I've just had a week-long Easter holiday. All week I've said, "That 200 word French thing I should easily knock out in about two hours, and that journalism court report ....ahhhh... six or seven hours." Of course, instead of actually doing that in the five days available, I decided, what better way to test my ability to estimate assignment time, than actually leave only that amound of time in which to complete it by deadline.

So long story short, French was done in 90 minutes, just in time to print it out and walk into French class at noon, journalism was saving on disk at 4.50pm... Anyone reading this and noticing time discrepancies should note travel and class time thrown in there as well.

It's a run to the cheap student print shop. Print, come one come on. Of course, because journalists are the ass-end of the intelligentsia spectrum, they are also at the ass-end of the campus. I shoulder my bag, collect my laptop, watch check: 4.57. Crap. I'm off.

Now running does not come hard for me. It does when you're thrown off balance by an incredibly heavy laptop which is now not only making you run like you have a broken hip, but also trying to rip off whichever arm happens to be holding it.

Huffing and puffing I reach the top of the hill at, apparently, 5.05pm, just in time to see our evergreen journalism receptionist, Jenny, emptying the assignments out of the drop-off box and commenting to a nearby student, "...even if it's three minutes late, it's still late." [okay, big smile while handing over my paper] "Hi Jenny. :D so, uh, am I late?" [smile back with perfunctory glance at watch] "No, you're three hours and six minutes late," she says as she strolls out of sight briefly.

She must have heard my jaw hit the ground, and the plaintive bleatings trying to escape my dumbstruck mouth of bu...wha....hu...I thoug....my head hurts. And just as I prepare to protest the course outline says nothing about 2pm deadline, "And it's in the course outline!"

damn she's good. Reappearing behind her glass window she calmly prepares to stamp all the papers 'received', while I remain unmoved, wondering what the hell this torture was for, just to hand something in on time for once. she speaks again

"Luckily for you Rhonda has said she's not going to penalise anyone for submitting after 2pm this time." why....you....EVIL....evil....EVIL woman!!!!

So anyway, sitting out on the grass to cool down after my run I look through the course outline... no mention of 2pm deadline anywhere. And I thought Jenny was alright....

eyelids droopy, *now* I can sleep.