Lack of sleep and more KTV

I didn't sleep a wink overnight, and worse, there's been no internet at the house since yesterday. There was no connectivity whatsoever from the plug in the wall and I thought at first that the line outside had been cut as there is a lot of work going on in this block. The block is pretty new and a lot of apartments haven't even had work started on them, but the ones that have emit sounds of hammers and electric drills all day long (including Sundays). I don't know if I could get used to a quiet Pingguo now....

Anyway I then got concerned that maybe the internet supplier had got wind of the fact I was using the connection for more than one computer and that maybe this wasn't allowed. Every Chinese house I've been in has just one computer, constantly online - I've never seen a home network except the ones I've created while living here. Then I feared that maybe I had been browsing stuff I shouldn't have such as BBC News (not blocked this year). I asked A Heng to try and sort out the problem and he said he'd call the company tomorrow.

I'd visited the house-selling place we bought our place from a few days ago, and the lady there said that we would be able to pick up the keys on Sunday. I'd given her our contact numbers but rather than wait to be called, Tan, Xixi, Lin Hong and I went there at around 10am and found there was already a number of people there with the same intention. It was the first time keys were available for anyone in the block of I guess 200+ apartments, so we wanted to get there early to avoid queues. It was quite disorganised and Lin Hong helped us a lot by doing most of the queueing and with the paperwork. This was the time of the extra expenses I hadn't been told about such as electricity and water connection fees, and various other taxes. Tan had said it would be a total of 4000 kuai. But when the paperwork came it looked more like 6000 kuai. I asked for an explanation and was fobbed off with some bollocks. Then it actually transpired that it was only 2000 kuai as there was a 2000 reduction because the place was delayed in being built (by 6 months!), and there was a further 2000 kuai reduction as when the finished property was measured it was 0.7 of a metre squared smaller than the official size, and you pay by the metre squared. I didn't argue.

Lin Hong did the queueing and paid via Tan's bank account, so we finally had some paperwork that we could take to the next floor, where a further queue awaited us to actually have the keys handed over. We were given a set of five front door keys, plus two keys that Tan described as ones we should give to the workers who will be doing the decorating so they can get in. I didn't really understand the difference between the two sets, though I'm willing to believe it makes some sort of sense. Maybe you can change a setting in the lock when all the decorating is done and from then on those keys won't work...I'll try to get a straight answer but I won't hold out much hope as this is China.

Well at least the lifts were working so we went up to see the house. One issue though - 14 (our floor) is considered an unlucky number in China (it sounds a bit like "death"), so our address is 15A. I asked what floor we were on and the girls said "15A", so what did we see on the buttons in the lift? 13, 14, 15, 16 etc., I asked which floor then and they looked a bit sheepish as they didn't know. Ha. It transpired that it was indeed the 14th floor, but that our address is 15A (all other floors' addresses begin with the floor number). I foresee a lot of confusion here - I hope the post just arrives in a box at the bottom of the building...it's going to be difficult explaining to people that it's 15A, 14th floor...

 

First tour of our new house, minutes after being handed keys

 

View from the main balcony to the guang chang and below

We don't get a great view of the guang chang, but it could be worse...

It feels rather high up

I texted A Wu to tell him I hadn't slept but that didn't stop him telling me we were going to play badminton in the afternoon and he kept calling while I was doing house stuff to ask if I was ready yet. I eventually relented but explained I needed a pair of trainers so off we drove off with Xixi to the pedestrianised area where his friend's sports shop is situated. I tried on a pair of 361 degree brand leather trainers that were quite comfortable, but then I saw a much lighter pair that took my fancy. I asked to try them on but the young lady said they weren't as good quality. I looked at the price and saw they were 40 kuai cheaper but I wanted them and got her to bring them anyway. They were indeed extremely light and comfortable so I took them. 200 kuai but a third off due to A Wu's discount card. He got himself a top for 100 kuai that I paid for as he's paid for most stuff so far. We got to the badminton place to find it was closed for lunch (good planning). So we waited around at a KTV bar opposite the sports hall. It was a horrible dark place, eerie as there was music playing and a couple of people singing - I think it was the staff relaxing as no-one does karaoke in the afternoon, do they?

Xixi wanted to wander around upstairs and we found a disgusting big room that had not been tidied from the previous night's debaucheries. There was a score of tiny beer glasses, still full, tissues strewn everywhere and a stench twice as bad as any English pub smelt even during the days of smoking. I couldn't even find a clean tissue to wipe Xixi's dripping nose, but while looking noticed a straw and what looked like the remnants of some white powder next to it that Xixi nearly touched. I immediately grabbed her and took her out and downstairs from the filthy pit. Luckily the people had arrived to open the hall, but Xixi would not let me play at all - she would run around on court with me rendering it too dangerous to play seriously. Really she wanted her own racquet, and to play with me, so we found our own piece of space and spent 20 minutes with me throwing her the shuttlecock while A Wu and his friends played on. After a while I had a phone call and said I needed to take Xixi to go and sleep, when in fact it was me.

I did manage about three hours' kip from 4-7pm though did not feel like going out to KTV...but A Wu had insisted because all the big bosses would be there...he likes to show off that he has an English friend but it gets trying at times. The celebration was ostensibly for A Wu's birthday (from three weeks' earlier), and although I got there at 9pm sober, the other "bosses" trundled in at various stages of drunkenness. At least there was some football to watch. I gan bei'd as little as I could and joined in a bit of the singing and dancing but it's not fun with little sleep and a still dodgy tummy. I made my excuses and left by midnight, by which time people were throwing the cake into each others' faces which may or may not be part of the culture... A Wu rang me 10 minutes later when he realised I'd left but by then I was home and free. Got to sleep by half midnight.