Professors Say the Darndest Things/A Day in the Life

Today was an eventful day that provided much blogging material.

I am in a C programming class this semester.  It's fabulous (and by "fabulous" I mean I leave most lectures fabulously and completely confused).  One thing I really enjoy about this class is the poetic language my professor uses to describe a computer program.  Seriously.  Today, for example:
(After discussing the capabilities and possible shortcomings of a program)
"Hmm... yes, this program is quite robust.  It's really robust."
Robust, he said.  Like the Italian salad dressing my dad likes.  Robust.  Salad dressings and computer programs.  This is the life of an engineer.

Speaking of this class, I had an interesting discussion with some fellow engineers on the way home.  I mentioned that I heard some of the guys in this class confess they are completely confused most of the time, and somehow that made me feel better.  Then I realized how terrible that is.
"Yeah, other people's pain is somehow comforting," my friend C-- replied.  We all paused and let that sink in.
"Such is the life of an engineer," my other friend commented.


Prior to this class, I had another exciting event.  I was walking to the math building when suddenly the sirens started blaring.  I kept waiting for them to dip down in frequency, reasurring me that it was merely a fire somewhere (merely a fire???).  As I walked out of the engineering building I glanced at the tornado warning sign, describing safety procedures when you hear a single-tone three-minute blast.  My stomach sank to my knees as I walked out into the overcast afternoon, checking other's faces, searching for a sign of apprehensiveness.  There was none.  Am I only hearing things?  Are my ears clogged and I'm hearing a dog-whislte?  It was unreal to wonder at the serene setting, like a calm before the storm... or, I guess, actually a calm before a storm.  I quickened my pace, hoping the teacher would announce emergency procedures when I got to lecture.  I sat down by my friend T--, and (in a forced casual voice) asked if he'd heard the sirens. 
"Oh yeah.  First monday sirens.  They're so loud--make my ears ring."  I let out a sigh--no tornado after all.

This got me thinking about what Jesus says about the world.  Without Him, we are all in imminent danger.  At any moment we could be taken from our meaningless* activities to face judgement from the only one who gets to say how a life should be lived, and we'll have to account for all of our offenses to the God of the universe**.  Some of us know the truth, we hear the sirens.  And we watch those around us carry on as though everything is fine.  We should do something about this.

*more on this later.
**That is, if we are not covered by the blood of Christ, which provides us with a clean slate.