Best Customer

This is the time of year when we switch from feverishly editing hundreds of books per day to anxiously waiting by our pub schedules, hoping the books will have time to be printed before the start of classes.  This year, thanks to the insane number of custom textbooks we sold, we're literally having trouble finding space on the press to make all of our books.

Of course, our professors know this, so their strategy is to push to get every book just a little . . . bit . . . sooner.

Whenever I get frustrated, I remind myself that every conversation is almost straight out of an Indian bazaar:

Me: "Class date is August 23."
Prof: "August 23 is too late!  We must have the books by July 15."
Me: "July 15? We can't do July 15! That is impossible.  Tell you what, you are a good customer. We will do August 19."
Prof: "Then we will not buy any books."
Me: "Oh, but you must buy books!  You are first at the printing press.  If you don't buy books, it will be very bad luck."
Prof: "Would you do August 1?"
Me: "A week early.  August 16."
Prof: "Would you do August 13, and send me an ebook?"
Me: "August 16 is very good class date."
Prof: "August 13, and ebook."
Me: "*Sigh* Tikka-- um, I mean... OK."