I was back at work on Monday. The state-owned company I work for is in the middle of a restructuring and integration, so there wasn't much to do, and I spent most of my time idling. Still, several personal matters that had piled up before the Spring Festival needed attention. I'll jot them down here.
The laptop I shouldn't have upgraded
Ever since I started working in Guiyang, I've used my own laptop for everything. It feels natural and convenient; desktops feel bulky and uncomfortable to me. It's also handy when I need to work overtime. Before the Spring Festival, my computer suggested I could upgrade to Windows 11, and I clicked it without thinking.
On Windows 10, memory usage normally sat around 40 percent and never really went past 70. After Windows 11, the interface looked fresh, and the frosted-glass effect was genuinely nice. Some operations took getting used to, but after more than half a month I had mostly adjusted. The one big problem—and it was big—was memory. Windows 11 is demanding on hardware. On my small laptop, opening WeChat, QQ, and DingTalk pushed memory straight to 98 percent. I couldn't open a browser or do anything else. Tonight I needed to look up some papers and was in a hurry, but the computer froze. I got so frustrated that I switched back to Windows 10. After reinstalling, everything returned to normal. From now on I'll stick with Windows 10.
A mortgage stuck between certificates and handover
In October 2021 I bought a new apartment in Guiyang. The bank approved the mortgage in December, but it still hasn't disbursed the funds. The reason given is that the small property-rights certificate must be completed and used as collateral. But the developer hasn't even handed over the apartment, so the money I need to keep things moving elsewhere is stuck.
According to the property management company, delivery is expected in mid-March 2022; only then can the small certificate be handled, the mortgage registration completed, and the loan released. The bank also doesn't want me to add credit cards or other loans, for fear that a small thing could affect the mortgage disbursement. A colleague at work offered to lend me some money today; I politely declined. I don't like owing people money—banks excepted. Money is easy to repay; favors are hard to settle. I finally worked things out with the bank and used a credit line as a bridge. The requirement is absolutely no overdue payments. I thought, I would never let anything affect my credit record—I'm someone who cares deeply about credit, otherwise how would my Sesame Credit score be 776?
Special mention: the beautiful property manager YSK at Longfor property management. She isn't even responsible for my building, but when the sales side passed the issue to her, she didn't refuse. She kept helping me contact people, find resources, and ask around. While the developer's people—whose attitude before and after the sale was like night and day—were kicking the ball around, she was the only reason I felt my property fee of 3.2 yuan per square meter per month was worth paying. By comparison, my own building's manager's service is miles behind. After the handover, I'm going to ask for a different manager.
Night classes and the first assignment
I mentioned before that I got an offer for an MBA at a university in the Philippines. Starting February 7, I have online classes at 6:00 p.m. on weekdays. Today was the second class, and I feel I learned a lot; overall the gain has been substantial. The program had said three hours a day, but these two days it was only an hour and a half, and I actually felt it was too short.
The teacher assigned our first piece of work: write a research framework. I relearned, searched, and borrowed ideas, and with help from my sister at home—something of a study whiz—I submitted on time and got high praise from the teacher. Overall, I feel I've gained a lot and gotten a sense of accomplishment.
Still, this is only the first step of a long march; there's a long road ahead. I hope I can keep at it. Come on, keep fighting.
Updated February 15, 2022 (Valentine's Day and the Lantern Festival).