December 29, 2012

To all those who read this every day, I apologize for the delay in posting. I am in Colombo so I have been busy taking of things here.

I left Gunfire on Christmas Day as Amal's sister and her children arrived, leaving no room there. I have been hearing so many things about the sister, niece and nephew from Amal and Shanti, all of them bad. However, contrary to my usual instinct, I was keeping an open mind, thinking that there are 2 sides to every story. Well, bugger the open minded approach! If anything, Amal understated things. Even before I met them, this is what happened.

Everyone had been up until 3 in the morning for 2 nights running with airport pickups and then a family party for their uncle's 80th birthday. That is no big deal except for Mahender, the driver. The roads here a treacherous and it is the monsoon season with a lot of flooding and landslips, so he has to be alert. Of course, they all want to get back on Christmas Day as it was Manil's birthday, but Avanti (the sister) phones up at 7 in the morning saying she wants to get going. Amal tells her that Mahender needs more sleep. She has a tantrum, but can't really do anything. Amal and Mahender go to their apartment around 8 to pick them up and they are not ready for an hour. So what was the big deal about leaving at 7?

Finally, they hit the road only to make 6 or 7 stops on the way to buy a bunch of crap. It takes them 5+ hours to get to Kandy. So now, back at Gunfire we have been waiting for them for breakfast and lunch and Manil is diabetic and has to eat regularly.

They arrive around 2pm and it is raining hard. Avanti and the 2 kids (adults really, 26 and 28) refuse to get out of the car in the rain until Mahender moves the other car and pulls in under the Porte Cachere. It all went downhill from there.

I won't go on about this. It could be a script for a soap opera. Anyway, the day I left for Colombo and yesterday, it all blew up. Manil has taken to her bed and won't eat. Amal is afraid she is willing herself to death because she knows she is the only reason he is staying at Gunfire. I love her and Amal, but they all have a touch of the melodramatic about them. It is just that Avanti and the kids are pathological.

The 3 crazies are supposed to have left or a leaving for a party on the coast and Amal is coming to Colombo for an alms giving for an aunt, so Manil will be left alone with the servants at Gunfire, so I will go directly there when I get into Kandy to make sure she is OK. What a drama. You get the bad with the good when you are taken in by strangers. A small price to pay for all they have done for me.

The good news is that I met with my prospective landlords yesterday and we have agreed to a one year rental agreement. We will sign the papers next week and I should be able to take possession by mid-January. I also met with Shanti's daughter's boyfriend whose family has a furniture making factory in Polinaruwa. He is giving me a quote on making all the furniture I need as well getting the appliances, linens, etc. duty free. Amal also has a friend who manages one of the three wheeler dealerships, so I will be able to buy a tuk tuk at a low price. So I am well on my way.

I hope to be more or less settled by the end of January. The only fly in the ointment is that I can't apply for my one year visa until my 3 month one is almost up, which is the end of February and I can't get my stuff shipped until I have a one year visa. I am going to talk to Amal about getting the stuff shipped to him, so I can get it into the country ASAP. I want my stuff and I don't want to be paying storage charges if I can avoid it. So it seems that Heather's prediction at the Calico Cat that I would get done in 2 months what would take others a year to do is coming true.

I went yesterday to do the full fur/claw as the bunch in Kandy did such a bad job. Dinithi (Shanti's daughter) has a lovely salon that could compete with any upscale place in the world. It was decorated by the furniture making boyfriend, so things look good there. So I met Dinithi and Chaytia (Shanti's children). What a marked contrast to Tara and Amar (the crazy niece and nephew). These 2 kids, who are about the same age, are hard working, accomplished, independent and charming.

The claw place was small and cramped and full of acrylic fumes. I sat there for an hour before they told me they had no power and therefore could not do my gel nails. Typical Sri Lankan. Don't say anything rather than give what they think is bad news. Then I made an appointment at what I thought was their other branch at the Galadari Hotel, only to go there to find out the it had closed 2 or 3 months ago. Finally, after a bunch of tuk tuk rides, I went back to the original place where they now had power. In the end, they did a great job, but it costs almost as much as in Canada. I don't know what I will do next month. Sending $500 what with the train and hotel and meals to come to Colombo for fur/claw seems a little excessive, even to me.