Visa

It is, of course, interesting how decisions made by others can affect our lives in little ways. The Chinese have made it more difficult to get a tourist visa and I just have to get on with it and do everything I can to make sure that my partner, with her plane ticket already booked, gets here on the 18th of July. Now, my having to send a copy of my lease and my contract of employment would hardly constitute an intrusion into my life. However, after being told that that would be enough to secure the visa, it has now transpired that it in fact isn't. She needs a booking for a hotel for the period of her stay here, which she can cancel once she arrives. Well, not quite as she will have to spend at least one night in the hotel.
Anyway, there was me today, writing mails to the office at work so that they might help me get the booking and then deciding this evening to take matters into my own hands and jumping into a taxi I made a short trip to a hotel close to where I live. Now, it doesn't look like it is going to be a problem but I still have to see the lady who personally deals with the reservations tomorrow and, as I mentioned above, it even looks like I am going to end up spending a night in a four star hotel around the corner from my flat.
So, what does it all mean; well up until now I went to work when I was actually thinking of taking a day off, I have sent mails to colleagues asking for favours when I don't really like asking colleagues for favours, I ended up spending the evening away from home although I was just going to chill out and it looks like I will be staying in a hotel I had no intention of staying in. Of course, tomorrow other wee things will happen that will affect my life in little ways. However, I suppose that is, indeed, what life is all about despite us being creatures of habit with our very own little routines. Nevertheless, despite finishing on that little philisophical note, I am going to file this under my China posts because at the end of the day it is all about them and them making life a little bit more complicated for me, when it doesn't really have to be like that.