This write up follows Moving Soon and I've got the Key!
On Thursday, 3 days ago, I moved my first couple of belongings and some furniture, from my house on the hill - located at half an hour walking distance from town ( for this and any other car less creature ) - to my future apartment that can be found in what used to be the nearest - and my favorite - little city town.
There's so much I could share about my first night and the following first day there, I don't know where to start...
Should I perhaps write about hurting my shin bone on a parked car's towing hook, twice, while carrying things out of my current ( and almost past ) neighbor's van and into my apartment?
Or...
should I share about taking a bath, late afternoon, feeling cold, only to find out that the water would't get warmer than 35 Degrees Celsius ( lower than our body temperature ) and how I then ended up lying down in the water for some minutes, failing at Wim Hoffing, getting colder and colder and how I then decided to take a half-hearted shower in bath, only to find out, after turning off the tap, that my towel was still in my bedroom.
As a result, I had to use the small towel from the floor, that I had used as a bath mat, and semi-wrap it around my waist, reminding myself, while walking to my bedroom, that I couldn't parade around naked, here, as I was used to in my previous ( countryside ) house, as I'm now in the main street of a town and people can look up to my windows, from the street/ sidewalk.
Or...
I could explain why exactly I had to warm up, eventhough my apartment is a couple degrees warmer than my previous rental house. Suffice to say that it's Winter and, as soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops toward freezing/ 0 Degrees Celsius
and, during the night, below zero. Also, I have a built-in fireplace/ woodburner in my new place, but there isn't really any storage space to keep my firewood. And, aside from that, I haven't gotten around to ordering wood yet.
You might also be interested in hearing that I don't have working electricity as of yet. I could share about the bureaucratic process that I had and (still) have to go through, to put the water and electricity bill on my name, as well as how the previous tenant complicated things for me. And about all the twists and turns, that honestly don't surprise me any longer, after almost 5 years in Portugal.
Or
I could share about the barking dog nearby that I couldn't trace but seems to respond to almost every single passerby. Welcome to Portugal!
I guess that it might be entertaining ( for you ) to hear how I ended up in bed around 9PM, before the 4 year old daughter of my neighbor ( above me ) went to sleep, only to find out that falling asleep would take plenty of hours. You might laugh when you learn that the neighbor's woodburner makes a heavy metal(lic) sound when being opened and closed and is, apparently, above my bed(room), more or less where I lay my head on my pillow.
Perhaps you might be intrigued, when I told you about all the other (new) noises that kept me awake before sleep and woke me up, after having fallen asleep, throughout the night and morning.
The contrast with the peace and calm of the countryside, especially at night, is HUGE and I'm a sensitive fellow.
Now I could as easily write about some hours spent by candle light.
or, mayhaps, about cooking some pasta, only to discover that I didn't bring a sieve, nor a pan cover to drain the hot water and how I ended up using a plate to do the trick
or I could tell you about eating said pasta, with a brand new and very sharp knife for a spoon, as I hadn't brought any ( other ) cutlery, no spoons or forks, and how I then cut my lip on that knife and ended up eating with my hands. That last part, the hand eating, was fun! It made me feel like a kid again!
or I could share about jamming on my ukulele, with a blanket draped around my shoulders in my unheated living room.
Perhaps, it would be funny ( for you ) to read about me returning home with my twinsister, niece and nephew as visitors/ dinner guests, on the second night, after an entire day dealing with the above bureaucracy in two larger nearby cities. I could describe to you how we were carrying 4 oven pizzas and being hangry, only to find out that my new oven was actually electric ( not gas heated ). 'Funny' enough, the gas was working, but the electricity wasn't, eventhough the woman behind the counter of the electricity company had told me - hours before - that my apartment's electricity was not disconnected and actually good to go.
I could inform you how my sister then drove me/ us to my previous place, where the oven was still working, I hadn't run out of cooking gas, yet and where, luckily, I still had firewood for my woodburner, as this house is pretty cold, at night and how we ended up watching a movie, before they left for their own place, once again.
I could focus on the next day, in my 'old' house. On me, standing in the shower, with the cold water on my feet ( on a icy morning ), realizing that the gas bottle that I use for hot water was really empty now. No warm shower for me. How I ended up washing my face and armpits with some water from the wash basin, warmed up in my water cooker.
So much I could talk about :<)
In all honesty, all of the above isn't new to me. Let alone, after a handful of years spent in Portugal and growing up with parents who took us camping, every Summer holiday. I've also moved house two dozen times, in the last 21 years or so, if I count all the temporary stays and house sitting I've done.
It's just that I felt like ( not ) writing about all of the above
and I doubled my caffeine intake today. Does that make me funnier? I feel it does haha!
I'll probably return to my new place, tomorrow.
And you know what, I might even bike there - that should take me half an hour or so. And, once arrived, I aim to summon my super powers to get the electricity to actually work, again.
NOTE TO SELF: I should bring some lightbulbs. They weren't there.
All of this should be fun*
and whatever happens, I have no doubt that it will be an enjoyable read for you. Even if all goes well - fingers crossed - my humor will ensure you to laugh about my upcoming adventures ;<)
TOO BE CONVINUED...
The next morning, after the mist and cold made place for the sun, the town did its best to compensate for my previous night, showing why I fell in love with it's pretty face.