For the second time in as many weeks, I feel that I am going off to some final, epic battle. Epic in terms of my life - not in terms of the cares of the universe. A sort of combination between the Last Samurai and Real Genius. It is not a pleasant feeling.
Recently, I have felt trapped in a badly written remake of the classic movie "The Paper Chase." Fellow students seem to delight in name-dropping, one-up-manship, cutting down other students' work as insignificant. The favored ones put projects in jeopardy by missing deadlines and yet get rewarded with the best offices, the most respected publication opportunities, time on their projects, and socialization with professors.
It can be discouraging, and I wonder, along with Tim Allen's character in a different movie (Santa Clause), if I can get a direct connection back to reality.