Once again, saving the day

Yesterday I saved the day in several ways.

• I fixed the locks on two different doorknobs: one that wouldn't lock, and one that wouldn't unlock. Now they both do both. I accomplished this by hitting them really hard and twisting the doorknobs a lot.
• I provided a Phillips-head screwdriver to someone who needed it to fix her lamp. Impressively, she returned my multitool to me with the screwdriver put away, which means that she was able to figure out how to get past the safety feature.
• I unstuck a stuck suitcase zipper on the first try, thereby ending 10 minutes of frustrating effort by my advisee.

In other news, I continue to be mistaken for a student. This morning, when I was sitting at breakfast completely drenched from my run, two students essentially asked me what class I was taking, and were apologetic when I told them that, in fact, I was teaching geometry. So I am wearing my NMH official golf shirt for the second day in a row, to reinforce the fact that I am an intern, not a student.

Why does this happen? You may say it is because I am relatively short, but others are the same height and do not have this problem. And I haven't had bangs for four years, so it can't be that. When adults mistake me for a student -- the bookstore worker hesitated to give me the employee discount because I apparently don't look old enough to be a student -- they tell me it's a good thing, because I will be glad to look young when I am older. And perhaps it is. At least, it's very fortunate that I don't drink, because I am sure I would be heavily carded everwhere I went.