As some of you are aware I have spent the last 6 months or so negotiating with the Chinese government for me and my two colleagues to go to Shanghai to carry out a design task for their budding aircraft design industry, however the Chinese seem to be completely incapable of making a decision. Well in the meantime I have now been offered a contract here in Australia, at RAAF Amberley, where I have spent the last 12 years working, at an hourly rate that is just under $10 per hour less than I would be paid in China. Having done the sums it really isn't worth it for me and my two colleagues to go over to Shanghai to work; whilst we might be a slightly better off financially, psychologically we'd be far worse off in all respects.
So China is all but dead in the water, I haven't told them yet, but I will in the next few days.
Anyway I start my new job on Feb 1st which is a Friday so I can get all the bulls**t out the way in one go and hit the ground running on Monday February the 4th.
Now whilst this means that I will now be in Australia for the Middleton trip, I cannot see any way on earth that I can take 2 weeks off to ride down to SA and back...more's the pity. So I'm going to have to stay withdrawn from the trip. But I certainly now have this trip to Biloela firmly on my radar, so please put me on the list of intended attendees for this overnight shindig.
One last thought is that if I'm not going to China for the next two or three years I won't have to lay the monSTer up for that period, which makes me very happy!
