The best way to describe my orientation day at my new job is that it was like a Polaroid picture. Completely opaque and confusing at the beginning, but a whole lot clearer by the end ( Read more... )

So. I got the job that I talked about in a recent post, the one working at Ritsumeikan High School in Uji. And I don't mind telling you that I had myself tied up in some pretty entertaining knots over this. It got to the point where I'd flinch when new email came in because I was sure it was either an offer or a rejection, and I didn't know which ( Read more... )

There are times when I wish I had more control over my brain. I mean, I'm generally pretty good at it - keeping it from drifting off when someone in a lesson is telling a boring story, for example. Or, conversely, keeping it from becoming very, very focused when I visit a sento. [1] But there are times when, much like my cat, it defies all ( Read more... )

The Wall Street Journal has put out their Best and Worst Jobs list for 2010, and it's interesting reading. At the top is Actuary, and number 200 is Roustabout.

Teacher is number 116, just above sewage plant operator but still not as good as a piano tuner. And Actor is number 163, so take THAT, Mike!

Don't worry, the company hasn't collapsed again. Yet. As far as I know.

I know it's considered Poor Form to bitch about one's job on the internet, and it's extra Poor Form to bitch about one's job when people close to one have lost theirs. So let's just say that the company is no longer one for which I enjoy working and leave it at that ( Read more... )

Just for fun, I looked into the Foreign Service Exam.... which is not offered in Japan, it seems. It's something I would like to do, in the spirit of service and all that.... No guarantees that they could keep me in Japan, though. The Boyfriend would not be keen on that.

Something to ponder....

Why do some people feel the need to talk all the time? Constantly? To be in a never-ending torrent of conversation about whatever is in their heads at the moment? I mean, I'm a conversation teacher, so I should be able to appreciate the value of conversation, but there are limits ( Read more... )

...about updating a resume is the constant internal repetition of the same question in my head: "What do you have that makes you more employable than all the other people looking for the same job?"

I hate that question. I really, really do.

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com/.
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top umpty results.
5. Bold the ones you've done, and italicize the ones you've considered.I entered the fake name "Raul Breckenridge." Because you never know ( Read more... )