I come to you all today with a uniquely treacherous tale. Many have attempted this journey, few have survived, and even fewer have both survived AND write for Bwog. 

What is this quest? Well, my dear friend, it is none other than the horror of having three classes back-to-back on three separate campuses. Yes, every Monday and Wednesday morning, I find myself scurrying about with what others have described as a crazed look in my eye. How else would I look, given the circumstances? Thus, I present to you this journey, a single instance of my biweekly nightmare. A test of my physical and mental fortitude designed to make me quit, but I won’t let it. 

The following series of events is true, logged on Wednesday, September 25. 

PART I

11:25 am. Location: Pupin. 15 minutes to next class. 

My class ends. Overconfident as I am, I hang around an extra minute to ask the professor a quick question about the homework. I have 15 minutes, after all, and Teachers College is just across the street. 

11:31 am. Location: Pupin stairwell. 9 minutes to next class.

Well that “quick question” took a little longer than expected. I’m walking up the Pupin stairs, head in my phone. All of my Monday-Wednesday classes are strictly no-phones, so I take advantage of every minute in between. I exit the stairwell and start walking to the main door, when I am confronted with no door. I was on the 4th floor, not the 5th. So, back into the stairwell I go for the walk of shame up to the 5th floor. I hate Pupin. 

11:34 am. Location: NoCo. 6 minutes to next class. 

Finally, out of the dark dungeon that is Pupin, I enter its partner in crime, NoCo. That’s definitely the fastest way out of campus, but that doesn’t mean it’s fast. I always forget how slow that escalator is. Don’t even get me started on that weird limbo when you’re entering a door and other people are exiting the same door, especially when there are TWO DOORS. Follow the flow of traffic, people! Stay on your side. 

11:36 am. Location: SE corner of 120th and Broadway. 4 minutes to next class. 

I do not condone jaywalking, especially on busy streets. This intersection is one where I will always wait for the light to change because people drive way too fast and I don’t want to get hit by a city bus today. 

11:37 am. Location: NE corner of 120th and Broadway. 3 minutes to next class. 

Road successfully crossed. I make my way into Teachers College and head towards my class. I pass a water bottle filler on the way. Do I stop to fill my bottle? I take the gamble, not expecting the most wimpy water bottle filler in existence with what I can only describe as a trickling stream of water coming out. But, I’m in it now, so I wait it out.

11:39 am. Location: CLASS! 1 minute to next class.

WE MADE IT! I sit down with a minute to spare, pulling out my notebook, sipping my freshly refilled water, and releasing some of the tension in my shoulders. However, my day’s adventure was far from over. 

PART II

12:55 pm. Location: Teachers College. 15 minutes to next class.

It’s go time. I pack up my bag (probably a little too slowly) and walk out with a friend. My next class is in Diana, so I have to hustle. It’s probably helpful that most of my friends are taller than me, which forces me to jog every few steps to keep up with them. 

12:59 pm. Location: NE corner of 120th and Broadway. 11 minutes to next class.

Here we are again, waiting for the lights to change. Everything seems to take longer when you’re in a rush.

1:03 pm. Location:  Barnard gates at 117th and Broadway. 7 minutes to next class.

I will never stop complaining about the line to get into Barnard. Why does it snake onto the street and down the sidewalk? I always look longingly at the 119th Street gate as I walk by. Opening that gate would make my life so much better. As I wait in line I’m nervously tapping my foot which is definitely annoying everyone around me, but I can’t help it. 

1:07 pm. Location: Diana lobby. 3 minutes to next class.

Waiting for the Diana elevator is really testing my patience. Of course, it reaches the first floor, and then continues going down to LL2 before coming back up. 

1:10 pm. Location: CLASS! 0 minutes to next class. 

I made it. Barely. I’m the absolute last one to walk in and am relegated to the very back of the room, but I’m here, and that’s all that matters.

You’re probably thinking, “wow that was unnecessarily dramatic.” Well, you weren’t there. Maybe I deserve to be dramatic. Maybe if you were in my situation, you would be dramatic too. Could I have planned my schedule a little less chaotically? Perhaps, but what fun would that be?

Image via Bwog Archives