Yeah, I know, I haven't updated in a while, had too much to do here over the last week or so. Been working both in the academic and the job sense, so as always my free time is somewhat limited. It's been relatively smooth sailing so far, I suppose.
Golden Hello at the Law Library is the grandaddy of all spill-proof cups, which they're very big on here in the libraries, presumably so they don't have to keep wiping up spilt coffee. This one is monolithic and, ultimately, hollow, which I suppose is kind of appropriate for the law library.
Socially, went to an EALAC faculty party on Thursday night, most of the people on my course were there. We also had the standard drunk Japanese guy falling over and making an arse of himself - mandated under international law at every party featuring four or more people who speak Japanese. Also went out on Saturday to a house party, stayed out til 4 a.m., lost most of Sunday morning...whoops. Still, had a good time, and it was worth it in the end...
Not a lot else to report, really. This is my 99th post, so I'm kind of tempted to save the 100th for something really special...what, though...? Answers on a postcard.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Making the most of it
Before I start today I'd just like to note with great sadness the passing of my grandfather on my mother's side, Dr. Lawrence Cawley. He died around midnight GMT Sunday evening, surrounded by friends and family. He had been ill for some time, so this was not much of a surprise, but still it is never a pleasant experience. I've spoken to my parents and I won't be attending the funeral...much as I would like to, I simply can't afford it in either financial or academic terms. I feel pretty bad about not going, and while I recognise how self-serving this sounds, I don't think he would have wanted me to if it meant putting a big dent in my academic work. Living a so-called "glamorous" existence in NYC has its ups and downs, I suppose. RIP.
Anyway, apart from that it's business as usual, I'm working my butt off. I could maybe have got my stuff for the week done by now, but was invited out after our Modern Lit seminar on Thursday by some of the other guys, foolishly found a pub with $2 beers and ended up having a bit of a session. No class on Friday, a university-wide thing, but I had other things to attend to...
...like getting a social security number. I need one for my job at the library, so I was down there 9:30 Friday morning to get the paperwork. I took it to the Social Security office downtown and had to wait in line for two hours - basically til lunchtime - until I got to the window and they could process my paperwork. Got my visa in less time, believe it or not. Still, I suppose this is New York, and there's nothing much I could have done about it. Least I had my Edo Lit to read in line, which probably surprised a few people, not least the Japanese guy behind me.
The SSI will make things a fair bit easier over here for a variety of things. For example, without one nobody will take you seriously for loans or credit cards, and you have to put down a deposit of between $500-700 on a contract mobile. A moot point, as I have a pay-as-you-go one based on my brother's old phone which he sent over, but the important thing is this - "I am not a man, I am a number!"
So that wasted most of morning and early afternoon, and while I did sneak a couple of hours study in Friday afternoon I was then tempted again by Faculty Happy Hour...damn them. Free booze. How could I say no? And then...cunning bastards...some of the boys in the faculty asked me round to play poker. Bang went Friday. We have an additional rule here, which you may be amused at in Shiogama - whoever wins the most has to suppy the beers and snacks for next week. Think of it as a little egalitarianism amongst those who have to be rather more frugal with their money than JETs. Or as the antics of a bunch of cheapskate soap-dodging malingerers, I'm happy to leave it to your discretion.
And there you have it. No weekend to speak of, was in the library the whole time...自業自得.
Anyway, apart from that it's business as usual, I'm working my butt off. I could maybe have got my stuff for the week done by now, but was invited out after our Modern Lit seminar on Thursday by some of the other guys, foolishly found a pub with $2 beers and ended up having a bit of a session. No class on Friday, a university-wide thing, but I had other things to attend to...
...like getting a social security number. I need one for my job at the library, so I was down there 9:30 Friday morning to get the paperwork. I took it to the Social Security office downtown and had to wait in line for two hours - basically til lunchtime - until I got to the window and they could process my paperwork. Got my visa in less time, believe it or not. Still, I suppose this is New York, and there's nothing much I could have done about it. Least I had my Edo Lit to read in line, which probably surprised a few people, not least the Japanese guy behind me.
The SSI will make things a fair bit easier over here for a variety of things. For example, without one nobody will take you seriously for loans or credit cards, and you have to put down a deposit of between $500-700 on a contract mobile. A moot point, as I have a pay-as-you-go one based on my brother's old phone which he sent over, but the important thing is this - "I am not a man, I am a number!"
So that wasted most of morning and early afternoon, and while I did sneak a couple of hours study in Friday afternoon I was then tempted again by Faculty Happy Hour...damn them. Free booze. How could I say no? And then...cunning bastards...some of the boys in the faculty asked me round to play poker. Bang went Friday. We have an additional rule here, which you may be amused at in Shiogama - whoever wins the most has to suppy the beers and snacks for next week. Think of it as a little egalitarianism amongst those who have to be rather more frugal with their money than JETs. Or as the antics of a bunch of cheapskate soap-dodging malingerers, I'm happy to leave it to your discretion.
And there you have it. No weekend to speak of, was in the library the whole time...自業自得.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Movin' on up
Just getting on with things here, doing the reading and so forth that needs to be done. Though today started out rather ropily, on reflection I think it was probably the best day I've had since I got here. I got a call from my Dad at about 8.30 (I was already up), telling me that I'd gone overdrawn on my home account - a few phone calls established that I'd been overcharged on a magazine subscription (Men's Health, if you're interested), which was what that was about.
I then went and spilt a few drops of water on the keyboard of my laptop, which then started being very funny and not working properly. In somewhat of a panic, I took it to CUIT support, who scanned it for virii and the like, and then established that I'd left the Num Lock key on. As simple as that, but it cost me two hours. Still, rather than than a new keyboard or even worse, a new laptop, which I can't even come close to affording right now. Seems to be working fine now, luckily enough. Lesson learned. No liquids near the computer.
Had the Edo Lit seminar this afternoon...really enjoyed it. For the first time since I've gotten here, I felt like I belonged...I was able to play a part in discussions and didn't feel at all out of place.
Then got home to find I'd got a job. I've been hired by the Law library here at Columbia. They have a large Japanese collection, donated in the main by a former Supreme Court Judge of Japan, and they need someone to help with its running. That someone, even though I didn't think the interview yesterday had gone very well, is to be me. Only 6 hours a week, but at $13 (to rise) per hour, it'll keep me fed, and that's not to be underestimated. I'm particularly chuffed because the job description said they required someone of "native level reading ability in Japanese".
Celebrated at the GSAS mixer a couple of blocks from my apartment. Completely free booze, but sadly I was unable to take full advantage as I had to go home around 9:30 and finish my Classical Japanese homework. Oh well, perhaps tomorrow night...
I then went and spilt a few drops of water on the keyboard of my laptop, which then started being very funny and not working properly. In somewhat of a panic, I took it to CUIT support, who scanned it for virii and the like, and then established that I'd left the Num Lock key on. As simple as that, but it cost me two hours. Still, rather than than a new keyboard or even worse, a new laptop, which I can't even come close to affording right now. Seems to be working fine now, luckily enough. Lesson learned. No liquids near the computer.
Had the Edo Lit seminar this afternoon...really enjoyed it. For the first time since I've gotten here, I felt like I belonged...I was able to play a part in discussions and didn't feel at all out of place.
Then got home to find I'd got a job. I've been hired by the Law library here at Columbia. They have a large Japanese collection, donated in the main by a former Supreme Court Judge of Japan, and they need someone to help with its running. That someone, even though I didn't think the interview yesterday had gone very well, is to be me. Only 6 hours a week, but at $13 (to rise) per hour, it'll keep me fed, and that's not to be underestimated. I'm particularly chuffed because the job description said they required someone of "native level reading ability in Japanese".
Celebrated at the GSAS mixer a couple of blocks from my apartment. Completely free booze, but sadly I was unable to take full advantage as I had to go home around 9:30 and finish my Classical Japanese homework. Oh well, perhaps tomorrow night...
Monday, September 12, 2005
Ashes to Ashes...
England regain the Ashes, a day I wondered if I would ever see in my lifetime. No more needs to be said.
In 40 years' time I'll say to people "well, you know, actually I was in New York that famous summer..."
Anyway, I've ordered the DVD, and as I know most of you are totally uninterested in cricket, I'll leave it there.
In 40 years' time I'll say to people "well, you know, actually I was in New York that famous summer..."
Anyway, I've ordered the DVD, and as I know most of you are totally uninterested in cricket, I'll leave it there.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Random Musings
I'm tired. I've just read 140 straight pages of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki.
Quiet weekend, on the whole...Friday night I went up to International House, on Riverside Drive, for some cheap beers and a surprisingly good live band. Reminded me of nothing so much as a Wadham college bop, except there was no smoking, nobody was snogging and it wasn't nearly so sweaty.
Picked up a standard lamp for my room on Saturday, from a fellow grad student who didn't need it. Walked ten blocks back to my place carrying it...but this is New York. Nobody bats an eyelid. It made me wonder how wierd I would have to get for people to stare.
I've been reading Ihara Saikaku, 好色一代女, "A Woman who Loved Love", for the Edo lit class. It's surprisingly racy stuff for 400 years ago. Page 114, footnote 116 reads simply "Using a dildo". I'll leave you to look it up. Who says Classical Japanese is boring?
Quiet weekend, on the whole...Friday night I went up to International House, on Riverside Drive, for some cheap beers and a surprisingly good live band. Reminded me of nothing so much as a Wadham college bop, except there was no smoking, nobody was snogging and it wasn't nearly so sweaty.
Picked up a standard lamp for my room on Saturday, from a fellow grad student who didn't need it. Walked ten blocks back to my place carrying it...but this is New York. Nobody bats an eyelid. It made me wonder how wierd I would have to get for people to stare.
I've been reading Ihara Saikaku, 好色一代女, "A Woman who Loved Love", for the Edo lit class. It's surprisingly racy stuff for 400 years ago. Page 114, footnote 116 reads simply "Using a dildo". I'll leave you to look it up. Who says Classical Japanese is boring?
Thursday, September 08, 2005
First Week of Classes...
So, I went to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday to catch a ballgame. Not all of you know this, but I am actually something of a fan of the game of baseball, seeing in it a rather younger and less long-winded form of my main passion, cricket. I've been to see games in Japan and the USA before, but surely no self-proclaimed afficionado could miss a trip to Yankee Stadium. I duly went, and had a pretty good time; the fans were much more into it (and more spontaneous) than those I've seen elsewhere...and the Yankees lost, 4-3, which did bring a smile to my face.
In the days since then I've been "shopping", trying out a variety of the classes on offer to see which ones I'm going to take. I think I'm fairly sure now about my courseload, and it'll be Classical Japanese, History of Chinese Lit. to 900 A.D., Pre-Modern Japanese Lit, Modern Japanese Lit, and Japanese Bibliography, the last of which is a guide to the tools on offer in the field and which seems like it'll be very interesting. The proposition on the table at the moment is to develop a Japanese studies Wikipedia, which is intriguing to say the least...
Normally I'd have tomorrow off, but there's a visiting professor or two talking about Edo lit tomorrow morning from 10, and I'm required to be there. No rest for the wicked.
In the days since then I've been "shopping", trying out a variety of the classes on offer to see which ones I'm going to take. I think I'm fairly sure now about my courseload, and it'll be Classical Japanese, History of Chinese Lit. to 900 A.D., Pre-Modern Japanese Lit, Modern Japanese Lit, and Japanese Bibliography, the last of which is a guide to the tools on offer in the field and which seems like it'll be very interesting. The proposition on the table at the moment is to develop a Japanese studies Wikipedia, which is intriguing to say the least...
Normally I'd have tomorrow off, but there's a visiting professor or two talking about Edo lit tomorrow morning from 10, and I'm required to be there. No rest for the wicked.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Labour Day at the UN
It's Labour Day, and since classes start tomorrow I thought, naturally, I'd go and have a look at the UN. Interesting though it was, it was somewhat anticlimactic, as heavy security (once again) gave way to a rather hurried and lacklustre tour. Still, worth going, if only to say I've been, as I wasn't able to enter the building last time I was here. There are worse ways to spend a Monday, certainly. Classes start tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to go sightseeing, but for the moment pictures are below for your edification.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
NB
Got a load of comment spam within minutes of posting the below, so have turned on word verification - note when posting comments. Hope this doesn't inconvenience you too much. RT
On Liberty
So as you can see, I took a trip today (Saturday) to Liberty Island and to Ellis Island, to view the statue and the Immigration museum there. Photos, as ever, are displayed below. I had been on the cruise before, when I was here three years ago, but I didn't set foot on Liberty Island then, stopping only at the Immigration Museum, of which more in a moment.
Before that, I rounded off the week by paying my tuition, signing up for the college gym, and looking for a job on campus, before taking the departmental language test on Friday morning. I did pretty well - placed in 5th year Japanese class, as I aimed to do - but because of scheduling conflicts I won't be able to take any language classes. I don't think my professors are unduly bothered by this, but I will have to make an effort to keep my spoken J-go up to scratch.
Friday night, went for a drink with Juliet, a British girl in the Columbia Business school I met on Tuesday, then went downtown with a view to having a few drinks outside of Morningside Heights. Treated myself to an overpriced beer or two and came home - the 10,000 yen nights of Sendai are thing of the past now, sadly.
Anyway, today I took the abovementioned ISSO tour, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was a beautiful day, and as you can see a good one for taking pictures of 自由の女神 as the Japanese call her. Although you can't go into the statue itself as once you could, you can (amidst very, very tight security - I'm talking metal detectors and x-rays and everything) go up into the pedestal, and view the inside of the structure. It's a triumph of engineering, ahead of its time in so many ways and vastly impressive even today.
Spoiled somewhat by the wasteland of tat that surrounds it, viz. the inevitably tacky gift shop and the appallingly overpriced, nutritionally barren crud that passes for food in the alleged "refreshments" area...but then I suppose that's a captive market for you.
The boat ferrying us around the bay next stopped at Ellis Island. I'll admit that it's not high on most visitors to the Big Apple's list of must-sees, but I would strongly recommend it if you ever happen to be in town. It's a fascinating depiction of how New York essentially came to be the place it is today, still more so the United States as a whole. Formerly the staging post for inspection of all immigrants to the US, it's now a magnificently restored museum telling the story of the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free".
And the story was told by a rather remarkable man, Ranger Dan Milner of the US Parks service, which is responsible for the maintenance of both Ellis and Liberty Island. A lively, 61-year old man with a bushy moustache and a real talent for storytelling, Ranger Dan brought the history of the island, from its formation 50,000 years ago to its closure after the change in US immigration policy in the 1920s and beyond, right to life before our eyes. He knew his stuff and was clearly passionate about the museum and everything it had to relate, clearly relishing the chance to perform for his audience. A shame, then, that we caught him on his last day - the last group before retirement. I spoke to him later and learned that he plans to finish a degree in Geography at Hunter University - he needs 17 more credits to graduate. Quite a fella.
It was a fine day out. There's some remarkable things in this country, and I'm only scratching the surface.
Before that, I rounded off the week by paying my tuition, signing up for the college gym, and looking for a job on campus, before taking the departmental language test on Friday morning. I did pretty well - placed in 5th year Japanese class, as I aimed to do - but because of scheduling conflicts I won't be able to take any language classes. I don't think my professors are unduly bothered by this, but I will have to make an effort to keep my spoken J-go up to scratch.
Friday night, went for a drink with Juliet, a British girl in the Columbia Business school I met on Tuesday, then went downtown with a view to having a few drinks outside of Morningside Heights. Treated myself to an overpriced beer or two and came home - the 10,000 yen nights of Sendai are thing of the past now, sadly.
Anyway, today I took the abovementioned ISSO tour, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was a beautiful day, and as you can see a good one for taking pictures of 自由の女神 as the Japanese call her. Although you can't go into the statue itself as once you could, you can (amidst very, very tight security - I'm talking metal detectors and x-rays and everything) go up into the pedestal, and view the inside of the structure. It's a triumph of engineering, ahead of its time in so many ways and vastly impressive even today.
Spoiled somewhat by the wasteland of tat that surrounds it, viz. the inevitably tacky gift shop and the appallingly overpriced, nutritionally barren crud that passes for food in the alleged "refreshments" area...but then I suppose that's a captive market for you.
The boat ferrying us around the bay next stopped at Ellis Island. I'll admit that it's not high on most visitors to the Big Apple's list of must-sees, but I would strongly recommend it if you ever happen to be in town. It's a fascinating depiction of how New York essentially came to be the place it is today, still more so the United States as a whole. Formerly the staging post for inspection of all immigrants to the US, it's now a magnificently restored museum telling the story of the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free".
And the story was told by a rather remarkable man, Ranger Dan Milner of the US Parks service, which is responsible for the maintenance of both Ellis and Liberty Island. A lively, 61-year old man with a bushy moustache and a real talent for storytelling, Ranger Dan brought the history of the island, from its formation 50,000 years ago to its closure after the change in US immigration policy in the 1920s and beyond, right to life before our eyes. He knew his stuff and was clearly passionate about the museum and everything it had to relate, clearly relishing the chance to perform for his audience. A shame, then, that we caught him on his last day - the last group before retirement. I spoke to him later and learned that he plans to finish a degree in Geography at Hunter University - he needs 17 more credits to graduate. Quite a fella.
It was a fine day out. There's some remarkable things in this country, and I'm only scratching the surface.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
