Fly Time was a bust


That was agonizing. My students have projects ongoing, so I leave the lab open so they can get in and work with their flies. I go in early in the morning specifically to unlock it.

Someone locked it back up again after I left!

Students were backed up, trying to get in, and were frantically phoning and messaging me!

While I was trying to teach my other class!

It was agonizing: non-stop ringing and beeping while I’m trying to deliver a lecture, and it wasn’t so much that the noise bothered me, but that I couldn’t just ditch one class to help another, and so I couldn’t answer or do anything about it. I finally broke down and ran into the other room to ask my long-suffering wife to take my keys and unlock it for them. I’ve now posted prominent signs telling people not to lock it during class hours.

I guess I should be grateful for diligent staff who maintain our security, and for eager, ambitious students, but wow was that a stressful class hour.

(For that matter, this pandemic has already pushed my stress levels off the charts.)

Comments

  1. robro says

    Maybe the flies locked the door in a frantic effort to save themselves. Did you ever read Mike McClintock’s childrens story, A Fly Went By?

  2. blf says

    Obviously the flies were either on a sit-down strike, or else in a pandemic lockdown. Possibly both, striking about the lack of PPE and other barbaric work practices, such as being experimented-on without consent.

  3. christoph says

    Well, at least you did get a couple good fly jokes out of it.
    BTW, I can highly recommend THC edibles to reduce stress, if they’re legal where you are.

  4. DanDare says

    Maybe the flies are telepathically projecting their stress. It makes folks want to lock the door. You want to lock the door. Yes. Do it. DO IT.

  5. jrkrideau says

    Someone locked it back up again after I left!

    A few years ago I was invigilating (proctoring) an exam in a classroom building. Someone forgot to tell the physical plant staff that we needed the rooms.

    I think we had something like 4 different exams , first day of exams and the building custodian was off work that day. It took close to an hour to get keys.

    I don’t think we lost any students to anxiety attacks but it must have been close.