throwback evening

Part of my job as Associate Provost is to process and rule on all faculty conference and research grant requests. That happens 4 times per year, and I try to dispatch the task quickly each time, in a sort of workaholic fiesta of 1-2 days, because people are so eager to hear the results of their applications. (It’s generally fun, but there are always a half dozen or so heartbreaking rejections because somebody messed something up that they shouldn’t have messed up, and also there are usually 1-3 people who hate your guts after your decision and send angry emails.)

In any case, I knew tonight’s grant session would last well past the final bus off campus back to the city (10:15 PM), so I went ahead and rented one of the three available faculty apartments. For a little under $30, you receive the use of a huge two-floor place. And that’s where I am. It’s always a bit chilly out here at night in the desert, but the air is so clear and the stars are so beautiful (in Cairo itself, forget about seeing any stars).

However, these three faculty apartments are attached to the student dormitories, so there’s the first throwback aspect of tonight– I haven’t slept on a campus since 1990. (Except for the time I slept outdoors one night on the Berkeley campus, 1992, under a tree and next to a rock. A story for another time.)

And here’s the other fun throwback… The only place to get cookable food is at the on-campus convenience store, which doesn’t have much. And the only thing they had that appealed to me tonight was… ramen noodles!

When was the last time I ate ramen noodles? It had to be graduate school. That staple food of the penniless student! I’m about to cook some right now.

Nice to know that making that 10 AM meeting tomorrow will be the easiest thing in the world. No need to catch a bus.