the plumber is a thief!

I just got screwed by the plumber. Now, now, this isn't that kind of blog, I meant it figuratively ;-)

I tried to replace my bathroom faucet myself. I bought the same model, hoping it would make things easier. It didn't, and so I had to hire a plumber.

The plumber just left and when I went to admire my new faucet, I found this...

I don't know if I want to punch something, yell at someone, or cry. I'm supposed to be finding inner peace, but obviously the Buddha never lived as an expat in Denmark!

I know for a fact the "cold" insert was there when I unpacked the faucet this morning. Coincidentally, the same piece on my old faucet was very worn, but the hot one was ok.

The reason I was replacing the other faucet was because it was leaking, which is probably an easy repair & flip opportunity for a plumber. Unless of course it's got cosmetic issues, like a worn insert.

Now I'm not Nancy Drew, but if there wasn't something shady going on, wouldn't he have mentioned the obvious missing part? Of course it's moot because I'm 100% certain that the piece was not missing when I handed it over for installation, and I can see from the other one that it would've been pretty easy to pop it out with a screwdriver.

And he never bothered to ask whether or not I still wanted the old faucet. He just slinked out of my flat with it under his arm. Even if he asked, I would've said "no" but it's a bit odd that he just took it and ran.

I can't exactly call up and complain because I contacted this same company about an appointment and never heard back, but when a colleague contacted them in Danish, I got an appointment right away.

Yet another mark in the "reasons to leave" column. I probably just spent like $400 for a broken faucet. Awesome.

And there will be no Danish drivers license for me. I've overlooked a lot of crap in the past 17 months, but at a point, it becomes too much to make it worth my while, so I'm thinking long and hard about what I'll do when my contract expires. In the meantime, I'm not investing anything more than is absolutely necessary to live and/or stay off anti-depressants.

This morning, I was working from home in my pretty living room, at my big antique dining table. Opie was sleeping in the sun and I was thinking how, even with disappointment of the driving situation and the impending winter, this isn't a bad gig. But I'm deluding myself. This plumber situation is just one more example of the crap I put up with when I have to venture outside of my home and work bubble.

Happiest country on earth, my ass! Maybe for the Danes, but not for me.

what color will it be?

The wind beneath my decorating wings is in Seattle for a week and I'm itching to paint my living room. Actually, it's good that he's in Seattle because he's of the opinion that I should hang some artwork and mirrors and call it good, but then again he's the one who was pushing white with lavender undertones in the hallway. I'm not so sure he's to be trusted in matters of color ;-)

I adore the bohemian interiors at Moon to Moon and bohemianhomes.tumblr. Though I could never live with that amount of clutter, I love the textures, colors, and general laid back lived-in vibe of those spaces.

So, my dear readers, what color should I paint my living room?

My heart tells me it should be red. I had a red formal living room in Connecticut. I loved it, yet never spent enough time in it. But that's the way it goes with "special" rooms.

Here in Scandinavia, it's mostly overcast and dark 18 or so hours a day during the winter, so I know that red could easily close the space and make it too dark and depressing.

I've also considered a light sage green, but I think it's too modern for me. Rose is a strong contender, but I was planning to paint my bedroom pink, so I'm hesitant to use it in the living room. It's a short leap into Barbieland.

If this were your room and you didn't have to junk up your house with man colors, and you were drawn to the bohemian side of life, what color would you paint?

P.S. I'm still at a dead end with my license. I won't bore you with the details, but things are bad enough that the bus scenario is actually looking less painful than converting my license. If you ever find yourself wanting to move to Europe, may I suggest any country other than Denmark? This is not the place for expats who are here for any reason other than love. At a point, a hot viking is the only thing that would make this worth the hassle.

process hazy, try again...

(alternately titled, we don't know our asses from our elbows)

I cannot go through another bike to bus, walk, bike to office, repeat in reverse winter. I live in Scandinavia. The winters are frigid. It's windy. It snows. It rains. I have asthma. The buses to and from work run once an hour and I have a very long hike to and from the bus stop.

I've been sucking it up like trooper, but a few weeks ago, the bus driver overcharged me for my ticket because he couldn't change 400 DKK for a 338 DKK ticket, and my Danish isn't good enough to hold my own in arguing about it. Then I got caught in a downpour and spent the morning in wet clothes. The combination of that, and staring down another Danish winter of biking and bussing has made me decide to look into getting a car.

From the beginning, it was the 180% registration tax and $8+/gallon gas that deterred me from getting a car. But actually, those were the least of my issues. The bigger issue is that I can't legally drive here on a US license. Nevermind that people from the UK who drive on the other side of the road and the other side of the car can drive here on their UK licenses. *Sigh* I'm over wasting energy getting jacked up over that. Really.

When one moves to a new country on a work contract, they might expect the corporate relo department to have helpful information on topics like, "how do I get a Danish drivers license?" And on the surface, they do, except according to them, the process involves a first aid course (good luck finding one in English), about $3,000 for a "driving course," and hiring a "government certified" translator for the test.

Given my 20 years of driving experience, clean record, and the "UK phenomenon," there's not a chance in hell that I'd be willing to plunk down $3,000 + 180% registration tax for the pleasure of driving some POS in this god awful climate. Call me stubborn, but I've got to draw the line somewhere.

Through a colleague, I was referred to an angel of a driving instructor, who gave me hope. He said that I'd need a Dr. certificate (a waste of about $100, but ok), and to pass a theory test that I could study for on my own, but for which I'd need to hire the translator, and viola, I could have a Danish license. Well, hallelujah!!!! Finally, there is hope in my rain soaked, bike weary world!

In the meantime, someone else referred me to the DK borgerservice website, which supposedly tells you how to convert a license, and it seemed even easier than that:

"Hvis du er udlænding med midlertidig bopæl i Danmark, kan du bruge et internationalt kørekort eller et gyldigt udenlandsk kørekort. Hvis du ikke har det, kan du få et turistkørekort udstedt hos politiet."

Basically, it means if you live in Denmark for a certain period of time, you can use the license from your home country. Well, my work contract is for 3 years, and my visa is for 3 years, so if that's not a certain period of time, I don't know what is!

So, my driving instructor went to the borgerservice with a copy of my visa, my contract, and printouts of my license and the borgerservice page, and asked them to confirm that I'm able to drive on my US license. But noooooo, I have a CPR number and once you have a CPR number, you must convert your license. Well, since you can't get a place to live, a bank account, or an income without a CPR number, I don't know who that clause applies to and apparently, neither do they!

I finally met with my driving instructor, who needed to take my license to the Kommune so that I could waive in under the conversion requirements, not the new license requirements (e.g. skip the $3,000 in lessons and the first aid course). Everything seemed easy peasy, but if you've been following my move to Denmark at all, you know where this is going...

The Kommune wants to send my license to Copenhagen for "authentication." OK, if I were going to fake a license, wouldn't I just fake an EU license and skip all of this bullshit? Like that's not bad enough, they're saying I have to have it translated to Danish by one of those government certified translators.

But the borgerservice website says:

"Du skal medbringe en oversættelse af dit kørekort, hvis dit kørekort ikke er udstedt med latinske bogstaver, eller hvis det ikke findes i en oversættelse til tysk, engelsk eller fransk. Oversættelsen skal være udstedt af en translatør eller en af Rigspolitiet godkendt oversættere."

Which means that if the license isn't in Latin characters, or German, English, or French, it needs to be translated. I'm from the US, my license is from the US, it is written in English. Could there be something wrong with the system, if I, someone who barely speaks or reads Danish knows the borgerservice requirements better than the freaking borgerservice????

Someone's gotta be taking the piss here.

So, I'm waiting for my instructor to sort that out, or to hear back from the government certified translator, whichever comes first. On principle, I'd like to make them accept my English license, but the weather is starting to turn and I want my damn license!!!

Oh, and the driving school doesn't have English study materials, so I'm in the process of chasing those down, hopefully the library can help me. Otherwise, I'll have to pull yet another rabbit out of a hat and I'm running out of tricks!

Throughout this move, I've tried to play by their rules, and not take a whiny "why do they make everything so haaaard for me, I'm an Amerrrrricaaaan" attitude. But come on! It seems just a little ridiculous to be jumping through hoops trying to follow the laws and processes of a place that doesn't even know their own laws and processes.

Is it any wonder why more people are moving out of this place than moving in?

I'll post more about Amsterdam soon, but at the moment, this license situation is sucking my will to live (and develop photos).

amsterdam

One from my recent trip...

What a cozy city! Why is it that each new place I visit becomes my favorite?

color

Once upon a time, I dreamed of an old house full of plants, color, and funky secondhand furnishings. Then I found a husband and was persuaded to buy a very traditional 1940's Colonial in the suburbs. It was someone's dream house, but it wasn't mine. Before I knew it, I was shopping at Banana Republic and living in a Pottery Barn catalog. Blech!

Then I left all of that and moved to Denmark where I found the ultimate vintage flat. Unless it came with a gas stove, and a clawfoot bathtub instead of a shower, it couldn't have been more perfect if it was built especially for me. For a little over a year, I tried to love my light, neutral walls. I tried to convince myself that it would be easier to resell if I fell in line with the Scandinavian norm and kept the walls neutral and light. But I soon realized that I was living in an Ikea catalog and I didn't like that any more than I liked living in a Pottery Barn catalog.

I bought this place to live in, not to resell. It's my home, so to hell with norms, resale value, and the rest of it. I'm going to add color to my life :)

And so, I dipped my toe into the color pool. My design advisor tried to guide me toward a lesser commitment, "maybe white with lavender undertones," he'd said. But I'd sold out before. The list of compromises went on and on until I wondered why I was even paying the mortgage. Screw that, there's no compromising this time!

I went all in...

And I'm glad I did...
My best decisions are the ones where I trust my gut. When I pick a direction and go, without second guessing, without over-analyzing.

I'm definitely thinking about a new floor, black and white tile, or maybe aged hardwood to match the rest. There will be more color in the other rooms. I'm thinking red in the bathroom, deep pink in the bedroom, and who knows what in the other rooms!

Who cares if the next owners wonder what I was thinking? It's only paint... it can be undone :)