Friday, September 24, 2010

Designated Harsher

One of the best parts of being a teaching assistant this year is the grateful realization that I no longer have to go through introductory econ, and better yet, I no longer have to take Prof Papa's exams.

Prof Papa: I'm going to go write the exam.

Moi: Is it going to be-

Prof Papa: Incredibly hard. I'm sick of being Mr. Nice Guy. It's going to be impossible.

Moi: Yes, because if there's one thing they complain about, it's how easy this course is.

---

Earlier today, Laura and I made another step toward applying to PhD program by meeting with the program director in Cambridge. Yet with all the connections that we've made at the school, our greatest hurdle remains getting through the door. Literally.

We arrived at the building 15 minutes early, but failing to find the department on the call box downstairs, decided to wait a few minutes before calling the director about how to be let into the building. That was when we ran into Shorts, who was just coming out of work. We gave him a hard time about not getting our feet into the program until finally, as we were parting, he realized that we actually wanted to get into the building. And revealed that the door was unlocked the whole time we waited outside. "I could hold the door for you guys if that's what you want, but you can just walk in yourself." And sure enough, the very glass door that we'd stood in front of for 15 minutes, waiting for directions on how to get in, opened once we pushed the door. On the elevator ride up, Laura and I just looked at each other and shook our heads, "there's no way we're getting in, is there?"

No comments: