Alive and Well

Just putting up a quick post to let you all know that I was safe in my apartment when the suicide bomber attacked this morning. It was in Taksim Square, not two streets from my apartment and I heard the explosion but didn't know what had happened until hours later. Police shut down the square and then main pedestrian road, and all I saw was a policeman power-washing the cement. It was a grim image to behold on a pristine fall day. Nobody was killed except for the bomber and thirty-two were injured. They think that Kurdish separatists were behind it but nobody has claimed responsibility.

A Room Of One's Own

I'm nearing the end of my first month in the new apartment, and it's coming together after an admittedly shaky start. I didn't have hot water or heating for the first three weeks here, and I still don't have my own internet connection. My toilet broke a few weeks back and I had a panic attack not knowing how to shut the water off (turns out the only option was to turn the water off to the whole apartment, and the main line could only be accessed in the hallway), but I've finally gotten to a point where I know how to fix most problems. The biggest difficulty so far was definitely the time I walked out the front door with the keys to Brigid's apartment and turned around to lock the door only to realize that I had locked myself out. It was late at night and nobody could let me in until the morning. This was an issue seeing as how I had left a window open and a light on in a notoriously break-in prone part of town. After deliberating in the hallway for about an hour, kicking my foot out in front of me every ten seconds to catch the motion detector that kept the light on, I decided to break into my own apartment. I live on the second floor and the french-style embellished facade was easy to scale, but I didn't want to attract any undue attention, which was unavoidable given the people sitting outside at the nearby cafe. Luckily, nobody said anything and merely watched as I did something that wouldn't have occurred to most well-adjusted and civilized people. So I've learned 1) never leave a window open even if you're just walking next door to drop off your laundry and 2) never set two approximate sets of keys next to each other, because on a long enough timeline you will undoubtedly pick up the wrong set at least once. Here are some pictures of the place:

Shoes and a Tramp

My Only Furniture

 An Assembly Line of Personal Hygiene

    

 The World's Smallest Kitchen

(the fridge is in the cupboard) 

 My View

The World's Cheapest Set of Sheets

Exploring the Space of a Shoe Box 

I realize that this is a meager post after a month of silence, but I'm trying to ease back into the habit of regular posts, which might be easier now that I have a proper abode and steady internet (courtesy of my neighbor, the Laterne Cafe). I booked a flight for Tel Aviv and will depart in two weeks, so make sure to check back in to hear what that was like.