Catman: i was always the guy who peeps were like "why aren't you as smart as everyone else here."
He then elaborated on some of the keys to his success as an undergrad:
Catman: can sort of fake it in college
keep quiet
hope no one notices you
"oh we all got 1600s on our SATs, what did you get?"
i've got to go take the trash out!
After which, he opened up to me about some of the goals he hopes to accomplish with a degree in computer science, and I offered a more practical perspective:
Catman: i'd like to start making websites
J: i'd like to start making winter hats for dogs
but some things just aren't going to happen
As the conversation progressed, the subject shifted from concrete plans to more abstract goals:
Catman: probably a big Z or something
J: I was hoping you would say skidmark
Catman: that's not my type of comedy
--
J: was thinking I might start to smile more
like a bunch more
not just a regular smile though - a smile that says "you and I share a secret"
I'm going to try it now
I'll walk down to your office and greet you with a smile.
After smiling at the Catman for a good two minutes straight, he told me I was freaking him out. If you can't count on your friends for support, who can you count on?
--
Lastly, we chatted about a bud of his who'd gotten surgery for his receding gumlines, but was well on his way to recovery:Catman: jimmy's getting his stuffing out
J: if you had said teddy ruxpin, that sentence would've been very sad
Cat fact: The Catman has never gotten less than an A- on any test he's ever taken. Ever. Pretending he's going to fail everything is a favorite cat pastime, and a favorite pastime of many graduate students at top tier schools, so he would fit right in. He did a great job "faking" a 4.0 at Columbia.
ReplyDeleteLike The Chief, I too call B.S. on Catman's false intellectual humility. I was one of those people who got a 1600 on my SATs, and yet Catman's intellectual prowess puts my own intelligence to shame. My proof? Catman is literally the one single reason that I did not fail Econometrics, since he was good enough to let me to copy his problem set answers under the guise of "working on them together."
ReplyDeleteThis is how things would go:
Me: okay, so problem number two..hmm...let's see...
Catman: yeah, so for this one we probably need to [uses econometrics terms I don't understand]
Me: Right, right, of course...
Catman: [writing equations]
Me: [doodling and pretending to write equations]
Catman: I got -6.5 for this one
Me: yep, definitely -6.5
Me: can I just see how you got that to see if I got it the same way
Me: [copying exactly what Catman wrote down on my previously blank page]
Me: okay, so problem three....
Being the Catman's sister and aving known the Catman since his little kitten birth, I too will attest that the Catman enjoys pretending he's not smart and no one should believe a word of it. I do not recall the Catman EVER having trouble in school. Reading? no problems. Long division? no problems. Algebra? Calculus? SATs? Getting into Ivy League universities? GRE? No problem, no problem, no problem. Let's just say he's the one the cat parents don't have to worry about. Though I will say that being good at econometrics must run in our family.
ReplyDeleteAnd to the Catman: grad school is WAY easier than undergrad, and everyone seems smarter than you, but you'll be shocked at the truth.