March 27, 2017

• Looking at the First Wave

  Maneuver between the lines
  I’ve never been good at parallel parking
  Take heed the no parking signs
  The mall lot spot I’m marking
  I’ll find the car without the key fob barking

  This poem is a Lira - a Spanish form or 5 lines per stanza with a strict syllable count of 7/11/7/7/11. To make it just that much more difficult it also requires a rhyme scheme of a/b/a/b/b. Yep. This is my offering for the Winter Scavenger Hunt 2017 using prompt #24 - Use the phrase “I’ve never been good at parallel parking”. I have just one more prompt after this one! I'm very excited.

  Of course you are wondering what the title of the blog has to do with my poem. Well to be honest, and I'm in the habit of honesty, the title refers to my work week. We are facing a Tsunami of chaos. It is just past Spring Break. All of the students who signed up for undergraduate research have just realized that they have to complete their projects, collect and analyze their data and produce a poster to be presented. The first wave of panicked students has crashed into my email. They have forgotten the password for their online training account. They need the instructions (again please) for submitting their occupational health forms. Oh and by the way, I want to start my project tomorrow so where can I get 20 fish. Yeah. no. It doesn't work that way. You have to be added to a protocol. The protocol won't be approved until you finish the training and the occupational health requirements. You can't get access to the animals until you take the facility tour. Occupational health forms are reviewed every Wednesday. Tours are given every Tuesday and Thursday. It doesn't just happen with an email and a wave of my hand. I should have this wave sorted out in time for the second wave. The first wave are the smart and motivated kids who just forgot. The second wave are all the slackers who got by with this kind of slapdash work on the basis of their last name, their athletic prowess, or their good looks. They are soon to learn a tough life lesson. There are no short cuts and no exceptions to the rules. They usually sort themselves into the "I've better get on it if I want to stay out of trouble" group and the "Oh well, Dad will fix it for me" group. You can pretty much guess which ones will get a passing grade and which ones will either drop the class or leave the university in disgrace. Of course there is the third wave. They ask for help but never follow through. They are the goners. The university tries to mentor the students and provides lots and lots of academic assistance. However there is a point where the student must take responsibility.

  • 6:14 am
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