they are tearing the soul out of my apartment right now. well, actually the windows to the soul. out go the old antique wavy glass sash weighted windows, in come some unremarkable aluminum monoliths. but they will have their advantages. no more draftiness, no more rattling, and hey, i can clean them without fear of impaling on the sidewalk below some tourist from omaha (thats where they all come from, right?). so im coming to grips with their inevitability, actually its beyond that as they are all but installed. i offered the old ones up to the tenement museum and there was some initial enthusiasm for them on their part as the ones they currently have are inauthentic (or, at least, that was my addled understanding) but it turns out mine were probably too authentic, i.e. crumbling to bits. they were bemused by the way theyd been jerrry-rigged with (lets call it) translucent acrylic out of necessity to keep nature in abeyance and suggested they belonged in a different museum. i cant recall the exact name, something like the new york museum on a whinge and a prayer, or maybe it was the ny center for tight-fisted landlords. ultimately i think they were underwhelmed by my contribution to history though im sure they appreciated the thought behind it.

currently (no pun intended) the mitre box is whirring away as unfinished moldings are being fitted. there is the distinct smell of epoxy but i wont question their methods. i might suggest that this is the result of being overcome with fumes but as i am famously lazy i should bear at least some of the burden for having no answers in my toolkit. as for the "currently" pun which was not a pun, i keep expecting each violent spin from the toothy wheel to ultimately bring misfortune as this building is notoriously underpowered. the light in the bathroom was straining credulity as i was, um, performing abolutions so i quickly flicked it off (ok, yanked the chain, im not proud) and even am going so far as to unplug my computer intermittently. i happened to notice on my last trip downstairs to ponder the fate of the disenfranchised windows (id considered keeping one for decorative purposes) that my landlord has closed up shop at least for the moment so as fates favorite chew toy i was sure the power outage would take place in his absence. but all is well for the time being. the smell of rice is wafting from the "dining room" as the asian workmen take their lunch and figuratively, if not literally, chew the fat.

at one point earlier i did attempt to make a joke with one of them as they cursed in english after dropping the saw somewhat abruptly. i said to him that was the one thing theyve said that i did understand. but as you may have guessed, he didnt have the slightest idea what i was saying. all things considered, ill take competence over communication any time.