Brinkmanship

Construction continues unabated in the apartment upstairs.  I've been trying all week to get a refund for my remaining time on the reservation, but I'm clearly not dealing with amateurs.  The rental agency and my landlady are playing faux helpful cop/benignly obtuse cop.  I email the agency, they say that they will talk to Malala.  I phone Malala, she says she will look into it.  The projected end of construction keeps slouching over the horizon, but it will definitely be soon, soon!

Finally, the agency emailed me yesterday to say that Malala would come over this morning to check out the situation at 10.  I waited until 11, then phoned her.  Oh, her niece went at 10, but didn't want to disturb me!  Shockingly, it was quiet between 10 and 10:30, so maybe they are done.  If not now, then by Friday for sure!

Malala is also trying to sell the apartment, so I've had to leave whenever it is being shown, including a three hour open house every Saturday afternoon.  After the hammering magically started up again at 11:30, I emailed the agency to inform them that if they would not release me from the lease, I was revoking my permission for the Estate Agent to show it.  I can't wait to see their next move.

None of this really matters, because I finally had a really good paella.  This picture does not do justice to the meal, it was much more tentacled in real life.