Saturday, July 11, 2009

My apartment

Well, way back when I first arrived I posted some pictures of the apartment...and in fact, during the course of looking at apartments for our international students, I came across an apartment that I thought was just wonderful. So much so, that I asked our HR person to inquire about renting it for me....further away but a great balcony that had a wonderful view of the Caspian Sea, and the landlord was in fact more generous in that he covered the gas, water, building maintenance fee and the rent was actually lower than what I'm paying now. So it would have been a win-win situation for all...but he wanted six month rent in advance...crazy. The max my government employer can pay is three...anyhow, after debating this back in forth for nearly two weeks...he opted to rent it to someone else. And, I say GOOD. Why?

I've actually become familiar to people in my neighborhood (well, afterall it ain't hard to do...I stick out like several sore thumbs). I wave hello to the cleaning ladies (they are everywhere), I know the guys who grunt at the gym and they sheepishly nod their heads when I go by, the folks at the 24 supermarket on the corner, and finally, the lady at the post office (who I just tipped--only took four months to realize that might be the best way to get my mail sent to US).

I guess what I'm saying inspite of my moaning and bitching about certain things (and read on) I have a 'hood in this dusty, humid mega-city of 4 (who's counting) million...and it's about the best I could hope for.

Today's bitch....cable wire still cut...okay....but just this week the building announced that the GAS would be finally turned on. Well, the gas man and assistant arrived promptly at 9 am...they just left a 7 pm ...and still no gas. Maybe Monday, if God wills it...

J

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