Today (Monday) I had a meeting with my advisor at 11 am. His office happens to be directly across the hall from mine (which I share with several other TAs). After turning the corner on the hallway where our offices are located, I heard the distinct sound of gospel music blasting from a large set of speakers. At first I couldn't tell if it was coming out of my office or his, but upon further investigation it was clear that an anonymous person was testing out the seldom-used sound system in the TA office (which I hear is REALLY nice- the sound system, not the office).
Unclear as to why the unoccupied office's speakers were blasting praise music at volumes appropriate for a large Sunday congregation, I decided to turn the amplification down. Upon doing this, I saw my advisor spring up from his chair in his office where he was meeting with another student and quickly shuffle across the hallway. He asked me if I could press stop on the tape players when the current song finished. I agreed and he resumed his meeting across the hallway.
This seemed like a simple-enough task: how difficult could it be to press stop on a tape when a song ended? The answer is: more difficult than one would initially anticipate.
After listening to the song for awhile, the band started vamping in a way that is characteristic for the end of a song. I eagerly hopped up and made my way over to the sound system, ready to turn off the recording at exactly the right time. At this point my adviser leaned out from behind his door and said, "It's not over yet, you think it's going to be over, but it's not. You might as well just sit down."
I sat down, newly aware of the deceptive nature of the song. The next few minutes involved me springing to my feet several times, thinking that the song was finally coming to a close, only to be sorely mistaken by another enthusiastic verse praising the lord. While this was all happening, I couldn't help but be aware of how incredibly silly this whole situation looked. That shit had more false endings than the last LOTR movie.
Unclear as to why the unoccupied office's speakers were blasting praise music at volumes appropriate for a large Sunday congregation, I decided to turn the amplification down. Upon doing this, I saw my advisor spring up from his chair in his office where he was meeting with another student and quickly shuffle across the hallway. He asked me if I could press stop on the tape players when the current song finished. I agreed and he resumed his meeting across the hallway.
This seemed like a simple-enough task: how difficult could it be to press stop on a tape when a song ended? The answer is: more difficult than one would initially anticipate.
After listening to the song for awhile, the band started vamping in a way that is characteristic for the end of a song. I eagerly hopped up and made my way over to the sound system, ready to turn off the recording at exactly the right time. At this point my adviser leaned out from behind his door and said, "It's not over yet, you think it's going to be over, but it's not. You might as well just sit down."
I sat down, newly aware of the deceptive nature of the song. The next few minutes involved me springing to my feet several times, thinking that the song was finally coming to a close, only to be sorely mistaken by another enthusiastic verse praising the lord. While this was all happening, I couldn't help but be aware of how incredibly silly this whole situation looked. That shit had more false endings than the last LOTR movie.
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