The bibliography was finally completed, but not without the usual amount of stress and worry about the whole thing. My next mission, should I choose to accept it, is to finish all of my seminar papers sometime this week and the next. Truly, there is no sadder and more stressed out creature than a graduate student. My girlfriend is in the same boat; recently she stayed up all night working on a project for school, not going to bed until 8:00 a.m. in the morning. Frankly, I'm impressed and a little jealous that she has the physical ability to stay up all night working. I would do the same if I could, but I don't think I'd make it much past 3:00 a.m. It is a time of night (okay, morning) that works like judgment day for me. At that time, I must confront the grim reality of the remaining work before me and recognize that the only thing I have a few minutes for before falling asleep is thinking about the consequences that I will have to face in the morning as a result of not having the work done.
The professors seem to recognize that this is how the system is built. It almost seems like they are fully aware that we will not be able to complete everything that they ask of us done. The challenge is learning how to get as much of it covered as humanly possible and then figure out which things you can let go of with the least amount of repercussions as possible. I find that this is a somewhat chilling thought.
Last night, another fellow grad. student admitted to me his trouble of balancing his teaching (a freshman writing course) with his own work as a student. "Frankly," he told me, "I don't usually read my professor's assignments during the last two weeks of the term." A surprising admission from someone who is an English graduate student, whose assignments include reading major works of literature, and someone who, although a novice instructor, has at least a couple years of teaching experience. Although I suspect that he may not be typical, I deeply sympathize, because I have seen the work loads assigned and felt them myself. I can only look towards the future and pray I will not fall into as many traps as the next person. But, as with everything, my main thought is primarily on the work before me. Although I have said it before here in the Cellar, it is time for me to mush!