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I still haven't resolved the UMass loan issue. I called them on Friday and was told, via the automated message, that the phone hours were 8.30 to 5. Since I was well within those, I pressed the button for loan inquiries. I was promptly redirected to a line that not only had nobody there to answer, but at which I couldn't leave a voicemail because the mailbox was full. Cool beans, that. And then I spent another 10 minutes on hold at the U of A financial office, which at least had the decency to play an automated music file with a girl voiceover talking about various financial aid FAQ. I never got to talk to a representative, however. It was cutting into my lunch break and I had to hang up to go back to work. So that was frustrating. It'll probably be the same deal on Monday...and every other subsequent day until I get through.
When work was over, I decided to run some errands in Allston (getting a stock of origami for AZ), because the weather actually promised to be decent. It wasn't...it kind of rained lightly most of the time I was shopping, and I was surprised to find that all things considered, I didn't really mind the weather much. Normally, wet city leads to filthy city, and filthy city and happy Rai do not really go hand in hand. But I legitimately didn't mind being there--and was kind of marveling over that fact, even for awhile after it started to pour in earnest. At that point, I found myself scurrying down Cambridge street looking for a bus stop, finally standing beneath one stooping over with my umbrella at an angle to try to deflect the diagonal raindrops. The main problem was the water thrown into the air from cars speeding by...I got hit in the neck and side by a few such splashes, and THAT did not make me happy. But then the bus came and it was okay.
On one of the stops on the way back to Harvard, a young, good humored latino guy got on the bus and grinned at the driver, saying "it's crazy out!" (it was) in an adorable hispanic accent. The bus driver ignored him but he caught my eye and grinned, and I grinned back. As he moved towards a seat at the back of the bus all I could think was OMG I WANT ONE. I want a young friendly latino guy who will smile at me. Sigh.
So yeah anyway, after that I finally managed to get home only half-soaked, and amazingly not too annoyed about the whole thing. My mom got really wet too and made my dad pick her up at MIT, and so then we acquired a Stephanie, and the party lasted until wayyyy too late. It was a nice, albeit long Friday.
Today wasn't bad, either. I got up late and took a nice long walk in the afternoon, braving the strange weather that was rainy when I left and unabashedly sunny when I returned. My family also finally got its act together and went out to upgrade our phone plans and get new phones, so now, for the first time, I have a phone I actually feel fondness for, rather than just ambivalence. It is purple and seems to actually work in a lot of ways that my old one didn't. <3 The guy who figured stuff out for us was really awesome..he had a pretty African accent and managed to keep our good humor despite the fact that the process was slow and we were there for at least an hour.
He told me that for $10 I could get my contacts transferred, but I opted to do it myself, and it was an interesting process. A lot of who is in my contact book and what sorts of numbers I have for them (their home phone versus cell, etc), gives me a lot of clues to remembering the past and my contact with people. I also found myself not transferring a bunch of people from NEU whose numbers I had taken, but doubt that I will ever use again. I decided to resubmit one of my former roomate's number...but not another. It was a strange, visual, physical process of observing whom I can see as potentially staying a part of my life, and whom I can erase without qualm. It's sort of interesting the rationalizations that preceded most of the decisions, too. Contact and friendship does not normally seem to fit such stark boundaries.
Today was pretty great all in all, though. It's the first time in awhile that I feel like I actually accomplished everything I had planned to do today.
...I can't believe I have just one more week at the Annex. :(
When work was over, I decided to run some errands in Allston (getting a stock of origami for AZ), because the weather actually promised to be decent. It wasn't...it kind of rained lightly most of the time I was shopping, and I was surprised to find that all things considered, I didn't really mind the weather much. Normally, wet city leads to filthy city, and filthy city and happy Rai do not really go hand in hand. But I legitimately didn't mind being there--and was kind of marveling over that fact, even for awhile after it started to pour in earnest. At that point, I found myself scurrying down Cambridge street looking for a bus stop, finally standing beneath one stooping over with my umbrella at an angle to try to deflect the diagonal raindrops. The main problem was the water thrown into the air from cars speeding by...I got hit in the neck and side by a few such splashes, and THAT did not make me happy. But then the bus came and it was okay.
On one of the stops on the way back to Harvard, a young, good humored latino guy got on the bus and grinned at the driver, saying "it's crazy out!" (it was) in an adorable hispanic accent. The bus driver ignored him but he caught my eye and grinned, and I grinned back. As he moved towards a seat at the back of the bus all I could think was OMG I WANT ONE. I want a young friendly latino guy who will smile at me. Sigh.
So yeah anyway, after that I finally managed to get home only half-soaked, and amazingly not too annoyed about the whole thing. My mom got really wet too and made my dad pick her up at MIT, and so then we acquired a Stephanie, and the party lasted until wayyyy too late. It was a nice, albeit long Friday.
Today wasn't bad, either. I got up late and took a nice long walk in the afternoon, braving the strange weather that was rainy when I left and unabashedly sunny when I returned. My family also finally got its act together and went out to upgrade our phone plans and get new phones, so now, for the first time, I have a phone I actually feel fondness for, rather than just ambivalence. It is purple and seems to actually work in a lot of ways that my old one didn't. <3 The guy who figured stuff out for us was really awesome..he had a pretty African accent and managed to keep our good humor despite the fact that the process was slow and we were there for at least an hour.
He told me that for $10 I could get my contacts transferred, but I opted to do it myself, and it was an interesting process. A lot of who is in my contact book and what sorts of numbers I have for them (their home phone versus cell, etc), gives me a lot of clues to remembering the past and my contact with people. I also found myself not transferring a bunch of people from NEU whose numbers I had taken, but doubt that I will ever use again. I decided to resubmit one of my former roomate's number...but not another. It was a strange, visual, physical process of observing whom I can see as potentially staying a part of my life, and whom I can erase without qualm. It's sort of interesting the rationalizations that preceded most of the decisions, too. Contact and friendship does not normally seem to fit such stark boundaries.
Today was pretty great all in all, though. It's the first time in awhile that I feel like I actually accomplished everything I had planned to do today.
...I can't believe I have just one more week at the Annex. :(
