If I don't get some shelter, oh yeah I'm gonna fade away

I've recently been song-bingeing on Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter.' Humorous and ironic given my first day at HBS.

Of all the reputations that could have been bestowed upon me by my peers and supervisors, "the homeless kid" was not the first one I would have expected. Realizing that everyone else in the room had a place (and many of them, a significant other) to live with, I was a little frustrated, and as HR gave me hell for not having a permanent address listed on my forms and for requesting to pick up my benefits package in person rather than have them send the envelope o' stuff back to Jersey, I assumed my new identity. Sung to the iconic tune of "I am the walrus" by The Beatles: "I am the homeless, koo koo ka-choo!"

Even though I have nowhere to live next week and am still searching for a kind soul to lend a happy couch to my weary bones, the good news is that I'm basically confirmed (contract pending) to live about .7 miles from campus from mid-July-August with a really sweet Brazilian girl pursuing a doctorate through a joint program with the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Business School. The funniest part is writing the lease contract: I'm the subletter. You'd think I'd just be signing something, but nope, I'm writing it. Nothing like beginning a job as a research associate at a business school by beginning research on what binds two parties in a legal contract. 

Maybe my dad was right--maybe I should have gone to law school? Nah, still not regretting that choice. 

The best part of the day was meeting with my professor, who is a veritable captain amazing, and went through a whole bunch of logistical stuff and then helped me dissect the contents of the 5 gigantic boxes of stuff left by his recently departed RA, Tracy. While I declined the seven pounds or so of pu'er tea, I did graciously accept a bamboo scroll of 'The Art of War' that Tracy left behind (value of scroll unknown, could be worth $5 or $500 or more. But it was made in China, so make your assumptions and draw your conclusions). I think that book just moved to the top of my reading list after 'A Kaleidoscope of China,' my best Princeton Chinese textbook and a work with which I need to become intimately reacquainted  should I continue to consider myself fluent in Mandarin. Or at least as fluent in Mandarin as a precocious 12-year old in the PRC. 

Tomorrow I head to Beacon Hill to meet a family friend for lunch and who knows what else. Probably raid the Paper Source on Boylston Street and go find the incredible popsicle truck where I had that watermelon blueberry basil ice pop the last time I was here. I have two days off during which I need to do a bit or reading for my prof and make 4th of July plans, and I plan to use them well.

But first, to zone the heck out by watching Arrested Development. It's like eating haagen dazs ice cream at midnight--it's always satisfying, even if you already had some today.