Finals Week: Frenzy or How I almost missed my Cost Accounting exam

On the day of my accounting exam, I woke up at 8:30 a.m. I hit the snooze button until 9:10 a.m and took a quick shower. I exit the shower at 9:20 a.m. Clad in only a towel, I head to the laundry room to retrieve a fresh pair of underwear. After retrieving said underwear, I decide to check my notebook for the exam room. To my knowledge, my exam begins at 12:00 p.m and will end at 2:00 but I am unaware of the room number. This has become a bad habit of sorts because I seem to do it almost every semester. I find the syllabus and check the final exam time. Section 001 Final exam 10:00 a.m - 12:00 a.m BSN 111. BSN 111 is the normal class meeting room. I place the notebook down and to head to my room. It doesn't take long for me to realize how grossly misinformed I was about the final exam time. I glance at the clock and it is now 9:22 a.m. After a few expletives, I frantically get dressed. I jump into my underwear and put on a pair of jeans that appear to be clean. I brush my teeth, apply deodorant and toss on a new shirt that has been hanging in my closet for the three weeks. Now comes time to pack. I glance at the clock, it is now 9:26 a.m. Neccesities. Phone. Keys, Wallet, Jacket, Backpack, iPod. These were gathered in record time. What's next? Breakfast. I normally grab a juice and a cereal bar of some sort to enjoy on my way to school. At this point, I only have time to get one thing. Do I choose the cereal bar or the juice? I decide to go for the juice because the refigerator is easier to open and there is less effort required to enjoy its contents. I whip open the refigerator faster than an inquisitive trying to catch a cheating spouse in the act. I search the cool fortress. No juice. Damn no time! I grab the first thing i see, run out of the house, lock my door and enter my car without even closing the refrigerator door. I glance at the time. 9:30 a.m. On a normal day it takes me about 30 minutes to get to class. This in unacceptable! I set a time table of 20 minutes. This will allow me to time to park and walk to the exam room. It will also give me two minutes to compose myself before the exam. But when will I study? While weaving in and out of traffic I reach for my backpack and place it in the passenger seat. In one fowl swoop, I take my notebook out and place it in my lap. I glance at the clock on my phone. 9:37 a.m. While driving, I turn to the section of my notes titled Job-Order Costing. I had postponed studying for this section because I was under the impression that my exam would occur at 12:00 p.m. I will have to make the best of the situation and study while driving. As I weave in an out of traffic and anxiously wait at red lights , concepts of direct materials, prorating overhead costs and direct materials are imprinted in my head. I don't need to study for every single aspect of this concept, just a general outline to get me through the questions. I'll fill in the rest later. I'm moving at a fairly decent pace until I get behind a very dilapatated and slow moving station wagon. Damnit! I frantically check my phone for the time. 9:46 a.m. I'm almost there. I just have to get past one light and turn into the parking lot. I put my notebook down to focus on my driving. I switch from the left lane to the middle lane in an attempt to pass the station wagon but no luck. As if on queue, the station wagon goes through the exact same motions as I do. I quickly move back to the left lane and again the station wagon follws suit. Make up your mind, woman! At this moment, traffic is at its peak. I do have the option of switching lanes and overtaking the station wagon but if I am unsuccesful I risk missing my turn which is about 100 yards from my present location. I decide to bite the bullet and remain behind the slow moving vehicle. I wait at the turn light for about five minutes before I am able to turn into the parking lot. It is 9:52 a.m. The USF parking lot is very iffy, especially during exam week. Sometimes there are very few cars and a plethora of available parking spaces. Other, and often, times it is the complete opposite. I decide no matter what the parking situation is like, I will park at the first available spot, even if it's illegal. I even plan a verbal response to anyone that would make the mistake of complaining about my parking. (TOW IT!). I finally catch my first break of the day when I see the emptiness of the USF sundome parking lot. This is, however, a short break. I speed through the parking lot and find a fairly close spot. I do the worst parkjob in the history of mankind and exit my vehicle. The second I step out of my car, as if on queue, a torrential downpour that would rival a monsoon comences. I check my phone one last time to see the time. 9:55a.m. The classroom is at least a 5 minute walk. I sprint to the classroom, careful not to slip into a puddle. I breathelessly enter the building and open the door. The professor sits at the front of the classroom with exams, and scantrons in hand. I make my way to my normal seat. As I take my pencil and caluclator out of my bag. I take a breath. For my own morbid curiousity, I take a look at the clock. 9:58 a.m. A small smile sneaks across my face. Not only did I make it to the exam on time, i had arrived two minutes early. The professor passes out the test materials. At 10:00 a.m, I start my exam.