Friday 3 October 2008

the joy of flatting

Moving back home today. Forced out while cheerful workmen knocked out the walls, bathroom and kitchen, put up new walls, and put back the same bathroom and kitchen. A week in a strange flat with lousy water pressure and a persistent smell of dead cat. In the time between leaving and coming back, the heating in my building has very much been switched on. Canadian landlords seem of the opinion that their apartments should be hotter than the surface of the sun to compensate for winter.

There is, in theory, a means of avoiding all these attendant weirdnesses of flatting your whole life. I understand some people go so far as to pick one country to live in, and stay in it. But, oh...

A: *casts sidelong glance at Australia*
Australia: *winks sexily*
A: *is undone*

So many countries, so little time.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am confused on two points (nothing new there then):

1. They tore down walls just to put them back up? The reason being?

2. Am I right in thinking that tenants don't have individual control of the heating for their homes? So how do heating bills work?

From my side, I would much rather be sitting around my flat in my shorts in the winter than be cold - ah, the days of sitting at my desk in a coat and scarf, trying to type in gloves, are not something I look forward to!

G

Amber said...

There was a monster in the wall. Now the monster is gone.

Oddly enough, I do have one of those magic devices that I believe is known as a thermostat. Mine is also known as broken.

Anonymous said...

All is now clear - I can sleep again!

And I genuinely thought that perhaps the heating was controlled by a central point - do you think that I have perhaps been living in a state run country a bit too long?

Keep up the good blogging!

G

Amber said...

Well, all right: the heating for the whole building is ceremonially switched on one day. Then the radiators in each anonymous little cube begins sucking the goodness from the central heating and booming it out. Mine is a greedy radiator, sucking and booming, sucking and booming, and the thermostat gave up its valiant fight long ago. And the radiator is so proud of itself for booming away as it does that I can't bring myself to do anything to stop it. Which is just as well, as the landlord is denying the buggeredness of the thermostat, so there's very little else to be done, except strip off.

Lynette said...

haha - love your flirtatious exchange with australia!

Amber said...

You know me and my emigration harlotry. So unfaithful.