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kareinaYesterday the lab's microscope was back, so one of my colleagues demonstrated the steps I'll need to do to create the capsules upon which I'll experiment. Alas, the final, crucial, step, welding the capsule shut, didn't work, despite repeated attempts, possibly because some of the powder got between the edges. Therefore my plan for today was to come in early and cut open that capsule, empty and clean it, and use it for practice welds, and if that went well, start a new capsule for real. However, plans are, often, an invitation for the universe to send you something else to do, and in this case, it obliged.
Some of you may remember that when![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
clovis_t was in Rome in early August he had his wallet stolen, fortunately, he reported it before anyone attempted to use his credit card. The bank agreed to send him a new card, and shipped it to his address of record, which is his parent's house in Tassie. They received it within a few days, and, since he was on his way back to spend another couple of weeks here in Milan, they posted it to my Uni address. Now, I'd already received two packets of mail they'd forwarded me to this address, both sent sometime during the period between when I arrived here on 8 July and around 9 August when the discussion of where the replacement card should be sent came up. Therefore it seemed reasonable to assume that this packet would also reach me in a timely manner. The following week he returned to Milan. No package from his parents. He spent a couple of weeks here. Still no package. He went on to Germany and spent a couple of weeks there. Still nothing in the mail. I went off to Scotland and the Netherlands for two weeks. Still no package upon my return. He flew off to the UK, still no package in the mail. Finally, at long last, on Thursday afternoon I *finally* received the package from them, containing some mail for me, and a few things for him, one of which felt like it contained a card (but, as is traditional for such mailings, in an envelope with no business logos, simply a "if not delivered return to" comment. So I sent him (and his parents) an e-mail letting them know it had arrived, and asked to where it should be sent. Judging by how long it took, I'm guessing that small business aren't the only thing in Milan to close for August--the postal service seems to slow to a snail's pace as well.
This morning I had a reply with the postal address of his aunt and uncle in Inverness (the ones whom I'd visited while I was in Scotland) and I realized that if I didn't go to the post office this morning I wouldn't get another chance till Monday, so, rather than working, I did that errand (I know from painful experiance that the near-by post office closes by 2pm). Fortunately, I managed to find someone who speaks English, who explained that I could either use the €7 option, which would take a week and can only be tracked whilst it is still in Italy, or the €25.25 option, which takes two days and can be tracked right to its destination. I decided that he's been waiting quite long enough--having to do everything, including travel tickets, by cash is a pain when one is traveling, so used the faster option. Here's hoping that it actually reaches him while he's still in Scotland (he leaves for there tomorrow, and will be there a week).
Then, in the afternoon, I had my meeting with the owner of the apartment I wish to rent. My, he certainly is loquacious! However, he speaks only Italian, so I have no idea what he said to my two colleagues who accompanied me to the meeting. All I know is that he'd speak at great length, in a very animated manner, one of them would say something briefly, and he'd speak again. Once in a great while one of my colleagues would turn to me and say something very briefly in English. Eventually he and they were satisfied, the relator photocopied my passport and visa information, and gave me my landlord's banking details so that I'll be able to pay part of the rent on-line, and I handed the owner the €200 to confirm that yes, I will be renting his flat and he left. Then the relator wrote down the various fees that I'll need to pay, and we booked an appointment to return on Wednesday to do the contract, pay the remaining cash portion (and by which I need to have done the bank transfer for that part) and pick up the keys. As we walked back after the meeting I commented to my colleagues that the owner sure speaks a lot, and had he replied explaining that the owner "comes from the south of Italy, where they use a lot of words to say nothing at all". (note: this colleague comes from the middle of the Italian Alps, and now commutes to Milan from Como, at the edge of the Alps, so he's from about as north as one can get and still be in Italy.)
Rent is going to be interesting--I'll be doing monthly bank transfers for part of the rent, and then every other month the owner will drop by to collect cash for the part of the rent which isn't written into the contract. Apparently they are taxed (at a rate of ~40%) on the rental income, which is why it is broken up like that. I had been told that I could ask the owner for any additional furnishing or repairs that I wanted, so I requested that the toilet seat and lid be returned, the cupboard whcih is set up for shelves actually get them, and a couple of new book shelves be added. He said that I'm to go purchase what I want for myself and give him the receipts. I wonder if this means that when I give him the cash portion I can give him part of the cash, and the receipts to make up the total? That would certainlly gaurentee that I be reimbursed for those expenses.
Not that I'm looking forward to figuring out where to find bookshelves and how to get them home on foot...
Oddly enough, that meeting just about put me to sleep--so long listening to people speak and not being able to understand more than a few words. So I went home for a nap and returned to the office this evening, intending to work, but first I needed to e-mail the shipping company--they'd sent me a letter dated 2 September, which finally arrived yesterday afternoon, asking for information about delivery, so now that I have the address, I sent it to them via email, answered their other questions, and asked if they really do need a paper version--it takes nearly an hour to walk to the post office, wait in line, do the transaction, and walk back, and I've got work I'm meant to be doing!
Here's hoping that my nap was enough to give me the energy to do some work yet this evening.
In other news, there is a new SCA family in Milan! They arrived a couple of weeks back--they've lived in Calontir, Atlantia, and Ireland, and are keen to revive the local SCA branch! I'm looking forward to helping them do this. Apparently they've got a min-van on the way, so I'm hoping that in the future we can carpool to events elsewhere, rather than having to fly all of the time (will only work for the closest countries, but still!)
Some of you may remember that when
clovis_t was in Rome in early August he had his wallet stolen, fortunately, he reported it before anyone attempted to use his credit card. The bank agreed to send him a new card, and shipped it to his address of record, which is his parent's house in Tassie. They received it within a few days, and, since he was on his way back to spend another couple of weeks here in Milan, they posted it to my Uni address. Now, I'd already received two packets of mail they'd forwarded me to this address, both sent sometime during the period between when I arrived here on 8 July and around 9 August when the discussion of where the replacement card should be sent came up. Therefore it seemed reasonable to assume that this packet would also reach me in a timely manner. The following week he returned to Milan. No package from his parents. He spent a couple of weeks here. Still no package. He went on to Germany and spent a couple of weeks there. Still nothing in the mail. I went off to Scotland and the Netherlands for two weeks. Still no package upon my return. He flew off to the UK, still no package in the mail. Finally, at long last, on Thursday afternoon I *finally* received the package from them, containing some mail for me, and a few things for him, one of which felt like it contained a card (but, as is traditional for such mailings, in an envelope with no business logos, simply a "if not delivered return to" comment. So I sent him (and his parents) an e-mail letting them know it had arrived, and asked to where it should be sent. Judging by how long it took, I'm guessing that small business aren't the only thing in Milan to close for August--the postal service seems to slow to a snail's pace as well. This morning I had a reply with the postal address of his aunt and uncle in Inverness (the ones whom I'd visited while I was in Scotland) and I realized that if I didn't go to the post office this morning I wouldn't get another chance till Monday, so, rather than working, I did that errand (I know from painful experiance that the near-by post office closes by 2pm). Fortunately, I managed to find someone who speaks English, who explained that I could either use the €7 option, which would take a week and can only be tracked whilst it is still in Italy, or the €25.25 option, which takes two days and can be tracked right to its destination. I decided that he's been waiting quite long enough--having to do everything, including travel tickets, by cash is a pain when one is traveling, so used the faster option. Here's hoping that it actually reaches him while he's still in Scotland (he leaves for there tomorrow, and will be there a week).
Then, in the afternoon, I had my meeting with the owner of the apartment I wish to rent. My, he certainly is loquacious! However, he speaks only Italian, so I have no idea what he said to my two colleagues who accompanied me to the meeting. All I know is that he'd speak at great length, in a very animated manner, one of them would say something briefly, and he'd speak again. Once in a great while one of my colleagues would turn to me and say something very briefly in English. Eventually he and they were satisfied, the relator photocopied my passport and visa information, and gave me my landlord's banking details so that I'll be able to pay part of the rent on-line, and I handed the owner the €200 to confirm that yes, I will be renting his flat and he left. Then the relator wrote down the various fees that I'll need to pay, and we booked an appointment to return on Wednesday to do the contract, pay the remaining cash portion (and by which I need to have done the bank transfer for that part) and pick up the keys. As we walked back after the meeting I commented to my colleagues that the owner sure speaks a lot, and had he replied explaining that the owner "comes from the south of Italy, where they use a lot of words to say nothing at all". (note: this colleague comes from the middle of the Italian Alps, and now commutes to Milan from Como, at the edge of the Alps, so he's from about as north as one can get and still be in Italy.)
Rent is going to be interesting--I'll be doing monthly bank transfers for part of the rent, and then every other month the owner will drop by to collect cash for the part of the rent which isn't written into the contract. Apparently they are taxed (at a rate of ~40%) on the rental income, which is why it is broken up like that. I had been told that I could ask the owner for any additional furnishing or repairs that I wanted, so I requested that the toilet seat and lid be returned, the cupboard whcih is set up for shelves actually get them, and a couple of new book shelves be added. He said that I'm to go purchase what I want for myself and give him the receipts. I wonder if this means that when I give him the cash portion I can give him part of the cash, and the receipts to make up the total? That would certainlly gaurentee that I be reimbursed for those expenses.
Not that I'm looking forward to figuring out where to find bookshelves and how to get them home on foot...
Oddly enough, that meeting just about put me to sleep--so long listening to people speak and not being able to understand more than a few words. So I went home for a nap and returned to the office this evening, intending to work, but first I needed to e-mail the shipping company--they'd sent me a letter dated 2 September, which finally arrived yesterday afternoon, asking for information about delivery, so now that I have the address, I sent it to them via email, answered their other questions, and asked if they really do need a paper version--it takes nearly an hour to walk to the post office, wait in line, do the transaction, and walk back, and I've got work I'm meant to be doing!
Here's hoping that my nap was enough to give me the energy to do some work yet this evening.
In other news, there is a new SCA family in Milan! They arrived a couple of weeks back--they've lived in Calontir, Atlantia, and Ireland, and are keen to revive the local SCA branch! I'm looking forward to helping them do this. Apparently they've got a min-van on the way, so I'm hoping that in the future we can carpool to events elsewhere, rather than having to fly all of the time (will only work for the closest countries, but still!)
