The life of the mind

And so my transformation into a bona fide intellectual begins.

(Cut to some guy's apartment--moving sale)

Me: How much are these forks.
Him: How about two for a dollar?
Me: Uh.... Could I get four for a dollar?

I feel smarter already.

Basic sequence of events.

Day 1: Get on campus late at night. Lug suitcase 10 blocks to the apartment of a third year PhD student. Pass out on his couch.

Day 2: Check out a few apartments, sign a lease. Apartment is empty. Meet up with Dave, a fellow first year PhD student who beat me to Chicago by a few days. (His apartment is slightly less empty, but he has a laptop with ethernet, and a futon.) Go to orientation at philosophy department. Buy some plastic cutlery, disposable bowls, Biblical cereal (Ezekiel 3:7, I believe), and milk. Borrow a British Airways blanket that Dave stole on his flight over. Sleep on my trenchcoat laid over the cold, hard tile floor.

Day 3: Eat Biblical cereal. Accomplish very little. Get some paperwork sorted out. Buy some towels and a pillow from Walgreen's. Sleep on my trenchcoat and the towels laid over the cold, hard tile floor. The pillow's good, though.

Day 4: Buy a whole bunch of second-hand cookware. Kitchen close to fully functioning. Very nearly slept on cold hard floor again, but managed to get a bed (mattress, box spring, frame and all) late in the day. No sheets, though. Laid the towels on the bed, called it a day.

Day 5: Buy sheets. Bed and kitchen fully functioning. But no tables or chairs. Need a shower curtain, too.

Day 6: Get sick of buying stuff.

That's about where I am now. I just had my first class today, which was pretty good. I'm not sure if I can get a phoneline or not, because due to recent changes in the applicable laws I am no longer eligible for a Social Security Number. Instead, I have to make do with an "ITIN". The ITIN is very much like the SSN, except it takes about ten times longer to get it, and it is basically useless.

(The China Story will be completed sometime in the forseeable future.)