January 1, 2012

I got up at 4:00am unable to sleep any longer. I continued to feel lightheaded and queasy. Turned on the TV and was treated to compendium of all the new year’s eve celebrations around the world. Australia had spent the modest sum of six million dollars in fireworks and China had tried to outdo everybody else since they invented fireworks and can’t afford to be called laggards on that front. I then switched channels and found that TVe (Television Espanola) was presenting a musical potpourri including singers and groups around the world so that I was treated to the sounds of Engelbert Humperdick, Jairo, Nelly Furtado, Glenn Medeiros, Los del Rio, Juan Luis Guerra and Oscar de Leon. It was a feast indeed. I heard songs I hadn’t heard in decades and saw the faces of some artists I only knew through their records.

Dilya responded to my email about the lack of running water when I sent it to her a second time. She claimed to have been on vacation until today, but I’m doubtful. She said the landlady was sending her assistant in a few hours to check on the problem and he did show up with another guy, but was unable to fix the problem as apparently the pump was not working properly and a part needed to be replaced and the hardware stores were closed today.

Caroline sent me the details about the New Year’s Eve dinner and dance she had attended. I only regret not having been at Marydean for dinner as the spread she described sounded sumptuous. Sitting around a table in a nightclub with people from the embassy does not appeal to me in the least and then I realized I don’t even have a cocktail address to attend that kind of an event.

Nilufar called to check on me and said she’ll be here tomorrow to resume her classes. Aziz, one of my favorite students at the PedInst, called as well to inquire about my health and to tell me he had had a lot of fun at the Ismoili plaza the night before.

I completed the expense report I needed to send to GU to be reimbursed for the expenses related to the workshops I’ve presented. They have yet to acknowledge receipt of the first one I sent to them more than a month ago. I had enough time to corral all my stray receipts and other extraneous paperwork and sort through it all to decide what needed to be kept and what to throw away. It was a good way to begin this artificial new year.