Apartment Update

Nithum and I have not been in our apartment for just more than two months. Slowly, we seem to be settling in and making the place feel (a little) more like home. Though, since we moved in we have had to deal with a few unexpected issues, some of which have been resolved, some of which haven’t.

-We have not noticed any mice for a number of weeks. It seems that the traditional traps were effective at killing mice, and also at scaring them away.

-The main door has been fixed, allowing us to exit and enter the apartment with ease. In its broken state, the door frequently prevented proper use of the door. In one case, Nithum and I were actually unable to leave the apartment for some number of minutes. The best part of the arrangement is that Nithum and I now know what the problem is so that if it occurs again (which is likely) we will know how to safely exit the apartment.

-While we have been planning to install a curtain in Nithum’s room to create a hallway like area that would connect to his door to my door we have still made no serious moves in this direction. The curtains have been in the living room for almost two months and the curtain wire set has been in the closet for longer. Maybe we will get around to doing this before we move out, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we don’t (as we are not all that motivated when it comes to such things).

-After a few weeks I finally got around to buying some plants. Though they aren’t quite as fancy as they could be, my thyme and basil plants are fitting the bill quite nicely. Actually, they are looking a little ragged, but that’s ok.

A few days ago they were actually supplemented with some birdseed, the idea being that we might get some wheat and sunflowers to grow alongside the basil and thyme. So far this plan seems to be working, but none of the new plants are well enough defined for me to know what we actually have growing with the herbs. My hope is that we get a few stalks of wheat and maybe a sunflower or two.

-Our living room really shaped up quite nicely. We now have a futon, a stuffed chair, an office chair, a coffee table, and a shelving unit. All of these items are used on a regular basis. Generally, having a living room has greatly added to our quality of life. It seems that both of us use this room on a daily basis.

-Unfortunately, our kitchen faucet seems to drip a fair bit. From time to times it seems that this problem can be solved by applying a great deal of pressure to the handles, while at other times it seems like something that we just have to live with. It seems unfortunate to waste so much water every day.

-Something that we have noticed more recently, particularly with the central heating system now fully functional, is that we are experiencing a relatively loud banging/jack hammering sound coming from the radiator pipes. While this banging does not go on all day, when it is present it is quite noticeable it both of our bedrooms. What is more problematic is that both of us sleep with our heads near the radiators, and source of the sound.

-Aside form the banging sound, the heating season has also brought about unreasonably high temperatures in our apartment. For much of this fall we have had to have several windows, and occasionally the balcony door, open.

-Shortly after we moved in we found that we have only one functional phone jack. The jack is located in Nithum’s room, almost as far away as possible from my room. Several weeks ago the plan was to purchase a splitter and extension cable so that I could have phone access in my room. Though as time has passed and no progress has been made in this direction, I have come to realize that I am not all that dissatisfied with the current situation. My current phone use is at an all-time low. I would guess that I am now down to less than a phone call a week (which is great). I can only imagine that my use of the telephone would increase with direct phone access. Additionally, by not having a phone in my room my sleep is less likely to be disturbed by incoming phone calls.

-It seems that our oven does not heat all that evenly. On several occasions I have managed to find that the bottom of whatever I am cooking is burning yet the center is still raw. Unfortunately, I have ideas as to how this problem might be rectified, aside from being given an all-new appliance (something that I don’t think is going to happen).