Student Asks Christ for A/V Help

Falling to his knees, a Teaching Assistant (TA) for ECON 1110 crossed himself before plugging in a borrowed power cable, silently asking Jesus Christ for aid. The student, Seung, forgot to bring the power cable to a portable data projector, used to supplement the main projector in the auditorium. Projected at a side screen, Seung is responsible for setting up the projector and laptop, connecting the two devices together, and plugging both into an electrical outlet. Panic ensued when he realized he didn't have the cable. The professor mentioned to me that Seung forgot a cable. Assuming it was a VGA cable, which connects a laptop to a projector, I grabbed a spare and headed to the front of the auditorium. Once there, I discovered that Seung had a VGA cable but not a power cable. Looking at the power input plug on the projector, an older model NEC, I saw that it wasn't a standard, three-prong plug, but a semi-propitiatory two-prong plug.

"I don't think I have one of those," I said, and Seung, already nervous and worried about the consequences of forgetting the cable, started pacing a small circle and anxiously wringing his hands. I walked back to the booth thinking, if I have one I'll give him one, but if I don't I don't and it's not really my problem. Lo and behold, I had one. I returned and plugged it into the projector and gave him the other end, meant for the outlet. He bent to his knees, crossed himself, looked toward the ceiling, and plugged it in.

Whirrrr, as the projector lit up and its fan came up to speed. I smiled. Seung, already behind with other responsibilities, said, "thank you" and hustled to his next task. I think I have a shitty job sometimes, but not nearly as shitty as a graduate student's. Yes, he has a more promising future, maybe, but at the moment Seung is one of the hundreds of graduate TAs who do most of a professor's work for little pay and flimsy promises. "You'll be a professor one day." Well, not if current economic trends continue. The Econ professor can't even remember Seung's name. Dang. Well, I'll remember you Seung, because while I've seen a lot of weird shit in here, I've never seen someone cross themselves and genuinely ask God for aid. That is cool.