Lifestyle Blogs (2,470)

can identify any number of corporate logos

cannot identify leaves from trees in their own garden

Of course their future progress will depend more on knowing where to go to buy what, than on knowing an oak leaf from a maple one

I horrified a pupil today by saying milk came from cows. Ew, she said, no, it comes from bottles. Yersssssssss but ...

Anyone here ever milked a cow, even once
Lifted a hen to take an egg from her nest
Dug up potatoes
Said boo to a goose with its wings out and neck outstretched as it rushed up hissing

I know lots and lots of us have groomed horses

My bank in Spain will shortly have the technology to produce the details of a payment – not just that I bought at a supermarket, but the copy of the sales slip. Woah!

Maybe not that efficiently, since they had the wrong retailer listed against the payment but the PDF option promised ‘soon’.

When my daughter visited recently she brought UK bank forms for me to change my address, and took them back with her. A week later when I tried to transfer funds to my euro card, which is operated through a completely different bank, it was declined because my address had changed. No problem, I could create a new account with correct address linked to the same card, but

When I logged in to do my UK tax return HMRC said “right, you earned this much from this employer, and this was the PAYE deducted. Then this much through the temp agency, and this was the PAYE deducted."

Not complaining, since the P60 from the temp agency has never caught up with me and I was intending to show it as untaxed income rather than faff around (not a big amount) but has anyone else noticed Big Brother is keeping much closer tabs than before?

So far it has been helpful but . . .

I just seen the forecast for my area and we are going to get a dump of snow. For anyone unsure, a blizzard means heavy snow and high winds thats sustained for a certain amount of time. May lose the power so I'm getting my interneting done now lol.

This is the start of the time of year when the snow really starts here, over the next 2 - 3 months will be active weatherwise. That means lots of shoveling

Lots of choices, but hear me out on this...

Work hard all year and relax on the last day.
Be a go-getter and start off the new year running.

_or_

Work hard to finish off the year and be a slacker on the first day.

_or_

Slack off on the last day of the year and slack off on the first day of the new year.



Some of my neighbors celebrated the new year by playing music until 4am.

If we were happy with what we had, why would we want change? Why would we need more? I saw an article ticking readers off for wishing people a happy new year.

The explanation was simple economics – if you want people to buy what you are selling, make them unhappy with what they have. They won’t buy a new phone, a new laptop, watch this TV show, until you’re preaching don’t Don’t DON’T be left behind, out of touch, out of the loop

Photoshop pictures to make them worry about their physical flaws, and watch your sales of anti-aging moisturiser soar, your body trainers and diet experts hop, your plastic surgeons nip and tuck, your dentists grin whitely. Even tattoo parlours are busier than they’ve ever been because not to have a tattoo is OMG just dead.

Guilt, discontent and fear are the greatest salesmen on earth. Make people aware of abuse to others, to animals, to the environment, and the money pours in. Make them worry about immigration, and the votes pour in to those politicians saying they can stop it.

To be happy with our non-upgraded existence, comfortable with our messy human selves, content with the way our lives are unfolding, would be very good for our health and wellbeing but would not suit politics or business at all.

Sod it, I’m still trying for a happy 2019 and in the face of political correctness, wishing you one too.

I would argue in so many ways it cannot.


....even if the single parent was home 24/7 to provide a parental figure in the child's life when it was needed.

....even with two parents in the home...quality parental guidance seems to be fairly rare

....if no quality guidance

....equals questionable future paths


I have recently talked with so many people who just have outright hate in them...I feel bad for them...but, it is all they know.

Like I heard recently with George H. W.'s funeral, "Hate corrodes the container it is carried in."

If only these people could have a better way of dealing with their negative emotions.

..anyway...just a thought.

Had no destination
No cargo
Free passage to hundreds of lost souls
Never sailed
Nothing happened
Except people constantly join the voyage but no one ever disembarks
Even in death they walk around the decks peering in portholes, moaning and seeking solitude and acceptance. ..


....



.....




.............

On Dec 23rd one of my Chinese pupils did his internet class on the move in a Beijing supermarket with Jingle Bells playing audibly in the background (surreal, but hey, he likes his English classes THAT MUCH). Although I don’t usually ask, because I know most of my pupils aren’t Christian, I did ask today how his Christmas had been. Awful, he said, his teacher had not only given them all extra homework, they had an exam as well. His mother told him Christmas is now illegal and their celebration was extremely private. Then he wanted me to tell him about my turkey and Christmas pudding, um, didn’t have either of those but on the bright side, I didn’t have any exams . . .

So I looked it up and yup, China, which probably provided most of the presents we all exchanged, cracked down on Christmas this year. But – but – Jingle bells?

With a cynicism well ahead of his age (he’s 10) he said it was just to make more money . . .

The Guardian confirmed in some cities citizens were ordered not to celebrate the holiday. In Langfang all Christmas decorations had to be taken down, and shops were forbidden to sell Christmas-themed goods. In Changsha, schools were directed not to celebrate ‘western festivals’. Although citizens are allowed to practice Christianity, as one of the 5 religions officially recognized by the atheist government, they can only do so inside the designated premises. It isn’t about attacking Christianity, though, as much as about promoting traditional Chinese culture. In Beijing shopping centres were still decorated on Christmas Eve and the holiday is a shopping event with sales and Santa Claus available for photo events.

So Santa has a life and following of his own which has nothing to do with religion – but China is now resisting even Santa.

Rizla? I did look to see if you had blogged about this first before I posted this blog . . . I'm not criticising China's attitude, btw. I just found it (a) ironic that the country that provided so many gifts and decorations doesn't approve of the festival and (b) odd that the orders only came out after shop decorations had already been put up. Mind you, in some places, that means October or November

Seven years ago, I started working for a company that was 40 miles from my home. Nearly all highway miles, I've tolerated bad drivers and never ending road construction. With no traffic and obeying the speed limit, it's around 50 minutes one way, door to door. On a bad day it's more than 90 minutes to reach the office.

Except for the crazy drivers, I actually enjoy driving. Unless I were a professional driver getting paid to be on the road, it shouldn't be part of my career. I try to optimize my travels and visit projects before I get to the office, but that's not always possible. Sometimes, I have meetings at office first, then I travel out on appointments.

When I started this job, I owned an old Toyota Celica and after 220,000 miles I bought a new Hyundai Veloster in 2014 that's past 125,000 miles and the 4th set of tires.

My first choice was to purchase a house near the office, but that was totally out of my price range. Then I considered renting an apartment, but I didn't want to walk away with nothing to show for my efforts. That got me to condo shopping as that is the least expense to make things work. My wife had an apartment in China and was fine with that lifestyle. While there are lots of freedoms with a house (and no Homeowners Association) that would be traded for someone else maintaining the place but I would have to accept a list of 'cannot do' this or that, typical with condo living.

Shopping on and off for two years got accelerated in the last 6 months. Although house prices are rising, I found that the units I viewed usually were sold and quickly taken off the market. The last agent I dealt with has more sales than all the others combined and I decided to go with her. She was very helpful in making a purchase.

What I got was someone who already printed reports for the units we planned to visit and actually knew something about each one and not reading details from their cellphone like the other agents I met. Mentioned in previous blogs, the last one I saw was matched more of the conditions for a purchase. For example:
Price range, less work needed to be able to move in, no one had died in the unit, bedroom was on the east side and away from the heat of the afternoon sun, easy access from the entrance gate, laundry in the unit and not community coin laundry.

I made an offer, negotiated a bit, placed a deposit. Approved by the mortgage company and the homeowners association, I was cleared to move ahead. The home inspection showed no leaking roof and no trouble with the appliances. That said, I coughed up the money and met with a cashier's check for the closing.

The sellers had all their furniture and belongings removed the day before the closing. I arranged to have utilities turned on in my name. They left me a bar of soap in one bathroom and a bottle of water in the refrigerator!

The purpose of this blog is to track my progress with the renovation and document the pitfalls as well as the successful moments.

Struggling to squeeze in breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, supper and a small cup of hot cocoa before bed. #ShortestDay