Well Smell Me

Seriously, it is now safe to smell me if I happen to be in range. The plumbers were here this morning and for a good part of the day. They finished installing the shower, radiator, washing machine, sink, toilet, and bidet. While they were at it, they put the mirror and towel back on the wall as well as putting in the two shower racks for bar soap, liquid soap, shampoo, and all those other goodies. I am not sure where to put the bubble bath now. Of course, the brand new soap dispenser that I bought had a broken holder, so that will need to be returned.

They have to come back on Monday to put the glass doors on the shower. The cement and grout on the glass block wall still needs some drying time, but they said it was safe to shower. With an old shower mat on the floor, I christened the new shower and bathroom. 

Still not loving it, but it is better than before. Without the tub, the washing machine is now under the window giving more floor space. Time will tell, but the shower today was so very nice.

Pin It Now!

Instructional Video - I Don't Give Squat

I think the Asians have the right idea. Can we call this squatters rights? I am sick of cleaning toilets. Just in case I get the remodeling bug again, future guests had better take notes. We will supply the paper though, it is the least we can do. Come to think of it, we may need to put in handrails too. And then there is the video camera...Is America's Funniest Videos still on the air?

Pin It Now!

Ryanair Turns Pay Toilets into Cash Prizes

Ryanair has finally announced that their brainstorming ideas for fleecing their travelers has come to an constipated full-stop. Now, they are offering the public some chances at making a quick 1,000 BP for their aid in getting into the stream of things. Giving away money does seem to be counter-intuitive. Let us just hope that the currency awarded are pounds sterling that are still in circulation today. If you give this a try, send it to me also to be included here. Sure, you can wait a few days; we won't steal your thunder.

Press Release:

Passengers to Suggest Next Discretionary Charge

€1,000 CASH PRIZE FOR BEST SUGGESTION

Submit your ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (12^th Mar) invited passengers to suggest the airline’s next ancillary revenue idea after Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary, confirmed that the company is examining the possibility of passengers paying to use the on board toilets in a drive to keep costs down and lower Ryanair’s guaranteed lowest fares even further.

This Europe wide competition invites passengers to submit their most ingenious, wacky and creative ideas to Ryanair via the www.ryanair.com website to be in with a chance of winning a €1,000 cash prize.

Launching the competition, Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said;

“Ryanair is Europe’s largest low fares airline and we plan to continue to reduce costs and fares by stimulating ancillary revenues. We have always provided passengers with choice, if you don’t want to pay for food – don’t buy it, if you don’t want to pay checked in bag charges – don’t bring checked in bags, if you don’t want to pay handling charges – then just use Visa Electron entirely free of charge.

Since we confirmed that we are considering a toilet charge we have received a huge number of ancillary revenue suggestions from passengers and we want more. We are asking passengers to submit their ideas with the most creative winning €1,000 cash. Some of the best suggests to date are:

· Charging for toilet paper – with O’Leary’s face on it,

· Charging €2.50 to read the safety cards,

· Charging €1 to use oxygen masks,

· Charging €25 to use the emergency exit,

· Charging €50 for bikini clad Cabin Crew.

Passengers can submit their ideas by email to competition@ryanair.com to enter their idea before the 30^th March 2009. The winning idea will be chosen by Ryanair and our decision will be final.”

Pin It Now!

Toilet, Loo, WC, Outhouse

Regardless of what you call it or where is it located, no civilized person can be without a toilet. The fixture in our large bathroom had been acting up for over a year. We had the handyman repair on more than one occasion, so when he gets our message now, he just ignores us. He seemed to think that telling us the internal organs of the tank could not survive a transplant. They just don't make those parts any longer. Our only recourse was to replace the whole contraption, which of course, we did not want to hear. After months of having the water gush after every flush, it started working on my nerves. The sneaky thing would give us the false sense of security that all was well, but ten minutes later, it started pouring water like Victoria Falls. It was so loud it woke me from a sound sleep more than once. The last straw or the last drop was having to shake the handle every fifteen minutes to maintain peace, save the planet from water wasting, and control my paranoia about flooding. Unlike American handles, the handle on these toilets are on the top and pull upward. A couple of times in a somatic coma, I damn near pulled the handle right off. Toilet shopping was in the cards. My trusty and faithful student Balazs went with me to three toilet stores addresses stored in the recesses of my mind for just such a day. Ron reminded me of just such a store around the corner and two blocks down, so we went there first. Support your neighborhood businesses is my motto. A simple toilet was 78,000 Huf. At today's exchange rate that is $553.00, yet this does not include delivery, which would have been another 9,000 Huf. The kicker was that it would take a month to order it. Screw the support of neighborhood businesses. Balazs and I combed the city to the three addresses I recalled seeing bathroom supplies. Being Hungary, none of the three existed any longer. One was now a kitchen supplier, so B asked if the man knew where the previous business may have moved, but the guy was indignant that we should associate the two businesses. We finally got some leads at the new leasee of the second location and actually found two stores within a block. One was a repeat of our local store: 79,000 Huf and one month delivery. The second store was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: 38,000 Huf, 5,500 for delivery, and it could be had within three days. Here was the snag. Did we need a bottom flusher or a to the wall flusher? Hell if I knew. With a print out of the sales specs, we went home to find a plumber. Obviously, this was a major deal. Our new friend Steve, recommended his handyman. Our once reliable, trusty one has disappeared or is afraid we only want a quick fix and not an overhaul. The new handyman came and proclaimed we had a bottom flusher. Ron was quick with questions of me about toilet fixture culture that I could not answer and he chose not to join us on the shopping expedition, so he was granted with chore of returning to make the purchase. Three days later, the toilet arrived as promised and decorated our bedroom. Not surprisingly, the handyman was now overwhelmed with work and could not get back to us for a week. When he did grace us with his presence, he only came to admire our new fixture, but had yet to touch it. He returned two days later. After the old toilet was out, he commenced installing our new loo, but alas a two centimeter difference appeared between the bottom of our toilet and the pipe it had to sit on. Without the necessary supplies, we would be without a toilet until he could round them up. Whoever said size does not make a difference has never had to replace a toilet. Two days passed before he returned this past Friday. With three more men to root him on, the four of them managed to make our new throne servicable. Friday night, Ron put something in the microwave. All of the electric on that side of the kitchen blew out. The refrigerator was on that circuit. After checking the circuit breakers, the problem was not there. I had thoughts of a big B-B-Q on Saturday with all of our thawed meat. Very concerned about the newly bought container of ice cream that just went in that morning, we had to polish it off so it would not spoil. We did not open the doors, lest we let hot air in. Nine at night, I called Balazs and gave him the number of an electrician we used in the past. He is a young guy, friendly and reasonable in his rates. I sincerely considered finding a genie in a bottle to wish for getting an electrician on a Saturday morning. When Balazs called me back, he said the saintly electrician would be here between 9:30 and 10:30 on Saturday. At 10:00 he arrived. If we had a red carpet, we would have spread it before him. The problem was not the circuit breaker, but in the wall. He had it fixed in 15 minutes for 5,000 Huf ($35.). Ron thought that was excessive for the amount of time it took, but I thought it was a bargain for a Saturday, getting him here at the time he said and the savings of all of the meat in the freezer, which was still hard as a rock. It makes me rethink again about how we have lost touch with the cost of things in the States, especially California, where we paid electricians substantially more.

Pin It Now!