Funny little quirks

Today seems to be one of those days. My dear friend SaraEllen and I have been exercising together lately (while she’s visiting), making use of the beautiful parks in nearby barrios for jogging. Yesterday it rained and so we decided to run up and down the stairs of my apartment building for exercise. And boy was that a mistake. Poor G., whose place I live in, got some complaints this morning about it. It’s understandable though. Safety risk, makes noise, etc. But I sure felt like a puppy with its tail tucked between its legs. I also felt bad for causing G. trouble.

It reminded me of the time when Miss Tango (and Mr. Tango) and I were sitting in the huge enclosed courtyard of the place I had previously lived in (with one2tango). It was a gorgeous space, with beautiful Spanish tiles and fountains that were no longer in use. The caretaker of the property, with two friends behind her for support, came to us and told us that we were not to sit there as it was technically a corridor and only for walking through. We were puzzled as it is a huge, wide open space and we were only right outside my door, not blocking anyone’s way. (We also found out that children living there were not allowed to play in that space for more than a short time. Which makes me sad because Once is not the safest neighborhood for kids to play outside. Having a beautiful outdoor space that is safe from the outside world is ideal for children, so it’s sad that they can’t use it.) Never mind though, it was my last day living there anyway so we went inside.

On top of feeling a little down, I had a deadline today for a translation, and I was putting the finishing touches on it so I could e-mail it to the client, when the phone went out and the internet consequently stopped working. I did the thing we usually do when the home phone stops working: I picked up my cell phone and called my home number, causing the home phone to ring and be reactivated. Ah, the funny little quirks of the Argentine telecommunications system. This particular do-it-yourself process feels to me like trying to hold a washing machine together with a rubber band and a piece of string. (I say this with a giggle of course).

With the phone line once again in tact, I tried the internet, but to no avail. I reset the modem a few times, and the wireless router. Nothing. I was missing my deadline. G. called their technical support and I was surprised to hear him actually talking to a person, as the last time I tried to call (from my other place in B.A.), I had to wait for hours before anyone would help me. Luckily G. later got his computer to access the internet by plugging the line directly into his laptop, so I was able to send my client the file and heave a big sigh of relief. Later the internet came back on for everyone, and I am now taking on another translation job. Let’s hope it keeps working for a while.