I'm getting absent minded. In one week I turned up to two nonexistent lectures, ran out of weeds four times, forgot to return an overdue library book, and misre-membered three phone numbers.

My room is a shambles of dirty coffee cups and filthy clothes; the ashtrays are full but I'm out of smokes again and Geoff Palmer will be screaming for his copy any minute.

Man things are in a bad way. Even worse than last week.

Still there is always the Midland, but then one of my New Year resolutions (made whilst at a gay party in Napier) was that I would only go to the Mid on very special occasions; like every Saturday.

So far I have managed to keep it fairly well, despite two twenty-firsts, an engagement and, of course, the farewell to Sid Hurlburt.

To get back to those non-existent lectures you can imagine me, a mere science bod, casually ambling into Greek III, suddenly realising that I'm not understanding a word the man is saying, and then tearing out like a rabbit- on heat to ponder my psychological state in the cafe.

Liquor

Went to my first Orientation Ball this year. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed myself, despite the lack of spirituous liquors and a sitdown supper.

There seemed to be an absence of the usual loudmouths, that so often are the galling feature of Varsity shows, but that floorshow was really pitiful.

I'd never heard of Mr. Harris before and I sincerely hope I never hear him again, wedged as I was inextricably in a writhing mass of humanity.

Perhaps some pubertic 14-year-old would have got a thrill, but I was left as frigid as an amoeba at the South Pole.

Well, it seems as if the party circuit is off again. Girl I know asked me to bring about ten friends, so I did but when we arrived the male over female ratio was rapidly tending to infinity (no infinity sign on typewriter), someone had broken my flagon and someone else had flogged my smokes.

So I was brassed off. Tried another party but that was worse. The women were all taken and they were drinking vermouth neat.

However, someone flaked to brighten things up. In fact things were a bit shabby there for a while until we managed to get him outside to a car.

No Scandal

You remember last week I mentioned the Weir fresher who said he could outdrink any senior. I made passing reference to some of the place's famed grog artists like Finch. Anderson and Timms and immediately got a shower of abuse from Jigger Gray, who said he was a pretty good drinker, too, being second only to Finch last year. Bully for Him!

Ran into Jill Shand the other day. After I'd picked myself up from across the other side of the room I asked her what she thought of Salient editorials but she Just laughed knowingly and said they weren't a bad lot really . . .

This is not much of an anecdote but then I'm really scraping the barrel this week. Geoff Palmer said to write some scandal, but if I wrote of the scandal I know I'd get slung out of Varsity.

Have you noticed that the doughnuts on sale in the cafe seem to be getting smaller all the time? When I came here in 1961 (ah! how long ago it seems), they were huge belly-filling monstrosities, but these days they are a single mouthful, if you're lucky.

Went to my first Salient meeting the other day and was quite astounded. It was a really well run meeting. I have a rather studied cyniscism about all Varsity administration, whether academic or student, and of course, expect everything to be an absolute shambles.