迷失的老美

Sorry for the long long long delay in updating… yes, it’s been a year.

In that time, I have accomplished most of my goals for 2009, and now it’s time to make some for 2010.

I am back in Beijing again, woohoo.  Came back On July 1st 2009, lived for 6 weeks in a hotel while waiting for my apartment to be ready to move in.  Unfortunately, it was not the apartment I actually wanted, but after SIX WEEKS and watching average rent do nothing but increase, there was no real choice.

I am now Chief Rep for Rockhopper in Beijing, I have 100% full and complete control over my residence permit and working papers as  well.  After last time, that seemed the prudent thing to do and I have effectively done it.

I am also now driving in Beijing… yes… in this insane traffic, I am now part of the problem  It’s not really all that bad, despite what it looks like.  People do amazingly stupid things, but as long as you keep your cool, stay fluid, and adjust, it’s all ok.

Jude moved out of LA shortly after I did (good riddance) and now she is up in San Fran with her guy.  So it looks like we both are living out the dream at long last.

In the time since moving here I have shed a solid 35 pounds and am looking to shed some more and get my body to where it should be…  yes, new years resolution, typical… watch it not happen.

Resolution for 2010: I am going to be building up more business for Rockhopper in China and try to jsutify the existence of the rep office apart from me avoiding paying taxes to the US and a higher standard of living (that is also far more secure) than I could get in the US.  This time it’s for good! No going back!

I am also in the process of getting my damn seafreight forwarded to my apartment, it’s been half a year and it’s starting to drive me insane.

Also, the big event worth noting… I finally beat Sallie Mae and forced a settlement! It’s really not all that difficult to force their hand into that situation and in this economy, it’s more or less the best thing to do.  Can’t delve into details here directly, but hit me up if you need advice.  Furthermore, hit me up if you need advice on any of the following:

Seafreight to China, Moving pets to/from US/China, Setting up a legal presence in Beijing, Market Research in China, Driving in China, or generally anything to do with living in or relocating to Beijing… over the years, I have managed to do most of the insane stuff and learned the ropes (while praying never to have to do it again for myself).

On that note, I am now driving in Beijing and the snowfall tested my skills with successful results.  It’s more or less similar to driving in LA, with a few significant differences.  Firstly, no signaling to be expected at all, people do not ever stay in their lanes.  White plates and black plates… might as well just let them do what they want to because they are never going to get a ticket of any kind either.  Tailgating is taken to an extreme and signage is more like “labeling” rather than useful information.  There are no standard interchanges and it’s all ad hoc flyover-style with the prudent information of “how the hell do i navigate this mess” being given last second.

Happy New Year and here’s to a successful 2010!

I would post more on this, but my host managed to get my IP blocked in China thanks to the shared server (I suspect the FLG site had something to do with that), but with a new fast VPN up and running, I’ll be posting more now