Saturday, September 26, 2009

Lost in the Wilderness

So. I just spent the better part of 1 hour looking for my car keys.

Ha. Ha. Growing old is crap sometimes. I often wonder at how frequently I lose things. I almost always find them again, but sometimes it takes me DAYS. This has gone on for years. Since I turned thirty.

Fortunately I found my keys. I always do, just rarely right away if I happen to set them down - not in their special place! This generally happens when I return from an outing only to hear the phone ringing... I dash into the house grab the phone - AND SET THE KEYS DOWN. One would think this would mean they would be near to the phone. But no. This is not what happens. They disappear.

They find their way onto the bedroom dresser. Or the mantle of the fireplace. Sometimes even as strange a place as the silverware drawer. At the time I set them down there was a perfectly logical reason. Of course when I am hunting for them, the logic escapes me completely.

This is why I ALWAYS hang them on the hook in the kitchen next to the back door! Except when I don't. Obviously the last time I went out - I didn't.

~~~

I went to the mail box specifically to look for a package receipt (package sent from the US a month ago!) to find that yes, it had finally arrived; there was a message in the mail box- to tell me that I had to pick something up that arrived from the US and it would cost 3 euro. I decided to drive to our post office in Alepou to confirm.

Our local post office has either moved or changed hands five times, and our post office box number has CHANGED twice from when we initially received it. At first it was in Kokkini (3 times- it closed then changed, then returned, now changed again.), then in Agios Ioannis (once), now in Alepou. We initially had a 3 number post box number, then we had a number and a letter, then it just moved to 4 numbers. We are periodically "yelled at" by the post office if we "receive" any mail with the wrong address.

They won't deliver it.


The electric company and the telephone company LOVE changes of address, because then they can say that it's your fault for not giving them the right address to begin with! This bill-less situation can last three years- well so far. Now we just go in about once a month to both the electric company and Ote, and ask what the amount is and pay it - otherwise we'd never know... until they turned off our phone or electricity. (we've learned, as they have turned off our phone a few times!)

I will say that we do on occasion get mail. (No telling though, how much mail we never see...)

I would like to mention right now that the expression that comes to mind is: "That's no way to run a railroad" Another more common expression though is usually "NOW what??!"

I decided to make a list of shopping as long as I was out. I find it's always better to plan to do more than one thing so as not to be disappointed. So, I'd stop at the Pharmacy to check again to see if the pneumonia vaccine I ordered in August had arrived yet; I would buy bread; I would stop and get a soup bone to make soup this week and I would get the package at the post office.

Well, you must know that when I arrived at the post office - it was closed, because it was Saturday. Silly me, I still haven't learned. Fine.

I managed to stop and get the soup bone on the way back and the bread, but when I stopped at the pharmacy, I was begged to return on Thursday at 6 pm. For sure she would have it then.

I figure two out of four isn't bad for a day's success.




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4 comments:

  1. I have to laugh...because I am always losing things too. The other day I couldn't find my cigarettes and searched high and low. They were in the cupboard where I keep the dog biscuits. Why? I've no idea...I certainly can't remember putting them there. I have been looking for our spare front door key since the in-laws arrived on Wednesday. I knew I put it somewhere safe...so safe I couldn't remember where. I finally woke up in the middle of last night and remembered where it was.

    I also sympathise about your postal system. You must remember from your time in Turkey, that we experience very similar problems. I now have a Turkish bank account that I keep specifically for paying bills on line..because we never receive bills through the post...so it's easy enough to check once my on-line account once a month to see how much I need to pay. And I'm also pretty sure that a hell of a lot of my post from the UK has gone astray over the years.

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  2. Dear Ayak

    I know it would drive me crazier than it already does if I hadn't been exposed to it and got used to it in Turkey. It actually became "normal" to arrange to have anything important sent via courier express! Go figure??

    We did that in the early years here as well, but then sadly the FedEx franchise on the island folded. For a while then DHL worked - but now, well, we have no clue.

    The last bit of important kip sent from the US from our accountant was derailed by a helpful packaging person in the States who, looking at his mail books said "OH a guaranteed postal envelope 'registered mail' for sure will get it there accurately and quickly." (they would have been correct if only we'd lived in Athens...)

    $60 US dollars for it to take 2 weeks AND we had to hunt it down!!

    No, I despair of ever actually counting on the Greek postal system. I smile and figure "Oh well! What can you do??" (It's what all the Greeks say!) You learn to work around things, just like everyone else.

    [I can't help thinking longingly of the days we lived in Denmark, though, when sometimes we'd get two posts a day! And everything was so simple and well organized. sigh. Then we moved to France and were quite pleased with the TWO mailboxes we had to have: one for the mail and the other for the advertisements...]

    But never mind...

    I know I'm not alone in the "where did I put that" sweepstakes. I believe we've probably all got a horse running there!

    (your cigarettes with the dog biscuits is almost as good as my keys in the silverware drawer tho!!)

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  3. Sounds just like me. I'm an ExPat aged 52, living in Spain and I'm forever putting things away, 'so that I'll remember where they are', and then of course can't find them when I need to. My husband finds it incredibly funny and when asked, lets me sit down whilst he finds for me, whatever I lack. I love that man!

    I'm forever going to the shops when they're closed for the siesta. You'd think I'd have learnt these basics, I mean, we've been here for nearly three years now. Still, with all the little complaints I just love living here. Have never been to Corfu . . I feel a trip coming on!!!

    Pop over to my blog won't you and follow me if you like what you see.

    See you again soon!

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  4. Dear Gloria,

    I sympathize with you, going shopping during off hours, is such an easy slip up. (I've lived here ten years and you WOULD really think I'd have the hang of it by now!)

    And I agree completely I too love living where I am and I know I'm Ok if I can still shrug it off and laugh.

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