absentminded professor in training

1. i showed up an hour early to an event at h's house this weekend. an hour! early! it wasn't because i didn't know what time it started. and it wasn't because i didn't look at the clock. i looked at the clock, and the clock was right. i just thought it was an hour later somehow. i didn't figure it out until she answered the door with a very confused look on her face, and i was so disoriented.

2. when i got home today i was trying to unlock the front door but my key wouldn't work. i kept trying and it wouldn't fit in the lock and i was getting SO frustrated, "what the hell is wrong with my key?!" then i realized i was using the key to my office on campus.

3. just now i went to take my contacts out. then i brushed my teeth. as i brushed it slowly dawned on me...hey wait...how come i'm not wearing my glasses but i can still see? then i realized i had filled the wells in my contact case with solution, closed the case, and put the case away. empty. my contacts were still on my eyeballs.

i take these things (particularly #2) to mean that i am officially a grad student now.

***

i have long believed that if you want to excel, you should surround yourself with the excellent. i don't often set about that intentionally, but sometimes i am reminded that my friends really are outstanding. like now, as the next round of grad school acceptances roll in.

next week i'll turn in my fourth and final fellowship application for this year. in a way, though, i'm not too worried about it. i feel a certain amount of success-by-proxy, and i'm just happy to see my friends kicking ass.

it's fun watching the cream rise to the top.