Really, I hope to return to blogging about more interesting things than moving in the near future. However, for the moment, it’s kind of what I’m stuck on.
I wasn’t being productive enough at the office today so I decided to strike out a bit early and head home to take care of some chores, cook dinner, and then work from my couch in the evening.
So far it’s working: All my moving boxes have relocated themselves to the basement storage area (well, actually, I carried the blasted things down the stairs) and a kindly neighbor explained to me that in order to lock the basement door, one must really, really slam it: “With all your strength,” she explained to me. This was shortly after she heard me cursing as I was struggling to lock the door.
After that I started laundry, put away some stuff that I’d transported home from the office, shelved some books, went on a hunt for all the obvious things that need to be recycled (I bet little things will turn up for the next few weeks whenever I turn around), and I started cooking dinner.
I plan on doing a load of towels and using the dryer once the first load has been hung to dry. I’d forgotten how wonderful soft towels could be.
Once all my recycling is out of the apartment and I’ve looked for more obvious scraps, I’ll take photos. It’s still a work in progress: the kitchen is still, essentially, a disaster, and I have a ton of things I want to frame, but I cannot afford to frame anything before September—and some of the items might require custom framing, although I’ve generated a list and I have high hopes for a trip to Ikea.
Tomorrow I’ll return the blasted light fixture: I’m hoping only to return it, not to exchange it, but if I must exchange it, I will. Later this week (Wednesday?), I need to return, light bulbs to Ikea: I hadn’t realized that light bulbs were included with my chandelier so now I have six surplus bulbs worth 24€. The light fixture, including bulbs, cost 49€.
Unfortunately I am temporarily in a place in my life where 24€ worth of light bulbs are worth returning almost immediately.
Only 15 more days of poverty.
Not that I’m counting, or anything.
Now that you’ve done all this you probably have more insight into what went into remodeling my former house. This kind of stuff is a huge chore!
I am sympathetic with your current cash situation as well… I’ve been doing that for the better part of two years now. I’m looking forward to being done with school, getting my license, and getting back to work!
I’ll enjoy seeing photos of the apartment once you get it to a presentable condition. I know you’re excited about being in Berlin and perhaps one day I’ll get a chance to come over and see it in person.
I fully understand and sympathise on the need to take the bulbs back for cash. I had to raid my piggybank at the weekend. I netted 13.45 euro and 46 pfennig (who knows where they came from since I mostly filled this piggybank while still living in Ireland). And instead of bringing it to the bank like a good little girl I have used nearly five euro’s worth of 2c and 5c pieces to buy tomatoes – but since I bought 7kg, used my own bag (which weighs more than their plastic bags) and they still didn’t give me a discount, not even rounding it down, I feel less guilty than I otherwise might.
I still have 3 lunch vouchers left (value 9.21) plus about six euro of coppers. Roll on 31 August!
On another note, are those tweets about ‘euro’ vs. ‘euros’ from you? Since I don’t do twitter I thought I’d post here. In English we are supposed to use euro and cent and never euros and cents (and never capitalised when writing them either). I still have the original guide that was published at the time of its introduction. However, even the eurocrats didn’t seem to be able to make this stick, not even in official documentation and so I think at some stage they will probably (may already have done so) just allow that general usage has taken on the plural with an ‘s’ and go with that. But I will continue to embrace my inner pedant and stick to ze rules as they were orginally drafted. And make all the Germans in my office do it too. 🙂
Cynical Queer – I hope you make it!
Jeanie – I’m going to make it, I know I am. I have food in the house, I have enough cash… I won’t need to dip into savings…
As for the Euro versus Euros — that was me. I spent awhile puzzling over it. Dollar/dollars? Pound/Pounds? I much prefer the sound of Euro/Euro, although what I read yesterday seemed to come down on the side of Euro/Euros.