My computer instructor handed out a syllabus at the beginning of the class in January. Buried on the weekly "calendar" was "Research Paper Due." He made passing mention of it in the first class but said nothing else about it. Until late April. Then it was like, "P.S., your research papers are due on May 18, and they should be about anything related to computers."

Uh, gee, thanks for dropping that on us with not quite a month left. It's not like we have other classes, or jobs or a life or anything.

Over the last several weeks, I went through many topic changes. I thought I had a good one with my experience with Buster: Evaluating whether to upgrade an older machine or buy new. I ran it by him and he pretty much poo-poo'ed it. I went through several more topics until I finally went back to MP3 technology and the music sharing controversy.

For the last week or so, in addition to working and trying to finish up my photography assignment (and that instructor lopped a week off the schedule so everything was due at last Sunday's class), I've been busting my brain trying to get that damn research paper researched and written.

The instructor made it out to be such a Big Deal. He commented that one former student of his, someone who had blown off all the classes, wrote turned in such a great paper that she got so much extra credit that her grade went from a D to an A. Now, if I was a classmate of that student, I'd be pretty pissed off about that, if I had turned up every week and done the work every week. But that's another rant.

Anyway, I checked the syllabus to see how many points this research paper would count toward the overall grade. I couldn't find any other mention of it. I checked again...nothing. So I carried on and busted my ass finishing it. The paper was done sometime after 2:00 this morning (I stopped looking at the clock after 2 a.m.).

I get to class this evening only to discover that this paper is worth roughly the same as any regular assignment: two points. TWO POINTS! TWO FUCKING POINTS!!! Oh, it might have been worth more in extra credit if I had turned it in early. But right now I feel like a real muppet for putting so much effort into the damn thing for two lousy points.