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Now that I am in Greece, I think I know why I never wanted to come here before the Olympics. I have learned that everything here takes “five minutes”. At processing, the three Rusty Tools (tandem pilots Eric, Katie and Glenn) were held up for “five minutes”. My Timex works well...it read close to an hour and a half! Five minutes later, Greek time, we were at our new apartment. “Boy...” I thought to myself, “...a hot shower would be nice...” I was told it would take five minutes for the hot water to warm up. To put it lightly I have spent numerous times at the facilities maintenance operation center of the Olympic Village trying to get hot water in our apartment and have been told, “We will be over in five minutes”. Three days later, we now have hot water!
You drop laundry off in little bags, you come back to pick it up and they say it will be ready in “five minutes”. I am a quick learner. Tonight, I asked the laundry fella who was taking my order if my laundry was ready. He came back and said, “five minutes”. My reply was, “Is that tonight or tomorrow?”. He said, tonight at 10:30...by my Timex that is over 2 hours! But...I know, I am in Greece. So I am trying to do what the Greeks do. What is it that they do anyway...mislead you about time? I am learning what five minutes really is: some time later whenever they get around to it or whenever you come back and bug them.
Jason and I found out today that the service staff has been trained here at the Olympic Village to respond “five minutes” no matter what!
So...I would like to tell you about our new apartment here in the Olympic Village. There is a sign over my morning office seat which reads, “please do not flush toilet paper down toilet”. The plumbing here works like a gutter in Seattle with a month’s worth of leaves that have fallen and never been taken out of the gutter. The door knobs work extremely well. I would call them childproof and also adult proof if you don’t have a key to get in or out. On tile floors when the handles fall on the tile marble floor, they clang loudly. If we ever go to war with this country...I think we have NOTHING to fear.
I think I will go down and get my laundry now....as it should be ready.
After all it’s been five minutes. Just because I am just a rusty old tool doesn’t mean I can’t tell time! And that is all I have to say for now. And remember....no paper when you flush. Gotta go.
Update to the mintute: It is past 10:30 and ...no laundry. What a surprise. Told again it would be ready in ...you guessed it...five minutes! Oh well...will try tomorrow...I mean in five minutes!
- Glenn
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