Being a grown-up is hard

I had to be an adult last week. It wasn't very fun. But there are some perks, which I will get to later.
It was... Monday. That's right. So long ago. Yet it was only six days ago.
I woke up at probably 7:50, took a quick shower, and went to eat breakfast promptly at 8:00, even though I probably could have slept in later, I wanted to start my week with confidence. I was probably just overcompensating, as I had done about zero work over the weekend- I'm not normally like that. For essentially all previous weeks, I was the type to finish all my work by Tuesday night, and then was free to enjoy the rest of the week. However, this week I only had one PSET and some reading for a humanities class, and a test on Thursday, which I was confident I could study for Tuesday and Wednesday night. I went to class at 9:00 (thermodynamics) for two hours, had lunch, and had a very grown up meeting with my research adviser and compatriots in marine robotics research, feeling like a champion adult. I went to my next class (material science), like a champ, and listened and took notes, but also, towards the end, glanced often at the clock on the wall (still not set for day lights savings) because I had a very grown up appointment at 3:30 at the very grown up place- Mass. General hospital. I had set up an appointment a week prior, on the phone, with a receptionist (like a champ) to have my wisdom teeth looked at, to see if they needed to be removed. The lecture went a little long, and I kept my cool, laughing and smiling with the crowd as the professor closed the lecture by showing us youTube video demonstrating of a thermodynamic concept. When the laughter died away, and the projector screen rolled up into its recess in the ceiling, I stood up, and slotted my notes into my back pack, bit farewell to my class mates. I strode down the hall, stopping by my lab, where I had elected to leave my jacket on the back of a chair, rather than take it to class, and slung the jacket (bought on amazon, first jacket I've bought with my own money, like a champ) over my shoulders. Bursting out the doors into the brisk autumn, I mounted my bike, and pedaled to the departure point of the most grown up transportation I knew of- the subway. Confidently striding down the correct stairs, to the platform on the correct side of the tracks, I pressed my wallet against the ticket reader, and the the gates binged open, extracting a $1.70 from my student ID card (THATS RIGHT. my student ID card doubles as and RFID subway pass- doens't get much more grown up than that). The balance left on my card showed up as a very mature $23.10.
  "The next red line train to Braintree is now arriving" stated the robotic PA system. Perfect timing- probably because I had taken the time the previous night to look up the subway schedule- like a champ. (and you heard me right- I'm taking the red line to BRAINTREE- doesn't get much more mature than that). I got on the train, and sat down, perhaps in my mind pretending to be a champion med student taking the subway to the hospital to assist in brain surgery. Cross the river, the subway stopped at MGH (being grown up is all about acronyms) I got off the train. Did I know how to get from the station to the hospital? Ha! Being over-prepared is so immature. I looked at google maps, which showed the hospital being maybe being underneath the station, or possibly in the river. My theory was that this is a zarking hospital, so it would be well marked. I stepped off the train, and walked confidently in the wrong direction, realized that there was not much besides a two story drop into the river if I continued, I confidently made a tight arc, maintaining my momentum (being grown up is all about mass x velocity), and elected a democratic approach, following the crowds. I went down a short flight of stairs, and BAM- 400 maturity points- a big blue sign reading "HOSPITAL" I should mention that all this time, I'm carrying a manila envelope in one hand- I couldn't have looked more sophisticated unless I had a pipe and a newspaper folded under my other arm.
   I came to a big cross walk, and crossed it. I almost lost momentum when the big impressive building in front of me announced that it was a HOTEL not a HOSPITAL. Flinching off the the right, I saw a more promising sign- "THE BLAH BLAH BLAH WING HOSPITAL" so far so good. I didn't want the blah blah blah wing- I wanted the Wang Ambulatory Wing. I figured the best thing to do was follow a sign the pointed to "MAIN HOSPITAL ENTRANCE" I figured that would be a nexus for all wings, starling, albatross, and Wang Ambulatory. I followed about six more signs, which led me through a rabbit run of parking garages, loading docks, and side street- then there it was- the MAIN ENTRANCE. Confidently I strode in. I checked my watch. Twelve minutes early- like a champ. Astonishingly, when I was about to lose momentum and look for a directory, or ask where the wing was, I saw another big blue sign "WANG" it said. 5000 maturity points. I took elevator to the second floor, and followed some more signs. I think signs are like the little floating coins in video games- and I almost had a free life. There was a waiting room- with a reception counter. No problem. I went up the counter, hanging back a foot or two, respectfully waiting for the receptionist to finish a phone.
  "Can I help you?"
  "Yes- I have an appointment with Dr. So and So at 3:30"
  "I will let him know you are here- do you have your dental insurance card" BAM had it out already- handed it to the receptionist. Then I filled out paperwork on a clipboard like a champ.
A few minutes passed, and I was called back. An assistant showed me to a room, with a dental chair thing- the reclining kind, and said the Dr. would be there soon.
He was. I greeted him, him me, and he asked me how it was going. I said good, and how was he? (We're both adults- and adults ask each other how there day is going- 500 maturity points).
   We talked a bit about my medical history, and then he asked if I had taken an pre-antibiotic. Uh Oh. I take an antibiotic before dental visits to combat and bacteria that might get mixed into my blood stream- but I hadn't this time, because I thought this was just and X-ray thing- I had the X-rays in my manila envelope (you were wondering what was in there, weren't you?). -3000 maturity points. In the end, Doc got me some antibiotics, and I sat in the waiting room for an hour, waiting for them to digest a bit. After that I went and saw the Doc again- he poked my gums with a sharp thing, said I needed to have my wisdom teeth out. Bummer. However- I only nodded understandingly (50 points) and he went on to discuss the risks and details of the oral surgery, and I asked questions, and tried to understand everything. After that he sent me to a different receptionist to make an appointment. I didn't know what this appointment was supposed to be for, but like a champ, I didn't say anything. I waited, and in a little bit, I went to make an appointment, which turned out to be for the operation itself, and the only day "immediately" available was on the day of my last final- so, like a champ, I told the receptionist I would ask my professor to schedule a make up final, and I would get back to her as soon as possible (250 points). I left the hospital. it was dark outside. (8000 points-  adults always wander through sketchy downtown Boston and take public transportation home in the dark). I resolutely set off in the wrong direction. I have drawn a diagram, below, to show you what I thought was happening.

I started at the hospital, and I was trying to get to the subway. The black shape is the huge looming building. I started along the blue path. At the orange arrow, I realized I was going the wrong way. I kept going. The orange path represents a mystic shortcut that my spatially disoriented brain thought was sure to exist. The blue star is the point when I stopped believing in the orange path, and, turned around, taking the red path back to the hospital, and then to the subway station. However, like a champ, I didn't get stabbed or mugged by any of the thick coated people walking by me as I wandered by abandoned loading docks and deep recesses along the blue path. I got to the subway, and went to the correct side of the subway. The subway was PACKED. Shoulder to shoulder. Perfect- just like an adult. After one stop, I got off, had a 50/50 chance of taking the convenient exit to the street, choose the right one, like a champ, got on my bike, with bike lights (2 lights x 50 points/light = 100 points), and biked on the bike path back to my dorm. Got to dinner and ate dinner with my brother and a friend I haven't seen since summer time, then went to my room to work on my one pset for the week. I didn't count up the points, but it was alot, so that was awesome. I was also dog-tired, with less time then I thought I would have, and about 300 new obligations to take care of- so that sucked, which is worth at least 5000 points. Then I saw an email. "Hints on pset 7" for a class I didn't think I had a pset for. With horror I rechecked the class website- THERE WAS A ZARKING PSET! EVEN THOUGH THERE IS A TEST THIS WEEK! ARGH! AND IT IS DUE IN THE MORNING! so, like a champ, I stayed up till 4:00 doing an entire pset.

Oh- I said there was a perk to being an adult- and I exercised that perk at about 2:00 in the morning by eating a whole container of ice cream. It was delicious.