THE SOUND OF BREAKING GLASS
July 10 Thursday 2008

It’s just gone 9 in the morning, and six workmen are breaking all the windows in my apartment. The entire building is being renovated over the summer, and a major part of it is replacing the window frames. Under the terms of my lease, I can't refuse them entry, and so I have to sit here for the next couple of days, whilst they work away on my living room, kitchen and bathroom.

Under normal circumstances, I’d be quite happy for this to happen - it’s just that in this particular case, the timing couldn’t be much worse. Kayi and I are leaving for the UK in three days, and we still have a lot of wedding preparation that we were hoping to get done before then. I’m also covering at The Vine, and we still need to squeeze in a house move somewhere in-between… so much for, “best laid plans”.

Thankfully, the weather has cooled down, so it doesn't matter too much that they’ve ripped out my air-conditioner. I have, however, just been informed by the head foreman, that the air-con is “too old” to be put back in. Still, rather than get upset, I’m hoping this means my landlord will install a new, less noisy one, for when we get back… and if not, that the weather will have cooled down after the summer so we don’t need it straight away.

With the way my apartment is looking at the moment, I’m so glad that I found the time to put my belonging away and cover my furniture with newspaper. I guess the silver-lining is that by going through this now, we won’t have to face it when we get back, although right now, I’m wondering when I’ll have the time (or space), to pack my suitcase.