The New Flat

Got my keys to my new flat this afternoon... Only hiccup was that the previous tenant was supposed to get the flat professionally cleaned but did not do so (which overall wasn't bad, but the carpets definitely needed a going over). Although just as I was writing this, they confirmed that they were going to get someone in to do it tomorrow...

I severely under-estimated how much stuff belonged to the previous tenant, as when I arrived I suddenly realised that there was NOTHING in the kitchen. No glasses, cutlery, pots, nada. So that's going to be my fun first task, to try and build up a kitchen inventory.

Now a move would normally be difficult enough, but to make this all extra interesting, my dear friend Joel called me up on Monday and suddenly announced that he needed a place to live. Apparently he's breaking up with his live-in girlfriend, and obviously continuing to live there is not really an option at the moment. Yet, he needs a place to decamp to in the short term while he figures out something more long-term. So, since I actually have two beds available (at my old place and at my new place), and then I'm off to the US for two weeks, I said he could stay at mine and flat-sit for me. But of course, that makes it extra interesting, to try and get this moving and cleaning done, all while somebody is living there...

Except I couldn't do that much moving that first day anyway, as I'd promised to meet Doro at the club to sign letters inviting people to the Magdalene dinner. We met up on the terrace, where it wasn't too windy, and worked our way through the pile. Doro's signature turns out to be little more than a scribble, but that's a good thing, as it was taking me much longer to get through the pile! Still, we did manage to finish it in rather good time, and turned the stack of papers back into the front desk to be sent.

We then went on to another one of these "potential new members" receptions, chatting to tons of people about why they should join the club. Doro did a great job of circulating and signing up tons of people, while I continued with my usual pattern of finding one cute guy in the entire room and then talking to him the entire evening, before eventually discovering that he's far too young. (When he filled out his forms, his birthdate was in 1989!) Still, he was very cute and sweet, and from New York actually, so we had tons in common. He even later e-mailed me to say what a pleasure it had been to meet me, which was really nice.

Except I couldn't stay for too long, as Joel had come to meet me at the club to get the keys to my flat. Once I got the text that he'd arrived, I did feel an obligation to leave and tend to him. The plan had been that he was going to break up with his live-in girlfriend that day, and so there he was in the foyer of the O&C with all of his worldly possessions on him.

He was in need of a drink, so we went to the Blue Posts (that pub near the Ritz), and had a few drinks (with him having twice as many as me), and I asked him, "So, do you want to talk about it?" to which I got the reply, "I'm a man. Of course I don't want to talk about it".

So we talked about my dating life instead, and surprisingly I think he had some good advice. But mostly it was just me telling stories and trying to make him laugh, as he'd had a really rough day. We got some kebabs on the way home, I dropped him off at my new flat (which was utterly bare), and left him for the night. Poor boy, all on his own, but free at last...