Brand New Key

Okay, this is weird: To use the elevators in my office building, you need a key. And only University staff are allowed to have keys. So the students have to take the stairs. The building only has three floors (numbered 0, 1, and 2) so it's not such a big deal, but still it feels kind of elitist or something. I haven't gotten my special priveleged elevator key yet--stairs are about the only exercise I get right now, so I think I'll keep taking them.

The sidewalks are funny here. They kind of outdent (is that a word?) at intersections. I tried to make a picture of how they look: The *'s are the streets, and the dashed lines outline the sidewalks.

So to stay on the sidewalk you have to walk out of your way. I rarely do this (I'm a New Yorker now. I walk wherever the fuck I want.) so I'm always almost getting run over by cars, motorcycles, scooters, etc. Keeps things interesting. And people here often obey the Walk/Don't Walk sings at crosswalks, even if there are no cars coming. I'm just waiting to get stopped for jaywalking one day. The "I'm from New York" defense probably won't go over very well....

I went back to Human Resources today to see about my paycheck. The good news is that the University now has all the documents necessary for them to be able to pay me. I guess they somehow got them from the Spanish consulate in Washington rather than the one New York, which explains why obtaining them didn't take months and involve tears and yelling. (Fuck you, NYC Spanish Consulate.) Anyway, I signed my work contract, which I can't really read because it's written in Catalan. Was that the dumbest thing I've ever done? I hope not. So now all I have to do is take a form to a bank to pay a tax of 6.57 euros; wait for my social security number; and take it along with a bunch of other documents to the police station, where I'll get a work permit and have my visa extended. Could y'all keep your fingers crossed for me, please? Thanks.