Jono and the Giant Apple: Play "Misty" for me

Subtitle: The problem with "+"

The last two days have flown by. Yesterday I spent the bulk of indoors, studying for Stats so that I can exempt out of the course and take something else. Little else occurred, other than drawing some cash to deposit into Uzayr's account to get our security deposit sorted out so we can move in.

To that end I drew $2000 from my SA account, but since the bank had closed, I'm still sitting with an exorbitant wad of cash in an envelope in the apartment. Last night was an early night, in anticipation of an early morning dropping off my laptop for configuration.

Early this morning (relatively so, remember that I enjoy early mornings about as much as I enjoy the musical stylings of Justin Bieber), I dropped off my laptop for configuration. I then went for a walk, because the hours between waking and lunch were too good to waste. I headed downtown, to 74th St, where I cut across east to Central Park. I spent some time there devouring a chocolate chip brioche from Silver Moon bakery, and then headed back west, through the quaint (and absurdly expensive) Upper West Side.

I then met Nisha (future housemate) to help coach her for her McKinsey interview, and then returned to campus for the final stages of the laptop configuration. Enter the dreaded "+". If you will excuse the brief digression...

The plus, or "+", is the most nefarious of all mathematical symbols. Mathematically, it indicates glut, excess, and bloating through addition. It is the dreaded sign on pregnancy tests for millions of poor teen girls around the world. Let's be frank - it is practically a Swastika, without the fancy curlicues that make it less brutal.

My burgeoning hatred of the plus developed today. The laptop configuration ran for an hour. Thereafter, everyone else left, having successfully updated their systems. My laptop, however, refused to work. I was unable to log in to Outlook or Lymc, or various other CBS systems. After roughly an hour (and a great deal of frustration) we discovered that inclusion of a "+" in my password was preventing the system from recognising me or my login. With "+" - hellishly frustrating session. Without "+" - simple, calm procession. I'm not trying to blame the "+", but it is practically the worst thing since institutionalised racism.

The "+" was thus responsible for me being 30 minutes late for the orientation reception, despite my resolution to be early and engaged. I eventually did arrive, played CBS Bingo (using attributes of new acquaintances as scoring points), and then went to The Parlour to have a few beers. The Parlour (1 block from my new apartment) is home to Rugby Happy Hour, a weekly celebration of rugby. Who knew that heaven has been hiding in Manhattan all this time. I had lots of fun at The Parlour, meeting an endless parade of the 204 people in my class (including a Ms China Top 10 finalist, a Chinese guy who has launched a social network with an IPO in a few weeks worth $100 million, etc. I felt distinctly boring (except for the novelty of being South African). I eventually returned home, and every word I type here is five minutes less sleep I get before an early start tomorrow. With that, adieu.

Jono

Cash for apartment deposit