No, not a late night, just doodling before leaving for the bus.
The women who work in supermarkets here really get on my wick, always have done. You want Lux soap they will try to sell you something that costs thrice, you want Anchor butter they will try to get you to buy President, you get the picture. They are worst of all in the booze section.
Yesterday I went shopping, purely this time to get some plonk and buns to have my hot dog sausages in for dinner. The wine I have latched on to here costs 14.5y and although a tad insipid is perfectly quaffable - and cheap. Today it was on offer at 9.9y a bottle so instead of buying 3 bottles I loaded the trolley with 6. The assistant must be a screw loose, for she hurried over to me and tried to get me to buy the same brand but costing 18.5y a bottle. Sure, I have had it and it’s ok but am I really going to change my mind and pay double?? Just the same as in Chizhou (they gave up on me in the end) they know by now I use a bottle a day and always it is the same type. I’m not sure if the wine witches or the clothes chuggers are worse.
I left my laptop on all night downloading and was dismayed to see when I woke that I had no internet, I really thought I had found the problem. Actually I may well have, for evidence suggests that the whole campus was out until 1400. Since then (or at least until I went to bed) I have remained connected. This afternoon the IT man is bringing me a new, long cable so I can lodge the router where it was before. Fingers crossed.
But that means Brenda acted on my email of complaint, ergo doubtless words have been had with the bus driver as well. That could be sticky. Cutting my nose off to spite my face springs to mind as to what others may think but I am seriously considering boycotting the afternoon bus entirely. Granted it would mean I would leave earlier to take public transport and get home later but I would be in control of whether I was on time for work or not. It would cost me 32y a month. Or for half of that I could take the bus in but bugger off when I finish instead of waiting for 50 minutes only to be possibly confronted by a herd of wildebeest scrambling to get a seat as happened on Tuesday. I have until tomorrow to decide.
This afternoon I have the girls coming and I think David. The ham needs liberating. If I have time after class I may try to make cheesy biscuits, the recipe looks simplicity itself but when it involves me and pastry anything can happen. Suzy posted a letter to the UK for me this afternoon, it was not without difficulty because two post offices demanded to know what was in the package and so she left. I will not say what the contents were other than to say they were quite innocuous and definitely legal but a couple of jobsworths decided they were forbidden. Hopefully the envelope is now winging its way to Blighty and Suzy will get her reward when dinner is served.
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Well even if I say so myself, tonight’s ham was the best I have ever made. The reason was because rather than simply boiling, I boiled for a while and then honey roasted it. The trick was in being adventurous by not overdoing it. It was moist and melted in the mouth (before it has always been a touch on the dry side), everyone said they loved it and we live and learn. Ham courtesy of ingredients sent from Doubletree Hilton in Shenyang! Cheersn and thanks to Steve Magor, the best Hilton group GM I know! The only one too but forgive the unashamed plug as he is from my home town and an old and dear friend.
Earlier I was waiting for the internet man who I thought was coming wit a new cable. The old one clearly wasn’t working and I had proved that by using my own cable brought from Chizhou. No, he decided to lop off the ends and fit new plugs. That didn’t work, so he then used some gizmo to test connectivity or whatever and discovered the wire (I assume) was faulty. Then he summoned a teacher to translate.
Someone has hacked my internet account. Should I care? I don’t pay for it, all I want is to get or stay online. Not my fault after all. With that, he buggered off saying he had someone else to see. Great, I had no internet again! Luckily my wifi that I had adjusted the other day got me back online and reconnected after he left. Phew.
I had a frantic afternoon trying to prepare the meal (including the cheesy biscuits) and also in vain going to the post room to see if my UK debit card had arrived (it hadn’t of course) but I was on track for eating at about 1730 because they had said they would arrive at five and of course they came shortly after four!
Meantime I thought I would use my time to make another twenty sausages before the skins went bad and this time found a way to not only do it efficiently but also manage to sit down in the process. The next time I open a packet of casings there will be none wasted although I will have arms like an orang-utan with the weight of mince I will need to carry from BHG. Christmas party is now set for Christmas Eve and now I know I can feature bangers.
The Branston went down very well. The biscuits just a little and although they taste very cheesy I can’t help but think there must be a better recipe.
Afterwards I showed them Watership Down and then played some music. At 2100 there was knocking on the door. Who the hell would be visiting me unannounced at that time? A man and a woman (she spoke English so I assume she was along as interpreter). Could I use my wifi? Yes, listen, the music is on the internet. I couldn’t say YouTube because that would betray my use of a VPN.
They wanted to investigate and I was beginning to wonder what the hell I had started with my constant complaints about the internet. It transpires that now I am the ONLY person in the entire building who is actually able to use wifi!! Someone has hacked the university site. I don’t think I am under suspicion and don’t care if I am. I have no idea how to hack and anyway I had two weeks of internet hell. I’m all right now Jack.
I reckon someone outside the university is creaming off free access.
Oh and my complaint about the bus? Sorry, it’s normal. Well not to me it isn’t. at least now I have a means to make my own choice. That may invoke my Conway training at being a tighthead prop! Or not. If others are going to be rude, I can do that better.
It snowed for a couple of hours this morning and it was damned cold. The problem was my home felt pleasant so I only used the lucky jacket - if it wasn’t cold inside then it couldn’t be freezing outside.
How wrong could I have been??
I was pizzletwisted waiting for the bus. The classroom and school were cold too. Oh how I wished I had put the coat on! When I got home and opened my door I was surprised to find the flat wasn’t freezing despite outside being Siberian. They must have turned the central heating on (albeit low) last night. The radiators are just warm enough to make it pleasant. Hence I left with a false sense of climate this morning. I won’t repeat the mistake tomorrow.
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