The first time I went to college, when I was around 20, I developed the habit of procrastinating until the last minute on assignments, studying, and whatnot, and pulling all-nighters to get them done just under the deadline. It was a good system, then. Not the best system, but it worked for me, then.

So, having unintentionally fallen behind on this week's math assignment, last night I figured I'd revert to my old system, and everything would be cool.

Today I am reminded, sadly, that I haven't been 20 years old for quite some time now. My body is rejecting that old system. Actually, my body seems to have decided lately that it will not move until it has had no fewer than six hours of sleep. This has resulted in a few times lately, including this morning, that my brain has simply shut out the sound of both of my alarm clocks until such time as it has completed that sixth and most crucial hour. Not that showing up late for work is much of a concern for me these days, but still. It's rather inconvenient.

So all morning I was convinced that today was a bad day. It started out with me oversleeping, groggy and still brain-tired after a late-night algebra session. After arriving to work late, and checking my e-mail, to which I had cc'd the assignment on which I'd stayed up so late busting my rear, and seeing nothing there, I proceeded to panic. If my assignment didn't show up here, then it probably didn't show up in my prof's in-box, either. Also, last night I tried to take the quiz (did I mention that yesterday was the deadline for both assignment and quiz?), but the system locked me out and wouldn't let me take it. It appeared that my e-mail informing the prof of this didn't go through, either. So basically, I was screwed on this entire chapter. Right?

Well, no. Just as my panic level began to reach critical mass, I got an e-mail from the professor. He received my homework, and he re-opened the quiz so I could take it today. Which I just did, and I'm pretty sure I aced it. So yay on me.

Once that was out of the way, I decided that today is a good day. I'm actually in a pretty good mood. I'm a little uncertain about what my immediate future holds, but strangely, knowing that I won't be here much longer has given me a real sense of peace and freedom. The temping option is seeming more and more likely, at least for a little while. Sure, the reality of being dirt poor will hit me like a sack of bricks some time after I stop bringing home a steady paycheck, and will most likely necessitate finding myself another steady gig. But between now and then, I'm enjoying the idea that that's even an option, and that I'm getting close to taking back control of my life. It feels more like I'm standing on the threshold of a new beginning than that I'm losing anything.

I think I'm going to embrace the poor college student lifestyle, and try to combine it with that of the hopefully-not-struggling-too-much freelance writer. Today I really think I can make it work. And I'm actually looking forward to the prospect of liking my life again. It's been a long time since that's happened. It's really a nice feeling.