No Ruz 1386: 3/21/2007 12:07pm (NZ std time)

I began dialing the phone at 12:05, so if it didn't go through the first time I could dial again. But the call went through right away, and I was able to wish Ali "Ade Shoma Mobarak" right on time. It was a little past 7 in Chicago and he had just gotten home from work.

I began today's lecture by asking if anyone was celebrating No Ruz. One student (out of about 420) raised his hand. He seemed to be surprised I brought it up, but we wished each other ade shoma mobarak. He even volunteered to answer my first question when the real lecture began. I have a new ally in the class.

I've been plagued by myriad small annoyances lately, from the alarm in the elevator next to my office that has been going off continuously for five days now, to trying to get last month's mail from NZ Post. (I can't bring myself to go into the details, but I'm beginning to feel like a storybook character sent on quest devised by Monty Python). So it was extra nice when the guy at the Korean pancake stall said I was his last customer for the day, so he was making me a present - two pancakes for the price of one.

I haven't taken a full day off since I got here, but this evening I decided to go to another AK07 event. "Max Black" was a bit of Swiss-German experimental theater, with a sort of mad-scientist philosopher declaiming near-gibberish in French (English subtitles provided), while puttering around in his "workshop" of wonderful and weird devices. He turned nearly everything into a musical instrument of sorts, and managed to light almost everything else on fire. My favorite was the box he hit on one side, making a deep-base sound, the vibrations of which caused smoke rings to pop out the other side.

It was totally bizarre, but also whimsical and rather charming. The people around me were of mixed opinions; some were enchanted, others clearly disapproved. I wished Ali was there, because he'd have loved it.

On my way home, I noticed the air was charged with magic. It happens sometimes.

I wish you a happy and magical 1386, wherever you are.

Cheers,
Sandie

Could Be Worse

March arrived in Chicago with another arctic blast and plenty of snow, but flights were back on schedule by the time I had to leave. I had a few hours’ layover at LAX, where I watched a beautiful sunset from the International Terminal, then 13 bumpy hours later arrived in Auckland about 7 am on Tuesday morning. I misread the bus route sign and got a tiki tour of Auckland before being dropped off a block away from my office more than an hour later. But, after a quick shower and a cup of tea, I was in pretty good shape for my first class at 11 am.

By 1 pm I was done teaching for the day and went to see a rental agent I'd corresponded with by email. The apartment was very small but fully furnished - including kitchen stuff, bed linens & towels – and only 15 minutes from my office. I signed a lease & would be able to get the key the next day. After that my buddy James - who had me over for Thanksgiving - drove me up to his place and he and his wife Adele proceeded to feed and entertain me so that I had no trouble keeping awake until almost 10, when I went out like a light.

Tuesday morning it was dark and drizzly when we took the ferry in from Whangapararoa. I had class at 9 am and was not pleased when the door to my classroom wouldn’t open, even after some of the big Islander guys tried to break it down. I called Property Services from someone’s mobile, then marched my students over to the General Study Area at the Info Commons building. It was fairly crowded, but one of my Tuakana students from last year saw my problem and quickly volunteered to move his study group for us.

The door was still jammed at 10 when my next class was ready to start, but by then the rain had stopped so we had class outside under a tree where the grass was dry. I later heard that Property Services couldn’t locate the building. And that the door had had the same problem before. Whatever.

My new apartment is in a brand new complex, and I’m the first person to live there – just like our place in Chicago. But no one had bothered to plug in any of the lights or appliances, and all of the dishes were clearly right out of the box – unwashed. I tried loading them into the dishwasher and found that no one had tried turning it on; it didn’t work. The next day I called the rental agent from my office (I don’t have a home phone), and an hour later she said it hadn’t been plugged in all the way but that it was fine now. That night I tried to run it again, but it still didn’t work. Turns out she hadn’t actually tried to run it, so didn’t see what I was talking about. But she’ll give it another try. Whatever.

I talked to Ali earlier today; it was 60 degrees in Chicago (!) and our furniture & stuff arrived this morning. I’ve been fighting jet lag all week, but today I'm feeling back to myself. Next week I'll have a much busier schedule and, in addition to classes, I’ve got a paper to rewrite (for submission to a journal), and I need to prepare my presentation for the conference in Melbourne.

But it’s also the end of summer, and absolutely glorious outside. Although I’m skipping the Pasifika Festival today, tonight is the opening event of AK07 – Auckland’s biennial arts festival. They’re having a fireworks extravaganza, so after work I’m going to pick up some Burger Fuel and head to the Domain for the show.

Cheers,
Sandie

Recalling the Blur that was February

I kept so busy when we were in Chicago that I missed posting for a whole month, so this is just a quick look back at what I was up to last month:

We moved into our new apartment on the 1st of the month - the first time I've ever moved house by taxi cab. We're now living on the 47th floor of a brand new building - we're the first people to live in our unit, and only the second people to move in on our floor.

We’re about 2 blocks northwest of our old apartment, and less than a block from a Dominick's grocery store that was just a rumor when we lived here before. Within easy walking distance are at least four more grocery stores, a hardware store, several house wares & furniture stores, tons of clothes shopping, restaurants & coffee shops, several movie theaters, a post office – there’s even a bowling alley across the street.

Ali started work on Feb. 5th, when the temperature was -12° F. He walked both ways (it’s only 30 minutes door to door), and not only didn't complain, but actually said, “It’s not that cold.” Spoken like a true Chicagoan.

The same week, I went to visit Career Services at the U of C Law School. I was surprised to realize I hadn’t been back since I graduated – 20 years ago. Less surprised that the law library was under construction – just like the last time I was there. The woman I met with was very positive about my job prospects and gave me the names of some headhunters to contact. During the next few weeks I started getting reacquainted with the job market in Chicago, met lots of old friends and former colleagues for lunches and dinners, and began preparing for the courses I’ll be teaching when I go back to NZ.

I also did a fair amount of shopping for the apartment, since all of our stuff was in a container somewhere on the Pacific ocean, heading for California. Our movers in NZ said they couldn’t re-route the shipment to Chicago since it had already left port, but to contact their agents in San Francisco.

Lastly, I had to make arrangements for my return to Auckland. I felt no enthusiasm about going to New Zealand this time, and procrastinated as long as possible. I finally did book a flight, of course, which would leave on my birthday, March 4th.

Cheers,
Sandie