Sorry for the Lack of Blogs

I've been busy trying to plan out my next few months.

Basically it's looking like this:

My last day at Reading Town will likely be July 27th. My next job, with nearly a month of extra vacation time and a $400 raise doesn't start until October 29th. That's a long time without a paycheque. However, I have enough saved to get through and actually have a bit of fun before I start, but it does mean that I may have to put my linguistics course on hold until February, which I REALLY didn't want to do, but heck I got in so I guess starting 6 months later isn't the end of the world.

I had talked to my current employers about an extension but the lack of planning and communication has been horrific, with way too many in management and no one talking to anyone. One boss is writing an extension for me the same day as another one is interviewing for my replacement, and neither one knows what the other is doing. The lack of respect towards me and inability to get a straight answer have all but made up my mind to just leave and get my big payout August 4th. If by some miracle they stick an extension in front of me I'd probably take it, but I'm also applying for summer camps as I'd take those if they became available. However I know that I'm moving to a place that with finance my MA and really, is 11 weeks holiday THAT terrible a thing?

With that in mind I have booked a trip to Fukuoka, Japan with Mike this summer (July 31st - August 5th). Here is the background info on Fukuoka. With a couple of side trips it should get me a good look at the island of Kyushu.

After that I'll return to Korea to sort out my visa for the coming months and do a camp if I get one. After that I would like to return to Vancouver for a visit but may do so via Beijing or Tokyo/Kyoto, something like that. I also haven't totally ruled out visiting my sister in London (AFTER the Olympics) but that may be stretching it financially.

Finally, a few changes here with people and Geoff is opting to move back to Canada for a while after three years abroad and Kris moving to a gig up in Seoul in three weeks when his contract is up. It's been great having a friend from Uni here and also great having two co-workers who I also call friends (I haven't really had that in Korea before) so I'm a bit sad for the change, but also excited to start the next chapter of my life here.

As to my future, my new job will give me the finances to pay for the graduate program I was accepted in to this year and vacation time to enjoy my holidays. When I'm finished it I can teach esl in Canada or else at universities in non-English speaking countries (where my salary would eventually more than double). I sometimes do wonder what the hell I'm still doing in Korea after 3 years, but I also think that if I did stay 5-6 years and walked out with an MA, a solid nest egg or my debts paid, travel stories to last a lifetime and maybe a second language it would not have been time wasted. It's all in the air, but for now I'll be focused on from here til October.