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.