Back to the Philippines

As of today, I am recovering from having my last two wisdom teeth pulled out.   There’s been a lot of developments.  We now have a serious offer for my car.  It’s not so high but it seems fair.  The car is 10 years old and the cruise control had stopped working.  MrC just took the car over to the dealership to check it out and see how much it costs to repair it.  I just hope his friend really buys it.

Several prospective renters have looked at the apartment lately.  One couple who came in last Wednesday liked the apartment so much and also wanted to buy some of our furniture and appliances, including the floor.   Here in the Netherlands, most apartments come bare because tenants have to leave it bare whenever they vacate their apartment — and that includes floors and carpets.  And the walls has to be left painted white.  So if you had painted it red, make sure you paint it back white.  We had paid a bit of money on labor to get this apartment painted, bedrooms carpeted and the rest with laminated wood tiles.  MrC and I had put in a lot of time to also install and assemble shelves and furniture!  It’s a bit sad to see everything must go.

MrC’s sister is buying the dining table and a friend of hers is also buying the washing machine.   She is picking those up this weekend.  That means no dining table and no washing machine from then on!  A friend of MrC also is buying our bed.  He is taking it also this weekend (sigh).  So after this weekend, we still have two more weeks of sleeping on the sofa and sofabed :-(.

We have a total of 12 boxes to be shipped to the Philippines through the help of my old employer’s shipping department.   I just sent the necessary information to get the paperwork started today.    While writing this, I received a confirmation e-mail from the manager of our shipping department.

I would say that this is the most organized of all my moves.  Our inventory is maintained in a Google spreadsheet of which both of us can edit at the same time.  All boxes are labeled with a unique identifier and the contents are in the spreadsheet so we know where exactly things are.   Of course, with clothes, I decided not to register every single blouse and pants we own.  That would be too much!

My mom, on the other hand, who is now in the Philippines has volunteered to help me out in apartment hunting.  We are looking for a place with a minimum of 70 sqm in Metro Manila, preferably Mandaluyong, Ortigas, Taguig, Pasig, Makati or  Eastwood area.  We are also open to areas like Alabang, Las Pinas, Paranaque (Merville/Nichols area)  and Quezon City for more spacious but less expensive houses.  The place must be  at least 2 bedrooms and fully furnished and with possibility of having broadband internet connected quickly.  Also, we prefer areas with good security and no water or flooding problems. Our budget is not more than 35,000 and we prefer 6 months lease at the beginning.  Any good referrals is greatly appreciated.

• Decisions, decisions …
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