New Home

I love my new apartment.

It’s as simple as that. Even the process of hauling boxes up stairs on moving day last week was a pleasure, because it meant the long wait was over and I finally get my own little place in the world.

I got the keys on the 2nd, which was a surreal moment. Piles of papers were signed and terms and conditions explained, then bang- I was a house-owner..As a non-native I was legally obliged to employ the services of a translator at the signing, who cheerfully summarised the mortgage arrangements as ‘basically, they’ve got you by the short and curlies’. Trying to shake off the feeling that I had just become slave to my bank, I drove with the previous owners (the very-lovely Luisella and Koen) from the notary’s office to my new place, clutching a bunch of keys in my hand that had now mysteriously become mine. Everything looked great at the apartment (no nasty surprises, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou L and K). Then suddenly I was left alone, standing in the middle of my new empty space. After months of waiting for this moment I realized that I didn’t have a clue what to do! I opened and closed the drawers and doors, switched on and off the switches then sat in the middle of the floor trying to adjust to being there. With the absence of someone to share the experience with, the whole thing took on an unreal quality and I was beginning to think I dreamed it.

However, reality soon kicks in after three afternoons spent on your hands and (bruised) knees oiling the floors. But despite being hard work it was great going over to the place early before work, sticking on the radio and gradually seeing the results of my efforts show. Now it felt like mine!

Moving day (last Friday) went without a hitch and I then became a three-day one-woman Ikea furniture assembly machine. I have blisters on the palms of my hands to prove it. The place has come together surprisingly fast and I can’t believe that I only moved in a week ago. Now my next problem is trying to persuade myself to leave the front door every now again….