Laughing at myself

I am currently sitting at my desk, with piles of papers scattered about, searching for a citation here, or looking for the ideal theory there, and having to literally paw through sliding stacks of handouts to find my phone, or even the mouse. My computer screen is filled with outlines and quotations and exceptionally long paragraphs using complexity theory to argue that the institution is ripe for change.

And I can't help but laugh at the situation.

It's so quintessentially grad school. Me in my little apartment, a pool of light from the desk lamp pouring onto published reports and fragments of research. Information scattered all over the place, and a general sense of busy composure; the deadline is still a few days away, but there's still a lot to do between now and then. A cozy scene in the world of academia. Aww. All I need is a cat named Horatio or Susan B. Anthony picking its way around the papers or quietly observing from the couch.

I'll be glad when these scenes look even cuter in hindsight.