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Old 02-16-2010, 07:57 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
8,399 posts, read 22,928,679 times
Reputation: 4435

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When stationed in Trenčín, Slovakia, I lived in a small Communist-era apartment complex that had very limited laundry facilities. Basically, we washed our clothes in giant tubs using small boxes of some Communist laundry detergent (which barely foamed up), a hose for water, and a stick to agitate the load! We’d fill up the tubs, add soap, stir it the best we could, drain it out then add fresh water to rinse. It was very primitive!

We had lines on our balconies to hang our clothes to dry. I did a wash one evening and hung everything out to dry the next day. When I came home, the manager of the complex had all my clothes (mostly uniforms and underwear) all neatly folded on my bed. I learned that during the day, the winds picked up and blew my laundry all over the place. She went out, picked it all up, cleaned and ironed everything for me. I gave her a nice “reward” for doing so, and from then on we came up with a mutually-beneficial arrangement for her to continue providing that service! Honestly, it was very cheap (about $10-15/week, from what I can remember) for me, but a nice stipend for her!

Cheers! M2

 
Old 02-16-2010, 09:34 AM
 
5,643 posts, read 15,674,091 times
Reputation: 2758
Why the "reward" in quotations?

Cool story, though!

Such a nice day outside today!
 
Old 02-16-2010, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Smalltown, USA
3,111 posts, read 9,187,719 times
Reputation: 2056
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasNick View Post
Such a nice day outside today!
Yes!! And I'm stuck in an office. YUCK!
 
Old 02-16-2010, 11:52 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
8,399 posts, read 22,928,679 times
Reputation: 4435
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasNick View Post
Why the "reward" in quotations?
Because normally they wouldn't take monetary compensation for doing something like that, so I had to phrase it as a "reward" so that they would believe I would be "insulted" if they didn't accept.

Because we were such a small contingent (5-6 US military personnel), we didn't get much preliminary training before going in-country like troops get today. I had little language ability or cultural knowledge of Slovakia prior to going there, so we had to "learn on the fly" which meant sometimes by making mistakes.

For example, there was a small market/shop near our hotel in Bratislava. There was always a line outside of the door and we thought it was for people waiting for hand baskets, as every time someone would leave they would hand their basket to the next person. Since we would only go in to grab a few items, we'd figure we didn't need a basket so we'd just walk past the line and go in.

We later learned that the line and baskets were a means to control how many people were in the shop at any given time. Needless to say we were embarrassed once we learned that, and complied from then on out; but I always wondered how many other faux pas we unknowingly committed during our time there...

Still, such “discretions” must have been minor as our mission was highly successful and we were able to accomplish a lot in the six months that I was there!

Oh, and we weren't the only ones making faux pas; I remember one extremely attractive Slovak young lady who worked at the airport who asked if she could "practice her tongue on me!" Even though I knew she meant her English language skills, I still about chocked on my coffee when she said it!

Cheers! M²
 
Old 02-16-2010, 12:05 PM
 
Location: Coral Springs, Fl
1,086 posts, read 3,353,153 times
Reputation: 613
We miss San Antonio (Gf and I).

We lost the little cat 2 weeks ago that we found in San Antonio while we lived there last year. This little cat touched our hearts and was one of the only tangible memory of San Antonio that we had besides pictures and things we purchased. I think he meant a little more to us becuase of the whole transitional phase of us moving and coping with a new place to live. He brought joy to our hearts and kept us occupied.

I miss the winter weather, I miss HEB, and above all I miss our house in Stone Oak.

Gf asked the other day if I would be opposed to moving back and without question I said no I wouldn't. I love South Fl. probably just as much, both have many things to offer.
 
Old 02-16-2010, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Wiesbaden, Germany
13,815 posts, read 29,324,142 times
Reputation: 4025
SA MUCH > than anything in florida
 
Old 02-16-2010, 05:51 PM
 
Location: Funky Town
15,927 posts, read 8,122,370 times
Reputation: 58595
After blowing up my computer, I'm back!
 
Old 02-16-2010, 06:48 PM
 
Location: Wiesbaden, Germany
13,815 posts, read 29,324,142 times
Reputation: 4025
like with C4? is it on You Tube?
 
Old 02-16-2010, 07:10 PM
 
Location: South Side
3,770 posts, read 8,269,534 times
Reputation: 2876
Default Laptop Recommendation

Can anyone recommend a decent laptop? Nothing super fancy, just really need it for school, checking emails, wasting time on facebook, posting snarky remarks on here, ordering wingstop, and reaching rank 11 on tetrisfriends.com. My old laptop (DELL Inspiron E1505) is from 2005 and the battery isn't holding a charge anymore. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
 
Old 02-16-2010, 07:17 PM
 
14,637 posts, read 34,945,911 times
Reputation: 6683
I bought an Acer Netbook for about $260 from fry's. Works great. I use it for just about the same things as you, only I am not snarky, nor do I play tetris.
Spoiler
I'm sarcastic, and I play bejeweled.
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