Monday, April 25, 2011

A tribute to brothers-in-law

We finally rented a house. Despite the very tight property market, it turned out to be easy: all we had to do was find a real estate agent who would actually read our application. The first places we applied to via email, and the agents either didn't get the apps or didn't bother to read them. Once Sara filled out a paper form, drove it to the office, and handed it to the agent, we were in.

It's a unit, meaning there is another house on the same property. They are at the back, but there's a garage between us and honestly I wouldn't know they existed if I hadn't been told. The only noise problem are my next-door neighbors, who like to have arguments in their carport late at night. This is what you get for making narrow but deep property allotments. At least our house is orthogonal to the street - I might eventually learn which way is north. We are also at the end of a cul-de-sac, which means no traffic. There's no yard, either, but Sophie won't miss it for a few years, and I won't miss the yardwork.

We got ducted heating and one air conditioner, which is actually pretty rare. Both bathrooms have a small window to the outside, which are permanently open. Insulation is not a concept that the Melbourne construction industry really groks.

The best part is that I have a 10-minute walk to work. Speaking of work, they let me borrow the company van to move over the weekend. How nice is that?

My brothers-in-law Peter & Peter and I moved my 3 metric tons of stuff (eight trips in the van!), with a helping hand from a few nephews. If Hercules had married better, maybe he wouldn't have had to straighten that river by himself.

So thank you, Peter & Peter!

2 comments:

  1. Don't forget the Very Useful father-in-law who's been helping fix things around the place. He can put up a cup hook one-handed in a blizzard with his eyes closed.

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  2. Yes, but he doesn't read this blog.

    Oh... who am I kidding. You're the only one who actually reads it.

    :)

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