29 November 2006
A Good Reason to Use a Cell Phone (...but I'm still not gonna...)
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Dedicated to Katie:
I hope this lasts as long as one of our breaks would. Maybe not a “how was your weekend” break but a “how was your evening” break.
***
Tonight I’m celebrating two triumphs. One is a triumph of the brainy variety and the other is a triumph of survival. Let’s start with the dramatic one. Take a second, if you like, to fill a glass with something (mine’s full of Corona and a squirt or two of lime juice) so that we can clink our glasses together.
I came thisclose to spending tonight in a stairwell. I left my Modern American Literature class in a giddy haze (brainy triumph…details to come) and skidded to the nearest stairwell. Stairwell D. There were signs posted that said No Access to 1st or 3rd Floor after 17h00 but I flew by those in my excitement. Then I realized my dilemma: I was trapped. The sign was misleading as well because it seemed that there was No Access to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th floors after 17h00.
Now I know how mice feel in a maze.
I ran up and down the stairs to each door and I pulled on each one desperately with all my strength. Locked means locked at the university and I was stuck. Usually I’m more clearheaded but only around other people. My thoughts immediately went to the fact that I was doomed to spend the night there and should I or shouldn’t I pull the fire alarm. Concluding that pulling the alarm wouldn’t help, I decided to knock on the stairwell doors to see if anyone would open one. No dice. (and I heard people walking by!!) I was feeling pretty hopeless as I ran back down to the first floor to make sure that it really was locked. It was.
My savior was dressed all in beige. He was a small, mild looking man with glasses in a beige trench over beige pants. I heard one of the stairwell doors open above me and I almost shouted “LEAVE IT OPEN!!!” Then I heard his keys jingling. Casually, I sprinted up two flights of stairs and followed him out to freedom. I grinned the entire way home and this whole adventure completely overshadowed the A that I got on my Birthday Essay.
Yes, that’s right! I got an A on the essay that I worked on until 3am on my birthday because it was due the next day. It was also the essay that marked the beginning of Essay Week (5 essays due in the space of 9 days). I think I finally learned why Thou Shalt Not Procrastinate because of that week.
Anyway – back to the essay. It was on “Death Comes For the Archbishop” by Willa Cather; a book that I love and recommend to anyone. The cool thing about English courses is that we are able to invent our own essay topics. Mine was on how the plot and structural elements of DCA are integrated to produce a narrative that not only celebrates but also embodies the spirit of craftsmanship. In the essay, I got to combine my interests in writing and in craft and in the process I picked up a new approach to the art of writing. It always amazes me how much I’m learning about writing just by reading. People always say that to be a writer you need to read constantly but I needed to see why this is true before I could believe it…and now I do!
Thanks for celebrating with me…I’m off to finish my Corona and imagine how I would have spent my night in the stairwell – Have a fantastic evening!
Erika.
Dedicated to Katie:
I hope this lasts as long as one of our breaks would. Maybe not a “how was your weekend” break but a “how was your evening” break.
***
Tonight I’m celebrating two triumphs. One is a triumph of the brainy variety and the other is a triumph of survival. Let’s start with the dramatic one. Take a second, if you like, to fill a glass with something (mine’s full of Corona and a squirt or two of lime juice) so that we can clink our glasses together.
I came thisclose to spending tonight in a stairwell. I left my Modern American Literature class in a giddy haze (brainy triumph…details to come) and skidded to the nearest stairwell. Stairwell D. There were signs posted that said No Access to 1st or 3rd Floor after 17h00 but I flew by those in my excitement. Then I realized my dilemma: I was trapped. The sign was misleading as well because it seemed that there was No Access to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th floors after 17h00.
Now I know how mice feel in a maze.
I ran up and down the stairs to each door and I pulled on each one desperately with all my strength. Locked means locked at the university and I was stuck. Usually I’m more clearheaded but only around other people. My thoughts immediately went to the fact that I was doomed to spend the night there and should I or shouldn’t I pull the fire alarm. Concluding that pulling the alarm wouldn’t help, I decided to knock on the stairwell doors to see if anyone would open one. No dice. (and I heard people walking by!!) I was feeling pretty hopeless as I ran back down to the first floor to make sure that it really was locked. It was.
My savior was dressed all in beige. He was a small, mild looking man with glasses in a beige trench over beige pants. I heard one of the stairwell doors open above me and I almost shouted “LEAVE IT OPEN!!!” Then I heard his keys jingling. Casually, I sprinted up two flights of stairs and followed him out to freedom. I grinned the entire way home and this whole adventure completely overshadowed the A that I got on my Birthday Essay.
Yes, that’s right! I got an A on the essay that I worked on until 3am on my birthday because it was due the next day. It was also the essay that marked the beginning of Essay Week (5 essays due in the space of 9 days). I think I finally learned why Thou Shalt Not Procrastinate because of that week.
Anyway – back to the essay. It was on “Death Comes For the Archbishop” by Willa Cather; a book that I love and recommend to anyone. The cool thing about English courses is that we are able to invent our own essay topics. Mine was on how the plot and structural elements of DCA are integrated to produce a narrative that not only celebrates but also embodies the spirit of craftsmanship. In the essay, I got to combine my interests in writing and in craft and in the process I picked up a new approach to the art of writing. It always amazes me how much I’m learning about writing just by reading. People always say that to be a writer you need to read constantly but I needed to see why this is true before I could believe it…and now I do!
Thanks for celebrating with me…I’m off to finish my Corona and imagine how I would have spent my night in the stairwell – Have a fantastic evening!
Erika.
