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The balance on my Knight Card has not been a whole number in a very long time.
Despite my best efforts to keep myself well in the clear, the day inevitably comes when my laundry basket looks like an active volcano, slipper socks are my only footwear option, and there is a mere $0.75 left on the good ol’ Knight Card.
The first problem here is the $20 deposit minimum at the Knight Card office (or KCO, as it’s known on the streets). Hello, KCO, I’m a poor college student. I can only afford (at most) $5 at a time, and for reasons unknown, the dollar-by-dollar machine in the library hates me and is always broken when I need it most.
Maybe I’m just too lazy to be responsible about the upkeep of my balance, but really, I’m well aware that if I actually deposit the 20 bucks I’ll end up buying myself coffee from Café Cheray every day on the way to class. Somehow money seems less real when it’s not tangible, and I convince myself that coffee is free if I buy it with my Knight Card.
In the Ethan Allen apartments on North Campus, the laundry machines are coin-operated. These fortunate souls never have to experience the exasperation of desperately needing clean underwear, but having to go commando until the KCO is open. They can just scrounge for quarters in the couch cushions. Perhaps the switch from coin-operated machines elsewhere is an effort on behalf of the college to be “hip”--making cash obsolete.
There was a time, long ago, when I was thrilled by the power of the magnetic strip not only to buy school books but to act as a proxy for cash at a plethora of Burlington restaurants and attractions. Then came the sad day when I realized that at college, money simply melts away and Knight Card Money is the same as Real Money. My balance plummeted and never recovered. I now play the game where I add as much as I can spare to get my laundry done. That is usually not $20.
If only the KCO would accept my meager donations of crumpled George Washingtons, or if washing machines would accept my collection of change currently crammed in a Kikkoman bottle.
Some day, some blessed day, all forms of payment will be seen equally in the eyes of washing machines. But until then, I’ll have to battle my lack of Knight Card balance or else go all 1930s and soak my clothes with soap flakes in the bathtub.
Hope no one needs the shower. |
