Multiple choice

Suppose you have a report due tomorrow. Everything is already in your mind. In fact, you can type it continuously without thinking anymore. Hell, you can even write it on paper and you are sure you won't get a line wrong. Then, in the morning, you wake up and find out there's a power outage.

You tell yourself, "Naah, this won't last long. The power will be back by the time I get to my desk later at the office."

You eat your breakfast, take a bath, and go to work. Smiling. And then, you're in your office now. But electricity is still out. So, you use your laptop, but it only lasts an hour or so. You still needed a few more hours to type some assessment, draw some graphs, and check your numbers -- just to be safe, of course.

Then, you go home, and again, tell yourself, "By lunchtime, electricity will be back. I am sure of that. Maybe."

At the table, while you are eating your lunch, you are still looking at your electric fan -- waiting for it to make you smile. Nothing happens. Then, you decide you cannot wait any longer. You hurry and go to the mall. You look for that now-very-invaluable Starbucks. And wait somewhere inside for the next table close to the power outlet to be vacated.

10 minutes.
20 minutes.
30 minutes.
1 hour.
2 hours.

Jackpot! A group of yuppies leaves their table. You see that a power outlet is near their table. Of course, you sit immediately. You open your laptop, you go online, and order a cup of cappuccino. You are now a few minutes close to your deadline. 45 minutes closer to your deadline. Thing is, in your estimate, you need at least a couple of hours to complete the report. Maybe 3 hours, at most. What will you do?

A. You email your client and say you apologize you cannot submit the report due to the unexpected power outage. But you can't do that 45 minutes before the deadline?! That's just plain irresponsible!

B. You e-mail your client the next day, and apologize for your failure to submit the report because you were caught in a road accident and 9 cars piled up where one of them has a pregnant woman, and you risked your life saving her from possible explosion (the explosion happened but you were able to save the woman). Also, after you saved the pregnant woman, you brought her to the hospital and waited until she safely delivered her baby. And you cannot leave just yet, because the mother requested your presence after giving birth. She even named her baby after you. Sweet. But the client might not believe you. :-D

C. Wait for a miracle.... which usually happens during the last minute.

D. Others. (And by others, I mean everything from consulting a Bronx medical malpractice lawyer to basically saving the world.)

Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.