I, a master procrastinator, have just been humbled

[da_chimperor]

It's currently 7:50 AM (CET), and I've just given up working on a case study due at 12:00. I know the material very well, I understand the problems presented in the case, and I know how to solve all of them. I just don't have enough time to write the 10 pages I need to have, and to make all the assorted charts and calculations. Frankly this has never happened to me before, as I have always managed to finish every project I have been assigned. I've always done well academically and gotten everything done on time and actually managed to get good grades on just about everything . . . so I'm feeling quite shaken right now.

I've known for a while that I really need to change my ways. I've never been happy with my reliance on ability, a bit of work, and a hefty chunk of luck to get me through school rather than working my ass off. I've always accepted it as more of an asset rather than a liability, even though I knew it was the other way around. So here I am, drinking a surprisingly palatable combination of grenadine syrup, tonic water, and tequila, while contemplating what I feel could be a real turning point in my academic life. A real chance to take an unpleasant moment and change myself for the better.

Luckily there will be no overly-unpleasant ramifications of my failure. I can re-take the course in question in 3 months time and the assignment and case will be the same. I have it already half-done, so finishing it the next time around will be much easier. I've also got a test on the same material next week that I will most assuredly ace. So all-in-all, things could be much worse, no lasting harm will be done to anything other than my ego. So here's a little word of advice from a former master of the art of 'screw it, I'll finish it later': putting things off doesn't always work out. I thought I was invincible, but in reality all it took was one little case study to bring me down.

</end introspective ranting>

Feel free to comfort me, if you wish. :hi:

[qnr]

1. nyah-HAH!

</comfort>

heheh, couldn't resist, sorry

[da_chimperor]

3. No worries, the tequilla is starting to kick in

:toast:

[qnr]

6. Well, on the positive side, even with your procrastination, you're

there. Me, I got a whole three months worth of High School in before I lost interest.

:toast:

[da_chimperor]

10. Did you get your GED then? n/t

[qnr]

12. Yes. I don't consider it a great loss, I ended up spending my HS years

hitchhiking around the country. What with that, and my time in the service, I've managed to see all fifty states and all seven continents. Not bad for someone that grew up in the ghettos of NYC, overall. :)

P.S.: The annoying part about it, as a radioman, I constantly had to correct the spelling, punctuation and grammar (well, obvious gramatical errors, at least) of the officers that had been through 4 years of schooling at the Academy.

[da_chimperor]

14. Education and intelligence don't always go hand-in-hand

A good friend of mine back in high school ended up graduating with a 2.0, but then he got a 1590 on his SATs and is now going to a good college. High school had it's good moments, but I think I would have traded it in for traveling around the country.

[sleipnir]

2. Thanks!

Best of luck on the future!

[da_chimperor]

4. Thank you

Hopefully next week will be better, or else things get . . . interesting.

[Reverend_Smitty]

5. I feel ya man!

I too am a grade-A procrastinator and like yourself have coasted throughout my scholastic career. It is a fear of mine that something like this will occur, lots of close calls but never failed to complete an assignment. I guess we all get a kick in the ass like this to get us on the right track. I know that I'm playing with fire and I should budget my time better but will I change...probably not until I experience a similar predicament

[da_chimperor]

8. I had a great ride, but all things must come to an end

I remember one last-minute paper in particular. I had to write an 10 page paper for an English class on the works of an ancient Greek or Roman philosopher. So I picked a particularly pompous Roman fellow, who's writings consisted chiefly of heralding himself as a genius and I ripped him a new asshole. I completed it in 6 hours from start to finish, and got an A+. I can still remember my professor commending me on my work, and telling me I must have worked long and hard on it. Luckily I managed to stop myself from laughing out loud until I got outside the building.

[Reverend_Smitty]

13. Similar thing happened to me this past semester...

I had to write a 10 page exegetical paper for my Bible class...well needless to say I waited until a day and a half before it was due. Turned it in and the professor asked if he could have a copy of it for future classes because it was so good. It's a rush I can't say that I don't enjoy getting it.

[da_chimperor]

16. Not bad, not bad at all

:D

[Droopy]

7. I was a freak of nature in college

I would get things done days ahead of time. I was freaking out one time about a 2500 word paper I had to write. I was telling one guy about it. He asked when it was due. I told him in 9 days. He said, "Holy shit! And you're worrying about it now? I wouldn't start on something like that until two days before it was due."

I didn't make it through college, but I have a 3.5 GPA over 3 years if I ever decide to go back.

You'll make it through this, dc, and be a better person because of it.

[da_chimperor]

9. Wow, you really were quite . . . unusual

My intention is to make sure I have everything as soon as I can without an unacceptable disruption to my social life. So . . . basically to be like you. They almost always give us plenty of time, but I haven't made the wisest use of it so far.

[unblock]

11. you are learning the best lesson college can teach you

it's not about ability, it's not about knowledge, it's about the whole package.

in many aspects of life, you have to be competent at several things. which several things depends on you, your chosen field, and what you want out of life.

but the common denominator is that, whatever the several important characteristics needed, you're only as good as your weakest one.

in an academic setting, great logical thinking and/or test-taking ability can mask a weakness in work ethic. similarly, a great work ethic can mask a weakness in smarts.

but if you can figure out how to be good in both, then you've really got something. note that i said GOOD, not great. sure, great in everything is wonderful, but the important thing is to avoid being weak at anything critical.

as a society, we focus too much on the extremes, the einsteins with supergenius ability, the michael jordans with superphysical talents, etc. we dwell on that one talent that they have in enormous proportions, but overlook not only that they are the exceptions in life, but that even they succeed only by being at least competent at many other skills.

einstein would have been a nobody had he been lazy, had he had an inability to complete work, etc.

michael jordan would have been a nobody had he not been disciplined and diligent in practicing and so on. sure, the talent made him famous, but if he wasn't competent at the basics of attendance and practice and teamwork, etc., we never would have heard of him.

better to learn this in an academic setting at a young age than later in life, on the job.

[da_chimperor]

15. Wow, I'm really starting to feel better now

Thank you, really. :hug:

[unblock]

17. definitely the tequila

but thanks anyway :hug:

[da_chimperor]

18. I'd like to think that both had a 'synergistic' effect

:D