August is the Italian national month for vacationing. Despite the lack of posts lately I am choosing to post today to state the obvious: I’m not Italian, nor am I employed by Italians. (I told you- stating the obvious!) So while the beaches are filled with people and towns empty compared to normal- I am working away. And working away I am. We teased on Monday that it was definitely a Monday: urgent documents, errors found (mine- the worst kind), phones ringing, & taking multi-tasking to a level it’s never been. It was the kind of day I went home and next thing I know I was waking up. Oops- got to love the unexpected nap.
Over all, things are still great. Sure the minor hiccups here and there continue to occur, but for the most part they’ve been easy to resolve or I quickly forget about them. Unfortunately this latest hiccup does not fall in that same category. This hiccup is already beginning to look like it may be the kind that you can’t get rid and is so disruptive it’s almost painful. What is it? Oh a little thing called housing.
For those of you who haven’t heard- I put a hold on the “split-level” place in Monte di Procida last week. After dealing with the housing office from hell over the phone I finally made an appearance. Roberto recognized me and gave me an are you kidding look when I told him it took me 2 months to find a place. (Hey- I was gone 2 of those weeks!) In true Italian fashion, we spent more time talking about non housing items than the 2 minutes it took to call Enzo to see when he was dropping off the paperwork for the place. You see, they need the paperwork in check before they can make an appointment. This appointment is for the housing office, the owner and you to enter into pre-contract agreement. My appointment is scheduled for the 9th.
Not too bad right? Appointments although annoying are at least are a mark of progress.
Well here’s how my August calendar is looking:
9 Aug: Pre-contract Meeting
TBD: Inspection of unit (I’m hoping it too happens next week)
TBD: Any modifications/changes made (praying that it doesn’t require any)
TBD: Contract signing
TBD: +3-5 days for utility activation
TBD: Move in
26 Aug: “Eviction Day” from the Navy Lodge (AKA 90 day mark of being in Italy)
(Why do I feel like this information could be turned into a problem for Operations Management?)
And although I’m trying ever so hard to be optimistic about getting in this place before the deadline I’m being realistic and preparing for the worse. Seriously- as I told someone the other night- it’s dealing with the US Government and Italians. As if that’s not already a slow process, add the fact that it’s their vacation month so most offices (housing included) are all running on a skeleton staff.
So yeah, trying not to get my hopes too high and telling myself that this house was worth the two month search so a few nights transition won’t be too bad…as long as it’s only a few nights. It’s times like this when I wish I had Tracy’s spare bedroom (complete with meowing cat at 0500), Andie’s chair with Lady taking way more than her fair share, or even my parents’ spare room to once again host the Traveling Katie Show.
Again, trying not to let it get to me too much, but I think it’s the root cause of my “offness” this week. Luckily I have a few avenues to explore but it’s hard to ask people for help when I don’t even know the basic information. Worse case my stuff will be moved in and I’ll be “camping” while I wait for my other stuff to move from storage to mia casa dolce casa.
In summary:
- I’m getting tired of this transition phase lifestyle...I’m tapping out at 90 days.
- I’m learning first hand about Italian time...it’s a slow process filled with lots of caffé breaks.
- I love Italy and don’t want to go home any time soon...but I would love it a whole lot more if I too could take the month of August off.
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