Thursday, January 15, 2009

Warriers' African Abode....

I'm back...after a hiatus...Thought I'd kick start this year with a literary masterpiece....I did..( I'm still reading it...!) Anyway after shaking off spying Mosi...I'm clicking away in peace!!!

Anwyay..so it has been an eventful week so far...We finally found a house.Of course , like everything else in good old Lusaka , seemingly routine things take an appallingly long time.The said house..is beautiful...with shiny black floor tiles...so shiny I can see my face in it...Good thing...?
So the story leading up to this house is certainly as entertaining as since the Warriers took up residence...

The earlier tenant..a bossy lady, was to move out of this house and we ( happy as a pie ) were to move in in November last year.What do you know..but bossy lady decides she doesn't want to go! She gets an injuntion saying she doesn't have to leave till December..What I wailed..I need a house pronto lady!Anyway...once the hammer sounded...heralding in a leaving date...there was a definite spring to my step..Me and Mosi stopped by the house for a viewing..and walk through.Bossy lady gave us one..in two minutes flat.She kept up a mournful spiel .."this is the kitchen ( duh...there's a cooker and refrigerator lady!! ) ..This is the study..this is the bath..( duh ??) and thats the front door.The only change of expression she allowed herself was when she remarked maliciously ,"oh yes..try asking the landlord...He never gets things done!"..Well did I mention that the lady hadn't paid rent in 6 months....Hmm and the landlord isn't helpful...gasp!!!
Ah me...my naivete was at its best that day...I looked at her garden and smiled at her adding,"You have a beautiful garden, such pretty flowers..." , she ( of Best hostess award fame ) spitefully shot back,"They're all mine, I'm taking them with me...don't think I'm leaving them behind"..So does that mean we aren't on the new year party invite list??

Anyway...so after this drama blew itself out..and carried bossy lady over the threshold with it..We moved in...you'd think that was the end of the drama, fat chance with me around!

Moving day dawned bright and clear...I was positively gushing about the space my new kitchen proffers...A step of salsa here...a swish of rhumba..and a delicate waltz there...Thus dancing around , I approached Mr Dishwasher Warrier and remarked all sunny, " So nice to have all this light shining through...so great to see the greeeee...."Of course that's an odd word...One of the kitchen cabinets had chosen that moment during my sunny speech to hurtle itself off its hinges and fling itself edge first on my toe..Arghh...I hopped around the kitchen trying to ease the pain....New dance move anyone?

So our first night in the new house....Mosi surprised me with a bottle of great wine...and two long stemmed wine glasses to go with.There we sat..all posh sipping on our Shiraz ( a great bottle Mosi!).The conversation got more passionate as the wine level dipped., when suddenly Crash!, our kitchen door slammed shut.As we bolted up from the chairs we were so lazily draped on, the house was plunged into sudden darkness...power out! We raced into the black kitchen,only to see the door partially open , and torrents of rain gushing into my spotless as a baby's butt kitchen...It was horrific..the water snaked through the kitchen into my hall...and settled into satisfied pools in the hall...growing fatter with every new gust of wind! Wailing in despair, only to be drowned out by the howling storm, I sank to my knees ( in prayer?..not!) mopping and wringing in quick, mechanical succession!..My thriftiness was out on full display...Not wanting to get all the wiping cloths dirty , I was frantically wiping and wringing the same little red cloth.Watching my arms moving at breakneck speed and only partially controlled by still fuming brain, my husband gently suggested I add another cloth to my artillery!

And the final straw ? ...well, this morning I was hanging up the curtains...Each window..I put up the solid curtains...then the sheers..and then stepped back to sigh..My number obsessed husband ,who only last night was adroitly balancing dinner in one hand while using the other to research DVD region unlocking codes, walked in.Immersed in a manual on camera lenses ( that shoot scary numbers like 2.5x,18-55 crvfx at you when you least expect them), looked up casually and said, "Mrs...They gypped you at the curtain place...those ones arent very good.They're letting light in..why are they so thin?", following that with a more urgent,Wait! Why are you banging your head on the wall?"......

The Warriers have arrived at Crossroads!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

hahahahah that's about right for the moving in...

hilarious post... the adventures of living alone in zambia.

Anonymous said...

:D always wanted to read bout u in full married-mode. hope the water dont come no more...to flood that is.

Scarecrow said...

I remember "Gods must be crazy". :D
have you seen the movie?

shilpa said...

mosi....Thanks..you bet..it did sum it up didn't it?

Aneesh....Ahhh...yes ol married me!..Hope that I have shaken image of sari clad demure lady ..afraid of straying from her den..the kitchen!

Scarecrow...haha I have seen that movie!!!! My life is so like that.....bottle hunting!

Scarecrow said...

hmm.... does that also include talking in some strange language with clicking sounds and wearing a loincloth? ;)