crunch time

I am sitting in the computer lab of the Duke University Nicholas School pondering the mysteries of the universe. It is all i can do to hold insanity at bay. The only other option is to watch the slow but steady progression of blue bars on my ERDAS Imagine "Modeler" window as they crawl eastward at tortoise-pace. Soon they will reach the end of their march, and "Percent Done" will read "100". Then we can all rejoice and throw our hands in the air, for the time will have come to subset yet another remote sensing image. I may write bitterly of this repetitive task, but the truth is that when this series is complete, the real work begins. Almost like struggling to get on your tight bodysuit and assemble the scuba gear only to finally dread the final plunge into the black unknown, swimming with giant squids snapping their sharp beaks.
The fact of the matter is, I am learning an entirely new program, complete with foreign interface and alien functions, much too late. Admittedly, my Master's Project is all over the place, and everything needs to come together pretty soon. Unfortunately this "soon" is all too soon, namely, a matter of a week or two. If I continue with unwavering determination and submit myself to all the horrors of late-night computer labbery, I might just pull out an impressive product. But I also must take into account all the other work I need to do for my other classes, two of which are unrelated to my future career goals. But who's to say that giving a presentation on the globalization of Pokemon won't help the environment?