I'm back on the paperwork treadmill, trying to collect and organize all the documents we need for our immigration application. I had to travel to work yesterday -- where the building, during summer break, is under a crazy amount of maintenance and renovation -- to use the copier and get some file folders. I need to go back again today to do a bit more copying. Then we'll be ready for Monday.
I also took a bag of used books to Oxfam, including Bob Spitz's huge biography of The Beatles, which I loved when I read it about 10 years ago. (Let's face it -- I'm not going to read it again.) The guy at Oxfam got all excited when he saw it.
"Oh, I'm about to do a Beatles window!" he said. "Sometimes I think God really does listen."
Am I an instrument of divine intent? Who knows.
Also among life's questions at the moment: I've been getting lots of odd spam e-mails trying to find me a job in Medfield, Mass. It's the strangest thing. Every day I get two or three, and I remember several months ago getting similar e-mails about job searching in Worcester, Mass. Is someone in the Bay State using my e-mail address for their job search? Do I need to be concerned? I'm not sure. It's mostly just peculiar.
I slept pretty well last night, but not quite as well as the night before. The second night after a long trip is always harder, when the initial exhaustion of travel has been remedied. Part of the blame, though, lies with my new toy -- a negative scanner! Yes, I'm playing around with my old pictures again. The scanner arrived yesterday evening from Amazon, and I stayed up late last night scanning and adjusting some forgotten film rolls. I promise to share with you anything worthwhile I find!
(Photo: Rosebay willowherb atop a security wall in West Hampstead, a few weeks ago.)
How much does the school charge you for printing personal stuff? I trust you left the correct payment as it would be very un-British to do otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAh, but it's not personal -- it's a work expense! After all, if we're to continue working for the school we must get this documentation. The school covers the costs.
ReplyDeleteThat is sly you old fox!
ReplyDeleteThat picture is worth ten thousand words.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...that's very odd about the emails. I really do wonder when things like that happen.
ReplyDeleteLately, I've run into trouble with my iPhoto's mailing tool. I use it all the time to mail photos and suddenly photos just never arrive at their destination. It makes me wonder what happens to all those emails that say they were sent but don't seem to go anywhere.
Lucky Oxfam guy! Your timing was perfect for him.
I started getting emails from an alumni group for some catholic college that I never attended. I never did figure out how they got my email address. I asked them several times to remove me to no avail. I forget how I finally stopped receiving them. maybe they did eventually purge me from their list. travel fatigue. it took me two weeks to really get back to normal after our Hawaii trip.
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy the Beatles book, too. Lucky guy. Good luck with your upcoming meeting. Enjoyed the blog posts of your recent Florida trip.
ReplyDeletepaper work is wearying, but one feels so accomplished when it's all done. maybe there is another steve reed in massachusetts with an email close to yours? you could try emailing back one of the contacts to see what's what.
ReplyDeleteThat plant looks like it's giving the finger to the barbed wire - ha! I wonder if we should get a negative scanner - Mike used to take a lot of film pictures back in the day. Hmmm - Christmas present for him?
ReplyDeleteLove that photo! Rosebay you say? Looks like what we call fireweed, which is blooming in profusion now up here. I think it's brave trying to exist in a harsh environment.
ReplyDeleteYou're an instrument of something, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteOuch
ReplyDeleteFascinating photo...a fireweed in the razorwire! Nice one!
ReplyDeleteI hope the emails are just a mix-up, not targeting you or anything. My niece had a mixup for awhile with her email. Someone with the same name and the same very, very large employer. I think Angella has a good idea in her comment.
ReplyDeleteThat picture is definitely one of great contrast.
Thanks for commenting, everyone! The job e-mails are not written by individuals -- they're more like mass-emailed lists of job opportunities. Usually a list of open positions. So there's no one to write back to, really. I try to unsubscribe from the list. We'll see where that gets me.
ReplyDeleteYes, rosebay willowherb and fireweed are the same thing, according to Wikipedia. "Chamaenerion angustifolium, commonly known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, and in Britain as rosebay willowherb, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae."