have you ever gotten to that point while looking for a place to rent that you think "I'm just going to take the next apartment that's even remotely doable"? well, I did. after too many text messages back and forth between the landlord, the lady I was subletting from, my 'trusted local resource person', and me, I finally consulted with one of the 'Anglo' facebook groups focused on making smart financial decisions here in Israel about the landlord's ongoing and escalating requests for me to rent the place, and the general consensus was RUN - don't walk - away from that deal. so I went back online, looked up some more apartments, and went to see them. eventually I decided that all the apartments in my price range were pretty much the same, and that I just needed to pick one, and get on with it. I've moved around so much in my life, the truth is, I can make ANY place work for me. even the place with the bathroom that was so small the door wouldn't even open all the way because it hit the toilet, and I had to squeeze between that opening and the sink to stuff myself into the shower space that I couldn't imagine how I'd be able to get myself clean in because I wouldn't be able to move. the realtor assured me we could have the property manager change the door out for an 'accordion door', and take the glass shower walls out and put in a curtain, which I was almost willing to do, given that the apartment was in the same building I had been staying in, though it was right next door to the barky dog I heard daily, who made me wonder how people kept pets the size he sounded to be in such small spaces.
then there was the place that wasn't bad size-wise, but the current tenants had a rabbit and the place Stank. when I opened the kitchen cabinet, there were jukim (Israeli cockroaches), and even the convenience of an elevator wasn't enough to sell me on the amount of cleaning I would need to do to in order to make it livable for me. there was a decent place in the center of town that was even smaller than the place with the tiny bathroom, and while there happened to be a flood of water flowing down the stairs from the second floor when I went to see it, it wasn't that much of a problem for me...I just didn't know how any of the things from my lift would fit in it. so, gladly, there was the place with the meerpeset. now, I Love a good porch, and I realize I didn't share anything in this blog about the fabulous porch I had in Vermont, but it was my happy place during the months when it wasn't buried in snow, and I even went out there when it was, just to stand outside, even though there were only two feet or so or space where it was clear. the place with the meerpeset is also small, and the price of rent kept fluctuating depending on which of the people involved in my renting it I was talking to, but long story short, I rented it anyway, mostly because I was tired of looking (and the meerpeset!).
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| Vermont porch, winter and summer |
I 'moved in' on the day the bed I bought was being delivered, which just means I brought my suitcases and foodstuff over from the sublet. my first order of business when I move in Anywhere is to CLEAN. I'm a neat freak (thanks Dad), so most spaces don't generally measure up to my standard, and need to be scrubbed before I can even feel comfortable enough to bring in my belongings. I started with the space underneath the refrigerator, and the fridge itself, then the kitchen counter and some small shelves attached to the wall. then I moved on to the windows which left a mess on the floor, and I didn't have the tools I needed to clean it, so I went to the 'Jumbo Mart' for a dust pan and broom, a 'magav' (floor squeegee with accompanying stick), 'smartut ritzpah' (floor rags), and a bucket, then looked up some how-to videos on proper 'sponga' technique. hint: there are several, and after sweeping, I simply filled the bucket with soapy water, got one of the rags wet, draped it over the magav, and mopped the floor with it, then used a dry one to wipe up any excess water. it looked Amazing, so of course the landlord came over to remove the last two items of unwanted furniture from the place, and left a mess I assured him I was happy to clean.
reluctant as I am to buy anything before my lift gets here, I didn't have any bowls, plates, utensils, kitchen towels, or pots and pans, and I know I didn't pack most of those things to send over, so I did have to spend a little money on a few items, and I needed to finish cleaning out the kitchen cabinets before putting them away. then I scrubbed the meerpeset and both sides of the door, and the bathroom mirror. I still want to get to some details like the switch plates, the front door, and the vent in the kitchen ceiling, but what I'm really avoiding is the bathroom. I dug some grossness out from under the cabinet - an old razor, dirty toilet paper, some plastic that may have been package wrapping, who knows. there was some dark brown 'spray' on the door frame that took some scrubbing to remove, but is gone now, and the walls are all tile so it feels like a big job, to say nothing of the floor, toilet, and shower. again, it's small, so when I finally commit to spending the hour or so it will take to do the job, I'll wish I had done it sooner, but this whole process of moving overseas, and learning a language well enough to be employable is exhausting, so I need to rest, too.
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| scrubbed clean, and ready for plants and other decoration! |
it's a little weird to have spent 30-some-odd years curating a household just to leave the majority of it behind and start over from scratch, and I'm curious to learn which of the many things I packed will be useful, and which will end up being frivolous - my littlest cast iron pan? my big soup pot? all the matching hangers from my closet? the small trunk of saved baby/child ephemera? the framed art? there's much less room here than I had in Vermont, so I'm a bit concerned that I sent too much, and will have to rid myself of even more than I thought I could - the process was pretty painful as it was, and I'm relatively less attached to acquiring and keeping items than most people I've met, though many of the things I did have were either inherited from family, or had been in my possession for decades. I'm also missing my art supplies, and am looking forward to being able to get back to my projects. sure, I could get new art supplies, but I'm not spending money on anything that isn't rent or food, so I'm pouring my creative energy into cleaning, thinking about how the things I sent will fit into the space I have, and...honestly, napping. Hebrew school is on break this week for Passover, so I have more free time than usual, and I'd like to go submerge myself in the sea, if possible. maybe even visit the cemetery where my parents are buried; a trip I've been wanting to make since the day I landed.
my next project - assuming I finish the cleaning list - is to rearrange my suitcases (again) into something that will work for what my needs are now, as opposed to what they were when I needed to keep moving until I found a place to land. and seeing as how I just did the laundry, most of what's been washed is now piled up in one of the suitcases in disorder while the others are still packed neatly, yet ineffectually. for instance: I can unpack my shoes, now, so I don't have to wear the one pair of sneakers all the time, and put the first aid kit in the bathroom cabinet. I also think all the towels need to be washed, along with the blanket I was smart enough to pack (otherwise I wouldn't have had anything to sleep under for the past few weeks). doing the laundry turned out to be Very expensive - almost $32 for two washes and one dry - so I'm not looking forward to doing more. we'll see...as I've been saying about just about everything, live and learn. that's what I'm doing here. living and learning.
