While my beloved and I were having our dinner at our favorite restaurant yesterday evening, I got a call followed by a voice message. Since I did not hear my mobile phone, I listened to the message as we were walking out of the restaurant. It was garbled. The call was from the States, I could hear at once. All I understood was that it had to do with my MIT pension, and that I should return the call when I can. The fellow on the other side of the line recited some long number, which was also garbled. As soon as we returned home, I turned on my laptop and went to my electronic mail. I wanted to contact the pension people at MIT whose addresses I had since a couple of years ago, when I was in touch with them for a while on account of some silly problem I had at the time.

The connection to the Internet was appallingly slow, though. And so was the website through which I can access my mail. The website is very poorly designed, and so I had much trouble finding the addresses I needed. I did finally manage to find two of them, but my messages bounced back in both cases. Apparently, the people I knew were no longer at MIT. Getting ever more frustrated, I cursed ever more loudly. And I cursed everything under the sun. Using her computer, my beloved helped me find two additional addresses from the right office at MIT, and my message went through this time around. All it contained were two points: first, my call would cost half of my MIT pension, and second, I wished to be contacted by electronic mail rather than by phone, which I find awkward when anything of importance is at stake.

When I calmed down a bit, I told my beloved how I felt. I told her that I was frustrated beyond measure. The only connections I still have with the entire world are several pensions and nearly as many banks. And each of these connections is getting ever more difficult to maintain. As the bureaucratic difficulties could not but grow, I wondered how long I could manage the onslaught of idiocy coming my way. My future struck me as horrendous. I felt entirely hopeless. Nay, desperate. My beloved patiently listened to all this. Wisely, she did not offer any advice. But I am still reeling from the experience this morning. My frustration is still with me, as well. The best I can do at present is to chide myself for all the rigmarole. For crying out loud, my MIT pension amounts to exactly $38.26 a month!

Addendum I (May 17, 2015)

It is time for a correction here. As of last July, my MIT pension has been raised to $39.91 per month. The increase amounts to $1.65 or a bit more than four percent. What is more, the MIT pension will keep growing, too. The next correction to this piece can be expected in a decade or so.

Addendum II (August 16, 2017)

Well, well. As of last July, my MIT pension has been raised once again. Now it is $40.56 per month. The increase amounts to $0.65 or a bit less than two percent. At this rate, I will get pretty rich by the time I get to be a thousand years old. Hey, I cannot but look forward to it, too. Three cheers for MIT!