22 January 2007
tame adventures in settling in.
Saturday was 2 kinds of adventure: 1. test drive 2. shopping in Bamberg.
The test drive was a diesel focus. over here, the focus is a higher level car than the fusion (which is a jacked up fiesta, and kind of mini-van-y). later this week I'll test drive one with a regular gas engine.
In town I did some unsuccessful shoe-shopping (these girls here must have no meat on their calves at all, a major factor when trying on boots). but I had a good time and got to investigate some of the shoestores.
I was a happy girl as I sat at the foot of a statue eating a slice of pizza and watching the people go by. Nourished, I decided to check out one of the clothiers on the square. Lucky me, I found some great shirts, and a cute little dress.
Thus bolstered, I took up the unpleasant task of light fixture shopping. have you ever been light fixture shopping? this shopping is a special kind of hell for me. the lights in the store all make some kind of high-frequency electrical noise, and you have to crane your neck to look into bright lights, and who knows what kind of lightbulbs are in the demo models anyway? so it's really hard to judge whether it will light your room well or not.
the apartments here are bare boxes. there are a few wires dangling from the ceiling, but nothing remotely like a light fixture.
so I need ceiling lights for the:
entry hall
bathroom
kitchen
living room
bedroom 1
bedroom 2
I went to the department store on the square. all the fixtures were €60+, with some of the ones that I liked being in the €450 range. for the record, €1 is about equal to $1.27 at the moment. so imagine my joy at spending this kind of money on something I'll chuck into the mülleimer after 3 years.
I tried making lists, but I couldn't get the attention of the sales-clerks. I was being slowly overtaken by a pulsing icepick headache. And those light fixtures were ridiculously expensive. I gave up. I went home. I took some ibuprofen, put down the blinds in my bedroom and closed the door. It was dark as a cave and I slept for 2 hours.
here's my new plan: my new washer, dryer and refrigerator are being delivered this afternoon. after they get here I'm going to play hookie and head for the nearest ikea. the website says they have cheap light fixtures (around 20-30€). I bet they've also got cool lamps for less than 450€, and I can check out the couches and schränke (armoires. the buildings here also lack closets).
sounds like a boondoggle!
The test drive was a diesel focus. over here, the focus is a higher level car than the fusion (which is a jacked up fiesta, and kind of mini-van-y). later this week I'll test drive one with a regular gas engine.
In town I did some unsuccessful shoe-shopping (these girls here must have no meat on their calves at all, a major factor when trying on boots). but I had a good time and got to investigate some of the shoestores.
I was a happy girl as I sat at the foot of a statue eating a slice of pizza and watching the people go by. Nourished, I decided to check out one of the clothiers on the square. Lucky me, I found some great shirts, and a cute little dress.
Thus bolstered, I took up the unpleasant task of light fixture shopping. have you ever been light fixture shopping? this shopping is a special kind of hell for me. the lights in the store all make some kind of high-frequency electrical noise, and you have to crane your neck to look into bright lights, and who knows what kind of lightbulbs are in the demo models anyway? so it's really hard to judge whether it will light your room well or not.
the apartments here are bare boxes. there are a few wires dangling from the ceiling, but nothing remotely like a light fixture.
so I need ceiling lights for the:
entry hall
bathroom
kitchen
living room
bedroom 1
bedroom 2
I went to the department store on the square. all the fixtures were €60+, with some of the ones that I liked being in the €450 range. for the record, €1 is about equal to $1.27 at the moment. so imagine my joy at spending this kind of money on something I'll chuck into the mülleimer after 3 years.
I tried making lists, but I couldn't get the attention of the sales-clerks. I was being slowly overtaken by a pulsing icepick headache. And those light fixtures were ridiculously expensive. I gave up. I went home. I took some ibuprofen, put down the blinds in my bedroom and closed the door. It was dark as a cave and I slept for 2 hours.
here's my new plan: my new washer, dryer and refrigerator are being delivered this afternoon. after they get here I'm going to play hookie and head for the nearest ikea. the website says they have cheap light fixtures (around 20-30€). I bet they've also got cool lamps for less than 450€, and I can check out the couches and schränke (armoires. the buildings here also lack closets).
sounds like a boondoggle!
