September was when things started to become impossibly busy, and also the time this (and my other two blogs) fell apart. But there are reasons for that. The overarching event in September was my moving in with a girlfriend for the first time. I haven't moved much since my college days, and the last one was such a whirlwind (moving down here), that I couldn't really remember the details. I was suddenly reminded of what a pain in the ass it is to move, and I wasn't even leaving my building.
After looking at 20 or so places around the neighborhood, Belu and I decided that we were most satisfied with the penthouse suite atop the same corner of the same high-rise I was already living in. It was a bit smaller than we wanted, but the spacious balcony and sublime view of the Rio de la Plata more than outweighed the concerns over where we were going to put all of our stuff.
Of course, my part of the move was relatively easy. I had only brought a small portion of my belongings from Chicago, and the elevator was going to do most of the work. Some of my friends from Big Red helped me with the big stuff, and I had three weeks of overlap to get the rest. Belu, however, did not have it so easy. She had been living alone for years, and accumulated, well, probably not as much as I had in my ten years in Chicago, but enough to fill some space. Most impressive was the sheer quantity of shoes. We counted something like 60 pairs in total, and that was after a dozen were given away to charity.
Clearly, solutions were needed. We hunted all over the city for the correct furniture, and that was without need for a bed or sofa. Over the following weeks, we selected a table, chairs, a desk, chest of drawers, additional closet, deck furniture, futon, washing machine, and a very capable shoe-storage thingy which currently holds 36 of the pairs. Unfortunately, the guy building the thingy (me) wasn't quite so capable, and one side now has "customized exposed plywood." At least that's how it would be sold if it was real estate. The whole experience was no picnic. Many deliveries arrived pre-broken and had to be returned, making the process that much harder.
But all of this paled in comparison to the fight we had with DirecTV. Unfortunately (well, fortunately for anyone reading this), I can't recall all of the frustrating details. They jerked us around for weeks, finally came out to see us only because Belu e-mailed the company's head of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia). When they arrived, we were told that the phone line was not digitized, therefore they couldn't install internet. They also, therefore, could not install DirecTV because we had ordered them together. That, more than anything else, led to the demise of my online writing and a hell of a lot of other frustrations. We switched to cable-based TV and internet and have been marginally satisfied ever since. In sum, DirecTV totally sucks and you should never give them any of your money. Plus, if it's raining the dish doesn't work anyway, and those are the times you really want to watch TV.
But nowadays, most of the kinks are worked out, and we live in tranquility on one of Buenos Aires' highest floors. All that pain in September has paid off.
I leave you with a video that I kept thinking about as I was building the shoe-storage-thingy. The Peach Cobbler. Enjoy!
Other writing from September:
Top 50 Albums: #46 - Caribou - Andorra
On Deals (an examination of Argentine futbol and Michigan football in darker and sunnier times, respectively)
The new neighbors - same as the old neighbors, but with a different angle.
After looking at 20 or so places around the neighborhood, Belu and I decided that we were most satisfied with the penthouse suite atop the same corner of the same high-rise I was already living in. It was a bit smaller than we wanted, but the spacious balcony and sublime view of the Rio de la Plata more than outweighed the concerns over where we were going to put all of our stuff.
Martin and Mike showing that the Big Red family is not afraid to lend a hand, even with a heavy fridge.
Of course, my part of the move was relatively easy. I had only brought a small portion of my belongings from Chicago, and the elevator was going to do most of the work. Some of my friends from Big Red helped me with the big stuff, and I had three weeks of overlap to get the rest. Belu, however, did not have it so easy. She had been living alone for years, and accumulated, well, probably not as much as I had in my ten years in Chicago, but enough to fill some space. Most impressive was the sheer quantity of shoes. We counted something like 60 pairs in total, and that was after a dozen were given away to charity.
This is the zapatos' room.
Clearly, solutions were needed. We hunted all over the city for the correct furniture, and that was without need for a bed or sofa. Over the following weeks, we selected a table, chairs, a desk, chest of drawers, additional closet, deck furniture, futon, washing machine, and a very capable shoe-storage thingy which currently holds 36 of the pairs. Unfortunately, the guy building the thingy (me) wasn't quite so capable, and one side now has "customized exposed plywood." At least that's how it would be sold if it was real estate. The whole experience was no picnic. Many deliveries arrived pre-broken and had to be returned, making the process that much harder.
We tend to get some amazing clouds up here.
But all of this paled in comparison to the fight we had with DirecTV. Unfortunately (well, fortunately for anyone reading this), I can't recall all of the frustrating details. They jerked us around for weeks, finally came out to see us only because Belu e-mailed the company's head of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia). When they arrived, we were told that the phone line was not digitized, therefore they couldn't install internet. They also, therefore, could not install DirecTV because we had ordered them together. That, more than anything else, led to the demise of my online writing and a hell of a lot of other frustrations. We switched to cable-based TV and internet and have been marginally satisfied ever since. In sum, DirecTV totally sucks and you should never give them any of your money. Plus, if it's raining the dish doesn't work anyway, and those are the times you really want to watch TV.
But nowadays, most of the kinks are worked out, and we live in tranquility on one of Buenos Aires' highest floors. All that pain in September has paid off.
I leave you with a video that I kept thinking about as I was building the shoe-storage-thingy. The Peach Cobbler. Enjoy!
More fancy cloudwork.
And we get to see the sun set every day.
Other writing from September:
Top 50 Albums: #46 - Caribou - Andorra
On Deals (an examination of Argentine futbol and Michigan football in darker and sunnier times, respectively)
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1 comment:
Sorry you had such a bad experience with DirecTV. We have used it for about six years now and LOVE it.
Yeah, I know, all the stuff you wrote and that's what I chose to comment on? Oof.
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