A short update, because I’m really busy:
– Things really hit bottom when I found myself living in a fly-infested motel room. Maggots dropping onto my bed from the ceiling at night was the last straw. I got really aggressive about looking for an apartment, spending an entire weekend looking at one place after another.
– I have finally rented an apartment. I will post more about this later, but it’s in a historic neighborhood of old Beijing. It’s (barely) affordable, although lots of things are broken and the furniture is a disaster, so I’m more or less taking it on blind faith that the landlord will correct the problems as promised. Still, it’s apartment, and it’s in a neighborhood I like, and it has plenty of room for my stuff.
– Customs agreed to release my winter clothes and other items not in dispute. Slowly, the typical Chinese answer of “I’m sorry, but this is impossible” is turning into well, maybe yes, this might be possible. Hopefully this will result in the remainder of my stuff showing up in the next month or two.
– I have gotten an unexpected reprieve at work, because one of the major projects I am working on became delayed (due to external reasons, nothing to do with me). This is good news, since it takes some of the breakneck pressure off of my job and will give me a little time to regain my sanity. 7 day weeks and 12+ hour days get old in a hurry, and after 2 months in a row combined with nowhere to live, they turn into thoughts of throwing in the towel.
That’s it for now. I’m going to be busy over the next couple of weeks refitting my apartment with furniture and appliances that are more in tune with my preferences. Also might squeeze in a little travel over the slow period. Overall, things are looking up!