Delayed Whooshings are the Best

I have had an extremely lucky week (other than having my birthday fall in the middle of one of the worst weeks of the year, so that all the "Happy birthday, hope you have a great day!" comments only sounded cruelly ironic as I fought with MatLab all night in the computer lab). That luck came in the form of having two of my three final major assignments for the term get new deadlines three days after the original. Even more glorious, the one that did not get extended had its due date incorrectly recorded on the initial course syllabus three days earlier than it was actually due. This was something I did not discover until the morning of the day that I thought it was due, so it was, in effect, like an extension. So three extensions for three major assignments (and each by three days! Normally I'm not a fan of the number three, but I think in this circumstance the beautiful symmetry of three for three by three overcomes any distaste for the number itself). What a wonderful thing! If I could actually delude myself into thinking all assignments were due several days before they actually were (and then, of course, discover the day before what was the true due date), I think I would be a happier person. Therefore, I have to conclude that the best deadline is one which is three days before the real deadline, and hence the whooshing sound one hears is in actuality only the approach.