We have a new Watson’s store on Wenzhong Rd., near…
We have a new Watson’s store on Wenzhong Rd., near where I live. Watson’s slogan is “I swear!”, usually uttered by a young woman with her hand in the air. “I swear…we have the lowest prices!” the posters read. To promote the grand opening, they were playing a recording of this message over and over again, and signs were everywhere. If I lived or worked next door to such a cacophony I’d be pissed, but the guys operating the vegetable stalls out front seemed to be taking it in stride. “I swear,” one of them shouted, “if that taxi doesn’t move from in front of my stand I’m gonna kick his ass!”
“I swear,” another retorted, “if you keep up with the ‘I swear’ jokes I’m gonna kick your ass!”
I love my neighborhood. Which was why I was dismayed to learn this weekend that my landlady has sold my apartment. “But it’s ok!” the realtor told me after relaying this news. “The new owner is willing to keep renting to you!” The catch, of course, is that the new owner wants to increase my rent by NT$2,000 a month. This is out of the question; I just can’t afford it, and I told her so. She said she’d reconsider, and that I should as well. Which means, I suppose, that I should start yet again looking for an apartment. I’d like to stay in the area, but I doubt I’ll find anything as good in the immediate vicinity. So, unless my new landlady comes to her senses and realized that she’d lose more money during the time she’d need to find a new tennant than if I just stayed there and kept paying rent, you’re going to be reading soon about the further househunting adventures of TC. Good thing I got rid of the comments.
