Les Fleurs du Mal

By the way I negotiated that the landlord buy me some bedding because I don't have time and want to move in tomorrow. I had visions of arriving to new, fresh floral extravaganza.

So then, right, I write the agent an email and say:

"If the landlord is buying any bedding for me could you just ask it to be only white? I have very simple tastes so no patterns please."

So gay.

expression of the day

"Flash as a rat with a gold tooth."

Best expression. Ever.

Holy holy

I am working with someone who begins his emails with: 

"Dear [Name],

"Blessed morning! ..."

I kid you not.

Lease

Met the new landlord. We argied. And we bargied. Then I signed the lease.

At one point I tried to look intent and negotiatingly ... which is like "lovingly" for relaxed but serious businessmen like me. But I don't think they bought it. I don't think my body language was smooth enough, eg my inelegant trajectory when lifting the glass from table to lips.

Lesson: come with a laundry list of stuff you want in the apartment and use them as bargaining chips.

But I managed to get a 1-month termination agreed, but he insisted it was both ways. I guess that's fair but I still ensured that the wording of the English version (which I updated on my computer, casually smiling and relaxed) would protect my interests, give only me the power to terminate the lease, and make it hard for him to rip me off.

He seemed nice though: very strong hair gel and random rhinestones on his jeans.

Word back from Trang

"Hi Anthony!

"Thank you for enquiry. My normal fee for the beginner's level is $15USD per 2 hours (you get an extra 30 minutes for free) That breaks down to one hour of instruction and one hour of oral practice ..."

30 minutes free? So here's my breakdown. If I always get 30 mins free then I'm really paying $15 for 2½ hours, non? But then when she breaks it down, there's only one hour of this, and one hour of that. So 2 hours. What is going on in the other 30 minutes? 

Free? Let's not forget her website: "the more you pay, the faster you learn".

I have this image in my head of the lesson with Trang: she arrives at 10am and we have 2 hours of laughs, activities, tears (on my part) and cheers (on hers). Then, at midday, a hitherto-obscured alarm clock goes off. Trang stops mid sentence, turns the alarm clock off, sets it on the table between us and we both stare at it, silently, for 30 minutes. After 30 miutes which point she gets up, shakes my hand, I thank her and she leaves.