End of month summary

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We are now exactly one month in Cincinnati. In this month we managed to do quite a lot, despite the power outage, the lethargy of service people in Cincinnati, and our own lapses into gloomy mood. First, however, the last week deserves a summary, before we can discuss the whole month.

When it comes to working hard, this week was no different than the other ones. We literally slaved ourselves today, from 9:00 am till now (it was 10:00 pm when I started writing this very line, and now it's 11:00), and there is still work to do today. D is doing her homework, reading material to the coming school week, and preparing herself to a midterm in DB modeling and design. What can I tell you? She's as geek as I am. I checked the 40 papers I had received from one assignment, prepared the two midterm tests I give this week, plus formula sheet, two lessons for tomorrow, and the entire assignment I gave my students due tomorrow. I also solved the test I had prepared, and since it took me half the time they will have, I'll have to delete a few questions.

One reason why we had to work so hard today is that yesterday we went on another shopping spree. If the American economy is still hanging by threads before falling into the abyss of depression, it's only because we single-handedly (or rather, single bank-accountedly) jump start it. Yesterday we bought a suit for D, an all-in-one printer, food at Costco Warehouse, and a car. Since the most interesting thing is the car I'll start with Costco. Costco is an enormous, IKEA-size, warehouse for groceries. Imagine the size of IKEA, with IKEA sized packages (although not necessarily flat), only of food and things for house keeping. And everything is so cheap, relatively to the other grocery shops because of that. For example, you can't get a single pasta box; they sell them in a 7-pack. Or one bar of Dove soap, which are sold by the 10. We also bought about two gallons of liquid hand soap, which will last, according to our rough calculations, between 9 months and a year.

But enough with this Costco thing. We bought a dark green 2000 Nissan Altima, 2.4 liter, with 88000 miles and a sunroof for around $8500 including taxes. It's considered as a compact sedan here. As anything else here, it only took about 4 hours at the dealership, three of which passed after we had told the dealer we wanted the car. Nonetheless, I'm quite excited about it, since it is the first time that I am the owner of my own vehicle. Until now the car I drove was either my parents', an army vehicle, or a company leasing car. Now I know what it's like to pay for car insurance. We'll need to buy license plates (they go with the person, not the vehicle in the US). One good thing about the economy crisis is that the price of a gallon of gas has plunged from 4 dollars to less than 3 in the past month we have been here.

By the way, the Americans need to stop using this stupid American unit system and progress to the SI system as the rest of the world did. Even the British don't measure temperature in Farenheit anymore, or length in miles, feet and yards. The only thing they measure in the old system is, quite understandably and logically, a Pint of beer, which by the way the Americans has reduced by about 20%. In my class I have to use both systems interchangeably, so now I know how much is the gravity acceleration in feet per second squared (32.2) or what the hell is a slug (besides a dude that is being sluggish).

Another set of good news is the fact that yes, after almost a month, the university system finally acknowledges my existence. It hasn't perforated to all the university systems yet, but at least now I have my university ID (usually known as the Bearcat card) card, which also allowed me to purchase a monthly parking pass, and to get my keys. And in keys I mean that finally I don't have to ask people to let me into my own room. On Friday I finally moved to Kelly's old office, which he vacated while moving to a better office, previously owned by a professor that retired (I think). More on systems and the American life in the next paragraphs. Anyway, I still haven't received any paycheck, nor have I been able to use the university's information systems (except for my email) to contact my students. With all the shopping we have been doing here lately we start to feel a great shortage in liquid assets. And, as you know, credit is a profanity nowadays in America.

Weekly short summary:

• Car
• UC ID
• Office
• Parking card
• Work, work, work
• Money shortage
• Mood-o-meter: 70s.

Now for a short monthly analysis. The most important thing I can say after this month is that the Americans are so ready for totalitarianism that it's scary (well, at least when I'm at the bottom of the food-chain). First of all, they are so submissive by nature; they tend to receive anything so docilely, whether it is waiting for the power to return for a week, or waiting to take the left-turn at the stop light, or simply waiting for someone to do something. I don't know if this combination of lethargy and malleability is the cause for their obesity, or is it the other way around, but they simply are. In addition, they behave in a herdlike manner, as you can see in their recent stock markets plunges. They also seem to be living under a constant fear of or rules and of change, especially one that might keep them away from their food and entertainment. For example, when I was supposed to receive my keys to Kelly's old office, I simply thought I can take them from him. Little did I know. It appears that the "system" does not allow for shortcuts. I had to wait three more days for my keys because this "system" cannot be changed, modified or bypassed in any way. Moreover, they have been living under the Bush administration for the past 8 years, and there have to be some implications to that. Finally, with this economic crisis and based on all the aforementioned premises about them, you can see why it's not hard to foresee a "strong man" stepping into the Oval Office, and changing the world as we know it. God help us against that, because we, Jews, have a rather bad experience with the kind of those. Speaking of Hitler, please go to this link.

Another interesting observation I can make about Americans is that they are going in an endless spiral of stupidity -> simplicity -> lowered requirements -> numbing stupidity. I'm talking about the vast majority of Americans. It all starts with most of them being, how to say it mildly, slow. As a result of that, and as a result of the constant pursuit of blissful ignorance, they expect - and receive - things simplified to the max. That's why you can see installation kits that require no reading at all, only drawings. Another example is the dreadful operating system for Verizon phones I told you about last week. Americans also don't expect any intelligence from the surrounding ones, and since most of them have never been outside the borders of the contiguous USA and Canada, or even own a passport, they imagine that all the other people are at least as stupid as them. Probably more; Americans think that since they rule the world, the other peoples are at least less intelligent than they are. So they have no expectations from one another or from the world in general. Thus, they don't require much from themselves, leading to another plunge in their general intelligence. It's no wonder that the average graduate student in America is either Indian or Chinese. The empire is rotting. It may take a short violent economic decline with totalitarianism, or it may take a long, painful, decline, while the Chinese and the Indians rise to power. In any case, the sun, my friends, will rise in the East. Go catch the Nitsan Horwitz show in channel 10.

You can't imagine how I envy you for having this wonderful holiday season. It seems that you hardly ever work, while we had no time off at all. We will get you back, and get back to you, in mid December. Save us a spot in the calendar.

Monthly summary:

• Americans are slow.
• Americans might endorse totalitarianism.
• China and India are the rising sun.
  
• It's oh-so-bleak.
• Missing vacations.
• Missing home.