November 15, 2009
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6 Months
It is exactly 6 months since she took her last breath. I won't forget it. I can't. I still hear it, the last air to leave her lungs as she departed this world. I miss my Kahukura.
Even though there are 2 new kittens in my life, my world, my apartment, it's just not the same. Her last night, she knew it. She slept at my feet, even though it was not comfortable for her. I take comfort in the knowledge that the end came quickly for her. Now she is at peace, 6 months since I buried her on the mountain, overlooking the river, where she can watch the birds, and let her spirit soar.
It is possible that I may be moving soon - about 200 metres down the road from where I live now. My rent is up in January, and so instead of paying a large amount of rent per month, I have decided that it is time to spend a larger amount each month on a mortgage, so that in 20 years time, just in time for retirement, I have a place to call my own.
Claire went looking and found a couple of places that look nice. We went to one, and it was indeed nice but the prices extortionate. Despite trying to haggle there was no way that we could have got the sort of price that was, in my humble opinion, affordable. Then we went to the next new building, which has been constructed at the same level back from the river as my current pad, only with another building in the way (albeit with an illegally built top floor). We had a look at some of the apartments - some were ok, some were nice, and one was fantastic. 8th floor and absolutely perfect. But a tad expensive.
Enter Rob and his negotiation skills. Sure it is in Chinese, but money is money, and everyone understands numbers. In a recession, property prices fall and it is supposedly a good time to buy. With Claire as my translator, and me occasionally reverting to Mandarin, when and where I actually felt like I could be bothered to do so, the negotiation phase was interesting, as they wanted 9.2 million NT$, and I was not prepared to go that high. Claire was looking at 2 apartments, suggesting the one on 7th floor would be cheaper, and therefore could be our backup in case we did not get the one we wanted. I suggested we forget the one we don't really want and focus on the one we do.
So we got them down to 8.5, and I still wanted them to get to 7.5, but they refused. The negotiation continued. And we settled on a sum that was most satisfactory to us, and pretty much as low as they could go. We put a deposit down, and now comes the fun of looking at how the heck we are going to be able to afford to get the full deposit. But I am a man of means, and by means I am referring to the Olds, and so a nice long phone call to them pretty much secured everything we need to get the pad. I just hope the apartment company will accept the proposal I have for them.
The new place has 3 bedrooms, a nice living space, 2 balconies, a decent bathroom and a larger kitchen than I am used to, which means I get to make even more mess when I cook. It will be fantastic for having dinner parties and I think even a small grill out on the main balcony for evening braai's, whilst looking out over the river, with Da Tun Shan in the background. Very shagadelic.
But the great thing about the new place, apart from the river view, which is simply stunning, is that I can also look out on to Guanyin Shan, where my baby Kahukura is buried. Leaving the area behind ... it would be hard. But now I can be even closer to her. Just a shame she could not be there with me to enjoy it.
