Buzz Buzz. The startling sound of my first alarm echoed throughout the second floor of the Old West Dorms. Almost as quickly as its racket reached my ears, it was silenced by the sleep deprivation within me. The next at 8:35 put up a worthy fight, but still succumbed. In the end, at around 8:45, a series of alarms and the pestering of my roommate finally dragged my indolent body out of my bed. Perhaps I was still tired from yesterday’s ballgame. There was no time to think though; I paced around the floor at lightning speed between brushing my teeth and fixing myself breakfast.
Next stop: Phillips Hall for a Special Relativity lecture by Dr. Kundu. As I entered the room, I saw the usual array of excited faces and those slumped in the corner waiting for the coffee to brew. And yet, I was in such a superposition (I know; I’m hilarious): at first I was enraptured by the talk of time dilations but such intrigue turned into conflict. Every cell of my body rebelled against my mind, fighting for sleep. I faded in and out of the lecture, but I swear I tried my best.
Next up was lunch at my favorite: Chase Dining Hall. The oil bathed French fries and plain penne always never fail to satisfy my taste buds as a vegetarian (disclaimer: I heard the chicken was pretty good today). Wait, you really thought I went to Chase? Absolutely not. As I enlarged in width, my efforts to not go there increased exponentially. I mean, it only made sense to give my body some rest and take the best nap of my life. Hopefully I won’t sleep during the second lecture. It was already over before it began. I knew it as soon as I walked into the classroom and saw the smug grin plastered all over Dr. Z’s face. It wasn’t that bad though; Dark Matter was the topic of question.
The rest of the day was normal. During what felt like a blink of free time, some friends and I spent time doing what is a rare occurrence here: playing outside. As we tossed the football back and forth, we temporarily gained the ability to erase the thought of the tens of hours of coding and debugging that lie ahead. However, the blistering heat—you’d think we’d be inured to it by now—eventually took its toll. As we headed back inside, the refreshing air conditioned rooms relieved our tired bodies, and we spent the remaining time until dinner relaxing.
Dinner was rather forgettable, just like any other, and soon after it ended, I shifted my focus toward completing the code for our final orbital determination. After shifts of working and napping, the night ended with a significant portion of my code done—enough so that it could be completed the next day. Once again, the bed called my name, and I returned to my favorite place until my next power struggle with the sirens of my alarms.
-Rahil
