Tuesday 12th July, 2016                  0000

And the painful wait continues.

I went back to the PSB the following day for the extension to my residence permit. Bonnie was there. She called Miss Yin who wouldn’t/couldn’t help because of course they aren’t hiring me next term but it begs the question “why would I be needing an extension if I was being rehired”?

Next she called Changzhou and of course they said they couldn’t help because naturally without accreditation from Beijing they can do nothing. Sitting there thinking maybe I needed to take a powder and go to another country, I waited for the result. Bless her, Bonnie told me to come back on the 28th with a couple of pieces of paperwork and she would give me a one month permit to remain. Considering the answer from Beijing may well come after my current permit expires I really do need it.

Since then I have been in the doldrums a bit. I have few options and yet I have many options but I am someone who wants to at least have control of my life and these days I lack the vitality to take up certain posts. I really can’t stand for hours on end any more and I certainly don’t want to work 40 hours a week with half of those being “office hours” twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do but fulfil a contract. More money or not, sod that.

Anyway. Today I am happy to report that this uni has paid up my expenses and once this month’s salary goes in I can have no complaint. I will not have any beef against them once that is done so if anyone ever gets in contact for a reference from me they will get a glowing report unless they are approaching sixty.

Joan and I went shopping. When we left RT Mart she wanted to swap bags because hers was heavy. When I packed the two bags I judged it so they would both weigh the same. So we swapped and she discovered mine was just as heavy. Women! I ended up carrying both.

Having dropped her back at home I went to the office for a couple and this time they indicated that tomorrow the shutters would be down. So I drank my last beers there and killed my last fly just before I left. The sadness bank is piling up deposits.

In seven hours I will be collected by car, as will Molly (wedding speech, Santa TV thing) to go for the final time to the little charity school in the mountains. Again that will be so sad.

Someone sent me a link to a site with the flooding which I rode through with water nearly up to my arse. I can’t get the picture any way other than sideways but it shows you the south gate where I went out and back in again.

http://m.sanwen8.cn/p/2ff1uQE.html