reality hits

today, i was at the musical offering again, drinking my lapsang souchong. again. at the same long table i was at when i last posted about this place. while i sat reading on my laptop, i noticed a guy sitting diagonally opposite me writing in his notebook. sometime later, the waitress came to our table and asked him if he had ordered a sandwich. i looked up, and she asked me as well. i shook my head, but this guy was quiet. seemed unsure. he finally said, "you know what. i don't know." he looked apologetic, and i laughed looking at his apologetic face. laughed, yes, but only affectionately, signing him off as one of those absent-minded, forgetful, geniuses berkeley is abundantly blessed with. and then he said to her, "the thing is i have a problem. i have no short-term memory. i have to write things down." it felt like one of those rude awakenings when you'd rather be dreaming, and i didn't know where to look, what to say. i thought about this incident a long time, and the ever-expanding space that had fallen between my laughter and my state of shock. life really is like a box of chocolates, isn't it?