Taken care of business...

On Tuesday, I drove from Istanbul to Ankara and the very next day 6.a.m sharp, I hit the road for Konya. I arrived at the municipality a little after 9.a.m. and thankfully got my document that I needed without any trouble. Then I went to the Government Office related with deeds and told them I could not find the deed in mom's documents. They gave me a document to prove her ownership. By 10:30 a.m. I was done with the documents required for submission to the Inheritance Tax Office.

Then I went to the bank to which I had applied for lifting the lien on the Konya property. They had told me there were 28 outstanding checks by one of the previous shareholders and that constituted a risk for the bank so, they would not be able to lift the lien. My sister said there is a statute of limitations and they should be give me a list of the alleged 28 checks with their expiration dates. I had sent an e-mail to the guy and he never answered. So, it was time for a face to face talk. The lazy dud was sort of apologetic. he went downstairs to ops to get the list. Now, 27 of those checks have already expired. There is onşy one left to expire in November. He told me I could pay a certain amount of money for them to lift the lien. It is not a lot but, why would I pay them? I am in no rush to sell that property. I will wait till November and they will lift the lien. Victory!

I decided to visit the two cemetaries where my grandparents are buried. They both wanted to be buried next to their mothers. That is why they are in separate spots. I got some flowers and went to visit them. I told them we have just sent their daughter and they should not wait for anybody else in a looooooong time since we are now outnumbered by a lot!

The last thing on my agenda was to go see the house that belonged to my grandparents. I now own 5/6th of it and my sister owns 1/6. It is in real bad shape. I do not know what to do with it. It was kind of sad to see it like that. I have so many happy memories there. Sigh... Will think about it.

I was back home in Ankara by 6 p.m.

Yesterday morning, I went to submit the documents to the tax office. Then I went to visit mom and dad. Originally I was going to return to Istanbul today but, my sister and BIL are coming for the weekend. I have decided to stay and see them tomorrow. I will go back on Sunday.

So, today I went to visit old friends of my parents. They have called me very often during mom's sickness and they had just lost their older son. The husband is bed ridden. The wife is 82 and she is the only caregiver. They cannot afford to hire someone. Really very sad. I visited with them for an hour and then took the lady for grocery shopping. I told her to take her time and get whatever she needed to. I drove her back and carried the groceries inside. I am sure glad, I was able to be of service if only a little. 

Then, I visited old friends with whom I worked for the same company both in the US and in Turkey. They have a really nice, big garden. We spent the whole afternoon chatting away. It was such a good time. I think, this was a happy day in a very long time.

Now, I am ready to watch another episode of a Turkish show on Netflix with my BFF who lives in NY. The distance between us does not mean a thing. We are thankful for the technology available to us.

A Mango Brings Back Memories

Today, mom and I walked into the grocery store and saw a guy peeling mangoes. He offered us a piece and we bought one to bring home. I do not normally buy mangoes because, I cannot be sure of the ripeness. When they are cleaned, it is easier to pick one that is really yummy.

As for the memory; it is really kind of both stupid and funny. Many years ago, when I was working for  a large international company, my boss at the time was very keen on participative management. One day, he decided that all senior and middle management should get together on a weekend every 6 months or may be every quarter to talk about the status of zompany goals, new opportunities and play some games to encourage team work and such. He also said that, we should name these meetings and offered a poll for suggestions. Most people rolled their eyes and did not make a suggestion or made suggestions like "Quarterly Management Meetings" etc. Knowing that he would be upset about not enough people participating, at the last hour before the poll closing time, I  came up with: MANGO meaning Management Goes Off-Site.

Lo and behold, my boss loved it and found it very creative ?!?! Really? They were going to give me the gift of staying at a nice hotel over the weekend but, the place was too far away from where I lived and to me, it wasn't worth the effort. So, I suggested a gift card to my favorite bookstore instead. My boss was beyond pleased with that suggestion. I guess, most people would have liked the hotel stay better. I got my gift card and bought 6-7 books with it.

I am as creative as a fireplace log but hey, I won, didn't I?

Hidden Treasures

I have recently been digging into boxes of paperwork, file folders and etc. Dug out my grandfather's medical diploma and documents about his work as a medical doctor in Vienna Austria. I knew that I had those documents but, it has been years since I had looked at them.

Upon digging further, look what I have found:

These AAA TourBooks are from last century, 1991-1992. They are in mint condition (who cares?).

I immediately thought of putting them in the re-cycling bin, but since I will be traveling from upstate NY to Floria and back in November, I can make use of the parts where they talk about each city on my way to and from. I have decided to keep them.

I also found the following which I will definitely be keeping. They are also from 1990-1993 with the exception of Phantom of the Opera which is from December 1999. Forgot to take a picture of Miss Saigon Playbill. Been to Cats twice.

These things brought back many great and bittersweet memories and I got quiet emotional as I type this while listening to the thunderstorm outside. It is one of those days when you want to curl up with a blanket and hot cocoa by the window. I think, I will do just that.

I have also dug out several souvenir books and Museum Guides from the places I have been to both in Europe and in the US. They will no longer be in hiding. I will pack some books I have read, in the boxes and put them away, making room for this stuff on the upper, open shelves of my library so that, I will remember to pull one out and enjoy.from time to time.

Off I go to make my cocoa... Enjoy your weekend! Here is a video of Barbara Streisand who according to me is the best singer who sang "Memory".

UPDATE: After the thunderstorm, it is now beautiful and sunny with a gorgeous blue sky... Mother Nature!