Weather widget, paying bills

Ok, I thought it would be interesting for people who are not in China to see what my weather is like here. So I searched for weather widgets. Many put up the current weather, which is dumb because if you see it while I'm sleeping, it'll seem nice & cool here, when in reality the daytime was just 90 degrees or something. Finally I found a simple 5-day forecast where I could choose colors, layout, etc, but it's too big and gets cut off. So I chose "transparent background" and changed the width from 250 to 200, a lucky first guess, and it turned into a 4-day forecast. The 5th day is hanging in oblivion somewhere, never to be seen. That's also why the words "Beijing, China" aren't centered.

It will now live in the top right corner, I think.

This is the one I wanted though; I thought that shade of red would be striking.




Oh well. I'll leave it here and visit it in the future just to bask in its glory.

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PAYING BILLS

In the US you get bills for everything. I hate bills. My usual way of dealing with them was to let them pile up until I HAD to do something about them. Maybe that's one reason I feel less stressed here. There are no bills. NONE. It's lovely. Convenient. Stress-free.
So how do we pay for things? It varies between cities & even parts of cities, but here are the ways I pay for things:

Electric & Water:
A lady who works in the building goes around once every 3 months or so, checks the meters, knocks on your door and asks for the money, then gives you a receipt. If you're not home or don't have the money at that time, they'll catch you at the front door sometime over the next 2-3 days. (there's a guy there at all times, I call him the door guard for lack of an exact word)

Gas:
Each meter has a swipe card that can be put into the meter. You bring the card to the bank, stick it in a machine & press some buttons (they still do that part for me), bring it to the teller, pay her, stick it in the machine again to give the card the credit, then go home and stick it in your meter again. You do this in advance - when you see the meter getting low you go buy more before it hits zero. Easy for gas company, no bills, pay in advance as much as you want or can afford. You can buy months & months worth if you know you'll be living there a long time, and just forget about it for a while. Nice.

Internet:
Today I'll go buy recharge cards from the CNC joint down the road. It's 120yuan/month. I could buy several month's worth in advance if I wanted to, though I don't. I'll dial 2081 or something, hear my balance, and go buy cards accordingly. Then I come home, scratch off the silvery stuff covering the pin number on the back, dial it in over the phone, and it's credited immediately. If I don't have 120 in my account at midnight the last night of the month, the internet cuts off. Then I go buy the cards and call them in. There is no penalty if that happens; it's my own doing, that's all.

Cell Phone
Pay in advance. You buy cards ANYWHERE, at little newsstands, convenience stores, etc, and scratch off the back, call in the number, and your phone gets credited.


A lot of "pay in advance". I like it. No one can be late with their bills, can't mess up your credit. If you can't afford it, you can't get it. If you forget, you don't have it and you feel dumb and make sure you don't forget next time. And you know how much you use. I've found that enlightening. I can see my water meter spinning when I do laundry, I can see how much gas I use in a week. I don't overuse things or waste things because I am always aware of how much I am using and the fact that I will be paying for that. It's in front of my face, not hidden away, only to feel the stress and obligation of a BILL in my face every month. I am in charge, not them.

At least, that's the feeling I get.

I like it.