New Home

Let me preface this with an apology. I have not been able to post for some time now, and for that, I am sorry. Needless to say, I have been a busy boy. Once again, I have no internet, and therefore, writing things online tends to be… tricky.

I shall start with my day today, just as it was, and point out some interesting peculiarities -- the first of course being that we moved today! Yes… our dingy old western-style hotel has grown too small, too long, and its on to bigger and better and brighter things in a new neighborhood no less!

There are problems… Several in fact. Problems which have made be become quite the handy man if I do say so my self.

Anyways, this morning, I woke up, and we checked out of our hotel. We just wanted a taxi, but the concierge desk called us a “guy” instead (which of course ended up costing 50 more pounds than was needed because his sedan was apparently a “limo”). Anyways, we get out of Dokki, and we move into Maadi. Well, we think, lets have a stroll around the neighborhood.

I grab some potatoes and some frying oil, and we come home, and try and move in. There are already problems. When we get back, we find the lock to be unopenable. We even have 5 keys, and none can fix the stuck lock. Somehow, after 15 minutes of banging and jiggling, we get the damn thing open. Well, our first task is to get internet at our apartment, which should be easy enough, but everyone we call tells us we are going to have a “wait” which, depending on the company, is between 10 days and 6 months. Go figure.

So we are still trying to get the internet somehow, and of course Andrew leaves to go see if we can do it over the cell tower lines, which leaves me at home in case the lock doesn’t work again. He gets back, no luck (everyone is closed during the day), so we decide to go to work on the lock. We take it out of the door, inspect it, notice that the problem is with the new door lock we bought, but, it does seem to work consistently from the side that is facing in, so we turn it around so that side is facing the world, and reinstall the lock good as new. Lock problem fixed.

I go to make some hash browns. Mostly epic failure. The damn potatoes stick to the frying pan like crazy, and the stupid sink for dishes is completely clogged. Well, 90% clogged. So I became a plumber today as well. Andrew held up the plastic bags we got from shopping under the drains, and I went to work on the pipes. I took the entire sing apart before discovering the clog. Trust me, this black stuff that was in the pipe is basically every horrible virus and bacteria that has ever graced the continent of Africa (and they seem to have all the really bad ones, for example, polio is making a comeback) is in this black gunk that is now all over my arms. Oh well, all in the name of science right? Sink problem fixed.

We go out, the ATM is broken, I literally spend my last 50 piastars (thats like $.17) and I’m broke. Later, the one ATM within what has to be forever is fixed, and I get some cash. We buy toilet paper, enough said. Of course the toilet and sink in one of the bathrooms (we have two) is always running. We’ll have to fix that somehow (and no we can’t just turn off the pipes, the damn pipe to the bathroom sink won’t even close, its all the way closed and water still leaks).

Then there is the washing machine. Its old, the dial is broken, so when I did the first load I basically played spin the wheel of fortune. I think I hit dedicates, I put the soap in the wrong dispenser, so it didn’t go through, but my dirty filthy smelly grimy boxers got washed, so that's a victory in my book. Of course there is no dryer, and since its about 1 in the morning here, hanging my clothes out to get stolen (I guess dry as well) is not a good idea. So I’ve hung them up on the kitchen chairs.

We were so tired and exhausted that when it came time for dinner we gave up, went to a European style restaurant literally across the street from us, ordered two cheeseburgers, and at them on the couch. It felt good to be American again. The Chick-pea soup at the egypt place will have to wait until tomorrow.

I’m damn thirsty too.

Goodnight all.