Mood: Neutral. Don’t laugh, that’s the best description I
can come up with right now. Not good or bad, just meh.
Listening to: Can’t Take My Eyes off of You
Our apartment complex has a gas vendor. We don’t have cylinders
(like so many independent houses do), but we have pipelines to the gas room in
our apartment complex. We all have meters for our cooking gas in the kitchen
and for the water heater in the third bathroom (the other two are included in maintenance
charges). When you move in, you go to the gas office in the basement under one
of the apartment and you get a card, which you then charge with some money. The
card then goes in a meter in your house in an electrical shaft outside the
kitchen. Back when we moved in, it took us quite a white to figure out all of
the complexities of everyday life here, including the gas. We put Rs. 300
(about $6 US) on the card, figuring we could recharge it whenever we needed to.
Well, that amount lasted us for 7 months. So you can imagine how thrilled we
were about cheap cooking gas. We used to pay much, much more in the US.
Since Daddy G came home and was craving some chicken curry,
that was on the menu for Sunday, as was lentils with greens (still trying to grow my hair back!). I
didn’t have much other food in the house as I tend to not make full on meals if all four of us aren’t at home.
After stopping at my little local chicken shop it was time
to get down to business. I love me some cooking. I get the radio blaring with
some GNR, ACDC, Velvet Revolver, Metallica, etc and sing along while creating
things I love to eat. It’s like going to church for me – music and cooking.
Half way through, I noticed that the chicken curry was no longer bubbling, as
it should have been. I figured that maybe the back door breeze (this is not
anywhere as dirty or disgusting as you think it is gentlemen) blew out the
flame, which has happened before. I discovered that the lentils were no longer
cooking either. In fact, none of the
burners worked. We had finally run through the money we loaded the card with.
I figured, no problem, we can just go recharge the card.
After grabbing my youngest to come along for company, we headed down to the
basement. There are 7 towers in my
apartment complex that are all connected by a basement parking lot. I couldn’t
remember where the office was, but I figured there were only so many places it
could be. We slowly meandered around, checking each of the towers. We stopped
in a shop to ask and she sent us across the complex. This was indeed NOT where
the office was and I ended up wandering around for 15 more minutes before
locating it in the last tower to be checked. Of course, their hours were Monday
to Saturday. Oh was I pissed. Not only couldn’t I cook for my husband who had a
serious yen after being in the US, I was worried the food wouldn’t keep half
cooked until the next day, especially the greens I had soaked in salt water and
chopped. I said a little prayer to the food gods and shoved everything in the
fridge, pots and all, hoping I couldn’t just start up where I left off the next
day.
We ended up ordering food (which was honestly pretty good)
from a local restaurant, but I knew it wasn’t what Daddy G really liked. He’s
one of those picky types who loves his Mama’s food. Since I learned from her, I
make acceptable substitutes, restaurants do not. For dinner we had savory,
spicy oatmeal. I love that stuff. It wasn’t a great culinary day, but at least we
ate.
The next day, I went to the office first thing and with the
assistance of 2 very polite guys, recharged my card. I managed to save all of
the food I had started cooking the day before and everything came out really
well, to Daddy G’s and my delight.
My husband had a good time laughing at how frustrated I got
that the gas ran out on the day we couldn’t recharge it. Things like that
happen here and either you roll with it, or you end up with an anger management
problem. I would like to think I roll pretty well with life here, but every
once I start getting twitchy. Like any time I deal with my kids’ school. You
would think we deal with a government institution the way that everything turns
out about 3 times more complicated than it needs to be. We’ve been having some
drama with checks being returned due to signature differences.
When I wrote the
checks, I was standing in a stifling hot basement office in a line waiting to
be seen in a cubicle by a harassed, cranky man whose name I won’t mention
because I seriously don’t need anyone at that school hating me more than they
already seem to. To be honest, my signature didn’t look at all the same trying
to sign it under those circumstances and the bank returning them was valid. I found out about it from the bank and went the extra mile of hiring a cab and dropping off new checks (which I signed exactly like they should have been!) at the school. The school is now harassing me to send in
Demand Drafts (which are like money orders for two other checks to make sure they get the money
coming to them. I refuse. They are getting checks because I am not making a
special trip to the bank when I have checks at home. Poor Daddy G listened to
me rant for a few minutes and then asked me what the big deal was. The bank is
a few minutes’ walk, why not just go get one. I told him it was a matter of
principle and there was no reason why they couldn’t just take another check.
There really is no point in fighting the school; it won’t do me any good and I’m
aware of it. I just am tired of jumping through hoops to deal with them about
ordinary matters. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a hassle with schools and my
oldest has been in school for the past 5 years. It’s a matter of principle.
