Tarmac and adjustments

There's a metaphor I like to use for stuff that has to get done but can't be done because of another thing in the way -- "the tarmac problem". It's like your jobs are lined up waiting for take-off, but they can only take off one at a time, and if one of them has engine trouble -- can't get done yet for some reason -- it keeps all the rest of the stuff from getting done.

(Did my jet-lagged mind succeed in explaining this?)

So my main tarmac issue is The Social Security Number. It seems you can't do much of anything in Finland without it. I was able to get my apartment, and I can buy things, but I can't register for taxes (and thus get my salary going), can't get a regular phone, can't get a debit card without this number.

An iconic incident -- one that made me drag myself home in defeat -- was when I applied for this number and was told it would be mailed to me -- and had I registered with the Post Office so it knew that I lived where I live? When I said no, I was given a form to fill out and send to the Post Office. BUT IT NEEDS A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER!!!

I know these things will get worked out, because there are any number of happy expats in Finland who have worked their way through the bureaucracy -- and I have one friend who even became a Finnish citizen -- but at the moment, with jet lag and sore toe weighing heavy on my physical well-being, it's somewhat discouraging.

Another adjustment is coming today: I'm leaving the comfort, meals and internet of the Sokos Hotel Kimmel about an hour from now to move into my unfurnished apartment. I'm told it takes a while to get internet (social security number...), and I don't yet have a university computer account ("takes a while..."), so this could feel somewhat isolated. Also, the bus does not run between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., and it's an hour walk to downtown. But the building is nestled in the woods near the lake, so it's simply a question of trying out a new lifestyle. I will have an air mattress, and my colleague Stuart has promised me his kitchen cast-offs, so I will at least have the comforts of yuppie camping.

So bear with me if I'm not online for a while. It just means I don't have my social security number yet, and the plane is still on the tarmac.