Holy crap!
UPDATE #4: A new water heater has been put in. I was told that the only way to hold the damn thing up was to hang it by the “cables” and “wire” in the the manner you see in the photos. It had to be done this way because I’m on the top floor and they can’t secure it to the cement wall??? OK?
Today I came home to see how they repaired the roof. Essentially, they just slapped A LOT of plaster over the bad patchwork they did last week. And tomorrow they will paint. And then it’s a done deal.
I just hope when that thing snaps, I’m not in the shower!
UPDATE #3: Oh, I forgot to mention that I now get only 4 minutes of hot water. Yeah. That’s just not going to work…
UPDATE #2: Not only is the roof a mess, but my bathroom has a sweaty smell to it that is reminding me of the Seinfeld episode where he gets a smelly car back from the valet…remember that one? Yea, not so funny when that’s what your bathroom (the one next to your bedroom) smells like!
UPDATE: Round one of “Let’s fix the heater” is finished. This is the condition the heater and the roof was left in. The manager will come by my apartment tomorrow morning (or so he says) at 9am. Let’s see what happens next. I’m all for adventure, but this is not the fun kind, ne?
Original Story…
So….I’ve been working from home during Tet and at about 1pm, thought I would take a quick stroll around the neighborhood to see what people were up to and to see if the little market had opened yet.
Did see much of the neighbors, but scored with the market! Yes! The couple who runs it are super nice people.
I came home, put down by bag of goods, went into my room to put away my purse and noticed white little rocks on the floor, coming from the bathroom…and then all over the bathroom. And then I looked up and saw the heater coming out of the roof.
What the hell happened? The water heater just fell down? It didn’t burst because there is no water spouting out. It just looks like it tried to escape out the roof panel but got stuck! Yikes!
I’ve called the manager and sent him a photo from my phone. I’m waiting for someone to come fix it. Thank goodness I wasn’t IN the shower when this happened! Holy crap! I don’t even want to go anywhere near this thing, and I’m usually pretty good at fixing stuff!
I hope he/they/someone can come soon…..
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
Ace Ventura is My Mailman
So the epic story of my boxes continues. I last wrote on December 20th, a month after I had mailed them from the US. At that time there was no sign at all that the boxes would ever arrive.
Shortly after the New Year, I randomly received a notice one day. The ladies in the office got excited, as it was clearly from the post office. It asked me to send a copy of my passport, my visa and then the original customs form. So we messengered that along to the main post office, somewhere in the heart of Hanoi.
About a week later, I got another letter which said that boxes had arrived at the local post office and were ready for pick up. It also informed me I needed to pay a customs fee – 30,000 VND. Equivalent of about $2.00.
So with Ms. Linh, I headed to the post office with all my papers. When we arrived, the woman behind the counter and pull out a huge stack of papers, held together with one butterfly clip. She flipped through the papers until she found my sheets. And then a few people began retrieving my boxes from the back of the room.
The sight of the first box made my heart stop for just a moment. And then one after another, torn, squished and lifeless boxes came out from behind the counter. I kid you not – they truly looked like Ace Ventura had gotten a hold with them and played a few games of soccer. This photo does not lie.
IN the end, 9 of my 10 boxes arrived, the missing one being my box of CDs. That was not surprising to me. And after surveying the boxes, the damage and wondering the state of the contents inside, the woman asked for my 30,000 VND. I laughed. I asked her who would pay me for all of the damage they had done to my things. I asked her about the value of the missing box and who would pay me. She didn’t find this funny. But I put my foot down. I told them that when my 10th box arrived, I would happily pay the 30,000 VND. The women sounded like clucking chickens as they argued about why I need to pay the money.
Ms. Linh was good at standing firm, too. She understood my emotions and my reasoning completely. She said she was also worried about the contents inside and the arrival of the 10th box. The ladies wanted me to sign paperwork and pay the money, but I refused. I figured it gave them incentive for getting that 10th box. (Everyone who lives in Vietnam is laughing at that statement right now. Still, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.)
Once home, I took photos of all my boxes in their horrid state and then began the process of unwrapping everything. All of my boxes had been opened and much of the contents had been unwrapped. Although in one box, I think they gave up because I wrapped everything so ridiculously much that it must have taken to long to cut the tape and layers of newspaper. I was particularly pissed when I realized that instead of just cutting the one piece of scotch tape to open the lovely wooden boxes containing Japanese pottery, they pried open the boxes, breaking them in the process. Can I hear a collective, “$%&!@”!!!
Only a few items ended up being broken, precious though they were. The long-stem martini glasses I bought in Kamakura at 5,000 yen a glass is not a set of one. Five sake glasses bought in Fuji are now three. The bowl which Daisuke and Miyako gave all their wedding guests was too fragile to withstand the pressure of the beating those boxes took. And really, I could have moved anywhere in the world and lost those items, so I’m quite fortunate, really.
And what do you know. Two days after I picked up nine boxes and refused to pay the customs fee until the tenth box arrived, I received a notice that my tenth box was on its way from customs. I have sent off my customs form and copies of my passport and visa. Now I will wait until I hear notice that the box has arrived at the local post office. I wonder if all of the CDs will be in the box? And I really wonder what fee they will try to charge me.
How would you react after you paid $1300 for 10 day service and received your belongings 2 months later in this condition (minus one box)???
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
Gotta love it!
A quick hello and a note to let you know that things are going well in Hanoi. I hope to negotiate a contract on my apartment tomorrow, a huge task which I will be very glad to get out of the way. I now have a cell phone and am starting to feel a bit more settled. Not 100%, mind you, but closer.
On my way back from apartment hunting today, I just had to pull out my camera and take this photo. Mind you, I was on the back of a motorbike, so it is not the clearest photo in the world, but you get the idea. I don’t think I will ever tire of seeing what the Vietnamese can carry on a motorbike!
I hope to continue to post snapshots like this. Stay tuned.
And when I get a break this weekend, I will continue my story from home hunting. You would not even believe…
On the Bright Side,
Shanna
Major league loosers
Forget financial bailouts for a moment. This is what’s REALLY wrong with America – Competitive Eating.
Major League Eating? Professional sport? Eating sensation? Rising stars? No. 1-ranked eater in the world? Place in the history books? $20,000 prize?
YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!
I just read the news today that Joey “Jaws” Chestnut shoved 93 burgers in his face to repeat the title “World Hamburger Eating Champion”. Can I get a – Whoopdeedooo!!!!?????
This idiot won $20,000 for over-eating. And scores of people attended the event to cheer on these freaks who compete every year. Here is the entire article from the Krystal Square Off official website.
American eating sensation Joey Chestnut retained his hamburger eating title today at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn. The 24-year-old from San Jose, Calif. downed 93 Krystal hamburgers in eight minutes, ten shy of his world record mark set at last year’s championship.
Billed as the highly anticipated rematch between Chestnut, the No.1-ranked eater in the world, and Japan’s speed-eating legend Takeru Kobayashi, the contest quickly became a one-man show as Chestnut jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as a crowd of 10,000 cheered him on in downtown Chattanooga.
Kobayashi, a three-time Krystal Square Off winner who missed last year’s championship due to a jaw injury, finished in a disappointing third place, eating just 84 Krystals, 13 less than he ate when he won Krystal Square Off III in 2006. Twenty-three-year-old rising star Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti was the second-place spoiler, out-eating Kobayashi by just one Krystal.
“Chestnut’s win today at Krystal Square Off V proves once again that he is competitive eating’s new superstar and the undisputed number one ranked eater in the world,” said Brad Wahl, vice president of marketing, The Krystal Company.
Chestnut pockets $20,000 for his win, along with the coveted Krystal Square Off Champion’s Belt and Trophy made out of crystal. Bertoletti earns $10,00 for his second place finish while Kobayashi takes away $5,000. The remaining top eleven finalists receive payouts ranging from $3,000 to $500. The $50,000 total cash purse is the largest in competitive eating history.
Presented by The Krystal Company and featuring the iconic fresh, hot, small, square Krystal hamburger, the Krystal Square Off is one of the two majors in the sport of competitive eating and the only world hamburger eating championship sanctioned by Major League Eating, the governing body of all stomach-centric sports.
“There are precious few moments in professional sports when you can watch as a competitor affirms his place in the history books. With this win today, Joey Chestnut just said to the world: I am Krystal King hear me growl,” said Richard Shea, president of Major League Eating. “In today’s economy anybody can be negatively impacted by unforeseen circumstances. Kobayashi is feeling that impact, but if I know him he’ll be back.”
Today’s victory was Chestnut’s first win over Kobayashi in a Krystal-eating contest, and further cements his dominance over the 30-year-old Japanese eating star. Kobayashi is responsible for first bringing the sport of competitive eating into the American mainstream more than seven years ago, only to see his star fall lately after several high-profile losses.
The official results are as follows:
1. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, San Jose, Calif. – 93 Krystals
2. Pat “”Deep Dish”” Bertoletti, Chicago, Ill. – 85 Krystals
3. Takeru Kobayashi, Tokyo, Japan – 84 Krystals
4. “Humble” Bob Shoudt, Philadelphia, Pa. – 76 Krystals
5. Tim “”Eater X”” Janus, New York, N.Y. – 64 Krystals
6. Hall “Hoover” Hunt, Jacksonville, Fla. – 63 Krystals
7. Juliet “The Lovely” Lee, Germantown, Md. – 55 Krystals
8. Crazy Legs Conti, New York, N.Y. – 49 Krystals
9. Rich “”The Locust”” LeFevre, Henderson, Nev. – 47 Krystals
10. Juris “Dr. Bigtime” Shibayama, Murfreesboro, Tenn. – 43 Krystals
11. Eric “Badlands” Booker, Long Island, N.Y. – 41 Krystals
12. Kyle “12th Eater” Brogdon, Hixson, Tenn. – 10 Krystals
OMG! I don’t even know where to start. How about those nicknames? Or my favorite quote from the article, “In today’s economy anybody can be negatively impacted by unforeseen circumstances. Kobayashi is feeling that impact, but if I know him he’ll be back.” What the hell does that even mean?
For crying out loud…how much money does all this nonsense cost each year? How many people could all those mini-burgers and the $50,000 cash purse (the largest in competitive eating history!) feed???
There are so, so, so many things wrong with this, my head hurts. If you want to learn more about this disgrace to humanity, you can go to the official website at www.krystalsquareoff.com. You can even join the Fantasy Eating League! Sign me up!
Are these people for real? – Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, the “undisputed number one ranked eater in the world” holds up his “coveted Krystal Square Off Champion’s Belt and Trophy made out of crystal.” Cool! Eer…not!
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