An internet oddity

Just a quick post to say my internet connection is going down again so I won't be on-line for a week or so. I'm going to try the wi-fi free cafes but I don't know how good they will be.

See you soon

The final details

And so we come to the final installment...

It was Saturday, I'd had a tiring and sometimes frustrating week. No matter what I did I couldn't get the internet to work. The information they sent through was meaningless (and missing in a few vital details). Luckily N at work was my go-to woman. All I had to do was ask her and she phoned the internet company. Eventually we worked out that I had to phone them to get the username and password. So I did... and got someone who said he didn't speak any English although he was able to tell me to call again "in the morning". Now that doesn't sound much to you but to an English teacher it says a lot. They don't use the same preposition (in) in Spanish so if he really didn't speak any English he'd probably just said 'morning'. It was extremely frustrating, knowing I was so close and yet so far.

Anyway, I phoned back again on Saturday morning and, praise be, got to speak to Sebastian Cris who said he didn't speak much English but was able to guide me through the whole process (and it took some time) extremely well. His English was good, he was very patient, staying on the phone when he could have asked me to call back and even finishing off the process from his end when it was taking too long at mine. I wanted to go down the telephone line and hug him. I love this man (and I know next to nothing about him) and cook for him and clean his house (ok I exaggerate a little but it was such a refreshing change to get good service here). The service has been a little dodgy and I can't guarentee it'll work to order but at least something is happening.

Finally, happy with being reconnected to the world, I went and had my hair cut. A woman washed it and gave me a vigorous head massage, then Daniel cut it (all the time telling me I was beautiful) and lastly another man blow dried it. Poor bugger was trying for flicky up ends but no sooner had he tamed one side than the other dropped out. I really wanted to tell him not to bother as my hair is too fine to hold a shape but I didn't have the Spanish.

Ended the evening going to a 'party' with L in San Isidro. This was a season opener for the Suburban Players, food, drink and live music included in the price. We had a good time, missed the last train home so caught a bus.

So that the end of my detailed reports. Expect normal-ish service to be resumed (boring and meaningless drivel, here I come).

In which the author details the flat

So this new flat I'm in. As I've said before it's a bit posh. Lots of shiny wood (veneer, I think) on the floor and shelves. The walls are properly painted instead of whitewashed, the furniture is solid and comfortable and there are pictures on the walls.

As I sit here in the second bedroom which is now an office, I have a partial view of the skyline. The view in nowhere near as good as the previous place - then I looked over trees, now I look in other people's windows but I can still see some sky and marvel at its changing colours. At the moment it's a purple-tinged grey which sounds dire but is in face rather dramatic. Not the colour you would put on your walls but definitely the backdrop to some climactic event.

The flat has a tv, video and cable so while I wasn't connected to the internet I started watching tv. Some of my favourite programmes are on (CSI especially) but they have a bad habit here of having ad breaks every ten minutes or so. I can't get used to it, I started flicking between channels and then missing the beginning of the next part of whatever I was watching. I doubt I'll be watching as much now the internet is up and running (albeit intermittently) but I guess it'll be good for when I'm eating my supper (no more crumbs on the keyboard, eh?)

I briefly met the cleaner who comes with the flat. I had to put my foot down about how much and how often she was coming. I appreciate that this is a job for her and therefore the money she lives on but at times I feel like a human ATM, going to work just to pay out money to the people around me. She did a very good job while she was here and seemed to have enough time to do what was needed plus some washing up I'd left in the sink. No, I'm not one of those mad people who clean just before the cleaner comes, I just think she's here to do the stuff I don't like doing (cleaning the floors, bathroom, kitchen etc.) and not tidying up after me (ie making my bed and doing my washing up). We'll see how it goes.

The Devil's in the details

A continuation of the previous post...

Tooth has gone again but this time I'm going to see an orthodontist. I want a more permanent solution and maybe I'll get my teeth straightened. They aren't too bad but I would like a nicer smile.

Of course, you would think a broken tooth would mean the end of enjoying food. Not a bit of it. Luckily the broken bits are the enamel only and the nerves and dentine aren't exposed. Which is just as well because I have an ice-cream shop on the corner. A very nice ice-cream shop. And this very nice ice-cream shop has a loyalty card (not a card as such but you give your number and you collect points). So I joined up. I have ice-cream about once a week, usually on a Friday night - it's my way of celebrating the end of the week and doesn't leave me feeling as bad as a bottle of wine would. Don't know how many points I'll collect over the next few months or what I'll get for them but what the heck.

Of course, moving to a new flat (even
if it is only four blocks down the same road) involves finding new sources of things such as newspapers and medialunas, and I found a rather elegant cafe/patisserie/bakers just around the corner. They do two types of empanadas, one with puff pastry and one with shortcrust both with a variety of fillings. They do fish empanadas - salmon or tuna - heavenly!

L came round for tea last Friday and we had sandwiches, empanadas, brownies, tea and wine (more or less in that order)

Economics

Jayne raised an interesting point in her comment recently 'how can my money be going down when it's accruing interest?' The answer is that the amount of money is/will be increasing but it's value (what it can buy) is decreasing, especially in terms of buying property. House prices are continually going up in the Uk and, even though I made a £45k profit on the house, the amount I got isn't enough to buy something comparable anywhere I would want to live in the UK.

I am thinking of buying in Northern Italy and settling down there. House prices are rising in Italy but nowhere near as much as in the UK. There is much less mobility in the housing market there (people tend to move only when they need to and to buy their final property early on) and therefore prices are much more stable. However, it is almost inevitable that property prices will increase over the next year at a faster rate than the interest I accrue on my money.

That's why my money is going down.

Details, details

Oh, you want some details?

Ok.. moving: not as stressful as might have been for three reasons. Number one, Carmen came round and packed up the kitchen, bring boxes, bags and newspaper with her (and a damned fine job she did). Number two, I didn't have much stuff to move and number three, Gustavo (the school's handyman/jack of all trades and all-round treasure) was there to direct the removal men. And I have to say that removal men are the same around the world. There's always one responsible one and one lazy one (usually the younger). The responsible one thinks about how to accomplish the job most effectively and efficiently while the lazy one looks for the lightest boxes to carry. However, Gustavo knew what he was doing and directed them properly. The only time I had to put my foot down was when they wanted to fold the matress in half (widthwise) to get it into the lift. I said no and made them carry it down seven floors at one end and up nine floors the other. I know I sound cruel but it is a new matress and made of compacted foam - folding would have ruined it. I moved in two Fridays ago and I'm still getting used to the place. I don't feel totally comfortable here because it's decorated and furnished to a much higher standard than I'm used to (not talking about my mum and dad's home just the rented flats I've lived in over the last seven years). I was sick and had a screaming stress headache after the removal men had gone (no that wasn't the panic session) but I'm ok now.

Teaching? I have a dream of a timetable. I'm doing afternoons and evenings, teaching Proficiency 2 (CPE), Advanced 1, Pre-advanced (FCE) and mid intermediate. I've got a mixture of teenagers and adults and, so far, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I brought all my books home last weekend to try some long term planning, didn't get as far as I wanted but did get a lot done. That was the major panic session - I couldn't find some of my books and I didn't have time to plan for a class. At least that's what I thought, until I looked at my timetable again - I swear I'm going senile, my memory is pants and my concentration is shot to pieces. Oh well.

Hi honey, I'm home!

And I'm back. Finally on-line at home (although it is a little dodgy sometimes) and with sooo much to tell you.

So, I moved home, started teaching, had a major panic session, calmed down, broke my tooth (again), got a loyalty card from an ice-cream shop, discovered the most divine salmon empanadas, had L round for tea, met my new cleaner, started watchng tv, stopped watching tv, fell in love(ish), got my hair cut, got the internet working.

It's been a busy two weeks.

Shopping

I believe the world is divided into two kinds of people. Those who love shopping and those who don't. I'm not the first to think this and I doubt I'll be the last but hey....

Me, I'm not really a fan of shopping - walking around noisy, crowded, messy places and spending money is much less enjoyable than, say, watching paint dry. However, we all have to shop so I've developed strategies for shopping. Different types of shopping call for different strategies.

Shopping I almost like:

for handbags, jewelry, books, stationary and the like. Strategy - go window shopping during a quiet period to see what's out there. If nothing grabs you, don't buy. If you like the look of something go back a few days later, see if you really like it and if so, buy.

Shopping I tolerate:

for food, household goods, furniture, etc. Strategy - decide what you need by browsing catalogues and the internet. Pinpoint where you are going to buy it. Go there, buy and leave. If you can buy on-line, even better.

Shopping I hate:

for clothes, shoes and similar items. Strategy - know which shops to buy at. Check their on-line presence. Buy on-line. Otherwise go during a quiet period knowing what you are going to buy. Never browse.

Despite the above, I have on more than one occasion been driven to window-shop as a leisure activity here in BsAs for lack of anything better to do. How sad am I?

Moving

I'm moving tomorrow (Friday). I've seen the new flat and it is bigger (second bedroom and a balcony) and better equipped. It's slightly over-decorated and I won't be able to personalise anything so it'll be like living in someone else's home for the next ten months. Anyhow, I'm going to pretend it's a hotel apartment and that I'm living in the lap of luxury. It's going to cost more but, hopefully, the money I save by changing my internet connection will cover the difference. I haven't actually sorted out the internet yet but I'm hoping to piggyback a wi-fi connection (if I can't sneak into a neighbour's connection, I'll go to a local cafe and use theirs - for the price of a cup of tea) until I get mine sorted.

Other news - the house in Nixon Avenue is no longer mine. It is sold and the money is in my bank account (that doesn't make me rich, such is the law of economics that I'm actually getting poorer with each second). I'd like to take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to my mum and dad who made this all possible and have been carrying the strain of looking after a vacant property for me. I do appreciate it and I won't forget (I'll be the one picking the nice old people's home - just a joke, honestly!). Also thank you to Sean who kept an eye on the house while my parents were here and has done all sorts of jobs on it to keep it decent - again, it won't be forgotten.

I know I promised to start blogging regularly but it'll have to wait until next week as my mind is in other places at the moment. Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow.

Incompetence

Finding it very difficult to write at the moment, mainly because all I want to do is rant about the sheer incompetence and lack of understanding from the school over my having to move. They seem to think it'll be a piece of cake and that I'm creating difficulties. When I asked for help I was told to find someone else to help me and they 'couldn't' do it. In top of that I was told to smile and be happy as I am moving to a lovely flat. The thought that I don't want to move, that I have no choice in the matter and that it's going to cost me even more money (the services to the new flat are much higher than my current services) seems to have completely passed them by.

It's another example of how their incompetence adversely affects me while having no consequence on them.

Update

Hello again. Sorry I've been silent for a while but when you have to write 2,500 words on listening skills and 2,500 words on phrasal verbs in two weeks (and do the necessary reading to be able to write those words), the joy of blogging seems to disappear.

This has been an incredibly stressful time, not only trying to write and teach to an agreed standard but also because of the uncertainty about where I am going to be living. The argument has been 'we didn't want to say anything until the DELTA was over' but that didn't stop the issue being discussed by the 'lads' at the pub - an event to which the 'girls' weren't invited. It is old-fashioned discrimination and so unprofessional. I heard things from my colleagues before being told by my director because they'd been told enough in the pub to make informed guesses and knew how stressed I was by the whole thing. And it is so difficult to make people understand that being told 'we don't have any information yet but we're trying' is better than not being told anything.

Anyway, the news is I am moving. I'm going to another flat in the same road, supposedly a gorgeous flat and everyone thinks I've fallen on my feet - I just wish the school hadn't cocked up and I could stay where I am. The move will happen sometime next week, the details haven't been decided yet and I think the director imagines the packing fairies will come in and sort everything out. New address and telephone numbers will be available on request.

Hopefully I'll be back to blogging regularly now and all of those who've sent me emails - sorry for the slow response. I will be replying this weekend.