There is a limbo period in my assessments this semester. While others do exams and in-class presentations, I doodle in my notebook and enjoy myself. You might think I’m lucky, but in fact this is a great curse! I feel like I’m living in that part in Twister, when they go out into the eye of the storm ...
THE SITUATION: I have a large philosophy essay due in three weeks. Too far away to start thinking about it yet. I can go and do the readings (it’s on Marx and Nietzsche, so there’s lots of reading to do) but without any of that looming deadline pressure I can’t get anything down on paper.
HOWEVER: Between now and when this essay is due, I will receive two take-home exams. These evil creatures are not real exams, for which one used to cram the night before and they would be over and done with in three hours. No! They are week-long researching and writing marathons. Of standard length (2000 - 3000 words) and strange in temperament, one must wrestle with the unfamiliar questions in a time period that is long enough to do something great (if you have the resources), but too long to justify anything that’s totally uninspired (like a night-before essay or one of those bizarre, non-sequitur exam responses).
PLUS: A phantom essay which is huge (4000 words) that I’m yet to hear anything about. When will it strike? Who will be its next victim? Me? My cohort?
Deadlines on the horizon, oh dear. I don’t mean to set a bad example, but I just watched a documentary on the ABC about parrots. Awesome.
Comments
Sam, I too watched the documentary about parrots. It was amazing. I have decided to throw off the shackles of university-dom and become a parrot.
P.S. Twister is the best movie ever.
Posted by: Courtney | May 5, 2008 06:35 PM
sounds bad..i dont think i would survive in arts. quite seriously.
deerhoof?
Posted by: asako | May 7, 2008 06:41 PM