Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Apartment Post #2: Apartment Dilemmas

So it looks like "once a week" has turned into "once a month," but that's still a bit of progress. :)

I have lived in my apartment for more than four months now, and it is almost completely finished. A few things are still lacking (living room lamp to cover the bulb, nightstand, desk?) and I need to catch it at a particularly clean and organized moment to take pictures of the "finished" product, but it's a nice little depto. There were, as there tend to be, some hiccups at the beginning, however.

Exhibit A: The Fusebox


Less than a week at my new digs and the electricity goes out, which I soon discover to be a burnt fuse. Luckily the electrician got there pretty quickly and I didn't have to try to survive a night without light (ha! that rhymed...).


And before I knew it, my fuse box was as good as new:



Hooray!

Exhibit B: My First Refrigerator


Once upon a time Ingrid moved into an unfurnished apartment and needed to buy a refrigerator, the first major appliance she would ever buy. After hopping from department store to department store in Santiago Centro searching for the best quality for the best price, she finally decided upon what she thought was the perfect refrigerator. It wasn't too expensive, it had enough room for her gastronomical needs, it was energy efficient, and it even had a pretty sparkly silver coating that made her smile.

The only thing Ingrid did not love about the refrigerator was the ugly sticker on the door. Assuming that no one in the world would want to keep an ugly sticker on their fridge door, she concluded that it must come off quite easily. Little did she know it would take several painstaking minutes, totaling close to a full hour (spread out over a much longer period), to remove all but the little white remnants of the big ugly sticker. What remained was almost as ugly as the sticker itself had been.

Being the super-resourceful and internet-savvy 21st century girl she was, Ingrid turned to the incredible infallible internets to search for the best way to get rid of the last of the ugliness that remained on her new fridge so that it could at last shimmer in all of its sparkly silver glory, blemish-free.

She rejoiced, for the thought she had found the best remedy! Thank you, O Internets! She rushed to the kitchen for the sponge and soapy water that she had been instructed to obtain and began happily scrubbing the sticky spot, until all the ugly white bits disappeared!

Alas, as she looked at the spot where she had been scrubbing, she realized that the ugly white bits had taken the pretty sparkles along with them! This left an even UGLIER gray splotch on her previously perfectly sparkly silver surface.


Ingrid did the only thing she could think to do: try to find something big enough to cover the splotch and stick a magnet on it.


Moral of the story: you can't always trust the internet. Who knew?

"Finished product" apartment photos in upcoming post...stay tuned!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Apartment Post #1: My Apartment!

I still don't have internet in my apartment, so I am taking advantage of the wifi here at La Tetería (one of my FAVORITE places in Santiago) for a quick post introducing my new apartment!

I currently live in Barrio Bellavista, Santiago. It is a bit further downtown from where I lived before, and a much younger area that is basically a nonstop carrete (party) at night, so there's lots of accessible nightlife. This is perfect for me, the old lady that I am who cannot keep up with Chileans that party until 6 or 7am. This way, I can go home when I want -- and I don't even have to pay cab fare!

The apartment building is gorgeous and brand new, and comes fully equipped with a pool, event room, TV room, and lavandería (laundry room), which was lacking at my last place. There was a washing machine in my old apartment, but no dryer, which was pretty crazymaking for my spoiled self. Now my laundry is done in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days! Ah, creature comforts...

My apartment is walking distance from the Cerro San Cristóbal, where you can find a beautiful view, mote con huesillo (a sweet Chilean drink/snack), barbecue pits, and the Santiago Zoo. It's also a good hike...for people who like hiking. My depto is an even closer to walk to Parque Forestal, a beautiful place to sit or stroll, and an area that I can't wait to explore more.

Here are some photos of the apartment as it came -- bare as a baby's bottom. At the moment, it does not look like this -- it looks more like cyclones had made their way to Santiago, specifically to the 10th floor my apartment building. I did manage to get the basics in place (bed, refrigerator, light bulbs), but it is still lacking in the furniture department, and technically speaking, it is a freaking mess. When it is all finished and pretty, I'll post some after pictures. For now, I hope you enjoy these!










Saturday, October 30, 2010

First Post!

So, I did it. I decided to start a blog all about my adventures way down south. I've only lived here for slightly over a year...but hey, it's never too late, right?

Although I have spent a great first year here, I am not-so-secretly hoping this blog will encourage me to do some of the things I have not quite gotten around to yet -- like, travel outside of Santiago -- and take lots of pretty pictures which I will post for your viewing pleasure.

Since I have just moved into an unfurnished apartment and have yet to install internet in said apartment, posts will be somewhat limited at the beginning. But, unlike a failed attempt at a slightly more 'intellectual' blog (which I do hope to actively update one day), I am making a commitment to post here regularly so as to not lose the aforementioned motivation to...you know...do things. Plus, if you are reading this, obviously you have been going through a severe lack of constant updates of the goings on of my Chilean life in the last fifteen months. But fear not -- I'm here to fill the void. :)

My posts will be in English, though I will probably insert some Spanish/chilenismos every now and again.

Look forward to upcoming posts and pictures about my fantastic new apartment, Halloween, friend and family visits, and more!

Saludos desde Chile!