A small celebration

We had a dinner to celebrate Joe's rise into the ranks of academe last night. Joe wanted it kept small so there were only 7 of us: Joe, myself, Anne, Jenny, Nanna, Paul and Sue. Nanna is 83 and still going well so Joe has inherited some good longevity genes there, one would think.

Joe is only tutoring at this stage but part time work should come his way regularly from now on and when a full-time vacancy comes up he will have inside running for it. Universities are bureaucracies so whether people feel at ease with you is a big factor in getting jobs and getting promotion -- and someone you know does therefore have the inside running against any outsider.

For the occasion, we went to an Indian restaurant where I dine regularly. The food was tops, as ever. Both Joe and I are keen on Indian food.

I now have something of a "mission accomplished" feeling. With Joe ensconced in academe, I feel I can do no more for him as far as his career is concerned -- though if he encounters personal problems at any time I expect to be able to help him -- as I always have been able to do in the past on those rare occasions when he has mentioned problems to me.