Meat and Potatoes.

Oh-for-three.

I thought it was oh-for-two when I first sat down to write about the little things I missed in the process of being a really cool, well-read person.

But nope, oh-for-three. And that's just the ones I know about...

I was really excited a few weeks ago to find the title of a book I've been wanting to get on Amazon - and cheap, too! So I added it to my "shopping cart." No biggie. What's this, free shipping if I spend more than $25? Yes, please.
So I added one more book I've been looking for. Great deal. Puts me at $26.81. Nice.

We leave on our trip to Ontario.
We get back.

I anxiously look for our mail, and I'm so lucky. Like, I thought I was going to have one of those "please pick up your package at this post office that's in the busiest traffic area in your city at your earliest inconvenience." Which would have been fine, because excitement would have gotten me there.


But, like I said, I'm so lucky. The box just came right to the door; imagine that.


But I don't feel as lucky right now. Because the original book-I've-wanted turns out to not be that book exactly. It has the same words in the title. And even the same author. But rather than being the meat and potatoes study I was looking for, it's the "Personal Reflections" series about the book I originally wanted. Nothing against personal reflections. Heck, I'm an Education student. I can reflect with the best of them.
But that's why I was craving meat. And spuds.


At least I got the second book right, though.... Oh, wait. Nope. Same title I asked for. Same author. But if I had zoomed in on my original order screen to 700% or so, I would have noticed the tiny white writing that says "Participant's Guide." Great, I guess, if you have the DVD series. I don't. And I'm too disappointed to get it now.


But I said oh-for-three, didn't I? Well, this one just kicked me while I'm down. Not having the benefit of learning-from-my-mistakes this morning, since I didn't have our mail yet, I am now swimming in a pool of unluck.


Always a fan of saving a few bucks, I decided I'd try ordering my textbooks online today as well. This decision came on the heels of my decision that I shouldn't have to pay $96 for a book I can see when I can order one from an invisible place for more like $17. I would still be feeling proud of myself, except that I just checked the order status of three of the books I ordered; try to spot the one I'm concerned about:


1) Processing order.
2) Processing order.
3) Awaiting publication.

How is that even fair. I was duped into believing that if a book had a virtual cover the size of a large postage stamp, it had a real cover somewhere the size of an individual pizza box. With, like, actual pages beneath it.


Silly thing is, you probably would have felt sorry for me if I just told you that last one. Now you're singing to yourself (quietly, so as not to make me feel bad), an octave above your usual pitch, "...common denominator?..."


Me too.