Time flies by

Thanksgiving came and went. New York is bustling for the holidays. Next Saturday is Christmas Eve. This year is flying by and will be over before I know it. I aced my Level 2 Exam and Practical, and am now ServSafe certified. I am two weeks into Level 3.
Level 3 moves into real production. The class is divided into teams/tables of four. Each evening each team is responsible for a four course dinner. Each student is required to produce four plates of one dish (an appetizer, fish, meat, or dessert) and present at a certain time (8:15, 8:30, 8:45, and 9 PM respectively). The responsibility is individual and it is kind of nice to only worry about yourself. On the third day, Chef added an amuse bouche due at 8 PM. The amuse bouche is a team effort and requires team work and communication.
For the first rotation the menu was consomme printainer, skate a la grenobloise with cocotte potatoes, pork chop with pommes darphin, and tarte aux pommes. Last night, our first mock mid-term, required us to produce two courses (appetizer and meat -- consomme and pork chop) and present at a time picked from a hat (I got 8:17 and 9:17 respectively). I was second to present. All students got to start at the same time, so this is truly the luck of the draw. I was ready to present my delicious consomme at 8:12, but disaster twice struck my pommes darphin and I presented my pork chop closer to 9:30. Something was wrong in the kitchen last night. Potatoes were sticking to pans and burning left and right. Some students presented pork without potatoes. My potatoes were less than stellar, even on the second take.
Everything is so busy. At school, I feel like I am just trying to keep my head above water and deliver my dishes on time. At work, we are working on a big deliverable. Outside of school and work, I have had friends visit (and stay) every weekend since the week before Thanksgiving. We had our firm holiday party in Washington, DC, on Saturday and I am heading back Thursday for a team celebration. I worry that I am so busy that I am not enjoying things as much as I used to, not savoring every moment like I want to.
I actually missed my grandmother's 89th birthday last week. I just totally forgot... I only remembered today.
I used to read other culinary students blogs and think, "Interesting that they started a blog and didn't continue. People have no discipline." Now I wonder, do I have no discipline? Am I just like the rest?
Maybe culinary school has a way of taking over. Everything is so fast-paced - class, the exam schedules, etc. They expect you to learn so quickly, and practice at home, and you do... or I did and do. I find that I am a totally different person in the kitchen today. But still I am just exhausted. I dread the alarm.