees, then back to the library to hand over the receipt, but we are done for now because, fussy baby. I walked home with crying Sterling...
...and he fell asleep about 20 paces from the front door.
We'll try, try again later today. I didn't put on real clothes this morning for nothing!