Who is the Owner of the Ruler?

Saturday Morning. I walked towards Murchison Computer Lab, a 24 hour quiet study area with my Vector Mechanics for Engineers and Calculus Transcendentals, each of which are nowhere less than five pounds to spend the next several hours computing and understanding nonsense mathematical equations and 3-D graphs. Not having a graphing calculator aggravates the mathematical pain. Unlike last Saturday, the study lounge was relatively vacant and much peaceful, there weren’t any couples there. At least that appeased the mathematical torture that was to come. No sooner than I unpacked my bags and sat down to work on Calculus first, my eyes fell on a shiny metallic ruler left unattended on a table beside me. My initial reaction was a sense of annoyance to these careless kids of rich parents who have plenty to spend on Trinity's outrageously priced stationery items at Barnes and Nobles Bookstore. Next to that table was a pencil that was left behind. Every time I walk in a study lounge, I know I am in the United States because something is left behind and no one cares.

My initial annoyance towards the careless owner of the metallic ruler changed to an uncomfortable feeling when a little unnerving realization came to my mind about how much it resembled my own metallic ruler. I checked my bag and saw the ruler was missing from its usual place. The insinuation was not positive and I didn’t want to believe that the ruler was mine. I did not have a history of carelessness. My memory added some details by recapping the two days earlier scene when I had walked in and had sat on that same table to do my economics assignment. Obviously, I had used the ruler to draw graphs that make little practical sense to me. I checked my bag and realized pencil, eraser, sharpener, few pens and other items were intact but one item was missing- my metallic ruler. It was hard for me to believe that even if I had left my ruler, it would not have remained there for 2 days; it was shiny enough to lure the laptop-thieves if luck had not been on his/her side and could not get his/her hands on any laptop. It was an unpleasant feeling that I could have been careless enough to leave it there. Furthermore, it was a quirky feeling to lay my hands on a ruler that been left behind in a study lounge. My dorm is the second closest dorm to Murchison Study Lounge and it aided my otherwise threshold motivation to go to my room and see if I have left my ruler in the drawer.

It added to my embarrassment when I realized that the ruler was mine. I felt stupid and childish for making generalizations about careless people being rich, I was careless but I am far from rich. I learnt a lesson. And I am glad I am at Trinity since I learn something every day.

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