I use the alarm on my calculator to wake me up when I need to be somewhere on time in the mornings. It’s the same calculator alarm I’ve used since undergrad to wake me up. Since sleep was a much more precious commodity back then, I’ve come to dread the distinctive beeping it makes. I actually developed a very negative reaction to that alarm. This year, however, I’ve learned to ignore my alarm.
It was exactly this newly developed skill that caused me to finally wake up fifteen minutes before class this morning. Though I can’t prove it, I am almost certain that time accelerates when you’re late for something. To me, it seemed like that after I realized what time it was, I immediately got up, but when I checked my watch, five minutes had passed. I now had ten minutes to get to class.
In the remaining ten minutes, I somehow managed to brush my teeth, get dressed, paw at my hair, check my e-mail, grab my crap, and get to class. I was only a minute late.
The late start however, caused my entire day to be composed of running from one thing to another without having a chance to catch my breath. It finally ended after 6pm when I finished invigilating a two hour exam for the course I’m TAing.
Despite sleeping in, I was extremely tired during the invigilation. I briefly weighed the consequences of falling asleep in front of my students. I decided that it would have been a not-so-good situation.
I am looking forward to tomorrow when I don’t have to set my alarm for anything. And for those keeping score, lunch today consisted of lasagne Hamburger Helper.