What a long week

What a long week it's been and it's not even Friday yet. Both good and bad things are happening all at once. We're looking into one week of vacation at the end of May and I am starting to think that we'll all be desperately needing it.

Chris is back and we're all very happy about it. We're proceeding to work on his immigration application. We went to the local police station for an interview, then to the main headquarters downtown. Turns out that we're still missing another document. OK, we figure we'll go get that taken care of. They explain that the application will be approved within a week. Terrific, we thought. Almost done. Not quite though. Then they say that Chris would need to go to the Croatian embassy in the US to get the stamp in the passport. Now we get to go visit a number of bureaucratic offices to see if we can get it in writing for Chris to receive the stamp here. We figured that we could overnight the passport to Washington as the last resort but that does get pricey when sending half way across the world. This is certainly nothing insurmountable but is annoying, stressful and very time consuming. I was hoping that we could get this so we can make him the local ID and the local driver's license right away so he could drive. It would be helpful if I didn't have to do all of the driving. Now we have to keep waiting to get those important documents. Anyhow, it'll be done but just can't be simple. Never is.

The condo has entered the final and very exciting (for us anyway) phase of construction. The tile is finally being installed this week under my close supervision. I am getting very tired of loooooong conversations with the builder, changes, discussions why something will or won't work... The complex layout bathroom will be done by tomorrow sometime. That'll be a relief. The good news is that it all looks really nice and I think we made good choices. The upstairs bathroom in particular as it looks unusual in layout and color choices. It'll be very slick and I look forward to it. All of the electrical isn't completed though and there's been errors. I'm just ready for them to complete it already. The hardwood floors (standard method of construction here) are set to go in Monday and that will take several days to be done.

Once we actually get the key, we still have a good bit of work to do in addition to moving. Getting kitchen cabinets, for example. That's considered furniture here and doesn't come with the house. Then we need to buy fridge, washer, dryer... and let's not forget a small round stairwell to connect the two floors. We also need to take all of the documents to have the ownership legalized, then we have to take care of all of the utilities and the hefty property tax. It's a lot more complicated to do that then in the US. Our motivation will be very high though after living for 7-8 months with my parents so I think we'll get it done as quickly as it is humanly possible.

As of today, following construction items are still on the "to be completed" list: finalize tile, hardwood floors, landscaping, tile on main stairwell and basement storage, electrical, attaching the radiators, installing tub/toilet/sink. Sounds like much but it really isn't. These are finishing things and most of this is already done in other units (there are 9 units all together). Ours is always being done last. They must like us a whole bunch. :)

We've started the loan process and the situation isn't going smoothly either. Paperwork missing or incorrect. Things we got to figure out... My sister is having to get involved as a cosigner because I have a foreign employer so they can't take that income into account for the loan. Crazy things, I tell you.

All in all, things are actually going well. I know that it may not sound like it but it will all resolve soon. If not, you'll find me happy and content at some looney house around here. :) Next 4-8 weeks will just be absolutely crazy and after that I expect things to start quieting down. Mybe we can have a peaceful summer then. Even though absolutely nothing is going smoothly (does it ever?), it is getting done nevertheless. We're putting in the extra effort to get to the goal. Wow, we're ready for a break.