Delirium. Another all-nighter. But let's not write about that. Let's also not write about Econ 432: Government Regulation of Industry which has me in mid-bend-over, ready to finally stick me at 2:30 this afternoon.

Let's talk about the system. Not to be like this, but some people around me think I'm somewhat smart. This is an atrociously severe misstatement. And this isn't modesty, this is confession -- confession that up til this point in my academic career, I have been able to "cheat" the system (knockonwood). The cheating I refer to has nothing to do with academic dishonesty, but instead with reading. Reading your teacher, reading his tendencies, reading only what is absolutely necessary. It is not so much what you know as much as it is whether you know what to focus on. I'm not smart and I'm surely not a diligent worker. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I believe in Monday-night binge drinking and obligatory eve-of cramming. Listen -- it's about calculating odds, not reading the text. What has your professor focused on? Why are you gonna read the whole chapter when only the Herfindahl Index was discussed? On blue book exams, write a shitload. Like write til your fucking hand is going to fall off. If you tell him every single thing you know, relevant to the question or not, you're bound to say something right, or at least something he finds insightful. Draw graphs, use arrows, make him want to give you points. And kiss ass here and there, if at all possible.

I don't mean to push any of my wack ass slacker ways onto you; I just wanted to clear up any misconceptions. Sooner or later, this shit's gonna get me -- I can't play the system my whole life.

"So come give me a hug ..."