Sunday, October 31, 2004

Happy November!

I just finished reviewing our new rental contract, and I looked up to notice that it's November 1st. That's right...new rental contract. I handed in the notice for our current apartment this past Friday. Our last day here will be January 31, 2005. It's been fun living here, but it's time to move on. We're looking forward to the new place. But I guess not everyone's happy about it. My neighbor Andy has started quoting a line from Zoolander: "Ya' dead to me!"
I actually spent several hours translating the contract from German to English. I was astonished to find out that we're responsible for things like:
Zur Vermeidung von Feuchtigkeitsschäden ist die Wohnung sowohl im Sommer als auch speziell im Winter täglich ca. drei mal während ca. 3-5 Minuten intensiv, am besten mit Durchzug durch vollstäandiges Oeffnen aller Fenster, zu lüften und genügend (ca. 20ºC).
Imagine that! And the Swiss think that Americans waste energy...go figure!
I was happy to see that nowhere in the rental agreement does it state that an outdoor fireplace is not permitted on the rooftop garden. So, we're going to have the 400 kg. fireplace moved to the rooftop, and I'm not going to ask permission because they'll just come up with a reason why we're not allowed to have it. You know the old saying - It's better to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission. That is actually an old saying isn't it?
The apartment rules are loaded with lines like: "... Vorschriften sind genau zu befolgen." which means that the rules are to be followed EXACTLY! I think they need to read The Big Finn's rules, the most important of which is to T.A.F.C.P! (take a f---ing chill pill). Maybe I'll invite the owner of the building up for a nice cup of shut the f--- up!, and we'll talk about it!

No comments: