Haven�t written for a few days, as there was not much to report on. I�ve been neglecting checking up on my place to see how the remond is progressing because the process has been slow of late. Today I finally had the courage to visit and to my surprise they had already laid most of the concrete. My �Varbed� advised that all the concreting and erection of new walls would be completed in 4 days.
During my visit, Armentel �technicians� showed up to see whether I could have a new line installed. The �technician was talking to my �Varbed� for about 20 minutes completely ignoring me. He was trying to tell us that there were no lines available for my apartment when I knew perfectly well that it wasn�t the case. You see another Diaspora also lives in my block and he had a whole exchange put in only last year. In the end my �Varbed� explained that the �technician� was after a bribe. This is when I addressed him directly and advised him that I was a foreigner and would not pay any money to him, not even 10 Drams just so that he can do his job properly.
The �technician� got nervous and advised he would re check downstairs if a new line was at all possible. Ten minutes later he came back and advised that it was indeed possible and if I wished I could have TWO lines installed. By this stage I had my diary out to record his details but I guess miracles do happen.