This question is sure to raise many interesting arguments:
"Should the Bible be classified as 'Historical Fiction'?"
24 June 2007
You All
Well, it's 11:40pm on Saturday nigth & I find myself just watching the slideshow of pics beign displayed on the photo frame of everyone.
God I miss you all. I cant wait to see you guys next, you're all my family really & it's hard to be away.
Anyway, later peeps!
God I miss you all. I cant wait to see you guys next, you're all my family really & it's hard to be away.
Anyway, later peeps!
23 June 2007
Big Day Out - Beijing
Hey Peeps,
Today I did my first touristy-sightseeing and went to the Forbidden City, Tian An Men, Panzi Houtong and the Emperor St Market. It was awesome. As soon as I got to the Forbidden City I met these two dudes from Shanghai. They are both doctors, one an intern and one older with more experience.
They both spoke English and basically became my tour guides for Tian An Men, the houtong and the market area. It was really nice as I'd never have ventured as far as I did without them. The old dude knew heaps about Beijing but the younger one was visiting for his first time so he didnt know much. The only place I really did myself was the market st but due to the events of the previous weekend I was completely uninhibited and just had a blast bargaining etc.
I think the shopkeepers really enjoyed bargaining with me:
Anyway, I hope people are having fun back home. I always like to see emails from you all so get typing =) Catch yas later!
Pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8696598@N07/
Today I did my first touristy-sightseeing and went to the Forbidden City, Tian An Men, Panzi Houtong and the Emperor St Market. It was awesome. As soon as I got to the Forbidden City I met these two dudes from Shanghai. They are both doctors, one an intern and one older with more experience.
They both spoke English and basically became my tour guides for Tian An Men, the houtong and the market area. It was really nice as I'd never have ventured as far as I did without them. The old dude knew heaps about Beijing but the younger one was visiting for his first time so he didnt know much. The only place I really did myself was the market st but due to the events of the previous weekend I was completely uninhibited and just had a blast bargaining etc.
I think the shopkeepers really enjoyed bargaining with me:
- they invariably sent young women
- everytime they said "youre so smart/cute/etc" when trying to butter me up I just laughed at them and told them that I get that a lot, they need to say much more =)
- I really hammered them for price and wouldnt back down - but with a smile enjoying the game
Anyway, I hope people are having fun back home. I always like to see emails from you all so get typing =) Catch yas later!
Pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8696598@N07/
My Sister's New Bub
Hey peeps,
My sister Sarah has given birth to her and Josh's first baby - a 3.1kg cute-as-hell baby girl. Her name is Georgia Jane Bisson and she was born 9:09am 22-June-2007. Sarah had to have a c-section though as the baby was sitting too high or something. I dont really understand how but the cut was only about 8cm! Apparently the procedure was really rough though which sounds strange - like a nurse was really shoving down on her belly to force the bub through the hole - it sounds really quite interesting lol.
Anyway, I cant wait to meet her. Scary said that everyone in the families has been flitting about all day, and that she'll be in hospital until about Wednesday next week. I wish I was in Sydney for it, I guess we'll meet sometime soon. Apparently Josh was really shy to hold her incase he broke her or something so he actually held her after a few of the other women there lol, but I guess that's how we guys react to such small and fragile beings.
Welcome to the world Georgia, I can't wait to meet you! (beaming Uncle Jon).
My sister Sarah has given birth to her and Josh's first baby - a 3.1kg cute-as-hell baby girl. Her name is Georgia Jane Bisson and she was born 9:09am 22-June-2007. Sarah had to have a c-section though as the baby was sitting too high or something. I dont really understand how but the cut was only about 8cm! Apparently the procedure was really rough though which sounds strange - like a nurse was really shoving down on her belly to force the bub through the hole - it sounds really quite interesting lol.
Anyway, I cant wait to meet her. Scary said that everyone in the families has been flitting about all day, and that she'll be in hospital until about Wednesday next week. I wish I was in Sydney for it, I guess we'll meet sometime soon. Apparently Josh was really shy to hold her incase he broke her or something so he actually held her after a few of the other women there lol, but I guess that's how we guys react to such small and fragile beings.
Welcome to the world Georgia, I can't wait to meet you! (beaming Uncle Jon).
20 June 2007
Rolling the Roller
Hey ppl,
well, as some of you may be aware, I got majorly rolled last Saturday. I was in a really touristy area of Beijing that was recommended to me as a good place to be able to get something of quality for my -new- baby neice that's due late June. So I went to wangfujing (it's like a shopping area) and found something to buy her (I wont say until I've given the pressie) =).
Anyway, after a hot morning of wandering around I went to a tea house and decided that the whole "tea in China" thing would be cool. Well, evidently so did the tea house and they charged me like Y2030 for my afternoon's tea. That's water and leaves and it cost $350. And no, there was nothing 'untoward' about it - just water and leaves. The experience before I got the bill was cool though, a real cultural thig was happening and there was a waitress that did the whole tea-ceremony show thing and I really enjoyed the experience.
Anyway, when I got the bill I was like 'fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck', but as it seemed legit I paid (I had to use my c/c) and left for my hotel room. I mused over it a bit, complained to some ppl online and lived really cheap for a few days.
Then, I told the foreigner dudes at my work and they were all like "dude, that's FUCKED. you got rolled and that's obviously a scam.". They really forced the issue at me for a couple of days 'cause I was too embarrassed to return to the place to ask for my money back as I thought that I knew that it looked like an expensive place, but not that expensive, and that at least it was a learning experience. But the dudes were adament and said that arguing was an experience in China anyway so we piled in a cab today and headed toward the tea place.
Well, we didnt really expect to be too successful as once you've handed over the cash as a consumer here, you're completely reliant upon the vendor's morality. Once that moeny's left your hand, there's no consumer protection, nothing forcing anyone to give you what you've paid for - and I had paid the weekend gone.
We arrived at the tea house and Trevor (later) tells me that he knows more Chinese for arguing than anything else lol. He argues with them for about 30 mins in Mandarin and at the end, secured about an 85% refund. I'm stunned. He then tells me that as soon as he said that "I'll tell everyone here what you're doing" they caved and gave us money. That was our spot of luck really as if no one else was being scammed at the time, they'd never have given us a cent.
The really nice thing for me wasnt getting 85% of my money back though. Once I had the cash in my hand, I told everyone else there what was going down and induced a mass walk out without paying of all the people there. I really fucked with their jive and they can go to hell if I care. It apparently is a classic scam for foreigners but most of us dont have dudes at the office that:
a) they feel comfortable telling such things
b) have a Masters in Arguing in Mandarin
c) have the class to carry a refund through (VERY RARE here) then provide the opportunity to turn the situation back round
So, Chinese scammers can go to hell.
The interesting thing is that I expected that scammers would try to get me, but this situation, time of day, setting etc just took me completely by surprise. I think Westerners are spoiled at home by authorities that really clamp down on such shit and as a result really are too trusting. Not anymore for this chappy.
Anyway, that's my nice ending to a shitty story - those that rolled me:
a) paid me almost all my money back
b) lost lots of money when I proceeded to tell all the ppl there today
Mwahahahahahahahha! It was a good day.
well, as some of you may be aware, I got majorly rolled last Saturday. I was in a really touristy area of Beijing that was recommended to me as a good place to be able to get something of quality for my -new- baby neice that's due late June. So I went to wangfujing (it's like a shopping area) and found something to buy her (I wont say until I've given the pressie) =).
Anyway, after a hot morning of wandering around I went to a tea house and decided that the whole "tea in China" thing would be cool. Well, evidently so did the tea house and they charged me like Y2030 for my afternoon's tea. That's water and leaves and it cost $350. And no, there was nothing 'untoward' about it - just water and leaves. The experience before I got the bill was cool though, a real cultural thig was happening and there was a waitress that did the whole tea-ceremony show thing and I really enjoyed the experience.
Anyway, when I got the bill I was like 'fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck', but as it seemed legit I paid (I had to use my c/c) and left for my hotel room. I mused over it a bit, complained to some ppl online and lived really cheap for a few days.
Then, I told the foreigner dudes at my work and they were all like "dude, that's FUCKED. you got rolled and that's obviously a scam.". They really forced the issue at me for a couple of days 'cause I was too embarrassed to return to the place to ask for my money back as I thought that I knew that it looked like an expensive place, but not that expensive, and that at least it was a learning experience. But the dudes were adament and said that arguing was an experience in China anyway so we piled in a cab today and headed toward the tea place.
Well, we didnt really expect to be too successful as once you've handed over the cash as a consumer here, you're completely reliant upon the vendor's morality. Once that moeny's left your hand, there's no consumer protection, nothing forcing anyone to give you what you've paid for - and I had paid the weekend gone.
We arrived at the tea house and Trevor (later) tells me that he knows more Chinese for arguing than anything else lol. He argues with them for about 30 mins in Mandarin and at the end, secured about an 85% refund. I'm stunned. He then tells me that as soon as he said that "I'll tell everyone here what you're doing" they caved and gave us money. That was our spot of luck really as if no one else was being scammed at the time, they'd never have given us a cent.
The really nice thing for me wasnt getting 85% of my money back though. Once I had the cash in my hand, I told everyone else there what was going down and induced a mass walk out without paying of all the people there. I really fucked with their jive and they can go to hell if I care. It apparently is a classic scam for foreigners but most of us dont have dudes at the office that:
a) they feel comfortable telling such things
b) have a Masters in Arguing in Mandarin
c) have the class to carry a refund through (VERY RARE here) then provide the opportunity to turn the situation back round
So, Chinese scammers can go to hell.
The interesting thing is that I expected that scammers would try to get me, but this situation, time of day, setting etc just took me completely by surprise. I think Westerners are spoiled at home by authorities that really clamp down on such shit and as a result really are too trusting. Not anymore for this chappy.
Anyway, that's my nice ending to a shitty story - those that rolled me:
a) paid me almost all my money back
b) lost lots of money when I proceeded to tell all the ppl there today
Mwahahahahahahahha! It was a good day.
18 June 2007
15 June 2007
New office, street drinking etc
Well, my new office is moving! we're moving about a km or two away and it takes is a little away from the center of the CBD district (ChaoYang). However, the new office building is brand new and is about 2-3 times the size of the old one. One of the dudes here (Trevor, he worked in Canberra and knows Geoff [Hyper, from parties back around 1999/2000] as Geoff was his boss! small world) actually took it upon himself to do the interior decorating lol. I am going to go to check out the office tonight and also to try and find new restaurants - preferably with picture menus. When you go overseas to some place that doesnt speak English or use Latin characters, you'll appreciate picture menus =)
I'm living in a hotel atm as I had to get out of my awesome apartment now that we're moving etc. I am to look at new places on Monday at lunch so this hotel room is home for now. it's ok but I wouldnt write home about it (heh) - maybe 3 stars.
Last night I went with some people from the office to a place called "Schindlers" which was a german restaurant in the heart of the southern embassy district. The food was a realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly nice change as they have real sausages, schnitzels, saurkraut, cheesy-potatoe things and german beer. And it wasnt too expensive either. After that, we went to the 'Biscuit-Lady' who is this lady that maintains a shabby store-front on a corner near one of the dude's apartment buildings.
She mainly caters tothe migrant workers that live near her stand and as such the facilities were extremely basic. But, it was a fantastic night =) we sat on the edge of her shop front on rickety stools and drank 1.5 "kwai" (roughly, "bucks") longneck beers - which is about 20cents aus. they had a chu'ar (ckicken skewers dusted with arab spices and bbqd then and there) also just up the way which is tasty and half-kwai per stick, extremely cheap really. It's that sort of street-scape and experience that I was hoping to have and I'm glad that I've had it so quickly, however the dudes here were already locals there so that made it easier. I guess beer that cheap will always attract Aussies =)
Anyway, I'm going to go look at the new office then find some food somewhere. Also - My little sister is almost due for her baby - 28th of June - so I cant wait to hear that she has given birth without issue to a happy and healthy baby girl.
Until next time, cheers and have a good one!
I'm living in a hotel atm as I had to get out of my awesome apartment now that we're moving etc. I am to look at new places on Monday at lunch so this hotel room is home for now. it's ok but I wouldnt write home about it (heh) - maybe 3 stars.
Last night I went with some people from the office to a place called "Schindlers" which was a german restaurant in the heart of the southern embassy district. The food was a realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly nice change as they have real sausages, schnitzels, saurkraut, cheesy-potatoe things and german beer. And it wasnt too expensive either. After that, we went to the 'Biscuit-Lady' who is this lady that maintains a shabby store-front on a corner near one of the dude's apartment buildings.
She mainly caters tothe migrant workers that live near her stand and as such the facilities were extremely basic. But, it was a fantastic night =) we sat on the edge of her shop front on rickety stools and drank 1.5 "kwai" (roughly, "bucks") longneck beers - which is about 20cents aus. they had a chu'ar (ckicken skewers dusted with arab spices and bbqd then and there) also just up the way which is tasty and half-kwai per stick, extremely cheap really. It's that sort of street-scape and experience that I was hoping to have and I'm glad that I've had it so quickly, however the dudes here were already locals there so that made it easier. I guess beer that cheap will always attract Aussies =)
Anyway, I'm going to go look at the new office then find some food somewhere. Also - My little sister is almost due for her baby - 28th of June - so I cant wait to hear that she has given birth without issue to a happy and healthy baby girl.
Until next time, cheers and have a good one!
10 June 2007
KTV with Officemates
Hey ppl,
yesterday I went to KTV here which is almost exactly like the noraebangs in Korea except no one drinks. It's basically private karaoke rooms and the idea is that everyone has a blast murdering otherwise good music. My boss Francis and one of the developer girls Liyang are both really good and did several duets (at my boss's request, he's a performer lol). I got up and murdered "Bon Jovi: It's my life", "Elton John: Crocodile Rock", "The Doors: House of the Rising Sun" and a couple of others.
A word of advise - it's a lot of fun and you shouldnt be shy - give it a go! I wish there was some leg-opener beer or something to help 'loosen up' at the start but other than that it's such a great passtime.
Afterwards a couple of the foreigner ppl and a developer from my office and I went back to do more singing/murdering back at an apartment of ours and that was great too. We drank beer, crooned out Aussie classics from the likes of Crowded House and Jimmy Barnes and then went and had wicked sushi. I got thoroughly trashed and when I woke up this morning my apartment was plus a half-full magnum of sake that I walked home with lol.
Great night.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8696598@N07
yesterday I went to KTV here which is almost exactly like the noraebangs in Korea except no one drinks. It's basically private karaoke rooms and the idea is that everyone has a blast murdering otherwise good music. My boss Francis and one of the developer girls Liyang are both really good and did several duets (at my boss's request, he's a performer lol). I got up and murdered "Bon Jovi: It's my life", "Elton John: Crocodile Rock", "The Doors: House of the Rising Sun" and a couple of others.
A word of advise - it's a lot of fun and you shouldnt be shy - give it a go! I wish there was some leg-opener beer or something to help 'loosen up' at the start but other than that it's such a great passtime.
Afterwards a couple of the foreigner ppl and a developer from my office and I went back to do more singing/murdering back at an apartment of ours and that was great too. We drank beer, crooned out Aussie classics from the likes of Crowded House and Jimmy Barnes and then went and had wicked sushi. I got thoroughly trashed and when I woke up this morning my apartment was plus a half-full magnum of sake that I walked home with lol.
Great night.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8696598@N07
07 June 2007
China and visa and everything since my last post
Hey peeps, well it's been a few days since my last post and lots has happened since I left Sydney last week. I have received my work permit from China and subsequently the visa. I have actually left Aus for China and made it to Beijing. I have started my new job and have learned some Mandarin.
The second part of the visa issues was that after much disorganised muckign about and several well-'executed' pagan rituals, I got the work permit original delivered to Sydney and my Sister applied for my visa on my behalf and got it. It was a pretty good effort though to be fair. My sister was really the one that made it happen as without her I would not have been able to have the presence in Sydney as it was required.
Leaving Tas was REALLY hard Saturday morning, not just because of the heavy drinking all week, but it was really nice to say goodbye to those that I saw Saturday morning and at the airport. In many ways it started to sink in just who and whaat I was going to be leaving Saturday morning and I hadn't really felt anything about leaving until then.
The trip to Beijing was long and went Ltn - Syd - Brs - Bangkok - Beijing over 36hrs. I was pretty tired by the end as I didnt really sleep much - just the odd few minutes. Economy-class seats... Anyway I got to Beijing and getting through customs was piss easy due to the really awesome visa I now have. It's basically an unlimited one so I can come and go as I please which makes the effort required in gertting it seem ok. When I cleared customs I walked out and found that my driver had my name on a piece of paper and was waiting at the exit. He didnt speak any English so we just walked to the car and drove to my new place.
Beijing was having a bad polution day Sunday so I could not see the sun. It has happened again since Sunday and apparently not seeing the sun is pretty common here (due to pollution). I was not met by anyone from my office so I had a shit of a night really but I managed to find some random ppl that helped me out which was great and I made it tot he office the next morning ok.
My new office is pretty full on. It's really busy and ppl always look tired/stressed. Most ppl have at least some english and I have now started learning Mandarin with a dude twice a week so I will have plenty to practice in between lessons =) The culture seems to me to be really "gogogo" and I am sure that if I stick with it it'd be rewarding job-wise, really staying will come down to whether or not I like living here. I will stay at least until Kristy gets up here at the start of October, and I have to pray that I am not required to work at any time during the public holiday period.
So, now I'm starting to settle into a routine for work but it's only been less that one week. When I get confirmation that I will be staying in my apartment and not moving soon I will be able to unpack and settle a little more, so I think staying til October at the earliest would be the right thing to do. I have an 'ayi' who is an apartment cleaner but she also -apparently- irons for me and does the dishes. That's a big awesome point and I can see myself getting REALLY lazy, heh when I get home I'm either going to find a wife [sorry ladies =) ] or have to pay a cleaner lol. But yeah that's really cool.
The biggest issue here for me is not being able to effectively communicate with everyone. I have found that event the absolute simplest things become a real challenge and it frustrates me a shitload. I bought a phone card today using Chinese (hack) which was fullfilling to the max and I was like "YES - take THAT China! I used Mandarin to p0wn your street vendor" lol, you get the idea.
OH - and I have three new goals for my impact on this office. I want to:
Buh!
The second part of the visa issues was that after much disorganised muckign about and several well-'executed' pagan rituals, I got the work permit original delivered to Sydney and my Sister applied for my visa on my behalf and got it. It was a pretty good effort though to be fair. My sister was really the one that made it happen as without her I would not have been able to have the presence in Sydney as it was required.
Leaving Tas was REALLY hard Saturday morning, not just because of the heavy drinking all week, but it was really nice to say goodbye to those that I saw Saturday morning and at the airport. In many ways it started to sink in just who and whaat I was going to be leaving Saturday morning and I hadn't really felt anything about leaving until then.
The trip to Beijing was long and went Ltn - Syd - Brs - Bangkok - Beijing over 36hrs. I was pretty tired by the end as I didnt really sleep much - just the odd few minutes. Economy-class seats... Anyway I got to Beijing and getting through customs was piss easy due to the really awesome visa I now have. It's basically an unlimited one so I can come and go as I please which makes the effort required in gertting it seem ok. When I cleared customs I walked out and found that my driver had my name on a piece of paper and was waiting at the exit. He didnt speak any English so we just walked to the car and drove to my new place.
Beijing was having a bad polution day Sunday so I could not see the sun. It has happened again since Sunday and apparently not seeing the sun is pretty common here (due to pollution). I was not met by anyone from my office so I had a shit of a night really but I managed to find some random ppl that helped me out which was great and I made it tot he office the next morning ok.
My new office is pretty full on. It's really busy and ppl always look tired/stressed. Most ppl have at least some english and I have now started learning Mandarin with a dude twice a week so I will have plenty to practice in between lessons =) The culture seems to me to be really "gogogo" and I am sure that if I stick with it it'd be rewarding job-wise, really staying will come down to whether or not I like living here. I will stay at least until Kristy gets up here at the start of October, and I have to pray that I am not required to work at any time during the public holiday period.
So, now I'm starting to settle into a routine for work but it's only been less that one week. When I get confirmation that I will be staying in my apartment and not moving soon I will be able to unpack and settle a little more, so I think staying til October at the earliest would be the right thing to do. I have an 'ayi' who is an apartment cleaner but she also -apparently- irons for me and does the dishes. That's a big awesome point and I can see myself getting REALLY lazy, heh when I get home I'm either going to find a wife [sorry ladies =) ] or have to pay a cleaner lol. But yeah that's really cool.
The biggest issue here for me is not being able to effectively communicate with everyone. I have found that event the absolute simplest things become a real challenge and it frustrates me a shitload. I bought a phone card today using Chinese (hack) which was fullfilling to the max and I was like "YES - take THAT China! I used Mandarin to p0wn your street vendor" lol, you get the idea.
OH - and I have three new goals for my impact on this office. I want to:
- Make ppl smile more
- Make ppl be louder generally
- get ppl doing the 'thumbs up' thing
Buh!
30 May 2007
Visa - round 1
Hey ppl, well I have to say that I'm not entirely surprised that the "simple" last part of the drama that is my imminent employment in Beijing has turned out to be a nightmare :-)
It all started one fine winter's morn in beautifuh and cosmopolitan Sydney. The birds were out trying to catch worms in the dewy grass and there was almost no-one on the road as my sister and I headed into her workplace. There were runners jogging about and people were driving with courtesy and generally there was a feeling of optimism lingering in the air. We needed to print out the scans of my work permit documents that are required in support of my visa application and that was fine, nice and easy.
Once we had the print outs, we headed to the Chinese consul-general and grabbed a coffee as we were early. When I went to make the application I was rudely informed that I required yet another passport photo for yet another form but luckily there just happened to be a photo place on the opposite side of the road that did 1 minute prints especially for ppl like me. So that was done and I made my way back to the applications counter.
There, I was informed that the printouts were not in fact originals. Knowingly, I said to the clerk that I was aware of this and that they would indeed be enough to be able to support my visa - my company were very specific about this point. They then, equally knowingly and a little non-chalantly, informed ME that they would not accept them and that I would need to be sent the originals of the documents supporting my visa application. I said "Shit, I fly out Saturday!" and they said to get the company in Beijing to use DHL or something then, and that was that.
Then, I rang (not using a calling card) the HR dude in Beijing and he could not believe that my documents were not enough and he said he'd get the admin girl call me when she made it to the office (in 1.5 hours). So, my sister and I had to wait for an hour and a half for the admin girl to get into the office.
We made it back tot he consulate and by this time I knew that I would not convince her that my documentation was lacking. So, I just handed her to the consular officer and they spoke in their native tongue for a couple minutes. When I was handed back the phone she was completely irate and fuming but had to concede that I was indeed 'in the shit' by now.
Now, they can't guarantee that the documents will make it to my sister by 9am Friday morning and are trying to organise from Beijing to have a courier meet my sister in person at the Chinese consulate at 9am Friday to hand her the documents. DHL refuse to guarantee delivery prior to midday Friday (which is really a good effort if you ask me) which complicates things and Sarah needs to know when to be away from work, as it's a normal working day for her. I'm to be in Tasmania as I have to settle some things like my car's sale and saying goodbye to ppl so I cannot be here in Sydney indefinitely "until it's done".
So, what has been a battle every step of the way thus far continues to be so now and I'm beginning to seriously consider just not going. I think that even though I've resigned, sold up shop, said goodbye to ppl and am ready to leave the country, maybe it'd just be easier to get a job in Sydney :-)
Farken.
It all started one fine winter's morn in beautifuh and cosmopolitan Sydney. The birds were out trying to catch worms in the dewy grass and there was almost no-one on the road as my sister and I headed into her workplace. There were runners jogging about and people were driving with courtesy and generally there was a feeling of optimism lingering in the air. We needed to print out the scans of my work permit documents that are required in support of my visa application and that was fine, nice and easy.
Once we had the print outs, we headed to the Chinese consul-general and grabbed a coffee as we were early. When I went to make the application I was rudely informed that I required yet another passport photo for yet another form but luckily there just happened to be a photo place on the opposite side of the road that did 1 minute prints especially for ppl like me. So that was done and I made my way back to the applications counter.
There, I was informed that the printouts were not in fact originals. Knowingly, I said to the clerk that I was aware of this and that they would indeed be enough to be able to support my visa - my company were very specific about this point. They then, equally knowingly and a little non-chalantly, informed ME that they would not accept them and that I would need to be sent the originals of the documents supporting my visa application. I said "Shit, I fly out Saturday!" and they said to get the company in Beijing to use DHL or something then, and that was that.
Then, I rang (not using a calling card) the HR dude in Beijing and he could not believe that my documents were not enough and he said he'd get the admin girl call me when she made it to the office (in 1.5 hours). So, my sister and I had to wait for an hour and a half for the admin girl to get into the office.
We made it back tot he consulate and by this time I knew that I would not convince her that my documentation was lacking. So, I just handed her to the consular officer and they spoke in their native tongue for a couple minutes. When I was handed back the phone she was completely irate and fuming but had to concede that I was indeed 'in the shit' by now.
Now, they can't guarantee that the documents will make it to my sister by 9am Friday morning and are trying to organise from Beijing to have a courier meet my sister in person at the Chinese consulate at 9am Friday to hand her the documents. DHL refuse to guarantee delivery prior to midday Friday (which is really a good effort if you ask me) which complicates things and Sarah needs to know when to be away from work, as it's a normal working day for her. I'm to be in Tasmania as I have to settle some things like my car's sale and saying goodbye to ppl so I cannot be here in Sydney indefinitely "until it's done".
So, what has been a battle every step of the way thus far continues to be so now and I'm beginning to seriously consider just not going. I think that even though I've resigned, sold up shop, said goodbye to ppl and am ready to leave the country, maybe it'd just be easier to get a job in Sydney :-)
Farken.
25 May 2007
Final day at WACCO
Wow, it's finally here. I had been wondering how it would go - my last day at WACCO (... for a while). I've been with WACCO since late 2000 when I started out as an IT Trainee who knew absolutely nothing about IT or life in general. Then, joining WACCO was a big adventure and I remember the feeling of excitement and anxiety about whether or not I'd fit in, whether or not I'd be suited to IT work and where I would end up. Now, 6 and a half years later I am off on my next big adventure - China.
Things in my life seem to come in chapters and here I am at a time I am sure I'll look upon as the end of one chapter and the start of the next. I've started to reflect (possibly prematurely) upon my time at WACCO and MAN I've grown up here. When I started here I was 18 and very green to the world. Since coming here I've been through Uni, grown as a person both professionally and personally, been through two long-term relationships and their eventual demise and the divorce of my parents - not to mention the experiences with friends and my ciblings!
As I am set to leave Tassie and almost everyone and everything in the world that I hold dear, I am a little nervous but also excited. So begins the next chapter - one that I hope is full of life, of good experiences and people and one that I can look back upon when I'm older with pride. That I can reminisce about and smile and that will positively impact upon the next chapter in a way that my WACCO days have positively impacted upon myself to date.
Things in my life seem to come in chapters and here I am at a time I am sure I'll look upon as the end of one chapter and the start of the next. I've started to reflect (possibly prematurely) upon my time at WACCO and MAN I've grown up here. When I started here I was 18 and very green to the world. Since coming here I've been through Uni, grown as a person both professionally and personally, been through two long-term relationships and their eventual demise and the divorce of my parents - not to mention the experiences with friends and my ciblings!
As I am set to leave Tassie and almost everyone and everything in the world that I hold dear, I am a little nervous but also excited. So begins the next chapter - one that I hope is full of life, of good experiences and people and one that I can look back upon when I'm older with pride. That I can reminisce about and smile and that will positively impact upon the next chapter in a way that my WACCO days have positively impacted upon myself to date.
24 May 2007
Haiku conversations
Heh, one of the dudes here at the office and I have started communicating in Haiku when we need to email each other and it's fantastic. For those that aren't familliar with them, Haiku's are japanese poems that dont have to rhyme as we know it but have a 5 - 7 - 5 syllabic line structure.
Here's an example
haiku poems have 3 lines
structured 5, 7, 5
It's a really fun way to communicate with people and after a few goes I think you get into 'Haiku-mode' :-) A conversation that has just happened this afternoon was:
Kirk:
No haikus today?
Maybe all the syllables
Won’t be Japanese
Jon:
As I just got back
I feel a little sleepy
So I'll have a Coke
Kirk:
Good work grasshopper
The caffeine will do you good
Have a chocky too
Jon:
I'm reading comics
Penny arcade and others
"You wouldn’t get it"
Kirk:
I am sure you’re right
If it isn’t the Phantom
I would be confused
Jon:
Penny needed help
about some missing photos
they were never there
Kirk:
I am not surprised
She seems easily confused
By the simplest things
And so on ... :-) It's very stimulating.
Here's an example
haiku poems have 3 lines
structured 5, 7, 5
It's a really fun way to communicate with people and after a few goes I think you get into 'Haiku-mode' :-) A conversation that has just happened this afternoon was:
Kirk:
No haikus today?
Maybe all the syllables
Won’t be Japanese
Jon:
As I just got back
I feel a little sleepy
So I'll have a Coke
Kirk:
Good work grasshopper
The caffeine will do you good
Have a chocky too
Jon:
I'm reading comics
Penny arcade and others
"You wouldn’t get it"
Kirk:
I am sure you’re right
If it isn’t the Phantom
I would be confused
Jon:
Penny needed help
about some missing photos
they were never there
Kirk:
I am not surprised
She seems easily confused
By the simplest things
And so on ... :-) It's very stimulating.
14 May 2007
Visa B*&lsh@t
My god. Oh my god. I am in shock at the completely, trivially pedantic rejection of the validity of my latest revision of the medical report that I sent to Beijing last Thursday. The doctor stamped the form a little to the left of the expected area and as a result, the form has been deemed invalid. This means that I have now had to re-book to see my doctor again ASAP and will cost me another $60-70 by the time I've sent it to Beijing again.
Something about 'signs' lingers in the back of my mind. Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into :-) That, or I wish my doctor would fill out the damn forms exactly the way they were intended without taking liberties with their presentation.
Post Script: Big Thanks to the reception lady at my medical centre, for letting me leave without paying the consultation fee :-)
08 May 2007
Go the T'irds!!!
As some may already know, we the PKFC T'irds won on the weekend against Riverside. This is special for three reasons:
- we apparently haven't beaten Riverside -ever-
- we are now clear second on the ladder
- it put me as clear top scorer to date :-)
The game was touch-and-go at times toward the final whistle but we came back from a 2:0 first-half result to take the game 2:3. Once again, Chris had the strike of the match and continued to set the standard for scoring in style :-) This is also a good result as it shows that the training that many have been putting in each week is having a dramatic effect on the pitch.
Well done fellas, how much better do we all feel than this time last season eh.
http://www.footballfedtas.com.au/Competition/Generated/LadderNew/ND3.html
30 April 2007
Negotiations Finalised
Well, I accepted the Client Delivery Manager position with SinoCode today and am set to have my first day in the office in Beijing on the 4th of June 2007. It's all very exciting now and there's heaps to do - such as:
- have a medical for my visa
- let the real estate agent know when I'm leaving my flat
- organise mail re-direction
- organise power of attorney
- get rid of car & phone
- organise tax return for 2006/2007
- pack!
- buy new clothes, more luggage etc
It's kind of a scary yet exciting, as it's my first step into the world outside the very cumfy existance that I enjoy here. The people here; friends workmates and family all included, made it a tough choice to leave but I guess the internet and blogs/emails/VoIP et cetera have made the decision a lot easier. There's so much in the world to see and experience and it's high-time that I jump in and check it out :-)
P.S. I can't wait to try the food :-)
18 April 2007
Ruby on Rails
I'm just starting to get into web development using the Ruby scripting language and the Rails framework, and I think it's awesome. If you are interested in a nice and developer-friendly framework and language, RoR would appear to be a good choice. If you're familiar with PHP already you'll probably become comfortable very quickly as some of the features that made PHP great exist in a RoR app too - such as embedding dynamic generation of static code inside script processing. And you aren't limited to HTML - for instance you can embed AJAX too. I think for anyone interested in web dev it'll blow you away :-)
Oh - and it's all free, platform independent and open source - w00t. Check it out!
Oh - and it's all free, platform independent and open source - w00t. Check it out!
17 April 2007
Herro World!
Yay - this is my first post in my new Blog. I thought it was about time that I started this given my impending departure from the world as I know it. I intend to update regularly when I've left I'll be able to share my experiences with everyone :-)
So, that's enough text for now. More later.
So, that's enough text for now. More later.
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