House everything?

It has been almost a year since we moved into our present abode (please see my previous blog). I had some misgivings then on why were we changing our residence from a cozy two-bedroom apartment into a humongous five-bedroom house when there's just me and my wife. Everything happens for a reason, I mused, even I couldn't figure out why at that moment. Recent events seem to emphasize  even more my apprehensions on the whys and wherefores of such a move. For one thing we can't get a househelp. We had two cases where a prospective maid backed out at the last minute. The second one even scammed us of two thousand pesos - asking us to send her the money for her transportation expenses inasmuch as she will be coming from Samar province. On the date of her departure she told us that they met an accident and that her mom was in "critical condition". We never got a reply when we called her several times to ask her to return the money we sent her. Now why is having a maid important? Because we need someone to house sit for us whenever we go out of town for a few days (since we are birders, that is a given).

Then when the rainy season started we noticed that some parts of the house got flooded - not a lot - but enough to be an annoyance. Last week there were several leaks including that of the main pipe. It took four days and two different plumbers to solve the problem.

Are these somehow not-so-subtle messages that we need to look for another place that is more appropriate for two senior citizens? Did I mention that we are dab-smack in the middle of the western fault? Warnings of an impending 7+ magnitude earthquake are currently flooding the news and social media. There was even an earthquake drill yesterday in the whole of MetroManila.

How's everything here? Not looking good I must admit.

Moving

Those unholy hours when the truck ban is lifted that we hear the almost non-stop screaming of brakes from the semis as they line up single file on the lane assigned specifically for them. Every now and then the fart-like honking from the drivers who were losing their patience (and who wouldn't in that situation?) would blast in the wee hours of the morning.

Ah, to live merely half a block away from the always busy C5 road - one of the main thoroughfares in Metro Manila. This despite staying in a room that had been sound-proofed (more like sound minimized really) for that particular purpose. 

We recently moved from our cozy two-bedroom apartment to a huge house in the same village. Why? you'd probably want to know. And the answer I'd like to give is : It's complicated. 

I always believed that circumstances happen for a reason. Even if I can't understand why at the moment. Perhaps, in the future, the reason (or reasons) will unfold before my eyes and I will finally understand why such a seemingly nonsensical decision was made.

For now, my wife and I are in the process of settling in and getting ourselves accustomed to a different kind of ambiance, so to speak. The bulk of the work is over but there are many things that still need to be done. Like getting used to traffic noise in the middle of the night.

We've moved. I just hope I can say the same thing about the vehicles half a block away from us.

I Scream - A moving story

Cynthia and I finally found a place to stay. For the past couple of weeks we've been searching high and low for a home. At first we thought we got what we're looking for at Las Villas in Valle Verde 2. We liked the place and the rent is reasonable. We made an agreement to return the following day to sign the contract and make the necessary payments. That night, however, we got a call from the administrator that there was a "problem". Apparently the ex-husband of the owner, who still has legal rights to the property did not want it rented out, or if it did, that he will get all the proceeds.

We continued our search and we soon narrowed it down to two choices: a condo at Crissanta Tower which is located across the Valle Verde Country Club, and the other, an apartment in St. Ignatius Village. It was a tough choice - the condo a bit pricier but more spacious and has excellent parking area and security, the apartment, a bit cozier and has a great layout. So we prayed about it and agreed that if the St. Ignatius property was still available after our trip to Singapore then that would be it.

And indeed that was it. As soon as we finalized the contract and paid our dues, came the task of furnishing our new abode. We had no idea then that it would be a hair-pulling, patience-trying experience. SM Megamall had a sale that weekend and we thought that it might be a good idea to buy most of our furniture there. Big mistake! You would think that a store as popular and as ubiquitous as SM would be efficient in dealing with its customers. Based on our experience, obviously not so. First they still the used the old "bait-and-switch" trick. It happened to is twice on the same day. Cynthia was negotiating for a refrigerator while I was trying to pick out a bedframe. On both occasions, they told us the items we picked were out-of-stock (not right away, but when we are already lined up ready to pay) and so we had to return to our respective departments, where in both cases they recommended another, albeit more expensive, item. At this point my wife and I were both worn out so we agreed on their recommended items with nary an argument from us.  Note that all these happened in a span of about two hours. Then came the payment part. Cynthia used her credit card and specifically told the cashier that it would be a straight (not installment) charge. An hour passed and my wife was wondering why her transaction still have not been processed. When she found the cashier, who disappeared after receiving Cynthia's credit card, the cashier explained that she was trying to get an approval because the credit card was still new and did not have a history of purchases. Finally, after another half hour or so, the payment went through.

At the other side of the store, I was also lined up to pay some of the smaller furnishings that we bought. After scanning the price on my first item, they had a shift change! My cashier had to log off, account for her previous transactions and then turned over the machine to the incoming cashier, who in turn had to log in, account for cash in the till and at last turned to me and told me she had to scan my first item again (which was already wrapped-so they had to unwrap it and start the procedure all over again)! This procedure took almost an hour!

Because of all this hassle, we had to pay P100 for parking instead of the usual P40 had the employees been more efficient and handled our transactions in much less time. As we got into our vehicle, Cynthia and I both let out a blood curdling scream to vent all the frustrations and exasperation and anger that we felt but were unable to express towards those who actually deserved them.