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I did watch... the security footage afterwards. It was actually my residential building. It was Saturday, I was out of town, and when I got home, the management kindly informed us that the idiot receptionist did nothing but watch when the kids took the bikes. And when I say kids, I mean KIDS, they were no more than 12! They very obviously did not live there (residents all know where the bikes are because they are VERY visible), so my guess is that the receptionist (a guy, by the way) was actually in on the plan to steal the bikes. Sadly, there has been no action taken.

He didn't give an excuse. I was laughing my ass off in the office though.

Hey guys, OP here! I did consider pirating the software but I know there's a good chance of running into buggy software if I do so, and I'd rather not have to scramble to find something else if it quits on me in the middle of a lesson. The instructor's looking to see if there are any computers on-campus that already have the software installed, but that ruins the point of taking online classes, and there's no guarantee that even if she finds some, they'll be available on the days that I can get there. It turns out I'm going to need the software again for two more classes, though I can take them both in the same semester to make it easier on myself. I can also rent it for about $20/month, which is probably going to be the option we take once we can shift some of the bills around. I'm going to need it this semester (my first) and in my third semester, so it'll help save some of the cost. On the upside, though, it means we'll be using the same textbook for all three classes, so there's a little money saved there as well. I really think that the biggest suck was not telling us beforehand, because my husband and I had the money a few weeks ago. When we discovered that it was extra money, we decided to drop our 1-year-old off at my grandparents' and take ourselves out on a long-awaited (as in, we hadn't been out since before our daughter was born) date night. If I had known that I would need that money for the software, you can guarantee that we would have saved it!

OP here. Just a few things I'd like to clarify: 1. We both live with our parents, and we have a dog together. I had been taking care of his dog while his parents were at work, before I had to go to work myself. He told me his mom rushed out of the house that morning without letting out our dog, and asked me to get there ASAP. So, when I got there, I saw he was home a few days earlier than anticipated. Turns out it was his way of surprising me, which was super sweet. 2. We're on a level where calling each other asshole, dick, and other such things is fine — it's more of a term of endearment at this stage. 3. I'm lucky enough that, once I explained to my boss what happened, he just laughed and told me to make good choices. Thank God for understanding bosses!