I have no idea how other people settle into the room they have rented for the duration of their stay away from home, but it always takes me a few hours at least to be comfortable in the room. During the Commission on the Status of Women 69 (CSW69) it is a studio apartement for me on East 94th Street. It is not the fact that the room is quite spartan, as I don’t care much about fancy furniture while I travel. It needs to be serviceable and comfortable enough for use, and clean. And that is ample enough for me. However, finding a kitchen where I can’t open the right hand side cabinet because an iron open shelving unit (think Ikea ‘Omar’) is in the way; where the microwave on top of ‘Omar’ cannot reach the electric socket in the wall to be useful; where the bin is next to the refridgerator 2,5 meters from the sink; where the coffee table is blocking access to the couch? Well that needs a better set up, if I want to feel senang and be efficient during my fortnight here, that much is clear.
Tired as I was from my flight from Amsterdam (8:55am, which meant up at 3:50am), and from the ‘getting settled into New York stress’, it took a good night’s sleep before my brain was working well enough again to sort this set up.
Now Omar is next to the refridgerator, and the power cord of the microwave has found its place in the wall socket next to the powercord of that refridgerator. The bin is where Omar was before, close to the sink, right were you need it. With a lanyard above holding up the – in the USA ubiquitous – paper towel roll on the hooks that were meant to keep Omar anchored to the wall. Some suction cup hooks, that I travel with always, and my kitchen towel is off the floor and within easy reach. The coffee table has been moved to the wall out of my way. Those that have been around me for the last few months, will appreciate the fact that the paper towel roll hooks also hold my cane in place, which will keep the noise of a cane falling over time and again to a minimum.
I am happy with my studio apartment on this safe street so near a fast-bus stop (SBS = select bus) giving me only 6 stops/10 minutes to the corner of the Dutch Permanent Mission to the UN, and an ordinary bus stop (meaning it stops every two blocks) right around the corner also. Some minor upgrades and repairs have been executed immediately since my arrival: a new square table to replace the very scuffed one, a standing light to illuminate that table, an electric water cooker, and a repair to the towel rod in the bathroom. It is Ikea-spartan with a Malm bed and Malm set of drawers, but it will do fine for my stay here.
My only remaining gripe is the fact that the refridgerator / freezer combo has doors opening to the right instead of to the left. Absolutely the wrong way. My hands are itching to unscrew the doors and changing their orientation, but alas I did not bring any screw drivers to do the work and the handy man who executed the other repairs had no idea what I was talking about. On Monday, the landlord will deliver some smaller stainless steel pans and I am good to go. Especially, since I am having dinner with the ‘Nederlandse Vrouwen Raad’ (Dutch Women’s Council) and the ‘Vrouwenbelangen’ (Dutch Women’s Rights organization) delegates this Sunday night anyway, those pans arrive right on time for me.
Yes, my stay here will be comfortable, especially since I was smart enough to pack my Glerup houseshoes making my feet all warm and toasty on the laminate floor.
Being prepared works not just for getting our points across at the Side Events and Parallel events at the UN. It makes for a better life while doing that too.
