Twice, I have almost cried within the last few days. Not for two different reasons; for one single reason.
PwC reversed themselves on the job offer.
Well, here's how it went -
Email from PwC: O we're so happy to have you - we think you'd be an excellent success at our firm - we hope you're seriously considering our offer, etc. We'd like to start processing your H1-B visa as soon as possible. Could you please tell us when your Optional Practical Training [OPT] period ends so that we can set our timelines?
Email from Me: O, thank you for the offer. I am seriously considering working at PwC. And, by the way, I'm on a J-1 visa so I don't need to apply for OPT. Once I accept an offer, I directly get an extension of my visa document [the DS-2019].
Email from PwC: O, ok then. We'll be in touch.
4 hours pass with no remarkable event.
Email from PwC: Hi! It's PwC Recruiter here again. I'd just like to clarify one small point. I'm not very familiar with J-1 visas but does your visa have a 2-year home residency requirement? Thanks!
[And you might not notice, but that is the beginning of the end....]
Email from Me: Yes, my visa has a home residency requirement.
[Abrupt] Email from PwC: O, sorry then. We cannot make you an offer if you are not eligible for the H1-B application. Thanks and have a great day!
Inevitably, I fell into instant despair. That deep kind of despair that consumes you when you suddenly realize that everything you do and every step you take meets with an overwhelmingly impenetrable wall of disappointment. I thought it was unfair. Not PwC; life in general. Considering that I am on a J-1 visa, not because I am an exchange student, but because my first school did not have F-1 authorization. [You know, the normal visa that normal students enter the U.S. with. Of course, nothing is normal about me.] If I had any hair, I'd be tearing it out right now.
This was all Tuesday evening.
Stay tuned!
3.09.2007
3.05.2007
Some Success!
Indeed, there is some success! I got a job offer today from Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP.
It's one of the "big four". I am sure I shall have to do a lot of explaining about why a lawyer works in an "accounting firm". Unfortunately, I failed to detail how my 2nd round of interviews with them went. [For anyone interested, it was 4 interviews - with 3 partners and 1 director; altogether, 5 interviews - counting the initial interview at NYU.]. If I accept the offer, I will be in the international tax service section. After the hiring person called me today, one of the partners also called on the phone. We fixed a brunch date for next week.
And so, this is how I select where to go on my applications:
1. The people you meet, and those you'll work with; and
2. The eagerness the organization shows towards your joining them.
If the people are not nice, all the money/favors/scholarships/titles in the world will leave you miserable - and searching for something more.
If the organization shows lukewarmness towards you, then you know you will only be a statistic in the grand scheme of things. Your presence is uncelebrated; your departure will be unnoticed.
On both accounts PwC scores well. At the interview, its people sounded genuinely excited about their company. Indeed, Fortune & CNN think it is one of the best places to work in America. I shall just have to wait and see. The partners that have called me say they're 'excited' that I'm considering them! Now, that's new!
Unto other things, this weekend, a Nigerian director won the African prize at the film festival. I can scarcely recommend those Nigerian "home videos" but things may have significantly improved in the few years that I've been away. I think Africa must rank Nigerian movies highly - indeed, so must I.
After a week of tolerable temperatures, New York is freezing over again.
My sister is coming to the U.S. next month to give birth to her second child. That'll make both of her kids american. From a Nigerian perspective, that's the best type of 401(k) plan one can have!
Let's hope more exciting things happen this week. I shall keep my fingers crossed!
It's one of the "big four". I am sure I shall have to do a lot of explaining about why a lawyer works in an "accounting firm". Unfortunately, I failed to detail how my 2nd round of interviews with them went. [For anyone interested, it was 4 interviews - with 3 partners and 1 director; altogether, 5 interviews - counting the initial interview at NYU.]. If I accept the offer, I will be in the international tax service section. After the hiring person called me today, one of the partners also called on the phone. We fixed a brunch date for next week.
And so, this is how I select where to go on my applications:
1. The people you meet, and those you'll work with; and
2. The eagerness the organization shows towards your joining them.
If the people are not nice, all the money/favors/scholarships/titles in the world will leave you miserable - and searching for something more.
If the organization shows lukewarmness towards you, then you know you will only be a statistic in the grand scheme of things. Your presence is uncelebrated; your departure will be unnoticed.
On both accounts PwC scores well. At the interview, its people sounded genuinely excited about their company. Indeed, Fortune & CNN think it is one of the best places to work in America. I shall just have to wait and see. The partners that have called me say they're 'excited' that I'm considering them! Now, that's new!
Unto other things, this weekend, a Nigerian director won the African prize at the film festival. I can scarcely recommend those Nigerian "home videos" but things may have significantly improved in the few years that I've been away. I think Africa must rank Nigerian movies highly - indeed, so must I.
After a week of tolerable temperatures, New York is freezing over again.
My sister is coming to the U.S. next month to give birth to her second child. That'll make both of her kids american. From a Nigerian perspective, that's the best type of 401(k) plan one can have!
Let's hope more exciting things happen this week. I shall keep my fingers crossed!
3.03.2007
What do you want in a life partner?
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss
- Rudyard Kipling
Not too long ago, a precious friend asked me what I wanted in a life-partner. You know, the crucial question: ‘What do you want in a woman’? I am positive that I have spent many nights thinking about this question. But, this time, I was stumped.
When I was younger and more idealistic, I wanted a woman who was strong, sassy, seductive, spiritual, sexy-to-no-end and savvy about the world and the work of her hands. Yes, everything had to start with the letter ‘s’ too! As I grew older, I became less judgmental. I have learned to focus on my own shortcomings.
But, today, it hit me. On my way across the living room, I realized the deepest thing about my heart. Rudyard Kipling’s words, for me, define the weakest possible points in this life. I believe they are inevitable. And I subconsciously prepare my mind in readiness for when the worst happens. My studying, my principles, my dreams are geared towards these thoughts.
Today, I realized that I want to spend my life with someone who will go down into the depths of sadness with me, and emerge again – with nothing, except each other, and a hope and a prayer.
Darling, when you ask, ‘what do you want in a woman’? My answer is this:
I want the better half of me – in every sense of the word.
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss
- Rudyard Kipling
Not too long ago, a precious friend asked me what I wanted in a life-partner. You know, the crucial question: ‘What do you want in a woman’? I am positive that I have spent many nights thinking about this question. But, this time, I was stumped.
When I was younger and more idealistic, I wanted a woman who was strong, sassy, seductive, spiritual, sexy-to-no-end and savvy about the world and the work of her hands. Yes, everything had to start with the letter ‘s’ too! As I grew older, I became less judgmental. I have learned to focus on my own shortcomings.
But, today, it hit me. On my way across the living room, I realized the deepest thing about my heart. Rudyard Kipling’s words, for me, define the weakest possible points in this life. I believe they are inevitable. And I subconsciously prepare my mind in readiness for when the worst happens. My studying, my principles, my dreams are geared towards these thoughts.
Today, I realized that I want to spend my life with someone who will go down into the depths of sadness with me, and emerge again – with nothing, except each other, and a hope and a prayer.
Darling, when you ask, ‘what do you want in a woman’? My answer is this:
I want the better half of me – in every sense of the word.
2.22.2007
Interviews and an encounter with apotheosis!
I have been interviewing this week. I saw a Partner from a ‘small’ firm with 200 attorneys. The proposed work is securitization. They securitize anything from Landlord-Tenant agreements to Carbon Emission Credits. Yes, it is a strange business the things that lawyers and bankers are able to create rights from. I also emailed my resume to the professor who sponsored my trip to Michigan. He gave my resume to a ‘headhunter’ to see if s/he could find me a place at a firm in NY. Doubtless, these are not easy times.
As I type, I am on a train from DC to New York. [You should have seen me running on the streets of D.C. trying to catch the Amtrak at Union Station! The train left exactly 11 seconds after I got through the door!!!] I was interviewing at the World Bank. They were excellent people. 2 separate interviews; 2 panels of 4 people. Panel 1: Senior associates; Panel 2: ‘Front office” panel made up of Deputy Vice-Presidents of the WB. Pay-cut notwithstanding (entry-level counsel probably make $50,000 - $80,000 less than their law firm contemporaries do), I think the World Bank is always an excellent opportunity. I hope to hear from them – for good or bad – in a few weeks. As an aside, the Bank is at the corner of Pennsylvania St. Of course, you know what that means… I went to visit the White House on 1600 Penn. St.! [I feel your envy. I am sorry I cannot do anything about it though.] From the White House, I went over to one of the veteran memorials…the one with a 545ft obelisk.
My highpoint was coming. As I stood staring at the obelisk, I looked to the left and there was the dome of Capitol Hill. And while I was in awe of the sight of the Capitol, I spun around and something caught my eye. It was a Temple. And it is a temple in every sense of the word. In its hallowed pillars – all 36 of them – sat an illuminated figure. Since the night darkened the rest of the temple, the figure shone from afar. All dressed in white, regal, and deified, there sat Abraham Lincoln! I will only tell you that I forgot the Capitol in a heartbeat, walked the full 1 mile to the Lincoln Memorial and went inside the temple. I sat on the floor inside until I began to freeze. [Did you know that the Capitol Hill dome, the veteran’s memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial are in a straight line? You cannot see Capitol Hill from the center of the Lincoln mem.]
This was my encounter with deity!
As I type, I am on a train from DC to New York. [You should have seen me running on the streets of D.C. trying to catch the Amtrak at Union Station! The train left exactly 11 seconds after I got through the door!!!] I was interviewing at the World Bank. They were excellent people. 2 separate interviews; 2 panels of 4 people. Panel 1: Senior associates; Panel 2: ‘Front office” panel made up of Deputy Vice-Presidents of the WB. Pay-cut notwithstanding (entry-level counsel probably make $50,000 - $80,000 less than their law firm contemporaries do), I think the World Bank is always an excellent opportunity. I hope to hear from them – for good or bad – in a few weeks. As an aside, the Bank is at the corner of Pennsylvania St. Of course, you know what that means… I went to visit the White House on 1600 Penn. St.! [I feel your envy. I am sorry I cannot do anything about it though.] From the White House, I went over to one of the veteran memorials…the one with a 545ft obelisk.
My highpoint was coming. As I stood staring at the obelisk, I looked to the left and there was the dome of Capitol Hill. And while I was in awe of the sight of the Capitol, I spun around and something caught my eye. It was a Temple. And it is a temple in every sense of the word. In its hallowed pillars – all 36 of them – sat an illuminated figure. Since the night darkened the rest of the temple, the figure shone from afar. All dressed in white, regal, and deified, there sat Abraham Lincoln! I will only tell you that I forgot the Capitol in a heartbeat, walked the full 1 mile to the Lincoln Memorial and went inside the temple. I sat on the floor inside until I began to freeze. [Did you know that the Capitol Hill dome, the veteran’s memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial are in a straight line? You cannot see Capitol Hill from the center of the Lincoln mem.]
This was my encounter with deity!It is so obvious how much I have been blessed to be able to sit and stare at the statue of Lincoln, as well as everything that has been given to me in the last few years. For those who listen to the words of the Catholic Mass, the priest says to the Almighty, ‘We thank you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you.’ The feeling is similar. My trips to Houston, Michigan, Washington D.C., New York…the beautiful people I met at LSU, the kindness I have received everywhere…it really has been a very wonderful time in America!
Next week, I have 3 interviews: an office visit to PwC; an intro interview with Delloitte; and, an interview with a San Antonio-based tax boutique. I cannot seem to get an interview with the large law firms. This may be for the best, or it may be the embers of a disaster. I will keep us informed of how this life unfolds for me.
How has your week been?
Next week, I have 3 interviews: an office visit to PwC; an intro interview with Delloitte; and, an interview with a San Antonio-based tax boutique. I cannot seem to get an interview with the large law firms. This may be for the best, or it may be the embers of a disaster. I will keep us informed of how this life unfolds for me.
How has your week been?
2.14.2007
Dreaming of A'changels
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I hope you – yes, you – found someone to cuddle up to today!? Well, in the mindless style of every big city, New York decided to have its first real snow today! We had so many inches of snow…. I’m positive a lot of couples would have decided to stay in tonight rather than make a meal of it in this stultifying weather. I have decided I do not so much like the snow. I shall not miss it when the snow stops falling and spring sets in.
It is interesting what 24hrs can do. Literally. Since my last post, I have gotten two callbacks from the WorldBank and PwC! So, for the WB, I’m going to Washington, D.C. in a week’s time. For PwC, it will have to be some time in the near future, I hope. While not optimal, I have to be excited with what I have gotten thus far. It really is very difficult to make an impression on the job market here. I shall keep trudging along. I will keep us all informed. Also, in the last 24hrs, I got some remote news. I wrote a case brief for the Shell Corporation just before I left Nigeria. I worked on it for 5 months. We were attempting to enforce an instrument claiming $21m from an insurance company acting as a guarantor. The instrument was unique in its multifarious angles. It was drawn up very badly, but I had to coordinate an argument in support of our claim for enforcement. After two years of arguments at the Federal High Courts, I found out today that the court upheld my brief and gave judgment for Shell. Hmm…. Very gratifying, I must say.
While I was in the library this evening, inhaling the Controlled Substance-like fumes of International Taxation, my phone rang. It was my normally hyperactive friend from Lagos. Ostensibly, she called to wish me a happy valentine’s day…and to tell me that I’d forgotten her birthday. Again. While I know her birth date, I don’t think I’ve ever remembered it on the day. Sinful stuff. Well, what was really sinful was the real reason why she called. Her fiancé apparently forgot her birthday AND didn’t buy her a card [talk less of chocolates] for Valentine’s! She is completely convinced that he has taken her for granted. I found it hard to make a case for the young man. I sincerely did not even wish to attempt it. After sounding depressed for a while, her hyperactivity kicked in and she ended the call with her usual effervescence. I was grateful for that.
It is interesting how much we take for granted. Most times, we are terrible to the people who treat us the best. I know, sometimes, I am guilty of this too. It is the reason why I try to forgive others…in hope that my own sins will be equally forgiven. Anyways, it’s Valentine’s day. Go ahead, tell someone you love them. Do it now!
I hope you – yes, you – found someone to cuddle up to today!? Well, in the mindless style of every big city, New York decided to have its first real snow today! We had so many inches of snow…. I’m positive a lot of couples would have decided to stay in tonight rather than make a meal of it in this stultifying weather. I have decided I do not so much like the snow. I shall not miss it when the snow stops falling and spring sets in.
It is interesting what 24hrs can do. Literally. Since my last post, I have gotten two callbacks from the WorldBank and PwC! So, for the WB, I’m going to Washington, D.C. in a week’s time. For PwC, it will have to be some time in the near future, I hope. While not optimal, I have to be excited with what I have gotten thus far. It really is very difficult to make an impression on the job market here. I shall keep trudging along. I will keep us all informed. Also, in the last 24hrs, I got some remote news. I wrote a case brief for the Shell Corporation just before I left Nigeria. I worked on it for 5 months. We were attempting to enforce an instrument claiming $21m from an insurance company acting as a guarantor. The instrument was unique in its multifarious angles. It was drawn up very badly, but I had to coordinate an argument in support of our claim for enforcement. After two years of arguments at the Federal High Courts, I found out today that the court upheld my brief and gave judgment for Shell. Hmm…. Very gratifying, I must say.
While I was in the library this evening, inhaling the Controlled Substance-like fumes of International Taxation, my phone rang. It was my normally hyperactive friend from Lagos. Ostensibly, she called to wish me a happy valentine’s day…and to tell me that I’d forgotten her birthday. Again. While I know her birth date, I don’t think I’ve ever remembered it on the day. Sinful stuff. Well, what was really sinful was the real reason why she called. Her fiancé apparently forgot her birthday AND didn’t buy her a card [talk less of chocolates] for Valentine’s! She is completely convinced that he has taken her for granted. I found it hard to make a case for the young man. I sincerely did not even wish to attempt it. After sounding depressed for a while, her hyperactivity kicked in and she ended the call with her usual effervescence. I was grateful for that.
It is interesting how much we take for granted. Most times, we are terrible to the people who treat us the best. I know, sometimes, I am guilty of this too. It is the reason why I try to forgive others…in hope that my own sins will be equally forgiven. Anyways, it’s Valentine’s day. Go ahead, tell someone you love them. Do it now!
2.12.2007
Dare I say it...
If you're any of the faithful friends that I have who has come to my webpage this year, I'd like to say, 'I'm very, very sorry'. I have absolutely been unable to write anything since I jet set out to the land of the Pharaohs in late December. And look, it's almost Valentine's Day in February 2007! Wow!
Cairo was amazing! The pyramids were fantastic; the ambience was wonderful; the people were very kind; and good fortune followed me there in its quasi-peculiar ways. There was lots of museums to see and my company was the most delectable.
However, since I got back, I've been in the midst of trying to catch up with my school work and looking for a job! It's that time of the year in New York - where all the LL.M.s are haunting the law firms begging, pleading, threatening, deceiving, and bluffing to get a job at one of the top firms. I wish I could say with confidence that I was assured of anything. Sadly, this is not the case. My results at NYU were shambolic and I have no hope of impressing anyone whatsoever. At best, the results say that I'm not a complete moron - which getting into NYU sufficed to say anyways. These indeed are trying times.
Everything is not all doom and gloom though. After realizing that I was getting the short end of the stick on interviews, I decided to 'cold' mail my resume. You know, the one where you pull email addresses off the internet and click 'send' hoping that they, at least, read your resume before equally clicking 'delete'. I've gotten some look-ins at the WorldBank and PwC, but nothing concrete yet. I'd really like to get a law firm job [did you hear that the salaries in NY are up to $160,000!!!].
More deeply, I'm eager to see what God has planned this time. I don't think things have been more precarious than now for me. Of course, I could say the same thing about some really frightening times in my recent past. But, everyday seems like a new challenge. It's easy to forget that even though yesterday was so hopeless, you still made it through. Today just seems to bring a whole new hopelessness of its own.
Having said that, I'm trying to keep my head up. I will 'cold' mail my resume all I can and pray for the best. I will do the very best I can under the circumstances. It will be comforting to know that whatever the result is, I could not have done better. God does not do for men what men must do for themselves.
Even though it is so late in the year, dare I say to you...
Happy New Year! [and I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day too!!!]
Here are pictures from Cairo -
Cairo was amazing! The pyramids were fantastic; the ambience was wonderful; the people were very kind; and good fortune followed me there in its quasi-peculiar ways. There was lots of museums to see and my company was the most delectable.
However, since I got back, I've been in the midst of trying to catch up with my school work and looking for a job! It's that time of the year in New York - where all the LL.M.s are haunting the law firms begging, pleading, threatening, deceiving, and bluffing to get a job at one of the top firms. I wish I could say with confidence that I was assured of anything. Sadly, this is not the case. My results at NYU were shambolic and I have no hope of impressing anyone whatsoever. At best, the results say that I'm not a complete moron - which getting into NYU sufficed to say anyways. These indeed are trying times.
Everything is not all doom and gloom though. After realizing that I was getting the short end of the stick on interviews, I decided to 'cold' mail my resume. You know, the one where you pull email addresses off the internet and click 'send' hoping that they, at least, read your resume before equally clicking 'delete'. I've gotten some look-ins at the WorldBank and PwC, but nothing concrete yet. I'd really like to get a law firm job [did you hear that the salaries in NY are up to $160,000!!!].
More deeply, I'm eager to see what God has planned this time. I don't think things have been more precarious than now for me. Of course, I could say the same thing about some really frightening times in my recent past. But, everyday seems like a new challenge. It's easy to forget that even though yesterday was so hopeless, you still made it through. Today just seems to bring a whole new hopelessness of its own.
Having said that, I'm trying to keep my head up. I will 'cold' mail my resume all I can and pray for the best. I will do the very best I can under the circumstances. It will be comforting to know that whatever the result is, I could not have done better. God does not do for men what men must do for themselves.
Even though it is so late in the year, dare I say to you...
Happy New Year! [and I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day too!!!]
Here are pictures from Cairo -
12.23.2006
The Aftermath.
Now, here’s the first time I’ve been able to sigh with deep-enough contentment in such a loooo…ng time. Those exams went terribly! I’m almost ashamed of myself and I’m very scared to see what my results turn out to be like. Usually, I surprise myself and do much better than I expect. THIS time, it would be a huge surprise if that happens.
Anyways, while the exams were on, I found time to dissemble at the Nigerian consulate – so I could get my passport on time; and, I hurried over to the Consulate of the Arab Republic of Egypt to try to get a visa. My trip to Egypt’s Consulate was an exercise in diplomacy. Not being a U.S. citizen, I had to make a case on why they should not send my visa to Cairo first for screening! It was almost absurd. Naturally, fellow Cairo-bound travelers of American extract only had to pay a small fee, fill a light form, and leave their passports for stamping and collection. No questions were asked; no dramatic conversations were undertaken. Anyways, I have my visa now and everything else is water under the bridge. Now that I’m done with finals, I’m all set to hit the Land of the Pharaohs!
Everyone seems to wonder why I’m going to Cairo. The reason is simple. Everywhere else, I can visit in good time and in due course. Cairo, on the other hand, is not a place I’m likely to do a reprise of unless I am old and grey and in the fondness for a second honeymoon. Is it out-of-the-way? Certainly. Am I apprehensive? To an extent, yes. Should I have gone to London, Paris, or Rome? Maybe. But I have not chosen the cities of light. I have chosen the desert of the Pharaohs. There is little more to be said about it. I certainly won’t become more sophisticated from going to Arabia, I imagine. But that an epiphany of sorts will take place, is undeniable. And it beckons. Just be happy for me, and expect fun pictures!
I wonder if I’ll be able to blog from Arabia?! Be expectant. I know I can’t wait!
Anyways, while the exams were on, I found time to dissemble at the Nigerian consulate – so I could get my passport on time; and, I hurried over to the Consulate of the Arab Republic of Egypt to try to get a visa. My trip to Egypt’s Consulate was an exercise in diplomacy. Not being a U.S. citizen, I had to make a case on why they should not send my visa to Cairo first for screening! It was almost absurd. Naturally, fellow Cairo-bound travelers of American extract only had to pay a small fee, fill a light form, and leave their passports for stamping and collection. No questions were asked; no dramatic conversations were undertaken. Anyways, I have my visa now and everything else is water under the bridge. Now that I’m done with finals, I’m all set to hit the Land of the Pharaohs!
Everyone seems to wonder why I’m going to Cairo. The reason is simple. Everywhere else, I can visit in good time and in due course. Cairo, on the other hand, is not a place I’m likely to do a reprise of unless I am old and grey and in the fondness for a second honeymoon. Is it out-of-the-way? Certainly. Am I apprehensive? To an extent, yes. Should I have gone to London, Paris, or Rome? Maybe. But I have not chosen the cities of light. I have chosen the desert of the Pharaohs. There is little more to be said about it. I certainly won’t become more sophisticated from going to Arabia, I imagine. But that an epiphany of sorts will take place, is undeniable. And it beckons. Just be happy for me, and expect fun pictures!
I wonder if I’ll be able to blog from Arabia?! Be expectant. I know I can’t wait!
12.14.2006
Odds and Ends.
I finally picked up my passport today. I looked at my schedule and realized that there was no way I could wait until my assigned date to go get the passport from the Consulate. Well, I sorta gate-crashed the place and told them I had an emergency. Interestingly, noone asked me what the emergency was but the man there was helpful and a bit polite. He took me upstairs to the eight floor and spoke to the man in charge of preparing the passports. That was yesterday. Today, I picked up the old and new passports. Phew! Now, I'm relieved from that until 2011!
International Tax I & II finals is tomorrow. I finally understand some of the greek we did in class. I sincerely hope it's enough for more than a B. I need to get a job and making Bs is not a good way to establish myself. Somehow, I've tied myself into reading 30 pages of corporate tax and 28 pages of tax procedure, while finishing 15 pages of writing for transfer pricing! Damn, I can't wait for this semester to be over.
Isn't it remarkable the number of people that are getting married? Almost all my conversations these days have something to do with someone getting married. I guess I must be that age! [...when all your friends start getting hitched up...except you, of course.] One thing is interesting though, from a personal point. Nowadays, as I listen to my favourite songs, I consciously decide which will, or will not, play at my wedding. If my wedding has nothing, it will have good, emotional, sensual music.
So, what are you doing for Christmas? Do you have some elaborate plan or are you going to keep a low profile and pretend that the season is not as important as it really is? On Christmas day last year, I was shuttling between Baton Rouge (I miss that city) and New York. It was my first trip to the Big Apple. Now that I live here, I shall have to think of something more inspiring to do for Christmas. I already know I shall spend most of it in Times Sq. wondering where the Love of my Life is lurking...LOL. As though I were really looking....
Anyways, if you can, commit to do something special. Light a candle. Pray for someone that hates you. Speak to a stranger with excitement in your eyes. Think of when you were happier, merrier, richer, less worried, more hopeful, than you are today. Do something that is more than yourself.
You may bless yourself more than you think. Enjoy!
International Tax I & II finals is tomorrow. I finally understand some of the greek we did in class. I sincerely hope it's enough for more than a B. I need to get a job and making Bs is not a good way to establish myself. Somehow, I've tied myself into reading 30 pages of corporate tax and 28 pages of tax procedure, while finishing 15 pages of writing for transfer pricing! Damn, I can't wait for this semester to be over.
Isn't it remarkable the number of people that are getting married? Almost all my conversations these days have something to do with someone getting married. I guess I must be that age! [...when all your friends start getting hitched up...except you, of course.] One thing is interesting though, from a personal point. Nowadays, as I listen to my favourite songs, I consciously decide which will, or will not, play at my wedding. If my wedding has nothing, it will have good, emotional, sensual music.
So, what are you doing for Christmas? Do you have some elaborate plan or are you going to keep a low profile and pretend that the season is not as important as it really is? On Christmas day last year, I was shuttling between Baton Rouge (I miss that city) and New York. It was my first trip to the Big Apple. Now that I live here, I shall have to think of something more inspiring to do for Christmas. I already know I shall spend most of it in Times Sq. wondering where the Love of my Life is lurking...LOL. As though I were really looking....
Anyways, if you can, commit to do something special. Light a candle. Pray for someone that hates you. Speak to a stranger with excitement in your eyes. Think of when you were happier, merrier, richer, less worried, more hopeful, than you are today. Do something that is more than yourself.
You may bless yourself more than you think. Enjoy!
12.04.2006
Midnight Music...
It's 2.50am.
I'm sitting up in my bed for two reasons. Firstly, the weather channel predicts it will snow tonight or early tomorrow. I'm very excited about that because I want to see the snow fall. It's not a weather feature I'm too familiar with...and it's the first snow this season in New York.
Secondly, I found a lovely website where I can download MP3s for free. And I'm using the opportunity to dig up my favourite tunes in all the world. As is characteristic of music, it soothes me. At least the type that I listen to does. And considering how weary I've been of all the reading and the extensive commuting I've had to do this semester, I'm treating myself to the littlest pleasures I can find. So, I've reacquainted myself with Eye of the Tiger, Streisand's 'Tell Him', R. Kelly's 'I'm the greatest'.... This is all very enticing...it actually makes studying tax bearable!
I met an old friend online a few minutes ago. I haven't heard from him in a while. We grew up together and he's been there for me many times. He's working in the South Africa and has been incommunicado for a while. He just mentioned that he's getting married and has fixed a wedding date...sometime next year. I would have imagined that I ought to be upset that I have only found out today. I guess I should be piqued that I have not been part of his plans, part of his life, or shared in his dreams. But I am not upset. I believe that the world is a strange place and that friends are strange too. It is difficult not to blame him for not trying enough to stay in touch. [I am perennially available, apparently.] However, blaming him would be pointless. He has life to deal with. So have I. We are making the best of the cards that life has dealt us. I cannot blame him for playing in silence. Indeed, it is the way of the world and I pray that he finds a deeper peace from merging his soul with another's. It is what marriages should be about.
Talking about marriages, a couple of my friends are on the marriage train. At least, they would be if they could firm their minds up to the prospect of spending the rest of this beautiful life with not-so-ideal men. You see, they are hopeless romantics. They wish he would come - in shining armor - and sweep them off their feet. They want to find him - and for him to make their hearts skip every other beat. They want to be secure in his arms; hang unto his words; spice every meal with the taste of his lips. They want to be in love. Yet, my friends have made committments to others less-than-romeo. It is not easy to live one's life waiting for the ideal to arrive. The history of love is strewn with the ghosts of those who have waited in vain.
I wish I had advice for anyone in this situation. Unfortunately, my recklessness with love is well entrenched in the minds of those who know me. Nevertheless, the soul of the matter is this - are you willing to settle for someone who is, no doubt crazy about you, but with whom the deepest part of your heart will never touch? Is the ecstacy of life important to you? Are any of these things important in any way whatsoever? I really wish I knew.... Hopeless romantic, I am indeed. Well, when I know better than I know now, I shall make another attempt at these questions. Or perhaps, I shall ask better ones.
For now, I'll continue to wait for New York's first snow. Let me return to the sounds of midnight music....
I'm sitting up in my bed for two reasons. Firstly, the weather channel predicts it will snow tonight or early tomorrow. I'm very excited about that because I want to see the snow fall. It's not a weather feature I'm too familiar with...and it's the first snow this season in New York.
Secondly, I found a lovely website where I can download MP3s for free. And I'm using the opportunity to dig up my favourite tunes in all the world. As is characteristic of music, it soothes me. At least the type that I listen to does. And considering how weary I've been of all the reading and the extensive commuting I've had to do this semester, I'm treating myself to the littlest pleasures I can find. So, I've reacquainted myself with Eye of the Tiger, Streisand's 'Tell Him', R. Kelly's 'I'm the greatest'.... This is all very enticing...it actually makes studying tax bearable!
I met an old friend online a few minutes ago. I haven't heard from him in a while. We grew up together and he's been there for me many times. He's working in the South Africa and has been incommunicado for a while. He just mentioned that he's getting married and has fixed a wedding date...sometime next year. I would have imagined that I ought to be upset that I have only found out today. I guess I should be piqued that I have not been part of his plans, part of his life, or shared in his dreams. But I am not upset. I believe that the world is a strange place and that friends are strange too. It is difficult not to blame him for not trying enough to stay in touch. [I am perennially available, apparently.] However, blaming him would be pointless. He has life to deal with. So have I. We are making the best of the cards that life has dealt us. I cannot blame him for playing in silence. Indeed, it is the way of the world and I pray that he finds a deeper peace from merging his soul with another's. It is what marriages should be about.
Talking about marriages, a couple of my friends are on the marriage train. At least, they would be if they could firm their minds up to the prospect of spending the rest of this beautiful life with not-so-ideal men. You see, they are hopeless romantics. They wish he would come - in shining armor - and sweep them off their feet. They want to find him - and for him to make their hearts skip every other beat. They want to be secure in his arms; hang unto his words; spice every meal with the taste of his lips. They want to be in love. Yet, my friends have made committments to others less-than-romeo. It is not easy to live one's life waiting for the ideal to arrive. The history of love is strewn with the ghosts of those who have waited in vain.
I wish I had advice for anyone in this situation. Unfortunately, my recklessness with love is well entrenched in the minds of those who know me. Nevertheless, the soul of the matter is this - are you willing to settle for someone who is, no doubt crazy about you, but with whom the deepest part of your heart will never touch? Is the ecstacy of life important to you? Are any of these things important in any way whatsoever? I really wish I knew.... Hopeless romantic, I am indeed. Well, when I know better than I know now, I shall make another attempt at these questions. Or perhaps, I shall ask better ones.
For now, I'll continue to wait for New York's first snow. Let me return to the sounds of midnight music....
12.01.2006
Weary
...that's how I feel. Studying for exams has me totally worn out. I was going to panic a few days ago but I've decided to take each day as it comes. I really have no other choice.
I have refused to worry about the future. I'm not sure if this is good or bad; I'm not sure if I care.
So much has happened in the world of recent and I've just been unable to keep track of them all. For one, and this may be the least important, Matt Hughes lost his UFC belt to George "Rush" St. Pierre. Matt had beaten him before so I am not as gutted as I'd ordinarily feel. Hughes needs a break anyways. Vladmir Kramnik [the World Chess Champion] is playing Fritz - a computer program - in this year's installment of the "man v. machine" sampling. I think the computer will whop his a... but he's been doing great so far. There really is a lot to be said for machines that have no passion, nor initiative.
I'm looking forward to Egypt. I reserved my hotel this week and I hope everything else goes smoothly. I doubt that I have looked forward to anything like this before. I can't wait to free myself from these books!
My weariness bears upon me.... I'll have to take up this post at a more auspicious time, deal?
...like you could disagree! Cheers!
I have refused to worry about the future. I'm not sure if this is good or bad; I'm not sure if I care.
So much has happened in the world of recent and I've just been unable to keep track of them all. For one, and this may be the least important, Matt Hughes lost his UFC belt to George "Rush" St. Pierre. Matt had beaten him before so I am not as gutted as I'd ordinarily feel. Hughes needs a break anyways. Vladmir Kramnik [the World Chess Champion] is playing Fritz - a computer program - in this year's installment of the "man v. machine" sampling. I think the computer will whop his a... but he's been doing great so far. There really is a lot to be said for machines that have no passion, nor initiative.
I'm looking forward to Egypt. I reserved my hotel this week and I hope everything else goes smoothly. I doubt that I have looked forward to anything like this before. I can't wait to free myself from these books!
My weariness bears upon me.... I'll have to take up this post at a more auspicious time, deal?
...like you could disagree! Cheers!
11.22.2006
I disavow...
This is not a fabulous time to be a New Yorker!
The weather is so cold. It's been ranging between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius. All this in the middle of Thanksgiving! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I hear it's going to rain. Terrible, Terrible, Terrible! I've cancelled any plans for attending the Parade. I'll just stay indoors and draw inspiration from the cold arms of my tax texts.
Have you thought of what to give thanks for this year? In that regard, a few interesting things happened to me this week. I got in touch with 2 'old' friends. One of them isn't really old at all. She was an admin staff at the Houston law firm. She was very kind to me and she generally smiled a lot. I think she didn't get along too well with the other women in the office but she always put up a brave face.
The other friend is over 80 years old. He is the most learned person I know. He speaks every modern language I can think of - spanish, english, russian, french, portuguese, german, etc., as well as latin. I call him 'The Sphinx' cos I think he knows things only the Pyramids have seen. He had been on the verge of death lately. When I called, he was feeling better. He was as vivacious as a dew drop dancing in the sunlight. I am glad he is alive and well. There would be less of me if he were not.
I am a tad too busy to rant about the niceties of this week besides the weather and my old friends. Let me hope that you are warm wherever you are. As for me, while the weather stays this deathly, I disavow my relationship with it...lest I fade away like a sliver of ice!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
The weather is so cold. It's been ranging between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius. All this in the middle of Thanksgiving! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I hear it's going to rain. Terrible, Terrible, Terrible! I've cancelled any plans for attending the Parade. I'll just stay indoors and draw inspiration from the cold arms of my tax texts.
Have you thought of what to give thanks for this year? In that regard, a few interesting things happened to me this week. I got in touch with 2 'old' friends. One of them isn't really old at all. She was an admin staff at the Houston law firm. She was very kind to me and she generally smiled a lot. I think she didn't get along too well with the other women in the office but she always put up a brave face.
The other friend is over 80 years old. He is the most learned person I know. He speaks every modern language I can think of - spanish, english, russian, french, portuguese, german, etc., as well as latin. I call him 'The Sphinx' cos I think he knows things only the Pyramids have seen. He had been on the verge of death lately. When I called, he was feeling better. He was as vivacious as a dew drop dancing in the sunlight. I am glad he is alive and well. There would be less of me if he were not.
I am a tad too busy to rant about the niceties of this week besides the weather and my old friends. Let me hope that you are warm wherever you are. As for me, while the weather stays this deathly, I disavow my relationship with it...lest I fade away like a sliver of ice!!!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
11.18.2006
My Trip to the Met!
Hey there!
I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art tonight. Yeah, that's how I spend my Friday nights -intellectual masturbation with relics from another age. Even though I had to be convinced [nearly dragged, in fact] to "The Met", it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience! Forget the fact that I lost an argument about whether the E train stops at 53rd St. on 5th Avenue. [I said it didn't; my companion said it did. I take the train every blessed day. I should know if it does or not. As I said earlier, I was stupidly wrong...grrrrr!]
I'll try not to bore you with too many words. Here are some pictures from my trip.
Enjoy!
I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art tonight. Yeah, that's how I spend my Friday nights -intellectual masturbation with relics from another age. Even though I had to be convinced [nearly dragged, in fact] to "The Met", it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience! Forget the fact that I lost an argument about whether the E train stops at 53rd St. on 5th Avenue. [I said it didn't; my companion said it did. I take the train every blessed day. I should know if it does or not. As I said earlier, I was stupidly wrong...grrrrr!]
I'll try not to bore you with too many words. Here are some pictures from my trip.
Enjoy!
11.14.2006
My times are mine no longer.
Wow! It's been another hectic week. Exams are closing in and blogging is apparently not a priority... for now. I'll try to string together some disjointed thoughts here. Please forgive my apparent lack of orientation in advance.
Not much has been happening, except studying and more greek in my tax classes. I forgot my laptop in a Yellowcab on my trip back from Michigan. The nice bloke acting as the taxi driver dropped it off at the 107th precinct which was where I retrieved it at 3 am the next morning. If you ever lose anything in New York City, call 3-1-1 and make a report of it. Something positive might happen, or maybe not. But if you don't report it, your chances are reduced. I was glad to have my 'top back. My shaky exam preparations would have taken a fatal dip, for sure.
I visited the Nigerian consulate in New York for the first time today. I must say I felt no comfort being within its glass walls. I think my experiences with Nigerians home and abroad have not been amazing. They make me wary, I'm sorry to confess. I'm sure some others react likewise to me. I wish we could change things. I'm afraid we may not. Not in this generation. Anyways, I wanted to renew my passport. As I guessed, they stop operating at 12.00 noon. I'm not sure which is better - working at a foreign consulate with ridiculous hours; or, being a summer associate at a top law firm. Surely, the latter pays better but you gotta love the hours at the former!
Anyways, no more ranting for the present. I have to get back to figuring out S.904 and it's odd treatment of credits and losses.
On a lighter note, I did see this quote today: "A friend doesn't come to visit you in jail; he's in there with you, sitting on your bed saying, 'we f$%#*&^d up, didn't we?!'
Smile!
Not much has been happening, except studying and more greek in my tax classes. I forgot my laptop in a Yellowcab on my trip back from Michigan. The nice bloke acting as the taxi driver dropped it off at the 107th precinct which was where I retrieved it at 3 am the next morning. If you ever lose anything in New York City, call 3-1-1 and make a report of it. Something positive might happen, or maybe not. But if you don't report it, your chances are reduced. I was glad to have my 'top back. My shaky exam preparations would have taken a fatal dip, for sure.
I visited the Nigerian consulate in New York for the first time today. I must say I felt no comfort being within its glass walls. I think my experiences with Nigerians home and abroad have not been amazing. They make me wary, I'm sorry to confess. I'm sure some others react likewise to me. I wish we could change things. I'm afraid we may not. Not in this generation. Anyways, I wanted to renew my passport. As I guessed, they stop operating at 12.00 noon. I'm not sure which is better - working at a foreign consulate with ridiculous hours; or, being a summer associate at a top law firm. Surely, the latter pays better but you gotta love the hours at the former!
Anyways, no more ranting for the present. I have to get back to figuring out S.904 and it's odd treatment of credits and losses.
On a lighter note, I did see this quote today: "A friend doesn't come to visit you in jail; he's in there with you, sitting on your bed saying, 'we f$%#*&^d up, didn't we?!'
Smile!
11.06.2006
Tales from the Motor City [sort of...] Pt. III
Today, I decided to blog from 30,000 feet above the Motor City.
Yes, yes, the conference is over and I'm in the air, flying back to New York City. It is very comforting to be going back home even though Detroit, Ann Arbor and Michigan were terribly interesting. [I refer to them as though they were three distinct places. There not.] This flight is packed - partially due to a cancellation or a postponement of the flight to a later time for some unexplained reason. I may have to reconsider my thoughts on Spirit Air…hummph! So, rather that arriving in New York before dusk, I shall have to steal into the city like a thief in the night. Not that I have any problem with that in any way shape or form whatsoever!
The last day of the conference continued much like the earlier parts of it. Lively discussion, interesting presentations, some humor and lots of ideas [real and imaginary]. I had to leave a few minutes before the closing remarks in order to catch a free ride to the airport. I left right after the former Justice Minister of Japan made his presentation in stuttering English fit only for the truly discerning! I thought the whole conference was great though, generally and in many subtle ways.
I can say that tax policy in relation to developing countries produced more questions than answers. This is characteristic of any sincere query regarding the issues that affect development in any real sense. Invariably, there are many alternatives before these "Left-behind" nations. Many scholars - from the West and the Rest - have as many theories to help drag the Third World out of the quagmire that it finds itself. As tax practitioners, our inquiry has been to see if there are ways in which tax can fulfill the optimal fiscal growth of this bloc of countries. All in all, it is inevitable that, as a developing country, your fate lies in your hands. There is very little that the West knows about the true issues of development. The Third World does not operate with the panache, finesse and regularity that the West finds as commonplace. The laws of economics produce irrational results in these tangentially different market systems. The fate of a developing country is dire, but its recovery is certainly possible.
I am really glad I got out of my usual triangular regime to come to Detroit. I am very glad I met the extremely nice OECD guys and the tax scholars that care enough about development to attempt to do something about it - however futile their attempts might be. It may take a couple of generations to get things going. By then, the rest of the world may be in another age. The road is uphill. The wind is averse. But perhaps, hope is not totally absent.
And so, now that I have totally exhausted myself with my dramatic plane-catching on Friday coupled with a whirlwind weekend, I think it's time I sat back and enjoyed this flight. The rigor of Laurie, John and Rosenbloom still await me in Corporate tax, International Tax and Transfer Pricing. No. I shall try not to think about them for the 75minutes that this flight lasts. I doubt that that is possible. Yet, it won't stop me from trying….
11.04.2006
Tales from the Motor City [sort of...] Pt. II
Today was a whirlwind at the INTR Conference!
Let me describe the general format for the conference. Every morning, a chartered bus leaves at 8.30am from the Marriott Hotel where all the attendees reside. [Yes, including yours truly!] There is a continental breakfast at the University of Michigan School of Law and the conference papers start at 9.30am. Each day is divided into three sections. Usually, the first section contains three presentations. Thereafter, there is a lunchbreak. A second section follows with three or four short presentations interrupted by a coffee break. Finally, the third section hosts two or three presentations with a nice dinner at the end.
There are usually comments by the members of the audience after each section. Today's first section was mainly by OECD-type speakers. Most of yesterday's sections were very high level policy papers on tax issues relating to developing countries. Today's first section papers were no different. It was a bit upsetting altogether since the papers rather showed how much the speakers didn't know about true developing country-issues. And so, I decided to speak. I commented about the way we were all ignorant about tax issues and developing countries; I spoke about how Nigeria and other developing countries really do not care about the fine points of a trade tarriff over a VAT, or a consumption tax over an income tax base. I said it was unfortunate that the people who might be able to provide informed opinions about these issues were not present - as is characteristic of these type of high level think-tanks. I also said I wished the acumen were present in developing countries to actually appreciate the issues we were discussing.
You cannot imagine how much attention my comments raised! Since I was the last commentator in the first section (before the lunch break), the conference rose immediately after I spoke - and everyone (almost) crowded around my chair!!! Everyone was talking simultaneously - "What you just said was so true", "I totally agree with you", "You were so eloquent in expressing what I've been hoping to hear throughout this conference". Unfortunately, I cannot tell all the nice things that happened immediately after my comments but two directors from the OECD offered to sit at my table for lunch. I guess what a professor from George Washington University said was most characteristic. She said: "What you said today was the best thing I've heard since the conference began, and is probably the best thing I will hear. I'm very glad you spoke and you've made all the difference." Comments like this went on and on. People kept stopping me to pass a nice comment or the other. I was very surprised by people's reactions and I was very, very, proud indeed.
As a spin-off from my new-found fame, I got invited to a private dinner by some of the other participants. Normally, I would have just gone back to my bed. I got to speak personally with some of the other INTR participants and they were really down to earth and very nice! It was nice to talk to such grand achievers. Almost everyone had an SJD/PhD in tax law - which is certainly no mean feat. Of course, I was just a lowly LL.M. student. No pretences to the intellectual edge whatsoever from me. I shall have to send an email of thanks to all the people who have been especially nice to me.
The conference ends tomorrow. Most people will leave early right after the conference. I am flying back to New York at 4 p.m. I really am grateful that I took the initiative to come for this conference. It is nice to mix with the rest of the world in some microcosmic sense. It is so nice to speak my mind and to hear that people better than me thought it was highly impressive. I am optimistic about the future but I'm just happy for today.
Let me describe the general format for the conference. Every morning, a chartered bus leaves at 8.30am from the Marriott Hotel where all the attendees reside. [Yes, including yours truly!] There is a continental breakfast at the University of Michigan School of Law and the conference papers start at 9.30am. Each day is divided into three sections. Usually, the first section contains three presentations. Thereafter, there is a lunchbreak. A second section follows with three or four short presentations interrupted by a coffee break. Finally, the third section hosts two or three presentations with a nice dinner at the end.
There are usually comments by the members of the audience after each section. Today's first section was mainly by OECD-type speakers. Most of yesterday's sections were very high level policy papers on tax issues relating to developing countries. Today's first section papers were no different. It was a bit upsetting altogether since the papers rather showed how much the speakers didn't know about true developing country-issues. And so, I decided to speak. I commented about the way we were all ignorant about tax issues and developing countries; I spoke about how Nigeria and other developing countries really do not care about the fine points of a trade tarriff over a VAT, or a consumption tax over an income tax base. I said it was unfortunate that the people who might be able to provide informed opinions about these issues were not present - as is characteristic of these type of high level think-tanks. I also said I wished the acumen were present in developing countries to actually appreciate the issues we were discussing.
You cannot imagine how much attention my comments raised! Since I was the last commentator in the first section (before the lunch break), the conference rose immediately after I spoke - and everyone (almost) crowded around my chair!!! Everyone was talking simultaneously - "What you just said was so true", "I totally agree with you", "You were so eloquent in expressing what I've been hoping to hear throughout this conference". Unfortunately, I cannot tell all the nice things that happened immediately after my comments but two directors from the OECD offered to sit at my table for lunch. I guess what a professor from George Washington University said was most characteristic. She said: "What you said today was the best thing I've heard since the conference began, and is probably the best thing I will hear. I'm very glad you spoke and you've made all the difference." Comments like this went on and on. People kept stopping me to pass a nice comment or the other. I was very surprised by people's reactions and I was very, very, proud indeed.
As a spin-off from my new-found fame, I got invited to a private dinner by some of the other participants. Normally, I would have just gone back to my bed. I got to speak personally with some of the other INTR participants and they were really down to earth and very nice! It was nice to talk to such grand achievers. Almost everyone had an SJD/PhD in tax law - which is certainly no mean feat. Of course, I was just a lowly LL.M. student. No pretences to the intellectual edge whatsoever from me. I shall have to send an email of thanks to all the people who have been especially nice to me.
The conference ends tomorrow. Most people will leave early right after the conference. I am flying back to New York at 4 p.m. I really am grateful that I took the initiative to come for this conference. It is nice to mix with the rest of the world in some microcosmic sense. It is so nice to speak my mind and to hear that people better than me thought it was highly impressive. I am optimistic about the future but I'm just happy for today.
11.03.2006
Tales from the Motor City [sort of...]
My interesting pilgrimage in America has brought me to Michigan. This weekend, I am at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor attending the inaugural conference of a budding association called the International Network of Tax Researchers, a think-tank birthed by the OECD. Right now, it is already past lunch time and a number of interesting things have taken place.
But how could I miss telling you about my near miss - I was 3 seconds from missing my flight (literally)! [Didn't that sentence have a lot of "miss"es in it?!] The conference was scheduled to start at 9.00 am and since I didn't want to forgo Tax Procedure on Thursday night, I booked a Friday flight for 6.08 am. It was the first flight out of NYC going to Michigan. I should have known that such an early trip would "en-doom" me. Indeed, it almost did. [And my alliterations go on!] The foreboding of a troubled morning was the fact that I didn't sleep until 2.30am. Of course, if you want to make it through the security checks at a U.S. airport, it is crucial that you give yourself 45mins (if you're not checking in luggage) prior to your flight. Otherwise, you may have contributed your flight funds to the airline ex gratia. Anyways, sleeping at 2.30 meant that I had to be awake just 2hours later - to take a bath -to dress up-to finish packing and, then, hit the road.
Well, my alarm went off as it should but, for some inexplicable reason, it was 30mins later that my eyes opened - at the phonecall of the cab driver! Of course, those 30mins chopped out the time I'd scheduled for a bath, packing, etc. Nevertheless, I went off on a prayer and asked the driver for 15mins. I hit the bathroom and was dressed in 11mins. I threw everything into the cab and the driver sped off into the morning. I finished packing by stretching my small frame across the back seat of the cab driver's vehicle. He got me to the airport, and I ran through all the lines by not checking my luggage (it was rather light anyways) and telling everyone "my flight leaves in 10mins" (which was true). Stupidly, I had my bottle of perfume with me and the airport security didn't waste time in confiscating it (grrr...how come no one said there were restrictions on liquids in hand luggage and that you cannot take more than 3 ounces on board??? - I don't even know what an ounce means! When will these Americans go metric?!!!) Anyways, I was too much in a rush and didn't mind foregoing my prefume. Finally, I got to the door [you know, the door that leads to the airplane walkway...) just as it was being shut!
Having gone through the drama of catching my flight, it was nice to find that the plane was sooo comfortable! If you ever have the chance to fly Spirit Airlines, please do. The comfort was sublime. To crown my trip, when we touched down in Detroit, it was snowing! Naturally, that excites me cos I hadn't seen snow until this morning!!! The weather in Michigan was 23 degrees...brrrr...cold. My cab driver from the airport to Ann Arbor was a sick Sikh who tried to get on my last nerve and charged me an arm and a leg [yes, right now, I'm a cripple....] but I was just so glad to be here.
About the conference: There are quite a number of scholars here...over 50. I'm just making up the diversity percentage here even though I think I'm the only one really from a developing country. This is significant because the conference is about Tax Policy and Developing Countries. We've had the morning session and it was rather high level. The subjects spoke largely about european concepts of policy and really didn't get into the underlying tax reasoning that drives developing countries' policies. We'll see how the rest of the program unfolds. Hopefully I'll be able to say something and bring them down to earth to think about the real concepts and the way taxation affects developing countries. Indeed, I've been wondering what a "developing" country is and the unique, identifying factor that seperates such countries from "developed" countries. It certainly isn't the World Bank's parameter based on per capita income - which makes China, India and Brazil developing countries.
I also hope I get to do some networking. I doubt that anything tangible will come out of it but, regardless, the food and hotel are free so I am certainly not complaining! I shall walk the university, sleep the sleep of the free, and enjoy the intellectual discourse. Amen!
Let's see how it goes.
11.01.2006
Election days
If you haven't heard [apparently because you don't live in the U.S.; don't like politics; or, just plainly don't care], the U.S mid-term elections are taking place on the 7th of November. That's just a few days away. The mid-term elections are the platform for contesting a portion of the seats in the U.S. Congress. Very reasonably, elections to seats in the U.S. Congress are staggered so that there is no lacuna in Congress eliminating the need for its dissolution or significant interruption.
The stakes are very high this time. The previously Republican Congress is due for a shift in the balance of power to the other major U.S. party - the Democrats. The verbal barbs are out; the stakes are high; and the campaigns are ugly in many senatorial districts. What is remarkable to me is how polar the Democrats and the Republicans appear to be. How is it possible to stick to granting or denying federal funds for stem cell research; accepting or rejecting the recognition of same-sex marriages; or, sticking to the Right or Left merely for the sake of consistency in one's liberalism or otherwise?
In some ways, I am conservative. On other issues, I am clearly liberal. Society has pillars that need to stay constant. In the same way, society has pillars that need to be flexible enough to move - for the benefit of society itself. America is polarized by this conservatism/liberalism vistas. It permeates the minds of the common populace up to the elite chambers of the Supreme Court. I think it is absurd. It is perhaps why I have no stomach for politics; only for revolutions. I wish most of society would cast away its ideological branding; we might all the better off for it.
Nevertheless, enjoy the political show!
The stakes are very high this time. The previously Republican Congress is due for a shift in the balance of power to the other major U.S. party - the Democrats. The verbal barbs are out; the stakes are high; and the campaigns are ugly in many senatorial districts. What is remarkable to me is how polar the Democrats and the Republicans appear to be. How is it possible to stick to granting or denying federal funds for stem cell research; accepting or rejecting the recognition of same-sex marriages; or, sticking to the Right or Left merely for the sake of consistency in one's liberalism or otherwise?
In some ways, I am conservative. On other issues, I am clearly liberal. Society has pillars that need to stay constant. In the same way, society has pillars that need to be flexible enough to move - for the benefit of society itself. America is polarized by this conservatism/liberalism vistas. It permeates the minds of the common populace up to the elite chambers of the Supreme Court. I think it is absurd. It is perhaps why I have no stomach for politics; only for revolutions. I wish most of society would cast away its ideological branding; we might all the better off for it.
Nevertheless, enjoy the political show!
10.27.2006
Of Sagas, snow, and states of emergency.
It's really curious how simple things can quickly become complicated.
Last time, I mentioned that my loan situation was beginning to play out into a saga even though things were supposed to be as simple as the earth's rotation. Well, a saga it became indeed! This week, I found that my account still reflected a huge deficit (kinda like the U.S. budget). This was regardless of the fact that the lender had advanced a check for the full amount the the University Bursar inadvertently "refunded". I determined that I would get to the bottom of this matter. So, I called the financial aid office; called the Bursar; and then, called the Bank. No one seemed to be on the same page! I was scarcely surprised. The American system works very interestingly when human intervention comingles with mechanical programming. Sadly, I'm at the end of the stick on this one.
Nevertheless, I discovered that the guys at the financial aid office seemed to know better than anyone else what was going on, and after a few days and lots of phone calls, my account is back to credit status. Naturally, it's taken a month to correct someone's inadvertence - 3 days before all my spring records were scheduled to be wiped off! Of course, we shall ignore the small matter that my account now shows that the lender has disbursed waaay more than I actually borrowed! Someday, there will be an accounting to be done. Await my bankruptcy filings should things go awry! I can just imagine them selling of my poor heirloom in Lagos!!! [Shudder...]
The weather in New York has been in rare form this week. It has dropped to the very low 50's and everyone now has a reason to hurry everywhere. As a morbid aside, I coincidentally read somewhere that sexually transmitted diseases are less widespread in their transference during severe weather periods, e.g. in Winter. With this cold, I guess the reason is a no-brainer. Naturally, the nights are the worst. Regardless, it must be some sort of a curse to be alone in the world's most exciting city. But that is how I find myself.
Anyways, I cannot wait until it snows! I still haven't seen the snow - and I've been here (overseas) for over a year. I'm sure when it eventually snows, I shall curse my luck and speak constantly to my Ancestors over the frost. Yet, I'm excited about having a white Christmas!
Speaking of Christmas, I've bought my ticket to Egypt! I'm very excited about that too. For some reason, I thought the pyramids in Giza were far from Cairo. I learned today that they're about 20-odd minutes away from the city. That' s just swell. However, besides the pyramids, I'm very eager to see the temples in Luxor and the statute of Rameses. I will also visit the Boy-King and ask him how come his mystery and gold have confounded sages for ages. Gosh...at this rate, by the time I get back, all my sentences will be punctuated by hieroglyphics!!! [You're envious, I know. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get over it!]
I have to go for a tax conference in Michigan on Friday. It's an OECD conference on tax policy and its relationship to development. I think it might be fun - if one can consider a tax conference as fun. But it's a great opportunity and I never look a gift horse in the mouth!
OMG! I forgot to say - I went to Princeton, NJ over the weekend! It was beeeeauuuutiful! Well, not really. But the ambience was amazing. Some of the buildings were very old - and I love old buildings. Other buildings were designed with the old, gothic-type style to fit in with the pre-existing ancient structures. Our company had a guide who was an alumnus from the mid-90s. He had a clean British accent. He also spoke Italian with panache (the other members of my company were Italian). I asked him where he had schooled and he mentioned Oxford, etc. I thought to myself, "hmm, Princeton, Oxford, NYU...nice". And when I asked how come he spoke Italian so well, he looked around him - surprised - and said, "I am Italian!".
If you have the chance, visit Princeton. It is the top-ranked university in the United States; and, the world. It's faculty is legendary; it's buildings are enobling. Go with your Significant Other, if you have one; go with a digital camera and a sense of curiousity. I think you will enjoy yourself very much. I know I did!
Did I mention that the President eventually declared a state of emergency in that renegade place called Ekiti State, Nigeria? No one can seem to do right in the face of the Nigerian polity. Even though the state was going down into anarchy, people nevertheless criticized the president for effecting emergency powers. If he had failed to act, the same people would have criticized him for the remiss and suspected his motives.
I support the state of emergency. I do not support the President's continuous unilateral actions, however, or the lethargy with which the government engages testy situations. I am glad that Ayo Fayose has lost his S. 308 immunity although he is now nowhere to be found. I hear he has fled to Germany. I hope he remains a fugitive until he owns up to the social injustice of his kleptocracy. The Good Book says, "Have you seen a wicked man? An unjust messenger will be sent against him." Fayose's demise is good riddance to absolute rubbish. Next Chapter, please!
I shall stop venting now. I think I may go down to Thompson St. and play some chess. Or just go on home with my tail between my legs - it is how I spend my friday nights in New York City. Hmm...I guess this is just another weekend when I'll go on dreaming of a'changels.
Cheers!
Last time, I mentioned that my loan situation was beginning to play out into a saga even though things were supposed to be as simple as the earth's rotation. Well, a saga it became indeed! This week, I found that my account still reflected a huge deficit (kinda like the U.S. budget). This was regardless of the fact that the lender had advanced a check for the full amount the the University Bursar inadvertently "refunded". I determined that I would get to the bottom of this matter. So, I called the financial aid office; called the Bursar; and then, called the Bank. No one seemed to be on the same page! I was scarcely surprised. The American system works very interestingly when human intervention comingles with mechanical programming. Sadly, I'm at the end of the stick on this one.
Nevertheless, I discovered that the guys at the financial aid office seemed to know better than anyone else what was going on, and after a few days and lots of phone calls, my account is back to credit status. Naturally, it's taken a month to correct someone's inadvertence - 3 days before all my spring records were scheduled to be wiped off! Of course, we shall ignore the small matter that my account now shows that the lender has disbursed waaay more than I actually borrowed! Someday, there will be an accounting to be done. Await my bankruptcy filings should things go awry! I can just imagine them selling of my poor heirloom in Lagos!!! [Shudder...]
The weather in New York has been in rare form this week. It has dropped to the very low 50's and everyone now has a reason to hurry everywhere. As a morbid aside, I coincidentally read somewhere that sexually transmitted diseases are less widespread in their transference during severe weather periods, e.g. in Winter. With this cold, I guess the reason is a no-brainer. Naturally, the nights are the worst. Regardless, it must be some sort of a curse to be alone in the world's most exciting city. But that is how I find myself.
Anyways, I cannot wait until it snows! I still haven't seen the snow - and I've been here (overseas) for over a year. I'm sure when it eventually snows, I shall curse my luck and speak constantly to my Ancestors over the frost. Yet, I'm excited about having a white Christmas!
Speaking of Christmas, I've bought my ticket to Egypt! I'm very excited about that too. For some reason, I thought the pyramids in Giza were far from Cairo. I learned today that they're about 20-odd minutes away from the city. That' s just swell. However, besides the pyramids, I'm very eager to see the temples in Luxor and the statute of Rameses. I will also visit the Boy-King and ask him how come his mystery and gold have confounded sages for ages. Gosh...at this rate, by the time I get back, all my sentences will be punctuated by hieroglyphics!!! [You're envious, I know. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get over it!]
I have to go for a tax conference in Michigan on Friday. It's an OECD conference on tax policy and its relationship to development. I think it might be fun - if one can consider a tax conference as fun. But it's a great opportunity and I never look a gift horse in the mouth!
OMG! I forgot to say - I went to Princeton, NJ over the weekend! It was beeeeauuuutiful! Well, not really. But the ambience was amazing. Some of the buildings were very old - and I love old buildings. Other buildings were designed with the old, gothic-type style to fit in with the pre-existing ancient structures. Our company had a guide who was an alumnus from the mid-90s. He had a clean British accent. He also spoke Italian with panache (the other members of my company were Italian). I asked him where he had schooled and he mentioned Oxford, etc. I thought to myself, "hmm, Princeton, Oxford, NYU...nice". And when I asked how come he spoke Italian so well, he looked around him - surprised - and said, "I am Italian!".
If you have the chance, visit Princeton. It is the top-ranked university in the United States; and, the world. It's faculty is legendary; it's buildings are enobling. Go with your Significant Other, if you have one; go with a digital camera and a sense of curiousity. I think you will enjoy yourself very much. I know I did!
Did I mention that the President eventually declared a state of emergency in that renegade place called Ekiti State, Nigeria? No one can seem to do right in the face of the Nigerian polity. Even though the state was going down into anarchy, people nevertheless criticized the president for effecting emergency powers. If he had failed to act, the same people would have criticized him for the remiss and suspected his motives.
I support the state of emergency. I do not support the President's continuous unilateral actions, however, or the lethargy with which the government engages testy situations. I am glad that Ayo Fayose has lost his S. 308 immunity although he is now nowhere to be found. I hear he has fled to Germany. I hope he remains a fugitive until he owns up to the social injustice of his kleptocracy. The Good Book says, "Have you seen a wicked man? An unjust messenger will be sent against him." Fayose's demise is good riddance to absolute rubbish. Next Chapter, please!
I shall stop venting now. I think I may go down to Thompson St. and play some chess. Or just go on home with my tail between my legs - it is how I spend my friday nights in New York City. Hmm...I guess this is just another weekend when I'll go on dreaming of a'changels.
Cheers!
10.19.2006
Depression setting in...
It certainly was one of those days for me. Or, more honestly, it's been one of those times... the terrible kinda times.
I wish I could detail how I fell into discombobulation [remarkably, that is actually a word in the English language!]. I just know that I got there...speedily.
As things never go in a straighforward way, I found out that someone at the Bursary here is hell-bent on having me owe the school something. So much so that they refunded a large part of the amount my lender provided for my tuition! [Of course, the refund was in error but who cares!] The guys at the health center have a block on my account - not that I care - and so I have to go see them to get a shot for Mumps, Measles and Rubella. Interestingly, I already had two of the three diseases as a kid (which naturally makes you immune going forward, etcetera).
Studying is going in the most terrible way possible - not at all. I cannot seem to stay awake long enough to complete any substantial portion of my work. When I am awake, I don't have any desire to walk through the rationale for making a bootstrap sale a taxable transaction under section 301 or sale/exchange provisions; or why extraordinary dividends are problematic under section 1059. Apparently, December will catch me napping. There will certainly be hell to pay.
I'll run through recent events in the briefest way I can. Kim and his NKorea are still mad and they want to test a second missile; the State Legislature in Ekiti really removed the Chief Justice in the most blatant rape of the Constitution of Nigeria - and no one is doing anything about it; the Dow is constantly hovering over the 11,900 mark and is expected to crack the 12,000 code; the 300 millionth American was estimated to have been born at 7.26am on Tuesday or Wednesday - I forget which and don't care, really; Vladmir Kramnik is now Unified Chess Champion; yesterday (Wednesday) was the 50th anniversary of the "most beautiful (chess) game ever played" - a magnificent gem from a 13-year old Bobby Fisher that altered the world of combinations...and, that is really all the world has had to offer in a while!
[Deep sigh]
I shall have to reach deeper than I've had to in a long time to get myself out of this slump. Unlike some people who have the pleasure of human support to get through the vagaries of life, I am alone. I have only myself. My tears are mine; my worries are mine; my fears are mine. For people like us, strength can only come from within. Otherwise, one withers...also from within.
I wish I could detail how I fell into discombobulation [remarkably, that is actually a word in the English language!]. I just know that I got there...speedily.
As things never go in a straighforward way, I found out that someone at the Bursary here is hell-bent on having me owe the school something. So much so that they refunded a large part of the amount my lender provided for my tuition! [Of course, the refund was in error but who cares!] The guys at the health center have a block on my account - not that I care - and so I have to go see them to get a shot for Mumps, Measles and Rubella. Interestingly, I already had two of the three diseases as a kid (which naturally makes you immune going forward, etcetera).
Studying is going in the most terrible way possible - not at all. I cannot seem to stay awake long enough to complete any substantial portion of my work. When I am awake, I don't have any desire to walk through the rationale for making a bootstrap sale a taxable transaction under section 301 or sale/exchange provisions; or why extraordinary dividends are problematic under section 1059. Apparently, December will catch me napping. There will certainly be hell to pay.
I'll run through recent events in the briefest way I can. Kim and his NKorea are still mad and they want to test a second missile; the State Legislature in Ekiti really removed the Chief Justice in the most blatant rape of the Constitution of Nigeria - and no one is doing anything about it; the Dow is constantly hovering over the 11,900 mark and is expected to crack the 12,000 code; the 300 millionth American was estimated to have been born at 7.26am on Tuesday or Wednesday - I forget which and don't care, really; Vladmir Kramnik is now Unified Chess Champion; yesterday (Wednesday) was the 50th anniversary of the "most beautiful (chess) game ever played" - a magnificent gem from a 13-year old Bobby Fisher that altered the world of combinations...and, that is really all the world has had to offer in a while!
[Deep sigh]
I shall have to reach deeper than I've had to in a long time to get myself out of this slump. Unlike some people who have the pleasure of human support to get through the vagaries of life, I am alone. I have only myself. My tears are mine; my worries are mine; my fears are mine. For people like us, strength can only come from within. Otherwise, one withers...also from within.
10.13.2006
Crazy Men and Legislators
I am thoroughly tired. Unfortunately, I cannot trace the lengths and breadths engendering this lethargy. I am almost so tired that I don't even care why I am tired. Really.
How was your week? Mine was uneventful, except that I recongnize continually that I am sinking deeper and deeper into the closeness of exams - and I am rather unprepared. I sit in my corporate tax class typing away to the sound of Laurie's voice, half the time not knowing what she is talking about; othertimes, sharing a passing care to the intricacies of redemptions, flips, stock dividends, distributions not qualifying as substantial reductions in ownership, and notional bases of attributed stocks... [This is where I hold my head and grit my teeth.]
The week has been eventful for those that are concerned by world affairs. North Korea appears to have tested its nuclear bomb. Kim Jong Il is giving all the small men in the world a bad name...he has made his personal insecurities a national theme. John Bolton (isn't he another of the "small men"?) has been going through fits attempting to pass a resolution through the United Nations. Naturally, Russia and China - perennial foils to the U.S. - are not having any manner of strong terminology in the proposed resolutions.
Talking about the UN, the world ushers in a new Secretary General today. His name is Ban Ki-Moon. And the only things I can think about are two-fold: first, Kofi Annan needs a break from the worst job in the world. Second, what a time it is for Ban to take up such a thankless job!
The high drama in the Nigerian political sphere is rising in extensive proportions. Just when you think the pitch cannot rise, wham! - they surprise you by taking the ridiculous to absurdity. Anyways, there is the low-down. During the week, a "committee of clowns" offered the Vice-President a deal in which he would relinquish his presidential aspirations in exchange for a "soft landing"...essentially, the Attorney General will suddenly realize that his case deserves a nolle prosequi. The Vice-President would have none of the deal. He believes that the next president of Nigeria can only be dictated by God. I agree. However, I don't particularly see the correlation between a presidential aspiration and the commission of an offence. If the Vice-president is guilty of egregious embezzlement, why offer him a deal? If he is not guilty of wild theft, why prosecute him? Ok...enough said.
The more absurd situation is of course, the case in Ekiti. The House of Representatives mandated the Chief Judge of the State to set up a committee to look into the impeachable offences alleged against the governor. Up till this point, they were in conformity with the constitution...and I actually had hope that someone would do the right thing for once. Unfortunately, no one had envisaged that the Chief Judge may be in on the governor's debacle. Apparently, in exercise of his power to appoint the committee, he quietly appointed people who were subtly connected to the governor. Invariably, the governor's position moved from the brink of impeachment to solid stability!
The House wasn't going to sit down - literally - and allow itself be shown up. Well, what did they do? They promptly suspended the Chief Judge! That is, without doubt, the most absurd illegality anyone has attempted under the Nigerian Constitution. Anyways, the House went ahead and found a judge to act in his stead. As the sun sets today, this "acting" chief judge has appointed a new committee to look into the governor's impeachable charges (again). Did I forget to say that the first committee found the governor free and clear of all charges...after 24 hours?! These guys in Ekiti are really something.
I wish I had a calmer way to sign out today. Unfortunately, I shall have to leave you with the madness of Ekiti's government and its dramatis personae.
Ah! Lest I forget, there is a new unified chess world champion! He is Vladmir Kramnik! I shall have to go into mourning since I was silently rooting for the Bulgarian.
Cheers! I hope you had more exciting times yourself, hmm?
How was your week? Mine was uneventful, except that I recongnize continually that I am sinking deeper and deeper into the closeness of exams - and I am rather unprepared. I sit in my corporate tax class typing away to the sound of Laurie's voice, half the time not knowing what she is talking about; othertimes, sharing a passing care to the intricacies of redemptions, flips, stock dividends, distributions not qualifying as substantial reductions in ownership, and notional bases of attributed stocks... [This is where I hold my head and grit my teeth.]
The week has been eventful for those that are concerned by world affairs. North Korea appears to have tested its nuclear bomb. Kim Jong Il is giving all the small men in the world a bad name...he has made his personal insecurities a national theme. John Bolton (isn't he another of the "small men"?) has been going through fits attempting to pass a resolution through the United Nations. Naturally, Russia and China - perennial foils to the U.S. - are not having any manner of strong terminology in the proposed resolutions.
Talking about the UN, the world ushers in a new Secretary General today. His name is Ban Ki-Moon. And the only things I can think about are two-fold: first, Kofi Annan needs a break from the worst job in the world. Second, what a time it is for Ban to take up such a thankless job!
The high drama in the Nigerian political sphere is rising in extensive proportions. Just when you think the pitch cannot rise, wham! - they surprise you by taking the ridiculous to absurdity. Anyways, there is the low-down. During the week, a "committee of clowns" offered the Vice-President a deal in which he would relinquish his presidential aspirations in exchange for a "soft landing"...essentially, the Attorney General will suddenly realize that his case deserves a nolle prosequi. The Vice-President would have none of the deal. He believes that the next president of Nigeria can only be dictated by God. I agree. However, I don't particularly see the correlation between a presidential aspiration and the commission of an offence. If the Vice-president is guilty of egregious embezzlement, why offer him a deal? If he is not guilty of wild theft, why prosecute him? Ok...enough said.
The more absurd situation is of course, the case in Ekiti. The House of Representatives mandated the Chief Judge of the State to set up a committee to look into the impeachable offences alleged against the governor. Up till this point, they were in conformity with the constitution...and I actually had hope that someone would do the right thing for once. Unfortunately, no one had envisaged that the Chief Judge may be in on the governor's debacle. Apparently, in exercise of his power to appoint the committee, he quietly appointed people who were subtly connected to the governor. Invariably, the governor's position moved from the brink of impeachment to solid stability!
The House wasn't going to sit down - literally - and allow itself be shown up. Well, what did they do? They promptly suspended the Chief Judge! That is, without doubt, the most absurd illegality anyone has attempted under the Nigerian Constitution. Anyways, the House went ahead and found a judge to act in his stead. As the sun sets today, this "acting" chief judge has appointed a new committee to look into the governor's impeachable charges (again). Did I forget to say that the first committee found the governor free and clear of all charges...after 24 hours?! These guys in Ekiti are really something.
I wish I had a calmer way to sign out today. Unfortunately, I shall have to leave you with the madness of Ekiti's government and its dramatis personae.
Ah! Lest I forget, there is a new unified chess world champion! He is Vladmir Kramnik! I shall have to go into mourning since I was silently rooting for the Bulgarian.
Cheers! I hope you had more exciting times yourself, hmm?
10.07.2006
An Atypical Day
Friday was interesting - more for me, perhaps, than for you.
I usually try to structure my days so that I have as much free time as possible. I'm a natural loafer...can't snap the habit. Somehow, I managed to get yesterday 'swamped' with things to do. Certainly felt different!
I made it to Laurie's class on time. Her subject is always such a delight...[assuming you have no life, are bent on twisting your mortal mind, are and enamoured by the incomprehensible]! After that, I was scheduled to conference with the charismatic Rosenbloom about a Transfer Pricing paper topic. I hadn't even come up with a good idea for the meeting and I was very worried. I had to rage against the machine when my laptop adamantly refused to get wireless reception - I changed location 4 times just looking for some stray wireless portal to tap into! I'm really beginning to dislike Vanderbilt/Furman for this lack of wirelessness. Don't those buildings know I live on the web...literally???
Anyways, after sweating bullets trying to come up with something impressive to say to Rosenbloom, he turned out to be such a charming man with very little stress. I must say, all I could think about was - 'wouldn't it be nice to earn one of the highest salaries in the academia, teaching one course - which, by the way - is online and comprises recordings of what I taught last semester - and have office hours once a week?!' I think he has a great job. Now, I know what I want to be when I grow up.... [No, no...not a professor. I want to be David H. Rosenbloom!]
After Rosenbloom, I popped up to Financial Aid Services to try to sort out my loan situation [see my last post]. Apparently, someone entered the wrong social security number for me and the wire transfer went haywire [forgive the pun]. I think I may have sorted it out now [minimal effort, I know] but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. One can never tell how things may go - for good or for bad. I'm ready for both of 'em! Yeah!!!
Did I mention that I'm going to Egypt for the holidays? [I can just see your envying looks.] I'm going to Cairo. But I'll certainly drop by in Alexandra and Luxor. If possible, I'll catch up with some luxury at Sharm el-Sheikh. Delightful, eh? Yes, I know....
So, back to the real world.
With my financial aid situation apparently taken care of, I had to pop over to my orientation at the Review of Law and Social Change. There was a whole bunch of people there...which was expected anyways. Afterall, there are over 100 editors anyways. So, I sat there, looking like one of the new kids on the block, trying not to be grumpy. I usually avoid anything that includes "meetings"; especially, when it's not something I'm pioneering! I usually don't like being around people who are already so familiar with each other.
However, it's for the latter reason that I never went to language classes; never started Taekwondo; never joined a club in Undergrad/Lawschool; and, pretty much is the reason why I usually don't know a lot of people anywhere in the world. Which may be why I spend so much time playing chess online and daydreaming! Grrrr. I'm learning to change that.
Ah, talking about chess - two things. Right after the Review orientation, I popped over to Thompson St. to play some chess. [I'll have to tell you about Thompson St. someday!] Also, Topalov won game 8! ...playing with the Black pieces!!! "Impossible, though arth nothing indeed"
When I was done playing chess, I headed for the subway. Just as I was going into the bowels of the earth, I thought..."You're in NYC, it's a Friday night, you're in the mood...and you're going home???" Doesn't make sense to you either, right? I didn't think so. Therefore, I headed back out of the subway and decided to walk the streets.
Well, what did I find? I found a shop with Puma sneakers. It was closed but at least it saves me wondering where to buy those...I need to do some shopping soon. I also walked into an Adult store. I saw a live dildo for the first time! It's not a shop I would like to work in, but I sure loved walking through it.... I passed by a shop where you can watch someone getting tatooed. Some girl was getting a tatoo very close to her .... Now, that was a sight. I also found this cute shop with nice, unique wristwatches. After walking around in squares, I found myself back at the subway entry. So, I took it as a sign and headed on home.
New York is getting colder. The Columbus day holidays are this week so, everything's on sale. It feels like things are on sale every weekend. I'll try to get some reading done today so I can go over to the mall nearby. Who knows who or what might find me!
Alrighty. No morals for today. Cheerie eerie o!
I usually try to structure my days so that I have as much free time as possible. I'm a natural loafer...can't snap the habit. Somehow, I managed to get yesterday 'swamped' with things to do. Certainly felt different!
I made it to Laurie's class on time. Her subject is always such a delight...[assuming you have no life, are bent on twisting your mortal mind, are and enamoured by the incomprehensible]! After that, I was scheduled to conference with the charismatic Rosenbloom about a Transfer Pricing paper topic. I hadn't even come up with a good idea for the meeting and I was very worried. I had to rage against the machine when my laptop adamantly refused to get wireless reception - I changed location 4 times just looking for some stray wireless portal to tap into! I'm really beginning to dislike Vanderbilt/Furman for this lack of wirelessness. Don't those buildings know I live on the web...literally???
Anyways, after sweating bullets trying to come up with something impressive to say to Rosenbloom, he turned out to be such a charming man with very little stress. I must say, all I could think about was - 'wouldn't it be nice to earn one of the highest salaries in the academia, teaching one course - which, by the way - is online and comprises recordings of what I taught last semester - and have office hours once a week?!' I think he has a great job. Now, I know what I want to be when I grow up.... [No, no...not a professor. I want to be David H. Rosenbloom!]
After Rosenbloom, I popped up to Financial Aid Services to try to sort out my loan situation [see my last post]. Apparently, someone entered the wrong social security number for me and the wire transfer went haywire [forgive the pun]. I think I may have sorted it out now [minimal effort, I know] but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. One can never tell how things may go - for good or for bad. I'm ready for both of 'em! Yeah!!!
Did I mention that I'm going to Egypt for the holidays? [I can just see your envying looks.] I'm going to Cairo. But I'll certainly drop by in Alexandra and Luxor. If possible, I'll catch up with some luxury at Sharm el-Sheikh. Delightful, eh? Yes, I know....
So, back to the real world.
With my financial aid situation apparently taken care of, I had to pop over to my orientation at the Review of Law and Social Change. There was a whole bunch of people there...which was expected anyways. Afterall, there are over 100 editors anyways. So, I sat there, looking like one of the new kids on the block, trying not to be grumpy. I usually avoid anything that includes "meetings"; especially, when it's not something I'm pioneering! I usually don't like being around people who are already so familiar with each other.
However, it's for the latter reason that I never went to language classes; never started Taekwondo; never joined a club in Undergrad/Lawschool; and, pretty much is the reason why I usually don't know a lot of people anywhere in the world. Which may be why I spend so much time playing chess online and daydreaming! Grrrr. I'm learning to change that.
Ah, talking about chess - two things. Right after the Review orientation, I popped over to Thompson St. to play some chess. [I'll have to tell you about Thompson St. someday!] Also, Topalov won game 8! ...playing with the Black pieces!!! "Impossible, though arth nothing indeed"
When I was done playing chess, I headed for the subway. Just as I was going into the bowels of the earth, I thought..."You're in NYC, it's a Friday night, you're in the mood...and you're going home???" Doesn't make sense to you either, right? I didn't think so. Therefore, I headed back out of the subway and decided to walk the streets.
Well, what did I find? I found a shop with Puma sneakers. It was closed but at least it saves me wondering where to buy those...I need to do some shopping soon. I also walked into an Adult store. I saw a live dildo for the first time! It's not a shop I would like to work in, but I sure loved walking through it.... I passed by a shop where you can watch someone getting tatooed. Some girl was getting a tatoo very close to her .... Now, that was a sight. I also found this cute shop with nice, unique wristwatches. After walking around in squares, I found myself back at the subway entry. So, I took it as a sign and headed on home.
New York is getting colder. The Columbus day holidays are this week so, everything's on sale. It feels like things are on sale every weekend. I'll try to get some reading done today so I can go over to the mall nearby. Who knows who or what might find me!
Alrighty. No morals for today. Cheerie eerie o!
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