DesiVibe.com

By Annie Sheikh

The up side to moving into your very own, brand new apartment in a brand new building, is that everything is, well, brand new.

Other than the thrill of the entire place never being lived in before, it's also fun decorating it. This is especially true if you're starting from scratch, because you dumped all your old stuff on people who were happy to have it dumped on them.

Getting rid of an entire houseful of things is quite a liberating feeling. I think everyone should try it at least once in their life. Then, as time goes on, and you see your new house gradually filling up with things you so lovingly and painstakingly selected, your feelings for the place grow even fonder.

Add to this a great view of the city of Sharjah, a dazzling view of a lake with an island (albeit man made), and right across, the sight of the world's tallest sky scraper, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai. This is both, a constant reminder of our neighbouring city, and a focal point of conversation every time someone comes over.

Don't be mistaken though. It's not all fun and games.

If you move into a new building in a relatively newly developed area in Sharjah or Dubai, there could be a few obstacles on your way to a happy haven, no matter how good the area you've moved to is.

For example, if for some reason, the building maintenance staff hasn't completed its job on time, you can expect a few irritants, most of which become obvious right away.

When you step into one of the many spacious elevators, you notice you can't really see much of the elevator at all. That's because the building staff seem to prefer going up and down all day in what can only be described as huge boxes of cardboards. No one knows when they'll realize that they're actually supposed to remove the protective materials once residents have moved in.

Another minus is, because everyone has to carry their smaller sized household items up to their apartments, anyone who has a reasonably good memory (and is curious) can remember which ironing board, bed sheets, comforters, dustbins, shower curtains, and the like, you'll be using while you're living there. However, because a lot of people buy new things when they move into a new place, and because those people too will have to lug them up the elevators, it kind of levels the playing field a bit.

The same is the case with furniture.

Everyone knows which furniture is going where when movers unload it from their trucks and haul it into the cargo lift, which is fine, because I think our place is shaping up rather nicely. Some of the other apartments however, not so much. From what I've seen so far, some people seem to have brought furniture which they should have long abandoned in a junkyard. Or just set fire to, really.

These things all pale in comparison to what's next though.

If there happens to be a building that's still under construction right next to yours, and if it faces your bedroom window in particular, you might be in for a bit more than you bargained for.

Every morning, at the crack of dawn, expect to hear lots of noise, some from all the construction and machines, and some from the workers themselves. This constant flurry of noise and activity will go on every single week day, from dawn, until past twelve at midnight. What those workers are doing till twelve at night, I'm not sure. All I know, they make a hell of a commotion doing it.

Finally, everything seems to settle down around one in the morning, and you are left with five precious hours of some peace and quiet, (other than the occasional shout from one of the workers camping there for the night).

The building maintenance staff seems to think they have the right to be a royal nuisance as well.

Even though they had a year to complete whatever it is that needs to be completed in a new building, and even though they clearly didn't do their job properly or on time, they don't seem embarrassed or ashamed of it in the least. You can expect them to ring your doorbell at any time of the day or night, barge in, and start banging on anything they please, even if you insist it doesn't need banging on.

There has been many a time a building personnel has been hammering away at my bedroom door while I glare at him from inside, clad in my pajamas, scribbling away in a notebook with one of my funky coloured gel pens. I have to take it out somewhere. Better off in a notepad than on him.

I live in constant fear of being caught in my Betty Boop pajama suit for the umpteenth time, and suffer from lack of sleep due to the horrendous noise outside my bedroom window. It's noise so nerve frazzling that it can destroy the tranquility of even the most beautiful surroundings.

I just wish you were here to witness it for yourself, in all its budding, or should I say, "building", glory.

 

For more from Annie, visit her blog at http://my.desivi.be/misspink

Follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/_misspink