Things that have annoyed me in the last four hours

Apologies but today needs a rant. Specifically, the last four hours need a rant. So sit back, relax, and revel in the suppressed swearing that riddles this blog post as I struggle to keep this rant constructive and printable. What’s going on in my head, is much worse.

Case Studies

Now, usually I’m not a hater of case studies, they give you real life situations where the stuff you’ve been learning can be put in to action and, if the right case study comes along, can be used to break up boring monotonous classes with story time :). It may be a business-related story (in my course anyway) but there’s nothing quite like a nice sceal (story in Irish for those of you not from our fair isle) to send you blissfully in to that sleep you were already heading for anyway.
Case studies, though, have a time and place. Namely this time is after you’ve learned some concept the case study deals with and the place is the class in which you’re learning some concept. Ideally, the case is read out in class for us all to enjoy but sometimes it’s a take home and read it yourself situation. This isn’t bad either because some case studies are actually interesting and 90% of the time you’re not ACTUALLY expected to read the yolk. Plus, when you come back in, you all discuss your ideas and everyone learns from each other (or at least that’s the idea).

But then the lecturer utters those three class-ruining words “This is examinable”.
Why!? Why is it examinable! Why can’t the concept just be examinable!? Why did you d*ck with story time!!!!???!!?!?
I don’t mind when we might be expected to remember the basic story as an example of the concept. I don’t even mind when we have to remember the lessons learned from the case (that makes sense!). But when we can be asked a case-specific exam question based on one of 5 case studies we may have done throughout the year without a copy handed out to us or time to read it before we answer little annoyance bells start ringing in my ears, and they’re annoying.

I shouldn’t be expected to remember how to solve highly specific problems under exam-type settings without the actual case details provided, it’s unrealistic. It’s like being called to your bosses office and told “Yo dawg, solve this complicated problem for us, we want to know if we should fire long-term employee John. Remember him? We discussed him once 5 months ago” but when you say “Sure, I can help, can I have some information on John’s history please? I don’t remember everything about John” your boss replies “Nope” and smiles like a moron. Then throws in “You have an hour to come up with a compelling argument regarding John’s position or you’re fired. Bye!”.
Even if I did study this case previously, make out my little notes and revise them, why am I not allowed to use them when I actually make the case decision? I’ve put the work in, I have my research done and I’m ready to stand up in front of the CEO and tell him why John should be fired…and the CEO has stolen my flashcards.

I has your flash cards....(also, your CEO is a cat)

Worse than not providing a case in an exam though, is providing a case in an exam. These are usually cases you’ve never done before and they are probably long.
“Here students, welcome to your exam, you have a short, pressurised amount of time to write some very long, intelligent answers and oh, here, read this f-ing book first! Also, because you have the book, we expect your answers to be wonderfully constructed and backed up. You have an hour. Bye!” How can you come up with a properly founded answer when the whole way through your reading of the case all you can think is “f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, time, time, time, time, time!”.
If you made decisions in your job based on information taken in like this not only would it would be downright irresponsible of you, your sanity would be questioned.

And when the case study does come out in the exam you can be guaranteed it is the hitler of case studies. It makes no sense, has words you don’t ever recall hearing in your life and contains a problem so complicated you either don’t know where to start, could write nothing or could write far too much that is potentially relevant (but might not actually be relevent) and throw down a completely incoherent answer made up of tangents and points that just came to you as you were scribbling.
And then there’s the cases that have absolutely NOTHING to do with what you’re studying. These ones get ya by making you think they have loads to do with your subject, why else would they be in the exam!? They make you question what you thought you knew because they’re spouting on about something entirely abstract and generally talking b*ll*cks. Meanwhile you’re sitting there reading the same three unnecessarily long words over and over trying to work out what in God’s name they have to do with organisational development (for example) and then freaking out when you don’t know.

When you’re given a case in class the point is to spark discussion, see contrasting viewpoints and learn from others. In an exam situation though it’s just “Let us know if we should fire John within the next hour, and you’re not allowed to ask anybody what they think of him, and you’re also not allowed see his file (OR) here’s his file….it’s long and complicated and doesn’t really detail anything about his actual behaviour really…enjoy!”.

Sorry, I know none of you care but I just came from an exam with a case study in it.

The Rain

I know what you’re thinking. Man up, you live in Ireland. This happens.
My specific issue here though isn’t with the rain. It’s with college in the rain.

It is not a surprise that college attendance drops significantly if it’s raining. Obviously. From a lads’ perspective it’s just another excuse (FIFA time!) and for girls it’s either a) just another excuse or b) It will ruin my hair! And I CAN’T go to college with hair like that! (which, let’s face it, is just another excuse) (yaaaay mild sexist stereotyping :D).
The other option is “My penny’s umbrella turned inside out Yesterday so I’ve none now, I’ll be soaked!” Of course it did! It cost two euro! It probably came inside out!
And then there’s the “Ah i’d catch a cold in that! Better stay home”…Say what you like about students but we’re clearly responsible…caring so much about our health and all.

But I’ve never been one to use these excuses. I don’t mind the rain. Rain can be epic (especially from your own warm bed) and do you remember being out in the rain when you were young? Some laugh before you got absolutely killed by your Mother when you got in…”Get UP them stairs, you’ll catch your death!” (Mother voice).

"C'mere an' I bate ya a while..."

 Even having to go out in it though never bothered me. What bothers me is coming in from it.
While you’re still being rained on it’s just kind of mank and you have to live with it but when you come in to the otherwise dry room and your just a ball of sodden, damp mank you start to realise just how soaked you got….and now you have to sit in it…for two hours…in a lecture. Balls.

Right now, for example, I’m typing this blog in the knowledge that my body is soaking up all that manky rain water from my clothes. I also know that for the rest of the day the ends of my pants will not be dry no matter how long I stay indoors….because for some reason the ends of all pants are not made of the same material as the rest of your pants. They are made of water-retaining sponge designed to piss with your ankles and lower shins as you move.

And then there’s this…

The driver in the Opel Corsa who drove through ALL the shaggin’ puddles the whole way down college road!…Fast…The prick!

For some reason one splash from a puddle can cause 10 times the dampness of the whole walk in the rain from lecture to far-away lecture. While you don’t notice the rain making you thoroughly moisture-laden you certainly notice the soaking you got as the knob in the car drove past firing muddy piss-water all over your leg. And there’s nothing you can do. That rat-b*st*rd is in a car. The car is faster than you….and it’s dry! 

All of this builds up a picture in your mind, not of someone who just splashed you with their car (either on purpose or by accident), but that of a smug little bollix, laughing away at your misfortune before he drives off to punch little girls and drown puppies in acid.

And then along comes the langer in the 4×4. He can’t help but soak you because his car is six times the size of several horses. That’s o.k. though obviously he has loads of important hill-climbing and off-roading to do. Or perhaps it’s just incase a sporadic shift in the earths crust should cause a mountain range to spring up at a moment’s notice in the middle of college road. Oh we wouldn’t be laughing then in our little regular-sized cars.
At least if this did happen though that b*tch in the Corsa would get what’s coming to her. A mountain range right up the arse of her car!

There ya are love...get out of that one!

That wasn’t too ranty right?
T’was grand…