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I AM NO LONGER MAINTAINING THIS WEBSITE3/20/2007 There's something in the airI read in the newspapers this week that despite the promises by the local government of Gunagdong province (where I have lived and breathed for the last 14 months) to clean up the environment, the province recorded its worst air pollution in decades. Last year, smoggy days were up by 20% and ACID RAIN; I didn't think it truely existed, up by 74%. This is a province who's leaders want half of its towns to reach "model city standards" by 2010 whatever that means!!
Now admittedly these repots are based around Guangzhou; one of China's main industrial business cities but it is just 2 hours drive from shantou and in those terms a 2 hour drive is just round the corner!!
The smoggy atmosphere has seen a sharp increase in the number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases. Amazingly the number of sunshine hours in the province also decreased by almost 10% on last year which is pretty scary really... I'm glad I'm going home soon!!
Because of industry and vehicle emissions the frequency of acid rain surged a huge 74% on last year so I have to admit I'm pleased to be leaving before the rains come again!!!
3/3/2007 I sold my flat!!Wow, last week was Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) so I headed home for the last time prior to moving back home for good. I felt that with everyone in China celebrating with family and friends it would be a great time to get home and spend some time with mine too.
The last couple of months I've been thinking a lot about whether to sell my flat or not and figured I'd decide while I was back in UK. As it happens, the last time I was home I had some "water" problems from the flat above mine so I had to contend with water damage to both the kitchen and the bathroom so as I was sitting in the airport in HOng Kong I was thinking that I could spend a few days of my home trip to repair the damage and decorate where necessary so that when I came back home for good in the beginning of April the flat would be in a suitable condition to sell if I decided to do so.
Anyway, to cut to the chase things moved faster than I would ever have expected but hey, if the time is right then it's right!!
I flew into Heathrow on Saturday morning. On Saturday afternoon I had been to see a couple of potential properties but nothing really stood out to me. When Sunday rolled around I went out and picked up a load of decorating gear and other bits and pieces to fix my flat with. When I got home I couldn't be arsed to paint so I just sanded down the ceilings and then left it and headed out to watch the footie.
By the end of Monday I had redecorated both rooms and that afternoon I had been visited by 2 estate agents to value the property which went surprisingly well. That same evening I had been to see a house that I really liked but decided to see it again on Saturday morning to get a second opinion and drag my Mum round to see it.
So nothing much really happened on Tuesday as I went to the office. On Wednesday morning I put my flat on the market and within 2 hours I had bookings for viewings for that afternoon and into the weekend. In fact, by about 6pm on Saturday my flat had ben viewed by over a dozen interested people. On Saturday morning I went to visit the house again which I had liked as well as a few others but to be honest they were not a patch on the one I had my eye on so I put in an offer. After a couple of hours of negotitation I had an accepted offer on the house I wanted to buy and the girl I was buying from had an offer accepted on a vacant property that she was buying. Great!! So now I am in a position where I can go ahead and buy with no upper chain and all I had to do was sell my flat.
Monday morning rolled around and I was greeted at about 9.30am with a call from the estate agent informing me of an offer on my flat. It was a little lower than I expected but by the middle of the afternoon we had agreed a selling price and I confirmed the sale.
So just to recap... on Wednesday afternoon I put my flat on the market and within 3 1/2 working days I had sold it and bought a new place and with no upper or lower chain!! It really can be done!!
I have to confess that when I was sat in the lounge at Heathrow I took some time out to just go back in my mind and figure what had just happened in my quick 1-week visit home and it all took me by surprise I have to say.
The surveys are all in hand, the searches are being done and the solicitor is spending my money so with a little more luck on my side I could be in my new house very soon after I come back from Hockey Tour in Prague over Easter.
Now, making sure I keep my priorities right... I better start planning a house warming party!!!
PS - If you're planning to sell your house you could do worse than using Your Move (www.your-move.co.uk) as they were fantastic!! Friends or Fakes....?Fake Friends & Real Friends FAKE FRiENDS: Never ask for food. REAl FRiENDS: are the reason that you have no food in your fridge. FAKE FRiENDS: Call your parents Mr/Mrs REAl FRiENDS: Call your parents DAD/MOM FAKE FRiENDS: bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong. REAl FRiENDS: Would sit next to you sayin "Damn ... we fucked up... but that shit was fun" FAKE FRiENDS: never seen you cry. REAl FRiENDS: cry with you FAKE FRiENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back. REAl FRiENDS: keep your shit for so long then they forget it's yours. FAKE FRiENDS: know a few things about you. REAl FRiENDS: Could write a book about you with direct quotes from you. FAKE FRiENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing. REAl FRiENDS: Will kick the whole crowds ass that left you. FAKE FRiENDS: Would knock on your front door. REAl FRiENDS: Walk right in and help themselves to the tv remote FAKE FRiENDS: Are for awhile. REAl FRiENDS: Are for life. FAKE FRiENDS: Will take your drink away when they think you've had enough. REAl FRiENDS: Will look at you stumbling all over the place and say "Bitch, drink the rest of that you know we don't waste that kinda shit. FAKE FRiENDS: will talk shit to the person who talks shit about you. REAl FRiENDS: Will knock them to fuck out 2/21/2007 Never gonna happen!!Beijing manners 'getting better'
The anti-queue jumping campaign is still going on The manners of people in Beijing have improved following a campaign to end anti-social behaviour ahead of next year's Olympics, researchers have said. A People's University of China study found rates of spitting, queue-jumping and littering had all fallen since the end of 2005, Xinhua news agency said. But the study's author said Beijing still had plenty of room for improvement ahead of the Olympics. The city has already sent letters on etiquette to four million residents. The authorities have also held campaigns encouraging people to smile and wait in line. These efforts will continue right up to August 2008 when one-and-a-half million visitors are expected to attend the Olympic Games. 'A lot to do' The study said a "civic index" measuring good behaviour had improved by 3.85 points and now stood at 69.06. The authorities have set a target of 72-78 points to be reached by the games. "The government and citizens still have a lot of things to do to improve their public behaviour," Xinhua quoted Professor Sha Lianxiang, who headed the study, as saying. A campaign against queue-jumping was launched on 11 February in the city, under the slogan: "It's civilised to queue, it's glorious to be polite." Thousands of volunteers went out on the streets to try to persuade people to wait in line in order to present a better image to visitors. Hundreds of people gave clenched fist salutes to pledge their allegiance to the campaign. The campaign will take place in Beijing on the 11th day of every month from now on. |
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