I know this documentary has been out for a long time, but we didn't get around to watching it until last night. We thought it was going to be depressing and a bit of a let-down because of all the hype, but it was actually really good! Al Gore presents the case in a very clear, thorough, and balanced way. It's absolutely horrendous what we're doing to the environment and we seem to be just about at the breaking point, but this film leaves you with a fair amount of hope that we can actually turn things around. There's a chance. And rather than just being all doom'n'gloom, the film gives you some ideas about how to turn things around. And that's the best way to solve problems... present the facts to get people to take it seriously, then propose solutions.
We'd like to encourage you to see this film and make yourself a part of the solution.
*Watch the trailer*
And here are 51 ways you can do your part:
Time Magazine: 51 Ways To Stop Global Warming
There are several that we have already worked into our lifestyle, but we could do more.
Thursday, March 29
Tuesday, March 27
Saturday, March 24
Hurrah!
Our washing machine and kitchen lighting have been repaired as of yesterday. The laundry mountain has now shrunken back down to the size of a mole hill. And I can see when I am cooking in the evening.
So... yahoo for progress!
Now back to writing my conference paper, which I've been procrastinating again for about an hour.
So... yahoo for progress!
Now back to writing my conference paper, which I've been procrastinating again for about an hour.
Sunday, March 18
A Mountain out of an Underwear Hill
The washing machine is still not repaired. There hasn't even been anyone out to check it or even call us to schedule a time. The pile of laundry is growing because we can only wash a few things at a time. This morning it was struggling with a tea towel, a couple of pairs of underwear and two socks -- I kid you not. K is beginning to "go a bit mental". This faulty washing machine has begun to symbolize all of our frustrations. On a positive note, it is really fueling K's resolve to get the PhD finished in record time!We're both knee-deep in research papers (for the Boston conference) right now. I'm begrudgingly writing my paper about YouTube and K is trying to congeal her research into something presentable. She has to do a "dry run" of sorts for a couple of people on Tuesday. My goal is to have a finished paper by Monday the 26th. Then it's just tweaking and presentation organization that has to take place. Can't wait to become unencumbered by this!
Wednesday, March 14
Retarded Plumbing & Low Expectations
Sorry to keep going on about this (and an extra apology to our British friends who may be caught in the cross-fire) but we're getting a bit disgruntled about a few aspects of British daily life.
For the record, the plumbing in this apartment is absolutely ridiculous. The water pressure is absolute shit and as a result, we don't take a shower. We take a trickle. Adding further insult to injury, we have just discovered that we may very well have to have our central heating TURNED ON to be able to get any hot water from the shower... erm, trickle... and kitchen sink. The way the boiler works is that when you turn on a hot tap, the change in water pressure triggers the boiler to flash heat the water. So, in theory, you get hot water quite quickly. However, the water pressure is so bad in this flat that the boiler does not get triggered by the shower or the kitchen tap (only the bathroom sink manages it) unless the boiler is already pumping heat into our radiators. Therefore, even in the summer time, we will have to have our central heating turned on when we want to take a trickle or wash the dishes. Luckily, we can turn the radiators off individually, but the mere fact that we have to employ such a workaround to accomplish a mundane task like our morning ablutions or cleaning oatmeal remnants out of a saucepan.... well, it is frustrating to say the least. And even more frustrating because I don't think it's a point we can raise with the landlord. Gravity plus shoddy workmanship is hardly his fault and we'd only be seen as troublemaking tenants (putting at jeopardy the renewal of our lease in a year's time). Anyway... on to the next gripe...
As I think I've mentioned in an earlier post, one of the "teething problems" moving into this apartment is that our washing machine doesn't work very well. We reported this problem to the managing company and they said they will have to arrange for two companies to come out to give an estimate for repairs, as demanded by the landlord, who had been burned in the past by unscrupulous repairmen (perhaps the one that installed the plumbing?). That was during our second week of tenancy. We still have not had a single repairmen cross our threshold. K had to place another call to the managing company, who suddenly seemed as though it was the first time they had heard about the problem. She said she would get it sorted. A week later, she told us a repair company would visit this past Monday. K stayed in all day, but no one showed. No one called. She phoned the company to find out what was going on. They were, of course, apologetic and said he would be out the next day for sure. So, K stayed in all day yesterday. Same thing. No show, no call. This morning she called the managing company again, also apologetic, who said that they will now find another company instead. Now we're waiting for a call about when someone might come out to give an estimate for fixing the washer (which will then have to be forwarded to the landlord in Spain for approval). All the while, our laundry is piling up. Judging by how long this initial step has taken, we'll have a working washing machine by mid-July.
Those of you in other countries, most notably the US, are probably appalled at this level of service. Well, see... the thing is... from what we can tell, this is normal in England! A lot of people we have talked to just nod knowingly, "Yeah, that's repairmen for you, etc." This obviously means that this is accepted behaviour. People expect to have to go through this when they need something repaired, so no one does anything to change it. Hello!? The power of the consumer!? If a repair company in the US conducted business this way, they would go out of business very quickly. Or at the very least, the repairman who didn't turn up for his appointment more than once without calling the customer would have been fired. But over here it seems like everyone works in a consequence-free environment. It's near impossible to get fired, so there's no motivation to be a good employee. This attitude is fostered by the low expectation of the British consumer. People don't seem to understand that if they demand higher quality and better service, the business sector has no choice but to deliver.
If we didn't know some British citizens who are hard-working, give-a-shit employees, we would think that the whole country couldn't care less about doing a job right, efficiently, and conscientiously. But, the fact is, we do know some Brits like this, though they do seem to be a minority.
Sorry, I know this sounds really mean and down-right judgemental, but it's not a snap-judgement. We've been living here for almost three years now and this is an observation that has been slowly building.
For the record, the plumbing in this apartment is absolutely ridiculous. The water pressure is absolute shit and as a result, we don't take a shower. We take a trickle. Adding further insult to injury, we have just discovered that we may very well have to have our central heating TURNED ON to be able to get any hot water from the shower... erm, trickle... and kitchen sink. The way the boiler works is that when you turn on a hot tap, the change in water pressure triggers the boiler to flash heat the water. So, in theory, you get hot water quite quickly. However, the water pressure is so bad in this flat that the boiler does not get triggered by the shower or the kitchen tap (only the bathroom sink manages it) unless the boiler is already pumping heat into our radiators. Therefore, even in the summer time, we will have to have our central heating turned on when we want to take a trickle or wash the dishes. Luckily, we can turn the radiators off individually, but the mere fact that we have to employ such a workaround to accomplish a mundane task like our morning ablutions or cleaning oatmeal remnants out of a saucepan.... well, it is frustrating to say the least. And even more frustrating because I don't think it's a point we can raise with the landlord. Gravity plus shoddy workmanship is hardly his fault and we'd only be seen as troublemaking tenants (putting at jeopardy the renewal of our lease in a year's time). Anyway... on to the next gripe...
As I think I've mentioned in an earlier post, one of the "teething problems" moving into this apartment is that our washing machine doesn't work very well. We reported this problem to the managing company and they said they will have to arrange for two companies to come out to give an estimate for repairs, as demanded by the landlord, who had been burned in the past by unscrupulous repairmen (perhaps the one that installed the plumbing?). That was during our second week of tenancy. We still have not had a single repairmen cross our threshold. K had to place another call to the managing company, who suddenly seemed as though it was the first time they had heard about the problem. She said she would get it sorted. A week later, she told us a repair company would visit this past Monday. K stayed in all day, but no one showed. No one called. She phoned the company to find out what was going on. They were, of course, apologetic and said he would be out the next day for sure. So, K stayed in all day yesterday. Same thing. No show, no call. This morning she called the managing company again, also apologetic, who said that they will now find another company instead. Now we're waiting for a call about when someone might come out to give an estimate for fixing the washer (which will then have to be forwarded to the landlord in Spain for approval). All the while, our laundry is piling up. Judging by how long this initial step has taken, we'll have a working washing machine by mid-July.
Those of you in other countries, most notably the US, are probably appalled at this level of service. Well, see... the thing is... from what we can tell, this is normal in England! A lot of people we have talked to just nod knowingly, "Yeah, that's repairmen for you, etc." This obviously means that this is accepted behaviour. People expect to have to go through this when they need something repaired, so no one does anything to change it. Hello!? The power of the consumer!? If a repair company in the US conducted business this way, they would go out of business very quickly. Or at the very least, the repairman who didn't turn up for his appointment more than once without calling the customer would have been fired. But over here it seems like everyone works in a consequence-free environment. It's near impossible to get fired, so there's no motivation to be a good employee. This attitude is fostered by the low expectation of the British consumer. People don't seem to understand that if they demand higher quality and better service, the business sector has no choice but to deliver.
If we didn't know some British citizens who are hard-working, give-a-shit employees, we would think that the whole country couldn't care less about doing a job right, efficiently, and conscientiously. But, the fact is, we do know some Brits like this, though they do seem to be a minority.
Sorry, I know this sounds really mean and down-right judgemental, but it's not a snap-judgement. We've been living here for almost three years now and this is an observation that has been slowly building.
Monday, March 5
Pact
Now that we have moved one more time and this time we actually have to get rid of some of the stuff we have amassed since moving to Norwich, K and I have made a pact:
If we are suddenly asked to move out of this apartment (can't blame us for being paranoid), then we will just go directly back to the US and stop pissing about with these easily-broken leases.
That's the deal. No matter what.
If we are suddenly asked to move out of this apartment (can't blame us for being paranoid), then we will just go directly back to the US and stop pissing about with these easily-broken leases.
That's the deal. No matter what.
Friday, March 2
Flat 16... One week on
So, we've just hit our one week anniversary of living in this flat (don't worry, we're not going to be celebrating weekly anniversaries of this nature). We're quite happy with it. It's much lighter than Flat 3 and it's so great to be on the top floor (a first for both of us). Made us realize that when you live on the ground floor, you can really feel the weight, both literally and metaphorically, of all those people living above you. And as K described it, you can really feel the cool ground emanating up through the floor. You're sort of squashed between those two "forces". Up here, it's a completely different feeling. There may not be any squirrels, but we do get to watch the sea gulls circling around (they're such good pilots!).
Anyway, we're pretty much settled and things seem to be calming down and going back to normal now. Our former landlord gave us a big fat envelope last Friday stuffed with the Queen's currency (a brave move since we hadn't even finished moving out), so our coffers are back to normal again. The apartment is quite nice though we do have a few niggling little problems that needed to be surmounted: the washing machine is only capable of spinning with no more than a pair of jeans and some socks; only one light in the kitchen works; and our car still doesn't fit in the garage. The first two things are supposedly in the works at the estate agency, but we still don't know what to do about the garage. Saw the back of the car off? Not too much of a hurry with that because we have a bunch of furniture in there right now that we will be selling.
Then there are those niggling little problems that we just accept as part of English life. Those annoying things that are just the product of the silly way they do things over here. Things like: bad water pressure in the shower; washing machines in the kitchen (and no dryer); hot water that only comes on the in shower if the central heating is switched on; only one telephone jack in a household (and it's never in a useful place); tiny refrigerators; and the fact that our "professionally cleaned" (apparently at the cost of £50) apartment was noticeably filthy to the point where we had to clean all over again. These aren't things we can ask the estate agency to fix. They are just things we have to live with. Live with and wonder about why Brits accept mediocrity in everything.
Anyway, we're pretty much settled and things seem to be calming down and going back to normal now. Our former landlord gave us a big fat envelope last Friday stuffed with the Queen's currency (a brave move since we hadn't even finished moving out), so our coffers are back to normal again. The apartment is quite nice though we do have a few niggling little problems that needed to be surmounted: the washing machine is only capable of spinning with no more than a pair of jeans and some socks; only one light in the kitchen works; and our car still doesn't fit in the garage. The first two things are supposedly in the works at the estate agency, but we still don't know what to do about the garage. Saw the back of the car off? Not too much of a hurry with that because we have a bunch of furniture in there right now that we will be selling.
Then there are those niggling little problems that we just accept as part of English life. Those annoying things that are just the product of the silly way they do things over here. Things like: bad water pressure in the shower; washing machines in the kitchen (and no dryer); hot water that only comes on the in shower if the central heating is switched on; only one telephone jack in a household (and it's never in a useful place); tiny refrigerators; and the fact that our "professionally cleaned" (apparently at the cost of £50) apartment was noticeably filthy to the point where we had to clean all over again. These aren't things we can ask the estate agency to fix. They are just things we have to live with. Live with and wonder about why Brits accept mediocrity in everything.
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