It’s official: I’m going to grad school! (Background, in case you missed it.) Classes start June 20, but I'm already done with 80% of the mostly-figurative scurrying around. The scholarships are applied for, the disability accommodations are set up, and there's a spreadsheet for tracking all the school things. I've even verified my measles immunity is strong enough I don't need a booster vaccine.

The Disability Resource Center (DRC) at Portland State has been a manic dream revelation compared to my experiences with equivalent bodies in the mid 2000s. I got early access to specialized software so I can practice with it ahead of the term. All the key faculty I'll be studying with have literal PhDs in educating disabled folks. This is the most optimistic I've ever been about accommodations.

I feel like I'm about to spend a year in a curated curiosity theme park, where all the rides match my particular intellectual obsessions. There are five quarters of coursework, plus 400 hours of practicum. I'm expecting the practicum to be much tricker than the academics, but I'll have the treat of a licensing exam to look forward to at the end of that. This is not irony: I enjoyed the CPA exam, and there is a small part of me that's still a little bummed this flavor of applying to grad school didn't involve a standardized test.

I also engaged in that most delightful ritual: I bought school supplies. Will I be primarily taking classes online at the exact same desk I’ve been working at remotely since 2019? Yup. Did that stop me from assembling an aesthetic supply kit? NOPE. For your vicarious supply shopping pleasure, here’s what I bought with grad school in mind:

• Ugmonk layflat notebook set (in theory one color for each of the three stacked course sequences)

• Undated monthly planner (Yo Store)

• Tom Bihn notebook sleeve aka A5 ghost whale pouch for notebook and planner (there have been too many water bottle mishaps)

• 2.0mm lead holders to match notebook and planner, plus sharpeners for two different point styles

• 4-color Frixion erasable .38mm multipen

Things I already had:

• the initial yellow Ugmonk layflat notebook I’ve been obsessed with since it launched in December

• Nedrelow Magic Sleeve accessory pouch

• Travelcard mini power bank with built-in cables

• Frixion erasable .7mm metal body pens and eraser (the yellow and white thing)

• Pentel Sign brush pen and coordinating Zebra Sarsara Vintage gel pen for lettering away from my main art supply hub.

I am obnoxiously pleased with this collection, and toting it everywhere I might remotely need a notebook. (I mostly do not wind up needing the notebook.) Even my anxiety thinks I'm sufficiently over-prepared at this point. (checks spreadsheet) Only 82 days to go!