Coincidence that the paper was about deals with the Devil? Maaaaaybe.
Up until Monday night around 11 PM, I was under the impression that my final paper (and Only grade) for Drama History 81 was due Tuesday, December 14. I just wasn't sure what time, so I got online and discovered that the posted Exam date for the class was Monday at noon.
As in 11 hours before I checked the time.
Freak out for about twenty seconds, then sad acceptance. I was already in my slack-ass-attitude mode (i.e. I hadn't started writing the thing yet), so this did nothing but drop from under me my little bit of motivation to write the paper at all. I fell asleep, depressed, at my computer, and Rachel shook me awake around 1:30 for a bleary review of Geology for our final Tuesday morning at 9. Around 1, I talked with Jeff, who's in my class, and he said he was sure our professor, Dr. Katz, had said the 14th, so I started writing the essay again, hoping either that I'd get it done in time for a late-afternoon on-time drop-off or else that Dr. Katz would accept it late.
I got a call from Bryan, who is also in my class, around 3:45. Jeff had been talking to him, and Bryan had called to tell me that he and yet another member of the class were positive tat the paper was due by closing time Wednesday the 15th. I was glad to hear this, as it meant that I could go slack-ass again, leave my unfinished paper for later, and go perform my one-man show, Shun Man Woh, at Skylight Exchange.
I came back from the show, sat around for a while unfocused, then finally fell asleep. I woke up around 1 today, went to a casual lunch with my roommate, then came back and was slack-ass some more until around 3:30, at which point I realized that I only had a little over an hour before 5 (closing time). I speed-typed (type-sped?) another four pages of...well, it came out sounding trite and super-religious, but whatever. Then, after finally getting the damn thing to actually print, I ran over to the Center for Dramatic Arts to turn it in to Dr. Katz's second-floor office.
The doors to the second floor were locked. I had completely forgotten that, while closing time may be 5pm, lock-up time for the CDA is apparently 4:15, 4:30 on a good day.
Shit.
But no freak out. At this point in my life, I've finally come to the conclusion that (as long as I'm conscious enough to focus) there's really no point to getting worried about this stuff. I suddenly found myself thinking the way people say they do in life-or-death situations, where everything slows down and gets really clear, and they just act. I started enumerating ways to get upstairs and trying them all systematically. Two sets of stairs: both sets of doors locked. Back hallway hall doors: all three locked. Techie stairwell: locked. Elevator (the door opened just as I passed): set to only accept Ground Floor. Fire escapes: there are none. Leaving the paper in a mailbox for Dr. Katz: the mailbox for him is upstairs, and he's leaving this evening. I was just contemplating how to get backstage via the house of an actual theatre and use the back hallway when a woman walked out of the stairs.
Unfortunately, I wasn't close enough to grab the door before it shut, but I was able to politely ask the woman, "I need to get this to Dr. Katz's office upstairs by the end of today. How would I go about doing that?" She sighed and replied, "Well, that's going to be kind of difficult, since the doors are locked already." Somehow, I knew she had a key, and I followed her as she walked in the general direction of the stairs leading up. Sure enough, she unlocked the bottom door for me, saying, "Dr. Katz is still in his office right by the top of the stairs. Knock on the door up there, and someone should be able to let you in."
Boom.
So, I thanked her profusely, headed up and knocked. Dr. Katz saw me through his open door, but, being the distant and unassuming man he is, he ignored me. And nobody else answered my knock; the lights were off, for crying out loud. Finally, another student who, I assume, had been working up there on something else, exited and I slid past him and handed my paper in with literally minutes to spare. Dr. Katz actually commented on it.
Enh. The paper...it's seven pages instead of eight to ten, like I'd heard it was supposed to be. But it's done, and it's turned in on time, so I've stopped thinking about ittttttttt...Now.
As in 11 hours before I checked the time.
Freak out for about twenty seconds, then sad acceptance. I was already in my slack-ass-attitude mode (i.e. I hadn't started writing the thing yet), so this did nothing but drop from under me my little bit of motivation to write the paper at all. I fell asleep, depressed, at my computer, and Rachel shook me awake around 1:30 for a bleary review of Geology for our final Tuesday morning at 9. Around 1, I talked with Jeff, who's in my class, and he said he was sure our professor, Dr. Katz, had said the 14th, so I started writing the essay again, hoping either that I'd get it done in time for a late-afternoon on-time drop-off or else that Dr. Katz would accept it late.
I got a call from Bryan, who is also in my class, around 3:45. Jeff had been talking to him, and Bryan had called to tell me that he and yet another member of the class were positive tat the paper was due by closing time Wednesday the 15th. I was glad to hear this, as it meant that I could go slack-ass again, leave my unfinished paper for later, and go perform my one-man show, Shun Man Woh, at Skylight Exchange.
I came back from the show, sat around for a while unfocused, then finally fell asleep. I woke up around 1 today, went to a casual lunch with my roommate, then came back and was slack-ass some more until around 3:30, at which point I realized that I only had a little over an hour before 5 (closing time). I speed-typed (type-sped?) another four pages of...well, it came out sounding trite and super-religious, but whatever. Then, after finally getting the damn thing to actually print, I ran over to the Center for Dramatic Arts to turn it in to Dr. Katz's second-floor office.
The doors to the second floor were locked. I had completely forgotten that, while closing time may be 5pm, lock-up time for the CDA is apparently 4:15, 4:30 on a good day.
Shit.
But no freak out. At this point in my life, I've finally come to the conclusion that (as long as I'm conscious enough to focus) there's really no point to getting worried about this stuff. I suddenly found myself thinking the way people say they do in life-or-death situations, where everything slows down and gets really clear, and they just act. I started enumerating ways to get upstairs and trying them all systematically. Two sets of stairs: both sets of doors locked. Back hallway hall doors: all three locked. Techie stairwell: locked. Elevator (the door opened just as I passed): set to only accept Ground Floor. Fire escapes: there are none. Leaving the paper in a mailbox for Dr. Katz: the mailbox for him is upstairs, and he's leaving this evening. I was just contemplating how to get backstage via the house of an actual theatre and use the back hallway when a woman walked out of the stairs.
Unfortunately, I wasn't close enough to grab the door before it shut, but I was able to politely ask the woman, "I need to get this to Dr. Katz's office upstairs by the end of today. How would I go about doing that?" She sighed and replied, "Well, that's going to be kind of difficult, since the doors are locked already." Somehow, I knew she had a key, and I followed her as she walked in the general direction of the stairs leading up. Sure enough, she unlocked the bottom door for me, saying, "Dr. Katz is still in his office right by the top of the stairs. Knock on the door up there, and someone should be able to let you in."
Boom.
So, I thanked her profusely, headed up and knocked. Dr. Katz saw me through his open door, but, being the distant and unassuming man he is, he ignored me. And nobody else answered my knock; the lights were off, for crying out loud. Finally, another student who, I assume, had been working up there on something else, exited and I slid past him and handed my paper in with literally minutes to spare. Dr. Katz actually commented on it.
Enh. The paper...it's seven pages instead of eight to ten, like I'd heard it was supposed to be. But it's done, and it's turned in on time, so I've stopped thinking about ittttttttt...Now.