got it!

Cross my fingers the reno will stick until at least five minutes after we sell the place, whenever that is.   

Things like not having outlets in the right places or having electrical wires that you can actually see confuses me....just put the wires inside the wall...and please please please give me an outlet in the kitchen. Non-central ac as well, but I know that isnt common everywhere

Wiring is a lot trickier when the walls are made of concrete (like most apartments here, I guess. Still ridiculous though, I agree.
Another issue? Drop ceilings hung like a meter lower than they need to be! I casually mentioned maybe hacking it out to the building maintenance guy when he stopped by, and he gave me this horrified look and a giant "X" with his arms. Took him like 2 minutes of terror-stricken squeaks before he could speak again. Hard no, apparently.
    I mean, c'mon dude, I'd put it back in!
Well, probably.
Putting stuff back is always harder than ripping it out, I've noticed.