Saturday, May 28, 2005

The ideal way of wasting time before examination !!

Saturday, May 28, 2005

I am appearing for the second semester of my computer science and engineering course. I had great practical tests yesterday and I am expecting Outstanding Grade in both of them viz. Physics and Chemistry. All these practical tests being completed that day, I was hugely relieved and felt very relaxed and content.

I went to my friend Mayukh’s house and had a great time with my other weekly adda friends : Aditya, Ramashis & Arijit. We played some cricket and also some rounds of bridge. However, that day I was a total flop in both of these. I thought that my luck for that day being completely exhausted for the tests, they weren’t anything left and consoled myself. But did I ever think that the best part of my bad luck was yet to come.

While returning from Mayukh’s house, on a bus of the route 3C/1, I had a fantastic realization : I had left the Admit Card (without which we aren’t allowed to sit for the semester exams) in the college. This thought made the whole thing bitter and tormented me for the next 17 hours, precisely.

While doing my Physics experiments, I had tucked it into the Physics Lab Copy as I tend to forget all about this damned card and after awhile it is found under somebody’s (mostly mine) boots, and bearing beautiful designs of dust (made by the sole of the boot) all over it. So I took no risk that time and carefully put it in the Lab copy. However, as the Lab copies were all submitted to the teachers, I made a point to remember to recollect it from there before heading towards home. And, I did remember till the last moment, when I was going to sir to submit my copy, 1 hour before the scheduled time. But at the last moment, after submitting it and collecting some praises for this early finish (which is another story altogether, absolutely without cheating) I forgot.

And I remembered all these incidents one by one while in the bus. I was feeling like tearing myself up. Though I know that it will be safe there and I can collect it just before the theory exams, still I felt some irritation deep within.

I made some plans to recover it.

Today, my sister and Tilakmama went to North Bengal in the jungles of Duars. I love adventure from my childhood and incidentally it is me who is deprived the most. My theory exams starting from the day before their return, there was no question for me to avail this tour. However, if it would have been a unit test, I would have cared a damn for this test.

Naturally, I was a bit disturbed this morning as they were leaving and Hia (my sister) was jumping around and having all the attention and wore a smile stretching for one ear to another over her irritating face.

The plan was fundamentally based on the nature of my parents, who take unnecessary tension over every trivial matter. So I made a point to not to let them know that I left my card in the college.

My plan was like this : Soumya is a close friend of mine with whom I do joint studies before the semester exams and my parents do like him. I visit his house quite often, sometimes to study and sometimes for adda or computer games. I planned to tell my household members that I was going to his house while actually I going to college. My parents would be gone to Shialda station to see off Hia and would not be back before 2pm. They’d leave at around 12pm. Right after they leave I’ll go to college.

All these plans were carried out successfully. But going to college in a terribly hot day like today was very physically exhaustive. However, I consoled myself on saying that at least I’d save some unnecessary tension before the theory examination and that may help to reduce the stress and do better.

But after reaching college, when Chatterjee-da opened the Lab for me to get it, first of all I was unable to find my copy, and when I did , the card was not found inside ! It came as a tremendous shock to me. Then I looked inside the copy and found out that the last page bore the stamp. It meant that the teachers have already gone through it (mind it, it was not the examination copy. It was the copy which bore all the records of the experiments done throughout the semester). Then, I thought that teachers may have found out the card and put it in a safe place.

However, another creepy thought came to me. Knowing my forgetful nature, I took it to be another possibility that the card was actually in my home and I did recollect it while heading towards home after the exam.

Anyway, I didn’t tell this possibility to Chatterjee-da, who was very humble and promised me to inform the authorities of Physics immediately on the next day of their arrival (which was 30th of this month). I came back all the way very disappointed and disgusted. The scorching sun seemed to have gained even more painful while returning back. I reached Rashbehari More in 18C. Then I started to look for an autorickshaw (though I made a promise to myself to expend not more than 10 bucks in this journey, I couldn’t resist expending 2 bucks more to get rid of the sun for sometime).

The first two of their kind refused to go. The third became full just as I arrived near it. And, guess what? My parents were sitting in it. I gave a nervous smile and quickly headed for the next auto.

I tried to reach home before they do and then we again met in the way. This time I could not flee. (But, flee from what? There wasn’t nothing left to hide! ) Now I had to face the inevitable question : “Where did you go? “ I told them the truth this time but I told them that I did find my Card, once again to ward off the tension over this matter. But if they demanded to see it, I couldn’t have produced it! So it was really a very risky game indeed! So I was hurrying off, mostly leading forward and not looking back.

And I did after returning home. It was neatly tucked inside my Chemistry Lab Copy. Then I reproduced it to them and again told the truth (I lost my mind at that time as it was absolutely not necessary to do it). So mother started to express doubt and started to disbelief me. She asked the inevitable question,”If you knew that it was here then why did you go there?” and “Do you mean to say that you didn’t even bother to look for it in home before starting for college?” Moreover I also told them I didn’t go to Soumya’s house. But if she wanted to cross-check later then Soumya would have said yes as I urged him to ‘manage’ before leaving the house. So I had to make a phone call to him and make things clear for him.

I had such a confidence in my belief (this is always true for me and gets repeated almost every time. What I think, is the only thing I tend to completely rely on.) that I didn’t even bother to look for it.

I wasted 2 hours (3:30 hrs including this typing time) just before 10 days of the semester exams in this great and astounding fashion.

Now who dares to challenge me, the champion time-waster of all ages ?
I think nobody can.

P.S. This is a personal talent and I do not give tuitions over this , so don’t urge me to !!

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