Saturday, September 20, 2008

Hard to Please

On the seventh day God rested....and on the 8th day, God started answering complaints.

A man dreamed of joining a monastery. His goal in life was to become a monk. So one day he went to a monastery and talked to the head monk and said, “I have longed to join a monastery. I know that I will need to renounce my worldly possessions and follow the order of living that this monastery requires. I am prepared to do these things. What else must I do to join?”

The head monk replied, "You might find our rules more difficult than you expect. Here in our monastery, we require a vow of silence. Our monks are only allowed to say two words every year.”

The man said, “That sounds a bit extreme; but I’ve wanted to be a monk for so long, I’m going to give it a try.” So he was shown to his room. And so for the next twelve months the man never said a word. At the end of his first year he was taken to the head monk, and was told he could now say his two words. With great feeling, the man said, “Food’s bad.” He went back to his room, and was silent for another twelve months.

At the end of his second year he again was taken to the head monk for his two words. This time his two words were, “Bed’s hard.” The head monk nodded. And the man went back to his room.

Another twelve months of silence passed, and the man was brought again to the head monk for his annual two words. This time the man said, “I quit.” The head monk nodded wisely and said, “Well, it doesn’t surprise me. All you’ve done is complain ever since you got here.”

Friday, September 19, 2008

The Tire

At Sydney University, there were four students taking Organic Chemistry. They did so well on all the quizzes, midterms and labs, etc., that each had an "A" so far for the semester. These four friends were so confident with the finals approaching that the weekend before, they decided to go down to Canberra and party with some friends there. They had a great time.

However, after all the hard partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Sydney until early Monday morning - the morning of their final exam! Rather than taking the final then, they decided to find their professor AFTER the exam and explain to him why they missed it. They explained that they had gone to Canberra to do some research in the ANU archives for the weekend with the plan to come back in time to study, but, unfortunately, they had a flat tire on the way back, didn't have a spare, and couldn't get help for a long time. As a result, they only just arrived now!

The professor thought it over and then agreed they could make up their final exam the following day. The guys were elated and relieved. They studied hard that night - all night - and went in the next day at the time the professor had told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet, and told them to begin. The first problem was worth five points. It was something simple about free radical formation. "Cool," they all thought in their separate rooms, "this is going to be easy." Each finished the problem and then turned the page.

Question 2 (for 95 points): Which tire?

[This story was found at: http://www.allinspiration.com/Education/Lighthearted/the_tyre.html]