That girl is really starting to annoy me....

The publishing company girl, that is. The one who gave me the bizarre editing job last weekend of checking over tens of thousands of computer-generated sentences.

To recap......

First, she made me waste a whole day waiting in vain for a courier to deliver the manuscript as promised. Then she became completely uncontactable for a week or so following.

Then she got in touch again, and told me the project was still on after all. She made me wait in a whole day for the manuscript delivery again - but at least this time the courier did eventually come.

The manuscript was nearly twice as long as she'd told me it was going to be when we agreed the fee. I tried to contact her over the weekend to discuss this, but she was yet again ignoring her cellphone calls and text messages.

Then she sent a courier to pick up the manuscript on Monday morning without having arranged this with me first. I was trying to have a lie-in, because I'd suffered an episode of insomnia the night before. Having an unannounced stranger arrive at your door is always rather anxiety-making in China. Having the goon lean on your doorbell without getting an answer for half an hour is really, really annoying. I came close to committing homicide, but chose instead to cower under the sheets ignoring him.

I then contacted the girl by text message to make an alternate arrangement to have the manuscript (the half that I'd finished; the amount that I'd been asked to do and had agreed a fee for) collected from the recording studio where I was working that afternoon. Again, the courier didn't come in the 3 hours I was there, and the girl was again uncontactable, ignoring my queries as to whether she had been able to arrange the pick-up as suggested or not. I left the pages with the studio staff, and I gather from them that it was eventually collected. The annoying girl, however, has still not contacted me to confirm this.

So, I am awaiting news on whether they are happy with the work I've done on the first half of the script. I am awaiting news on whether they want me to proceed with the second half of the script. I am awaiting news on whether they are willing to offer me a slightly improved fee for the whole job. I am awaiting news on whether they intend to pay me anything for the work I have already done.

The girl has now contacted me on at least 3, possibly 4 different mobile phone numbers (possibly 5, if the person who called 20 times on Monday morning was her rather than the courier). And a landline number. She has never answered any of these numbers when I have tried to call her. She has not responded to any text messages I've sent her in 4 days.

I am now in a HUGE bloody fume about it.

I don't have an e-mail address for her, and know her only by an English name - so, there is every likelihood that I am going to get scammed.

However, I am reasonably confident that I know which publishing house she works for, and I am thinking of going around there tomorrow morning and screaming at people until somebody brings me the bitch's head on a platter.

Update: I didn't go and scream at people this morning, because I am a nice person, really.

And also because I get quite a lot of work out of other people at this publishing house, both editing and recording, so I don't want to burn down the bridge.

And also because I had another bout of insomnia last night, and wasn't in a fit state to do anything this morning.

As it happened, she finally got in touch. Well, I think it was her. She didn't identify herself, and was sending me a text message from yet another phone number I didn't recognise. She promised she would contact me "later" today. It's now pretty darned late, and I haven't heard a peep. I've sent a couple of reminders, asking if she is indeed who I think she is. No response.

God help this girl if I ever actually meet her. I've given up on the money now. I just want to let her know what I think of her.