Like the Hourglass

Have you ever had a day just slip right through your hands?

Today was one of those days for me. Not the "time flies when you're having fun" kind, though. No, the sands of time were not held in a cute, playpark sandbox for me today. What was slipping through my fingers felt more like the leftover grit that gets stuck in your shoes after a trip to the beach or the grainy residue on spinach you can never seem to wash off. Not the kind of stuff you want to get on pale, delicate fingers like mine.

Yes, today was filled with the nitty-gritty of college life. All the focus I was forced to put on my studies caused the abrasive seconds to waste away before my red and frustrated eyes. Today's task was an extensive bibliography and in-text citation of a position paper for my geography class. One wouldn't think that a bibliography would take too horribly long. But one would be wrong. Bibliographies are a special kind of torture -- tedious, time-consuming, and requiring painstaking detail. Teachers are always sticklers for bibliographies, pouncing on minor flaws like a shark on the scent of blood. A bibliography is nothing more than one long headache waiting to happen.

Adding to the headache is all the different formats for bibliographies. Throughout high school, it was MLA. I don't know why. I don't even know what MLA stands for. I don't really want to. My best guess if Maliciously Lengthy Assignment because that's what it always accompanied throughout high school But here in college, MLA isn't good enough. No! They have to have a sophisticated collegiate method for giving people credit! So now all of my citations are in APA format. I haven't even started pondering what that one stand for. I'm truly afraid to find out.

What terrifies me even more is how long it took me to site my sources. It took me all day. All flipping day. Given, "all day" started at 11:30 after I finished breakfast and lasted until about 4:00 when I finally got it all printed out. But still! That's a whole four and a half hours I could have spent doing something else -- like studying for my map quiz or reading for my Peace and Conflict Studies class!

Okay, maybe the bibliography was preferable.

I must admit that despite my lack of fun this weekend, I do feel like I got something done. I feel like I accomplished something -- like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing in college. I feel like I've been productive and created a darned fine piece of work. Well, darned fine for what it is. You should have seen the assignment... Vague, broad, confusing...

But that's beyond the point! Nothing that trivial should take that long! The hourglass of the weekend should be filled with something more akin to dust than to molasses. My sand should be used for building castles or making zen gardens, not sandstorms of homework! I feel like I've been sanded down, mentally drained and totally devoid of any further motivation to study. Which is why I'm writing a blog.

But study I must! Map quiz tomorrow on China. Do you think there are any deserts there that could spare some sand?