h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Crystal balls always sounded like a bad idea to me.

I mean, they could get broken in the heat of passion....

and that would be a dreadful shame: thumbs could get hurt!

How did you cope with the red tape here? It's driving me spare.....

I went home...! Yes it is awful isn't it? In my day it was also a very corrupt society too (apologies to any Chinese reading this).

I was once out there to film a steam engine which a British railway museum had brought but because we only gave them two weeks' notice we weren't allowed to film the engine. It was so stupid because we wouldn't have recognised the engine if it fell on us - and it was one of a very common type so they could easily have shown us any engine they wanted. But they wouldn't because the correct formalities had not been observed. Possibly the correct bribes hadn't been given either.

What's your specific red tape problem? Or are there dozens?

Work permit/visa.
One of my ex students has an uncle in the government, his apartment in the richest area of the city could house about 30 Chinese the way most people live here and must have cost millions of kwai, ( R.M.B. to you?).
Walls have ears y'know?

Don't they just. Wishing you very well with that.

My ex husband had horrendous visa problems in the USA (and by association I did too being 'and wife' on the application). And as for the red tape in getting my beagle home from Spain...but I did do it and no bribery was undertaken. I was told that bribery was the only way to go (by an English ex-Pat) but fortunately I was too broke and too scared even to try it!!

What I did manage to do was find a contact at the British Embassy in Madrid who backed me up in getting the Pets Passport paperwork done so that was really helpful.

Fingers crossed....

How would you smuggle a beagle?
Was this before E.U .membership, or aren't dogs citizens, (if not, why not?)?

Votes for Dogs!
Make beagles legal!
Are you, or possibly your beagle if they have good keyboard skills, still there?

Or is your beagle suppressing your mails?

Anyway, must unburden my latest culture shock on you, as an old China Hand.
I saw the aftermath of a fatal road accident with my fiancee. Bloke on a bicycle in the middle of the road, no blood, just looked like he was asleep, except for the crowd and the police.
Culture shock? The size of the crowd, and the fact that no one had covered his face...

Still no reply? Come back soon, I need the sense of someone there.

Hello Beanfoto, yes I'm here...after a long, long absence.

Religion and Ethics took over this site in August and gave me the push and I had a book to write and had to get out and get other work.

And my beloved beagle died... I am so heartbroken...She died naturally of old age, but I miss her so much.

I got her in from the States by flying her to Spain and registering her as a European dog the next day. Then she could come into the UK after seven months like any other Passports for Pets pet. It was perfectly legal just no one had thought of it before. Lots of people do it now.

I'm sorry about seeing the road accident. It's always an awful shock to see somebody who's there and not there. Mind you, you're probably over it by now...

I'm also spitting fury about having to spend about an hour re-registering for the site. Talk about control freaks - the sign-in process was patronising in the extreme. I'd never have allowed it!! (like I would have had any choice!).

So, I'm off to take a look round the site and see if anyone's using it.

But I'll be back at least once a week from now on. Promise.

And I'm still having problems getting in!
And it's sooo clunky when I get here.
Sorry about the beagle, especially in the light of my run of Beagle stream of consciousness.
Don't even like the new typeface, ( is that capital B really smaller than the preceding f?).
Have to look for a new job/ apartment here.Will write at length when I can get H2 to go faster.
Oh, and Happy Easter, ( it is isn't it?).

Quite!

I've just had a real palaver to log in because with the changes I had to re-register with a different, longer, password as well as going round all the buildings and promising to be a good girl and not abuse the site!

Now, I come back on, put in the new password and get told I'm locked out because I've used the wrong one three times. Get the reminder question and, lo and behold, it's the OLD password not the new one that I re-registered with.

Ho hum!

Yes, it's new work for me too...I'm really getting going with the publishing company. Had to write a business plan with four years of financial projections (just that bit made my eyes go temporarily squiffy). The Bank Manager has said 'yes' and we're just waiting for the formalities to finish so fingers crossed it's full speed ahead.

Been a pretty scary time though...

So why the new job? Just the old contract ended? Are you still happily with your fiancee? I saw pictures of Beijing last night in connection with the Sars scare and I hardly recognised it. Would like to go again and see if the old folks (and the old haunts) are still there...