Virtually Home

But that's not really the theme of this post. I just thought it was funny. The photo on the left is just down the street from my house, as they were finishing a building-cleaning job on both sides of the street. I was intrigued by the catwalk between projects, but I guess when the scaffolding gets to a certain height that might be a good idea. What seems to not be a good idea is the way they build and tear down the scaffolding, throwing lengths of steel piping at one another from a great height. It looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I cringed every time I had to walk by a guy tossing something heavy down at the street. I have definitely fallen down on my blogging job. Since my last post I have endured a few more days of incompetent workmen to end up with a kitchen that is less leaky and also less waterproof, as our countertops have now changed from laminate to wood, varnished with a single coat. I like the visual effect. They're less ugly and easier to keep clean. Not th...

I think the latest washing machine atrocity witnessed the bottom of my I-miss-everything-and-have-no-friends spiral. I think I realized that my life, while not wholly unpleasant, is not complete without people I can socialize with. Additionally, I realized it's hard to socialize if you don't speak to anyone, and that it's hard to speak to anyone if you're constantly afraid of their judging you for something or other. I've had a pretty promising, seeming-upswing the last several days. First, I went to the birthday party of a guy I met a few weeks ago, and had a lot of fun talking to and hanging out with him and his friends. I met him for a Coke the next day and had a good conversation, and when I wandered leisurely back to my house I came across a fair, which is where the ferris wheel photo comes from. I like it because I took it with my cell phone. Despite my lens having been repaired, I didn't think I'd come across such cool things when I left the hous...

And after a title like that, I have to start off with some more connerie. I called Auchan the other day, and after the lady on the line looked up my work order, was simply told to "be patient" and hung up on. Aside from being offended by that awkward departure from my expectations about customer service, I didn't have any idea what I was being told to be patient for, so I made Maria call again. Maria was told that, when I told the technician to tell me how much it would cost before beginning work, he took that as a request for a formal estimate. Which means that he went back to Auchan, filled out some paperwork, and had them mail me an estimate. By the mail. As in, the kind with a postman. And then, when I receive the estimate, I have to decide whether the cost is acceptable (phone-lady said 107 euros, but refused to take the order over the phone) and then mail it back to them. And then they'll call me to schedule an appointment. Which, judging by the last time I made...