Best intentions and all that

After having some passport photos taken, the machine, with all the mechanical sincerity of a Walmart employee, signed off with a "see you soon."  Well, I hope not, given that passports are rather pricey these days.
Another 'fail' comes from equally good intentions.  A group email to all IR postgraduates was issued, enjoining recipients to have a pub outing this Wednesday and take a break from essay-writing.  Given that I have an essay due Friday and an unequivocable commitment on Thursday night (a friend's 30th), I would be foolhardy to accept, but even without the preoccupation of Thursday night, I can take a break from essay-wrting without giving over an entire night to being down the pub.