Chloé is gone. Christine and I are devastated. Everytime I play the "Romance" from Chopin's first pianoconcerto, I start to cry. It's like I'm playing it for her.
Last wednesday I've had her cremated in the special crematory for domestic animals. We've sworn her that we'd never leave her behind and that we'd take her with us to Italy. And that is exactly what we're going to do. It was most painful to leave her on the table before she was put in the oven. I couldn't contain myself any longer and cried my heart out. But afterwards, on the way home, I already started to feel a bit better. Our other cats, Canelle, Blu and Thomas are all being so nice. They probably realise what's happened and feel that I'm sad. They constantly jump on my lap and comfort me. Oh... how wonderful these cats are. It's amazing how much love you get back from them...
Unfortunately, Christine is all on her own in Italy with her sorrow. There is of course our Italian "mum" Cosetta who does everything she can to console her. But obviously she can't be around all of the time. So I started browsing the internet in search for a new kitten, especially for Christine. Not an easy task because it is absolutely not the season for it. Most catteries are only starting to plan new kittens right now, or their cats have only just given birth. A kitten needs to be at least 12-13 weeks before it can be adopted. But... after days of searching I found one. It's not a Norwegian Forest cat like Blu or Thomas. But it's a little Maine Coon lady. In fact, the Maine Coons are very closely related to the Norwegians and also have the long hair and lovely "squirrel tail". They become even bigger than the Norwegians and are probably the biggest domestic cats around (males can easily go up to 10kg). But most important of all, the Maine Coons also have a very affectionate and kind character like the Norwegian Forest cats. They're said to cling even stronger to their masters, whereas the Norwegians are more sociable with other cats, people or whatever else. So chances are high that the new kitten will become just as close with Christine as Chloé was. Because that's what we'll miss the most. Chloé always had to be close to us and gave us so much love. So much as I've never experienced with any other cat before. Hopefully the new kitten will ease Christine's pain a bit.
She'll be delivered early next week and I haven't told Christine at all. It must be a total surprise for her. Well, if I told her she'd probably be a bit angry because I haven't discussed it with her first. Or because of the cost of such a kitten. Or... because I'm interfering with her work planning. Well, that's exactly what I want to achieve! Christine is working so hard for the moment that she'll probably crack one day. She already spent two or three days in bed early this week because she couldn't cope anymore. The responsibility for the new kitten will force her to make shorter working days and spend some more time quietly at home.
Here are two pictures of the kitten I just bought. Isn't she adorable? I was thinking to name her "Cioccolata" because I think she has a "chocolatty" appearance. But if you have any other suggestions, they're most welcome!
Bad news never travels alone. Christine and I are already in a down period. Up to the extent that Christine's chronic fatigue syndrome has seriously caught up with her because of all the worries. Yesterday she went to bed around four in the afternoon and when I called her at nine this morning, she was still lying in bed. In fact, I should've brought her a very positive message because Christine's mum and I've decided to book a couple of tickets and fly over for a week on the 10th of March.
Alas, this happy news was totally overshadowed by a tragic event. Yesterday evening, our most beloved kitten Chloé was run over by a car. I was already worried about her all night because usually she doesn't stay outside for long and always wants to be with me. It was in fact our neighbour who found her this morning, quite a bit further down the road than I had believed possible. Of all of our four cats, Chloé was by far our favourite. She was always so high-spirited, always wanted to be with us, always wanting to sit on my lap and let herself be caressed, always "talking" to me with her funny purrrs and squeaks and almost every night she wanted to sleep next to me, sometimes with her paws resting on my forehead as if she wanted to ask me never to leave her.
But now she's left us. Christine and I are heart-broken. I'm afraid that especially for Christine this may be a blow she will not recover from very soon. She told me over the phone, in between her tears, that she would start looking for a temporary home so that at least we could move away from this wretched place and be together again. But I'm afraid that this will be quite difficult. Not only would we have to move all of our furniture twice, the cats still need their rabies shot and then we need to wait at least one month before we can move. Given the strict Swiss customs, we can't take any risks in that regard. The chickens also still need to be checked against Salmonella and also that will still take a month. I told the vet that he still had time, given that we certainly weren't going to move before half-April. But then... here we are...
I don't know what to say anymore. To us, this feels like we've lost a child. Even though some people may frown when I say this. Our cats mean everything to us. We'll deeply miss her...
Danilo is currently behaving like a spoilt brat. A week ago he shouted at our new geometer that he was going to send us a very spicy bill. He claimed that he had used the services of an architect, an engineer and god knows who else. That was fine by us. We were impatiently awaiting his bill so we could examine it. And if eventually it turned out that these expenses were genuine and that the bill was not exaggerated, we would of course immediately pay it.
But a week later, we haven't seen any bill yet. Our new geometer has been on the phone with Danilo every day and every time he promised that it would most certainly arrive "later today". He said he would "even charge us for the coffees he's had". But as time goes by, it becomes clear to us that Danilo is squirming and that he just can't send us any detailed bill that justifies the 4.000,- extra he charged us.
On the other hand, this makes our new geometer quite anxious and he currently doesn't want to continue the major part of the work yet. Even if legally he could. Danilo for instance claimed that he had contacted an engineer to calculate the reinforcements for the new roof structure. Since the disastrous L'Aquila earthquake a new law has been put in force, obliging all restoration works to be in line with certain earthquake tolerances. But we're now assuming that Danilo never contacted an engineer. Christine's been in Italy since half September and she never saw any engineer or was never told that an engineer's been over for a visit of the site. We are starting to believe that Danilo made the "calculations" for the new roof structure himself and told the comune's technical department that an engineer had done it - in order to be in line with regulations. This would allow him to charge us the services of an engineer and stick another couple of 1.000,- in his pocket.
The problem now is that the new geometer may be taking over a job with a lot of irregularities. A real can of worms. Christine's taken a few pictures of the works on the new roof, but none of them show beyond doubt that a ring of armed concrete was used as a foundation for it, as is legally required. You can e.g. see a layer of concrete, but obviously not the iron reinforcements within.
In the mean time, I've found a real architect on the Astronomy Forum and he's already given us some very good advice. He's from the region of Genoa but I truly hope that he can help us out. Even if it's just to temporarily take over the works and then hand them back over to the new geometer. At least he would have the authority to shut Danilo up and to declare that our house is within regulations.
After all the worries and bad news, here's a more positive post!
The Italian Astronomy Forum, of which I'm a proud member, annually organises a big star party on the top of the Amiata mountain, in southern Tuscany. It is one of the best viewing spots in the whole of Italy and the event has always been great fun. Unfortunately, last year the party ended a bit off-key because of arguments with the local hotel owner. The service we received was at times appalling and there's been a nasty discussion between the owner and the Forum Moderators. Hence it became uncertain whether the 2010 Star Party, normally due half-May, could still be organised there. The Moderators have been trying everything in their power to smoothen the waters. But as time was passing by, many Forum members were getting a bit anxious.
So Christine and I took the initiative and announced that we'll organise the next Star Party at our place, half June. We've got a large meadow which is just perfect for astronomical observing. The night's sky here would also be a very close second compared to the one at the Amiata. In fact, it could be even better because unlike at the Amiata there's no public road where cars are constantly passing by with their headlights on. The downside is that the preferred hotel is 15min away by car. We can offer enough space for tents, but as we only have two bathrooms we can not host 100 people. Then again, the people at our hotel are thrilled by the prospect of having so many guests. For a long time they've been complaining that they hardly receive any guests anymore. I'm sure that they'll do everything in their power to offer a memorable stay to the Astronomy buffs. And the rates are incredibly cheap as well.
Response has been great so far and everyone announced that they'd bring along some local produce from the various Italian regions which we can use to make a mega-BBQ on the first evening. Even though it currently looks as if the Amiata party is still going ahead and that some people can not spare the time/travel to go to two parties within a month's time, I'm sure that our "Star Camp" will be a memorable event.
It was to be expected that Danilo wouldn't let us off lightly. On Monday morning he summoned our contractor to his office and forbade him to continue working for us. What's more, he also sent Christine a text message saying that he closed the site until further notice. Probably meaning until we paid the full amount he asked.
As if we'd be impressed by that. Then he doesn't know us (and especially Christine) yet. Christine started talking about the situation to a friend, whose friend of a friend is a sollicitor. The friend called the sollicitor on the phone and then passed the phone on to Christine. The man was very friendly and appeased us immediately by confirming that we haven't got anything to worry about. We did everything as we were supposed to. The good thing is even that we paid Danilo, be it the amount that was calculated by the other geometer according to the official fees. It is now up to Danilo to contest our payment (through a sollicitor's letter) and prove that his work was worth more than the amount that we paid him. Since he's hardly shown up at the site, this should be rather hard for him. In any case, Danilo can not close the site at all. Only a court could do that.
When I was mailing with some of my Italian friends, they came up with an even sweeter idea. Danilo seriously overcharged us, probably thinking that we were stupid foreigners who either wouldn't notice or wouldn't dare to protest. It is likely that he also wanted to bypass a large amount of taxes - only declaring tax on the correct amount of money for the work he'd done. If Danilo continues to be difficult, we could always have a chat with the local tax department. This could have implications for us as well since it turns out that we were a bit in the wrong too, not having a contract with Danilo. But given that we're "stupid foreigners who didn't know any better", given that we've asked Danilo on numerous occasions for a contract and given the fact that we've come to declare the whole situation ourselves, should make us the good guys in their eyes. Danilo on the other hand, could expect a nasty visit from the Italian tax inspectors. Well, we'll see what happens. We just want to end the collaboration in peace and so we're not really inclined to use this "weapon". But if he forces us into this position, we'll not hesitate.
In the mean time Christine also asked the other geometer if he wants to take over the work from Danilo. It's a sensitive issue because to him it must feel like stabbing a colleague in the back. But today he confirmed that he'll do it and that he knows more than enough workers who're currently out of a job. He's been trying to reach Danilo over the phone but didn't succeed so far. He said he's going to try again tomorrow.
Last Wednesday, Christine went to visit the other architect. Well, let's make things clear. We're not talking about "real" architects here. The Italian title is "geometra", which is only a secondary school diploma in Italy and certainly not a university degree. He was very happy to take over where Danilo left off and made a quick calculation with the geometer's handbook as a reference. Danilo couldn't have billed us more than 3.300 (+ tax) for the work he had done so far. Less than half of what he charged us!
Christine immediately sent Danilo a registered letter, saying that we would no longer require his services and that we were only going to pay the 3.300 (+ tax) as this was in accordance with the official fees and wages. Period.
On Saturday, Danilo tried to call Christine all morning, but she didn't feel like answering. It would certainly lead into an argument and Christine was too tired. He left a message on her voicemail saying: "You're joking, right?". If Danilo knew Christine only for the slightest bit, he would know that she'd never joke about things like that. So she replied with a text message that she didn't want to talk to him over the phone right now and if he had any grievances he should put them in writing.
Unfortunately, Christine also received a phonecall from Nezio, our contractor. He's now caught in the middle and told Christine that he's summoned to Danilo's office next Monday. It is more than likely that Danilo will forbid him to continue working for us, hoping that he can blackmail us this way. Nezio told Christine that 70% of his work comes through Danilo, so we're indeed afraid that we're going to lose him. What's maybe even worse, Nezio so far turned a blind eye when we were late with a number of bills. Given that the mortgage still hasn't been finalised, we're a bit short on cash right now. But Nezio told us he didn't mind and even offered us a loan for a significant amount of money, just to help us out for the time being. This meant that we didn't have to pay him all the money we currently owe him yet. But we're certain that Danilo will try to undo this deal. He knows that we're behind with our payments because these payments have to pass through him. And he will not let go. In fact, this is strange because Nezio has at least two other clients who owe him maybe three times as much as we do and who haven't paid him in six months. Why doesn't Danilo go after these people first, you might ask yourself? We'll see what happens. We now have high hopes that the mortgage will be accepted after all. And Nezio has always been on our side which means that - translating an old Flemish saying - the soup is not eaten as hot as it is served.
And regarding the remainder of the work, the new geometer has a good contractor who's been begging for work. Apparently, he's even cheaper than Nezio and even wouldn't mind working "by the hour" in stead of for a fixed total amount. Given that Christine is always present to check what's going on, this will save us a considerable amount of money. So Danilo can squirm all that he wants...
After weeks of work, both day and night, my audio-book on autism is finally finished. I'm totally exhausted; perhaps even more because of sleep deprivation than of the hard work itself. But in the end, I believe that it was certainly more than worthwhile. Personally, I think it's the most beautiful piece of work I've ever made in my entire life. It fills me with pride, bordering even a bit of arrogance...
I know, the story is told in Flemish/Dutch so it'll probably not be interesting to all of you. However, most of the work went into creating background music and sound-effects. Apart from a few excerpts from e.g. Pink Floyd's "Another brick in the wall", Frankie's "Relax", the Carmina Burana and a couple of other songs I had to use as an illustration, all of it was created by me. I hope that this way I can let the listener "feel" what it's like being autistic. The whole audio-book contains 16 episodes with in total over 4h40 of audio!
I've attached a sample to this post in order to give you an idea. Even if you don't understand my Flemish words, I still hope that you enjoy the music.
In case you'd like to hear the whole caboodle, feel free to visit my website:
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