So our lives are getting back in the swing of things; with the apartment getting that "lived-in" look (which, as one of my friends pointed out means: you have a crap load of a lot of stuff!), work getting more stable (or as stable as private classes can get), and our other rooftop apartment / patio getting cleaned up.
As for the apartment, we have only done the little things to make it look nicer - like deciding which pics and posters to hang up, clean up nick nacks and put them away (geez, where did they all come from and why have they not found their way to the trash can?), and other minor details. I am still surprised, along with our friends that we have actually done the bulk of tidying in a relatively short time - going from the grime of having been empty for over a year to a pretty nice place was tough, but we realized Jo and I are anal about different things.
Jo is anal about actual dirt on things, like th floor and tables, whereas I am (perhaps a typical guy) not phased by this too much. Of course I will prefer clean things and do my part, but not at the extent that Jo does. I, on the other hand am anal about where things go, in terms of making it pleasing for the eye to rest upon, so to me, dirt and dust should be cleaned, but a pillow that is askew is more painful to me. Jo just rolls her eyes at this, but hey, this is where my gesalt reliance comes in.
Anyway, so as a team, we complement each other, especially in the case of apartment cleaning, with me doing the bulk of the moving and rearranging, and Jo doing most of the dirt cleaning. Plus, we just bought this cool contraption for picking up dirt / dust and other things off the floor. We used to clean our rug by using tape - to stick up the dirt, which works great (vacuum cleaners here are not that good we found and dislike using them). Anyway, we found a sticky roller contraption that Jo actually got excited over (typical woman, perhaps?) and now we both like to roll the floor dirt away. Ok, ok, little happys for little things.....
As for work, we are both doing myriad things.
Jo is working now with a friend to sell investment insurance as well as mutual funds, a topic that she excels in due to her high level math skills. It is a sales and commission job, so she is using the friend's numerous contacts to explain the benfits of this type of investing. She is also teaching both English and Math privately to students at a pretty good wage (I have mentioned to some before the high wages and low living expenses make living in Taiwan very ecomonical for my current lifestyle). Of course, we are also working on Tiny Tycoon$ together as well.
I am still working at a place called Compass English part time (full time is too constricting and is actually less money per hour), as well as my numerous English privates. The manager of Compass has been begging me to work full time, but as Jo and I were discussing it, we realized that by just adding another 4 hour a week private, I could manage the same income as working 15 hours there. AND, more importantly, I could have more time to spend with my lovely wife and she could have more time to spend with her great husband! So, no brainer.....
As for the rooftop patio, it is coming along, with many DIY projects in the works. The thing Zak (our friend and tenent above us) and I are working on now is the waterfall, that "ideally" will be quite nice when we finish. Zak has a knack for plants and projects like this, since in the apartment above, we are already putting in new windows, creating a kitchen counter and redoing the bathroom (in bits at a time). Owning a "tenent" apartment is interesting since you do have to understand the boundaries of who pays what....and we are all agreeing at this point.
Pics of Zak and the rooftop patio will come eventually.
Anyway, just a small update!
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