The Problem

Is the homework.

The first couple of weeks of my semester have been great. My classes have been easy and I haven't had any significant homework to speak of. However, as is usually the case, the homework comes as the semester progresses. Tonight I was forced to finally sit down and pound some out.

I don't mind homework a whole lot. It's just that I don't really take the time to do it until I have to. This means that I'll wait til the night before and then spend several hours hammering it out. It works for me, though. Once I start, I can just work through til it's done. I don't need study breaks or anything; I just sorta go.

This is all just context for the following quirk brought to mind by the homework session I just finished. You see, as an ME student, I do all of my homework on engineering paper. It's special (read expensive) paper that NDSU sells that has a grid of lines on it and lots of fancy logos on the side. The grid is the main attraction, as it comes in handy when drawing diagrams and writing equations.

At the top of a sheet of engineering paper, there are a couple of lines labeled "Name:" and "Problem:". As an astute observer might guess, those lines are for people to write their name and which problem they are working on.

The thing is, most people simply right which homework they are working on in the "Problem:" line. Taken literally, the paper says that the homework is a problem.

Obviously, someone should fix that problem.

Additionally, if one were to dig through my old papers, they might an equation sheet or two in which the "Problem:" line reads something like "I have a Machine Design test".

What can I say? It's a problem.