Fuck lah. MCH

My life in the near term seems to have gone pear shaped. Turned balls up. Headed south. Gone belly-up. Went selling salted duck eggs.

Item 1a- internet connection renewal

The apartment’s annual internet bill is due (the previous one was paid by the landlord as we had not moved in yet). The annual fee is to the order of 1,500 RMB. However, the apartment lease, which expires in May, will not be renewed. If I cough up the money it will be a waste.

Item 1b- internet connection package

When I arrived at Shanghai, I asked if the apartment’s connection was a time-limited package. I was told no, so I acquired a router and set it up to be permanently connected, as any sane person would do.

Last week, a massive bill of 1,300 RMB arrived at the office. After some investigation by various people, it turns out that the connection package is actually a 30 hours per month package. Access after the 30th hour will incur a by-the-minute charge.

The company takes care of most of the apartment’s utility bills, so I’m not directly hit by the shocking bill, but the implication is that I can only get online for an average of 1 hour a day.

WTF.

Time to stay back at the office more :(

Item 1c- unavailability of internet connection

With my impending departure (refer to item 2 below), I will not be in Shanghai long enough to justify signing up for any internet package, so pretty soon the apartment will have no fucking connection.

Item 2 – impending departure from Shanghai

A reliable source has indicated that the company will dissolve the Shanghai branch, leaving me with two possible outcomes, both of which are distasteful:

a – retrenched

b – booted back to Tianjin

The dissolution will occur soon, although the directors may try to stretch it past Chinese New Year, according to the source.

Fuck lah. MCH.

Still, all is not gloomy and ranty; there are a few glimmers of joy to look forward to:

Item A – Jean’s visit

Jean will be dropping by Shanghai next weekend, and will hang around for 10 days. I’ve got leave for the duration too, so that should be an interesting week. Apart from participating in Shanghai’s glitzy retail market, we’re planning to take short trips to the adjacent provinces to observe the natives and take in the scenery.

*disclosure: in previous posts, the turning-on of the particle accelerator was an analogue for Jean’s arrival.

Item B – Chinese New Year break

I’ll be home!