stupid and mean
dangerous combinationAs part of our introduction to seismology course, we will be giving informal seminars on famous historical earthquakes (San Francisco 1906, Sumantra, etc...), or the seismology of a particular region, all in an effort to give us some background on the subject.
Yesterday, at the beginning of class, three brave souls volunteered to give to inaugural presentation. However, by the end of the class, two of them remembered that they didn't have internet and at the thought of doing research at an internet cafe, their bravery failed them, and so the prof decided to ask for volunteers who had internet access.
Those of you who know me (which is probably everyone who reads this) will know that paying careful attention to everything that goes on in class is not my forte. When I heard that a volunteer with internet was required, I assumed it was because my classmates were having trouble downloading the course materials. So fools leap in and all that, and I stuck my hand up and told everyone that they could come by my room with a USB key and I would happily give them the files. I suspect the prof was a bit puzzled by my response, since it had nothing to do with what he was actually asking, but he wasn't about to let an internet-enabled volunteer slip through his hands.
And so, it dawned on me that I had just volunteered, not to download files for people, but to give a presentation. Dumb.
But this is not the end of the story. Don't worry, it's not time to stop procrastinating, not yet. After the true import of my actions had sunk in, I realized that Prof. Campillo was staring fixedly at me, and saying that he needed one more volunteer. If I was being offered the chance to choose who I would work with, I wasn't about to let it slip through my fingers. Ignoring the fact that he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to the proceedings, I said "George!", and this was apparently funny, since everyone laughed. Mean.
Watch out world, not only am I stupid, I'm mean. Who needs enemies with a friend like me?