Not as crabby as I could be

So, I have my iPad still, which makes the fact that my computer stopped charging somewhere between work and home a little more bearable. Unfortunately, I still don't know if it's the cord or the computer. I'll find out tomorrow at work when I try someone else's charger. There's apparently an Apple retailer in town, so I might check with them, but I also ordered a charger. I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a spare in case this happens again. It's particularly frustrating because my computer is my lifeline here, particularly when I'm in my apartment. It's how I watch tv, find recipes, talk to Pete, check bus arrival times, etc. I'm pretty reliant on gadgets here, since I also have very few physical books (I use my nook and my iPad for that). I can access the e-version of The New Yorker for free on my iPad which is also pretty great. My primary non-gadget based entertainment sources here are cooking and knitting and crochet, which make me basically an old lady.

Anyhow this is going to be short and sweet since I have no patience for my iPad induced typos. Fingers crossed that another charger will work tomorrow and I don't have to deal with getting my whole computer fixed!

Things I do not love ...

One thing I do not love is spending all day with customer service of various sorts.  I had to send a sassy e-mail to my management company for my apartment since they decided to bill me for my deposit/last months rent + this months rent even though I know both have been deposited into their account.  Plus, my oven has been out of commission for over a week now.  No word from them yet. 

Then it was on to Amazon UK.  I ordered a few things from them last week (a cookbook and a drying rack) but part of my order hadn't shipped with the rest (namely kitchen utensils and the Britta pitcher that will hopefully make my water taste like Not Garbage).  All of that was supposed to be delivered today, but I got a cryptic e-mail saying it was being returned.  So, back to the e-mail I went trying to ask WHY it was being returned.  I got a really nasty message back about how sometimes if you write the wrong address they can't deliver it.  I knew this was not my fault so I pressed the issue with them again.  And it turns out their delivery guy BROKE all of my stuff (dropped some other heavy box on it).  So they were refunding me.  But I don't really want a refund.  I want my Britta filter and a pair of tongs so I can turn over meat without having to stab it with a fork or scoop it between a ladle and a sieve.  Plus, all of the things I had ordered were on sale last week, but not anymore.  After some finagling, I got first class shipping on that package, plus they're refunding the difference in price.

The final customer service nightmare was the worst.  Verzion Wireless, how I hate you.  Long story short, I'm trying to transfer my old phone number to a prepaid account - which I know you can do since my friend Neil did just that before he moved to Europe.  Well, of course it's not that easy because I had a smart phone in the US.  Apparently that ruins everything. This is literally the 10th time I have called Verizon about this.  I tried to resolve the issue via e-mail and I got a ridiculous reply telling me to use a link that does not work outside the US (a fact I said in my first e-mail to them).  I hope the guy gets in trouble because I complained about it when I called.  A lady insisted on transferring me, but I refused (and cried - which, let's be honest, always helps), and she finally fixed the problem.  Mostly.  Apparently, Pete has to call to make sure the number is transferred to my new non-smart phone in the US.  I actually told the lady at the beginning of the call "I am really, really mad at Verizon, but I am not mad at you because I know this isn't your fault personally, so I'm sorry if I sound like I'm mad at you."  She actually told me at the end of the call that she really appreciated me saying that.  She said she was also sorry that I had to call after a long day of work.  Which I was also sorry about.  I did not want to spend an hour and a half between 7:15 and 8:45 on the phone with Verizon Wireless.

In spite of all of this ridiculousness, I did manage to get work done today, which is a minor miracle.

This is all just foreshadowing the Spanish customer service I have to deal with in the next few weeks, picking up my resident card, changing my bank account from a foreigner account to a national account, and getting a cell phone here.  Hopefully there will be no crying and much less drama.

I also made two mistakes in the blanket I'm making but because the colors change every other row, I didn't have enough yarn left on the ends to go back and fix it.  So I made an improvisational fix.  I'm getting good at improvisation now, in crochet and knitting, in cooking, in shopping and in language.  Maybe I'll learn to be more spontaneous while I'm here.

Hah!

Finally, Pete said he sent me my camera cord, so in the next week or two there will be many (many) picture posts!  I can't wait to show my apartment and the town!

Miracle

Guys.  I grew a plant.  From a seed (or a lot of seeds, rather).  Remember after my weekend with a real Spanish family, I came home with four terra cotta pots, some potting soil, three starters (basil, rosemary and chives) and some coriander seeds?  Well, I moved the starters into pots that day.  I soaked the coriander over night and the next day threw them in a pot with soil.  I've been watering every day for a couple of weeks now.  Tonight, I went outside to check if they needed water and I thought "huh, that basil looks a little bigger.  So do the chives!  And the rosemary."  And then I peaked into the pot with my coriander - it's dark outside and the light on my terrace is on the other side, so I couldn't see so well, but I thought I saw something in the pot.  At first, I thought maybe it was just some of the chives that I'd trimmed earlier that managed to fall into the pot.  But then I realized, they were little green sprouts!  All over the pot!  I literally laughed out loud as I ran inside to get my "watering can" (empty wine bottle).  I am so, so excited because coriander grows into cilantro which is one of my favorite things to eat!  I am also so, so excited because not only have I never grown anything from a seed before (besides maybe marigolds when I was in 1st grade as a class project), but I typically kill everything I try to grow in general.  Even if (maybe especially if) it's healthy to begin with.  But now I have these beautiful herbs!  And I'm going to cook with them!  And with all my new recipes I got today.

I forgot to mention that, huh?  I got my cookbook!  It's a little daunting since it wants me to use earthenware casseroles and mortar and pestle for things.  Which I don't have here.  But, I am getting a better idea about what I can cook with the ingredients I can find here.  Hopefully, I'll be able to find some of the things I want  at the store tomorrow.  I also got my drying rack today, which will be put to as soon as I get another 50 cent coin.  I also got a package from my lovely friend Jordana - containing two mix cds (great, since I'm going crazy with my current music selection - or lack thereof), some delicious tea, and ... jelly beans!  I have been craving jelly beans since before Easter - and as far as I can tell, they do not exist here.

I also stayed home tonight.  I got home from work and took a luxurious nap.  I watched a movie on my iPad.  I cooked dinner.  I worked on the blanket I'm making.  And I was okay.  Not sad.  Not homesick.

Today feels a little bit like a miracle - a little bit like the seeds I'm planting are growing, and something green is starting to poke up from the dirt.

Secret to Success

I think the secret to success and being in a good mood here is sleep and exercise (also known as "taking care of yourself).  Friday night, I went to bed late, and woke up early.  With relatively little sleep, I was not a happy girl all day yesterday.  I did some knitting last night while watching tv, which really helps me relax and be more calm.  Last night, I went to bed late and this morning when I woke up early, I made myself stay in bed and read until I was sleepy again.  Then, I slept in.  I also did yoga this morning before even getting out of bed.  And so far, I've been in a great mood for no reason!

I have a Skype date planned with a friend today, and got to Skype with two friends yesterday - it really helps me to feel more connected to the rest of the world!

I'm going to go to El Centro to grab some bread at the bakery and enjoy being outside a bit.  I might even do some more exercise after my 5 mile walk to and from the center.  Today is beautiful so far - 70 and sunny with a small chance of rain this afternoon/evening!

Operation: Start Speaking Spanish

So this weekend made me realize that I've been here for nearly two weeks, and eventually, I'll have to stop using the "I just got here" excuse for not speaking Spanish. As some of you might know, I hate being bad at things.  So much so, that I just don't do them if I have a choice.  But with Spanish here, I don't really have that choice.  I just have to be a grown up and ... Start Speaking Spanish.

I know more Spanish than I give myself credit for, I think.  I was just going through all my notes from my Spanish teacher last year, as well as some worksheets and books I have, and I'm starting to realize that I probably can hold my own in conversation.  But I need some more work.  Starting this week at work, I think I get to start Spanish classes 4 days a week for an hour a day.  I'm also going to try to watch an hour of Spanish TV a day + listen to Spanish podcasts/radio at least once a day.  There's no reason I can't listen to a podcast while I'm cooking or cleaning.  Then I need to work on grammar and vocabulary.  Unfortunately, I had to leave many of my grammar/vocab books at home, but so much is available online.

I'm trying to put this out there publicly, so in a month, you can all ask me how it's going.  In a month, I want to be much more confident about speaking Spanish in shops and around town.  In six weeks, I want to be more confident speaking to people I meet (and the Spanish speakers at work) in regular conversations.  So, those are my two goals now!  Hopefully, I can meet them.

In non-Spanish news, I'm also working on improving my knitting and crocheting skills while I'm here, so I may update every so often about projects I'm working on.