Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Distance makes the heart....

Grow fonder? Colder? Indepedent?  Or maybe just a healthy combination of each...

My Albanian and I have gone from inseperable to 3 nights a week, bold changes here we come!  There is peace and quiet, there is coming and going, and there is 'me time'.  After a week, I have adjusted to being on my own.  He has been slower to adjust.  I am basking in the independence and he is grasping for attention.  The only thing we agree on is, it's hard to sleep without the other, the empty space next to us keeps us awake.

It's nice not to feel trapped by each fight.  I missed having somewhere to run to when things got a little too heated.  As I am enjoying every moment of my new flat (esp.since its clean now!), he fears my place to run will become permanent.  I don't know if that will happen but I do know it's nice to have time to miss him.  It makes us kiss a little longer, hug a little tighter, and talk more.  We can't take back all that came out of living together, I wouldn't want to(well I might take back some of the gross habits I've seen but I'm sure he would say the same.) but I am glad to start dating again.  Dating means flowers when I get off the tube, brunches, and dinners out.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Kickin' off the shoes!

I forgot how nice it is to walk around your flat without shoes.  I haven't dared risk my soles in this place.  Every corner screams of a disease!  Clean and organised aren't words you would use in combination with my name but I've hit my breaking point.  Somewhere in between rewashing every dish and debating showering at the gym over my own place, I put the plan in action.  I don't want to start a battle 5 days into my tenacy so I hoped leading by example would be enough.

After all my bitching, I maned up.  I was half way through a good tub scrubing when Sal came home, shocked by my cleaning, he thanked me and walked away.  By the time I was going to town on the sink, he returned to apologize and promise to keep up the clean flat.  Unimpressed, I carried on.  Beni joined the effort by kitchen time.  You know you have a good boyfriend when he helps clean just to end the bitchfest!  So clean we did, for hours scrubbing, mopping, and sticking our hands in crude.  It seems to have made the impression I wanted...let's see how long it stays.  I really don't want to flathunt again!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

The Big Move!

 I waited anxiously surrounded by bags until 5 for Beni to come home before starting the moving process... because starting to move my bags over by myself would have been a waste of a strong Albanian. I try not to be wasteful...that and I'm lazy, it went much easier to leave anything remotely heavy to the boy! Of course we get to my new flat only to find the guy who was moving out, not entirely moved out! I think he put a little pep in his step once he saw I was just going to sit on my suitcase and watch him until he got out. With bags in, I showed the boy around and tried to be cool about the fact that it didn't look like I remembered. It was what most people, including myself, would call a dump! It was never a palace but I don't remember agreeing to live in a run down shack.


My first pee in my flat was fairly tramatizing....I know this is TMI but I want you all to get the full picture....As I sat to pee, the toilet seat slid off onto the floor. That along with smelling as if a urine battle had taken place moments before was enough to make me panic. I ran to Beni, whining about my smelly, broken, crudy floor bathroom. He became the Construction version of Wesley in the Princess Bride, instead of 'As you wish' to all my whines, it became 'I fix it Baby'

To avoid attacking my new flatmate: I went shopping for the new flat essentials....a TV, door hooks, jewlery holder, candles, a drill for Mr. Fix it, and a brand new, pee free toilet seat. We attempted the TV first only to find there was no TV jack in the room. Back to the store return the cable and get an atennea. I came home to a new and attached toilet seat and door hooks. I now understand why trashy romance novels usually have construction/handy men in them....I don't need a knight in shining armor....I need a man with a drill and a toilet seat! I am not ashamed to say: I have never loved him more than that moment when I was able to pee without fear of falling into the bowl!

The rest of the day didn't run as smoothly, I purchased 2 other atenneas before giving up and I refuse to attempt again this week! Not long after I was settled, my new flatmates stopped by to say hello. The girl, Jen, could not thank Beni enough for the toilet make-over. Apparently, she had been suffering through that for weeks. Sal, my landlord and dirty flatmate, came by to see if we had fixed it. He thanked us and claimed to be on his way to fix it that very day. I don't know what smell worse, his bullshit or the urine scented bathroom!

The kitchen is almost as bad as the bathroom. They both apologized for the mess, yet I have not seen one of them attempt to remedy the filth! You all know me, I'm not exactly the female Mr. Clean, so you know its bad when I'm grossed out! But I have a new plan of attack...hiring a cleaner. Hopefully this will send Dirty Sal a hint! If it doesn't get better, well, at least I didn't sign a lease!

But despite the dirt, there is one redeeming quality....the view! The night time skyline, makes me giddy! It is only topped by the pink and orange sunrise I woke Beni up for this weekend. With 5ft windows lining the wall, it's hard not to jump out of bed and hang your head out the fully opened windows.