Friday discussion at 8 a.m. By the time you graduate, you'll probably have at least one of these, thanks to your professor deliberately trying to hurt the normally, GPA-saving "participation grade." The discussions are inconvenient, rarely productive and embody the worst aspect of college. But there's one person who hates it more than you do. This column is dedicated to this man and his commitment to trying to spur conversation in a field only tangentially related to his graduate thesis. So this week, Mr. 8-a.m.-Friday-Discussion-Teaching-Assistant: We salute you.
Friday. Eric's apartment.
7 a.m.: Alarm goes off, that gives an hour to get up, shower, get dressed, eat and take a leisurely stroll to the basement of Old Cabell.
7:45 a.m.: Hit snooze button for the fifth and "final" time.
8:01 a.m.: Smelly, from a lack of showering, running down the stairwell of Cabell.
8:03 a.m.: We've been meeting every week since August, and I still have no clue what room it's in. Time to randomly burst into rooms, apologetically.
8:04 a.m.: Definitely not that one.
8:05 a.m.: Nope.
8:05 a.m.: Nope, TAs' lounge. Note to self: Perfect place for mid-afternoon nap later today.
8:06 a.m.: Bingo. "Sorry I'm late, I was... my alarm... traffic was... dogs with bees in their mouths... forget it."
8:07 a.m.: I get the chair that rocks back and forth because whoever constructed the legs thought each one needed to be, "give or take," the same length.
8:08 a.m.: Ok, Eric. For serious, pay attention, you need some participation points.
8:09 a.m.: I think I'm the only one who's not sporting the a.m.-discussion uniform of a grey "Virginia" sweatshirt.
8:11 a.m.: The girl sitting next to me has a big O on her hand. Judging from the meandering response she just gave the TA, she's clearly still drunk.
8:12 a.m.: Loud stomach grumble. I hope nobody heard that. I wish I'd had some Pop Tarts on the way out
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