At just past 8am this morning, never a good time for me but even worse today considering that I'd been up till past 1am, I pressed the button for the elevator. A few seconds later it dinged open, and my still-half-asleep self took a step forward before my animal instincts kicked in and told me, and this is just a rough paraphrase, "HOLY CRAP THERE'S SOMETHING IN THERE AND IT'S GOING TO EAT YOUR FACE OFF."
My animal instincts are not known for their eloquence.
Right about then, the more rational side of my brain elbowed its way to the front and said, "Oh, it's just a dog. Wait, a dog??"
I looked around the elevator, as if I might have somehow missed seeing the dog's owner in my first scan and expected to see him standing there, nonchalantly waiting me to get on the elevator so we could get a move on. Or, you know, waiting, for me, poised on the ceiling.
But no: there was no one. Just a medium sized white dog with pointy ears, standing in the middle of the elevator with his tongue hanging out and no apparent intention to get off at my floor.
So I joined him.
At the bottom floor, I stepped out and turned towards the parking garage before looking back at the dog who, like me, apparently had places to be and people to see, as he was trotting out into the courtyard.
I already knew that dogs know how and when to cross the streets around here--you can see them waiting at the crosswalk just like everyone else--and many are scooter-trained to stand or sit on the foot rest portion of scooters while they're moving (this is not, in any way, an intuitive dog trait--just ask my dog Zoe, who I once tried to get to ride a go-kart with me...), and I blogged only last week about my first elevator ride with a dog. And now I know that, somewhere on the floors above me, lives a dog that can use the elevator on his own, right down to differentiating which floor he should get off on--and an owner who knows this and apparently thinks it's no big deal. Meanwhile, I still can't remember which light switches go to which lights in my apartment.
No sooner do you think you've seen it all, than you see an independent elevator-using dog. And that's certainly one way to ensure you're fully awake before you make it to the parking garage!
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Deep Cleaning
It has begun. My room is in chaos; there are dirty dishes piled up our sink and clean dishes scattered all over our dining room table; there are trash piles near every door. We're beginning to settle in, and in the process, there's a lot to be done.
I started unpacking hardcore today! My massive black trunk, which has heretofore sat, undisturbed, at the foot of my bed, is unpacked now, the duct tape removed and the case placed atop my newly-dusted wardrobe. So, too, my biggest rolling bag is unpacked, its contents split between the wardrobe and under the bed, the Kaohsiung destination tag ripped off and the bag resting upright where the black case was before.
I also began in what will be a multi-day rearranging effort: my wardrobe, which was on the same wall as my bed, leaving ample wasted space on the wall my door is in, has been shifted around the corner so that it sits next to the light switch, with a nice-sized space beside it which I hope to fill with a clothes rack for more hanging space--I'm quickly discovering that, with my hanging organizer in place, my wardrobe does not have enough room for my hanging clothes. And in this climate, of all climates, I want to give my clothes room to breathe.
As for the rest of the room, I haven't decided yet, though I did move the bedside table over so it's actually beside my bed. Planner that I am, I will probably bust out the measuring tape and graph paper before I start shoving all the furniture around.
The actual cleaning part of settling in in this apartment is disturbing. You wipe any surface in this house with a wet rag, and it comes away black. Today, when I moved my wardrobe, I discovered a scattering of gray cocoon-looking things all over my wall (they were soon gone and the whole area RAID-ed), and an inch-deep layer of dust built up on the moldings. GROSS!
Then there's the roaches, of course, which I haven't mentioned yet in this blog, mostly because so far my experiences of them have been pretty innocuous--tiny little guys who usually pop up on the bathroom floor or somewhere in the kitchen. On our first day, Rachel killed a giant one, but I didn't see it; today, though, Brittany found a big one in her bathroom and let loose a blood-curdling scream that pierced the whole apartment. Luckily, the one thing our predecessors did leave behind for us was roach spray and roach traps.
But it's coming along. My room will look much better once I make it to Ikea to get some more organizational stuff--right now I've run into the problem of not having anywhere to put the stuff I unload from my bags--but for now it's nice to have a little more floor space and a few cleaner walls. Could also use some homey touches. The rest still needs serious work; one of the previous tenants ripped a bulletin board off the wall, taking parts of the wall with it, and the walls themselves are visibly dirty. I mentioned both problems to Fonda; I'm hoping the landlord will agree to repaint. It's pretty nasty.
And that's about all that's been happening around here today! We had waffles for brunch. We pulled a stereotypical American moment and had Pizza Hut and soda for dinner in front of the TV. Now we're sitting around the house blogging, listening to music, Facebooking, cleaning...whatever. Pretty chill. Back to teaching tomorrow!
I started unpacking hardcore today! My massive black trunk, which has heretofore sat, undisturbed, at the foot of my bed, is unpacked now, the duct tape removed and the case placed atop my newly-dusted wardrobe. So, too, my biggest rolling bag is unpacked, its contents split between the wardrobe and under the bed, the Kaohsiung destination tag ripped off and the bag resting upright where the black case was before.
I also began in what will be a multi-day rearranging effort: my wardrobe, which was on the same wall as my bed, leaving ample wasted space on the wall my door is in, has been shifted around the corner so that it sits next to the light switch, with a nice-sized space beside it which I hope to fill with a clothes rack for more hanging space--I'm quickly discovering that, with my hanging organizer in place, my wardrobe does not have enough room for my hanging clothes. And in this climate, of all climates, I want to give my clothes room to breathe.
As for the rest of the room, I haven't decided yet, though I did move the bedside table over so it's actually beside my bed. Planner that I am, I will probably bust out the measuring tape and graph paper before I start shoving all the furniture around.
The actual cleaning part of settling in in this apartment is disturbing. You wipe any surface in this house with a wet rag, and it comes away black. Today, when I moved my wardrobe, I discovered a scattering of gray cocoon-looking things all over my wall (they were soon gone and the whole area RAID-ed), and an inch-deep layer of dust built up on the moldings. GROSS!
Then there's the roaches, of course, which I haven't mentioned yet in this blog, mostly because so far my experiences of them have been pretty innocuous--tiny little guys who usually pop up on the bathroom floor or somewhere in the kitchen. On our first day, Rachel killed a giant one, but I didn't see it; today, though, Brittany found a big one in her bathroom and let loose a blood-curdling scream that pierced the whole apartment. Luckily, the one thing our predecessors did leave behind for us was roach spray and roach traps.
But it's coming along. My room will look much better once I make it to Ikea to get some more organizational stuff--right now I've run into the problem of not having anywhere to put the stuff I unload from my bags--but for now it's nice to have a little more floor space and a few cleaner walls. Could also use some homey touches. The rest still needs serious work; one of the previous tenants ripped a bulletin board off the wall, taking parts of the wall with it, and the walls themselves are visibly dirty. I mentioned both problems to Fonda; I'm hoping the landlord will agree to repaint. It's pretty nasty.
And that's about all that's been happening around here today! We had waffles for brunch. We pulled a stereotypical American moment and had Pizza Hut and soda for dinner in front of the TV. Now we're sitting around the house blogging, listening to music, Facebooking, cleaning...whatever. Pretty chill. Back to teaching tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Apartment A
Today has been pretty chill, with the focus being on settling in and getting necessary things for our apartments. The irony, and the difficulty, of that is that we have absolutely no guarantee that we will continue to live where we live now--as I mentioned before, only 7 of the 12 people currently living in our beautiful apartment complex will stay there for the rest of the year, while the other 5 will have to move at the end of the month to outlying areas about an hour from here.
Nonetheless, I feel like now is a good time to take a moment to talk about our living situation. It's pretty amazing. We're in a BEAUTIFUL 12-story brick building near the Cultural Center in Kaohsiung; our building forms a "U" around a gorgeous courtyard complete with polished granite chess-playing tables, a gazebo, and a koi pond. I'm living with Rachel, Brittany, and Karina, and our apartment, apartment "A," as designated by the Fulbright people, is on the third floor. And, in addition to a balcony off the living room, each of the four bedrooms has at least a window facing into the courtyard; one of the two suites, which are larger and have private bathrooms, also has its own balcony. Here's the view from the living room balcony:
I'm in one of the smaller rooms, with cheaper rent--$5,050 TWD, if I remember correctly, so about $168 USD. Of course, the suites are only about $210 USD, so still insanely cheap, but I wasn't thinking that clearly when we picked, thanks to jet lag. But hey, with the saved money, I can travel more! IF I get to stay here, that is. Anyway, here's my current room--note the still-packed suitcases by the bed; I unpacked my carry-on, but I'm not letting myself get too settled yet.
Just off-camera to the right is a wardrobe; behind the desk to the left is a bedside table. If we DO stay, I have some rearranging to do--the way it is now makes the room look and feel smaller than it is. Also if we get to stay, I'm getting new curtains.
But therein lies the problem: we don't know if we're staying.
Today we went shopping, first at Ikea and then at Carrefour, which is basically the Taiwanese version of Fred Meyer, and we had no idea what we should or should not buy. Sure, in our current apartment my room needs more storage, but what if I have to move to one with no room for a chest of drawers? Sure, I have a twin-sized bed now, but what if I move to a place where I have a queen? On the flip side, sure apartment A has a fully stocked kitchen, but what if I have to move to a place with nothing whatsoever? And that's actually a very real possibility: the apartments we're in now have been used by Fulbright for a number of years now, and so have a lot of stuff in them that has been left behind by former grantees. Those who move, however, are going to new apartments--Fulbright hasn't even picked them out yet. Chances are they'll have nothing.
So, long story short, I didn't buy much today. An alarm clock, a bedside lamp, a pillow, under-bed storage (which, incidentally, doesn't fit under my bed. But if I move?), a bath mat. Breakfast food. All stuff that could easily move with me, if it comes to that.
A highlight of the day was definitely the fruit section of Carrefour--GIANT mangoes, dragonfruit, lychee, melons, pineapple, peaches, nectarines, kiwis, apples (oddly the most expensive thing there--ah, tropical fruit being local), and a bunch of fruit I didn't recognize. Also amazing was that, after I loaded my cart with fruit, juice, bottled water, Laughing Cow cheese, a coffee drink, chips, hand soap, and dehumidifying stuff, plus shared items with my apartment mates like laundry detergent, air freshener, eggs, bread, and watermelon, my bill came to about $23 USD. Wonderful.
I'm looking forward to formally learning more Chinese, and I'm learning, bit by bit, even today--trying to figure out what kind of coffee the cafe next to our apartment building has, trying to understand the 7-11 clerk from the other side of the apartment building tell me how much my yogurt cost, ordering "ee-guh kuhluh" (one Coke) for lunch, learning from Rachel that "chi bao le" means "I'm full." (Would have been useful to know that one in China!) "Xie xie" is no longer the only useful thing I can say.
Right now, though, "Wo esile"--I'm hungry. Down to the courtyard for pizza.
Nonetheless, I feel like now is a good time to take a moment to talk about our living situation. It's pretty amazing. We're in a BEAUTIFUL 12-story brick building near the Cultural Center in Kaohsiung; our building forms a "U" around a gorgeous courtyard complete with polished granite chess-playing tables, a gazebo, and a koi pond. I'm living with Rachel, Brittany, and Karina, and our apartment, apartment "A," as designated by the Fulbright people, is on the third floor. And, in addition to a balcony off the living room, each of the four bedrooms has at least a window facing into the courtyard; one of the two suites, which are larger and have private bathrooms, also has its own balcony. Here's the view from the living room balcony:
I'm in one of the smaller rooms, with cheaper rent--$5,050 TWD, if I remember correctly, so about $168 USD. Of course, the suites are only about $210 USD, so still insanely cheap, but I wasn't thinking that clearly when we picked, thanks to jet lag. But hey, with the saved money, I can travel more! IF I get to stay here, that is. Anyway, here's my current room--note the still-packed suitcases by the bed; I unpacked my carry-on, but I'm not letting myself get too settled yet.
Just off-camera to the right is a wardrobe; behind the desk to the left is a bedside table. If we DO stay, I have some rearranging to do--the way it is now makes the room look and feel smaller than it is. Also if we get to stay, I'm getting new curtains.
But therein lies the problem: we don't know if we're staying.
Today we went shopping, first at Ikea and then at Carrefour, which is basically the Taiwanese version of Fred Meyer, and we had no idea what we should or should not buy. Sure, in our current apartment my room needs more storage, but what if I have to move to one with no room for a chest of drawers? Sure, I have a twin-sized bed now, but what if I move to a place where I have a queen? On the flip side, sure apartment A has a fully stocked kitchen, but what if I have to move to a place with nothing whatsoever? And that's actually a very real possibility: the apartments we're in now have been used by Fulbright for a number of years now, and so have a lot of stuff in them that has been left behind by former grantees. Those who move, however, are going to new apartments--Fulbright hasn't even picked them out yet. Chances are they'll have nothing.
So, long story short, I didn't buy much today. An alarm clock, a bedside lamp, a pillow, under-bed storage (which, incidentally, doesn't fit under my bed. But if I move?), a bath mat. Breakfast food. All stuff that could easily move with me, if it comes to that.
A highlight of the day was definitely the fruit section of Carrefour--GIANT mangoes, dragonfruit, lychee, melons, pineapple, peaches, nectarines, kiwis, apples (oddly the most expensive thing there--ah, tropical fruit being local), and a bunch of fruit I didn't recognize. Also amazing was that, after I loaded my cart with fruit, juice, bottled water, Laughing Cow cheese, a coffee drink, chips, hand soap, and dehumidifying stuff, plus shared items with my apartment mates like laundry detergent, air freshener, eggs, bread, and watermelon, my bill came to about $23 USD. Wonderful.
I'm looking forward to formally learning more Chinese, and I'm learning, bit by bit, even today--trying to figure out what kind of coffee the cafe next to our apartment building has, trying to understand the 7-11 clerk from the other side of the apartment building tell me how much my yogurt cost, ordering "ee-guh kuhluh" (one Coke) for lunch, learning from Rachel that "chi bao le" means "I'm full." (Would have been useful to know that one in China!) "Xie xie" is no longer the only useful thing I can say.
Right now, though, "Wo esile"--I'm hungry. Down to the courtyard for pizza.
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