Settled?

The most common question I get asked these days is “Settled?”

Everyone seems to be genuinely interested to know whether I have settled into my new place, my very own apartment, a much-anticipated event that everyone in my circle knew about. Yes, I am living in the new place but feel far from settled.

It is exactly a month since we physically loaded the stuff into a truck and brought it over. In the weeks since that day, I have traveled to three cities, spoken professionally at multiple venues and opened more boxes than I care to count. I have found household help; someone to deliver the daily paper, milk and even drinking water. I am struggling with teething troubles that are unique to first-time occupants, doors that don’t close, faucets that don’t have water and sinks that drip incessantly. An army of people walks in each day, electricians, painters, carpenters, miscellaneous hangers-on, building manager, his assistant and his helper. Most leave behind a trail of dust in their wake.

Staying in a building that is only partially occupied makes for very noisy living. There is all kinds of carpentry work going on each floor, sometimes the elevator works, at other times the generator backup forgets to turn on. There is no broadband internet connection and no landline phone, but we have cable TV! I don’t know the location of the nearest tailor or doctor or bus route. There is so much about which I know so little.

But what makes all this bearable is one helpful neighbor who lives across the corridor. Their friendly granddaughter walks in fearlessly and engages us in conversation. Uncle and Aunty are eager to share local information. As each day goes by and darkness sets in earlier each evening, I see the number of lights in the balconies increase with every moving truck that unloads its contents. Men, women, kids, grandparents, entire families enter the brand new building, hoping to make a home in a tiny part of it. There is chatter, the shrill scream of excited children, the whoosh of bicycles, the ringtones of the mobiles, garlands on doorsteps, wind-chimes in windows, symbols of life.

Life is change and change signifies movement. Nothing represents life better than this constant shifting, adjusting, moving… Settled? Not really.