busted door lock?

I am grateful today, not that my front door lock is acting weird and not always locking, seeming to be loose and ready to fall out.....but that I actually have money to pay for the new one, as I know that here in Ukraine when something breaks in the apartment it is the tenant who must pay for repair or replacement. The appropriate person has been called and now the wait for the repairman begins.

This whole broken lock indeed sounds a little too familiar, because busted door lock should have been my nick name in Mongolia.  In fact, some of the men who worked at my school dorm, asked me why I kept breaking my locks?!  Sad, but true, my front door of my beloved apartment/home for over 2 years in Arvaikheer, had the worst front door ever!

As per Peace Corps regulations, my apartment had two solid wooden doors at the entrance.  It was my outer door that gave me and everyone else so many headaches....This door was actually rather flimsy, and warped.  It had definetly seen better days.  Instead of lying flush against the door frame, it bowed slightly at both the top and bottom, like it was being unnaturally pinched in at the spot of the lock, ready to spring open once the lock was opened....Not exactly the way a proper door lock should be.....I always saw this as a big part of the problem, but could never convince any Mongolian that I was right.  (However, after I left and before the next PCV moved in, the door was replaced!  aha)

That and the shoddy cheap ass Chinese locks that were available in town..... in all of Mongolia... (that's a whole 'nother story, about the crappier Chinese wares being sold in Asia and other parts of the world, not the higher quality crap that is sold in USA)....

The door had a heavy duty lock in the center left hand side of it, but that one had long since been broken and the keys lost and never replaced.  Instead, a new lock hole had been bored under it, more toward the bottom of the door (no wonder the door was no longer flush), and a cheaply constructed flimsy lock replaced it.

The trick to locking and unlocking this door was all in the hip action.  You had to slam your hip just right into the door to push and hold it into place in order for the lock to connect.....oy.....I was never so glad to be rid of these door problems.....

But alas, this wonderous apartment of mine may have gotten the busted door lock vibe from me.... These doors are much more solid, straight and sturdy.  However, the lock has been sticking and my flate mate with her sprained/messed up wrist has a more difficult time than me with the door, it sticks and doesn't always work.....But on the bright side, I can afford to have it fixed:)