Keeping spirits up...

Since receiving the new schedule, I don`t feel quite right. I`ve been a skittish bag of nerves rather than my usual self. I am really starting to feel jealous of people who have a normal life and don`t have these constant upheavals to deal with all the time. Tom and I have been doing our best not to let it get to us too badly. This has involved avoiding the topic of schedules (or ECC generally) in conversation, and indulging in healthy diversions whenever possible.

Tomorrow we are planning to go to the sumo:
Sumo Tournament Homepage (English)

Last Thursday we went for a walk over a mountain in Nara:
Kasuga Yama

On Friday, our neighbourhood got a bit kookier than usual, which is saying something, because kooky is our neighourhood`s bag:
Den-Den Town Street Festival

In other news, we have booked our honeymoon. Phuket in Golden Week! I`m so excited. I will have to purchase swimwear... I have nothing suitable to wear for a beach/lounging affair like this! I may also need to do a few sit ups to tone up prior to attempting such stomach revealing activities.

The marriage paperwork will be done on the 21st or 22nd of April (depending on the availability of our translator, the lovely, gracious, June Iwatsuki Tanaka) and Krista will be helping out as our Best Man/witness. I`m really looking forward to having everything sorted, formalised... all marriage-ified.

The road trip with Krista before she goes back to The States... we still haven`t decided where we are going... we might be off to Hiroshima, or Wakayama/Mie, or perhaps even Kamakura... we`re going to decide when we`re at the sumo.

Lots of diversions, lots of keeping busy, lots of working on the music projects, and hopefully we will have lots of wonderful news and lots to show for our troubles.

New photos...

Here are some recent photos I have taken:

My Neighbourhood (a very nerdy affair indeed)




Nara & Kasugayama Primeval Forest (Deer, trees, fungi and more...)



(Please see links in the above post)

More spanners, less works...

Another unhappy update.

Suffice to say that I didn't get the trainers or the assistant trainers job. The official reason was "you haven't been with the company for long enough" - to which I wonder why they even bothered interviewing me. I mean, that reason was there before the interview.

Reading between the lines, I have come to my own conclusions about that one.

Whatever.

Soon after receiving the bad news about the job, I then received the first draft of my schedule for next year.

The good news:
I got Tuesday and Wednesday off, which means that I will be able to have the occasional long weekend, given the smattering of Monday public holidays in Japan.
The shifts I had been given weren't too late.

The bad news:
My draft schedule had precisely zero of the schools that I had requested on it.
AND
I had two substitute teaching days on my schedule in my second contract - unfixed hours, unfixed locations, unknown classes.

We were back to where we started with the company. Subbing indefinitely. I don't sleep well the night before a sub-shift. I don't enjoy any element of it what-so-ever. I find it demeaning, particularly considering that I work very hard to be a good teacher, and then the company chooses to use me as spac filler, junk mail distributor, paper folder, envelope stamper, monkey extraordinaire. It takes a toll on the spirit when you work as hard as you can, get "Outstanding" teacher evaluations, get requested by schools to return, request the schools yourself, and then have someone in HQ just whisk it all out from under your feet. And just when I was beginning to feel settled in the new house and my job.

The schedule they had proposed to me only had one kids class when I had asked for little kiddies but "not too many" (I figured they'd give me about 4-6 classes if I asked for "not too many," not one!)- I had only one group class when I had asked for "as many as possible" - I had no private kids when I had asked for "as many as possible." I was absolutely dumb founded. I got none of the locations I asked for. I was devastated. I cried flat out for every moment I wasn't teaching for two days. I was losing my Komyoike shift, which if I haven't mentioned before, is where I teach the Mini Kids (18 month to 3 year olds) and BW's (7 year olds). I have rapport with the kids, the school, the students, I do all my shopping out there. I knew I would be losing Tennoji Station Plaza, I knew that I probably wouldn't get Kuzuha on Sundays, but to lose Komyoike - I was gutted.

Tom's schedule was painfully similar, and he was similarly disappointed. We've contacted HQ, and they've said that they'll "do their best" to fill our schedules - which at this point in time could mean anything. I've been told that they'd "do their best" before, and I have peers who are subbing 10 months after starting teaching (nay, Tom is one of these peers who is still subbing), when everyone has been "doing their best." So, maybe I am becoming tad cynical.

Now, we are just trying to wait and see. I have been tearful, Tom has been rattled and angry... it feels like a death or a break up, constantly questioning, why, why, why... why me? Why now? So many questions, so many compromises... we suffered Brisbane, and suffered temping for 2 years to get here... are we destined to suffer Osaka, and suffer sub-teaching now that we are here?

Please tell me no.



In other news, I have survived the salmonella. I had to go to hospital on day 4 of the diarrhea and vomiting, and be re-hydrated (intravenous drip, no less). I had no sick leave left, and so I had to work when I was sick - the students were very kind in letting me run off occasionally for a quick toilet break when necessary. I am back to eating normal food now after almost two weeks of bananas, rice, apples (stewed) and toast (the BRAT diet, no less). I have been cooking at home again far more, and being very picky about what I will eat when I eat out now. I never want to feel that sick again.

We've done most of the paperwork for our marriage - and we'll be formalising the arrangement fairly soon. We haven't set a date. It's not going to be one of those kind of affairs. Probably in the next three months, with a honeymoon fairly soon afterward.

I found driving in Japan to be quite easy, and so I will be having another drive soon for a road trip with Krista before she leaves to return to Indiana. We were thinking of heading down to Hiroshima/Miwa Jima... I am really excited by the prospect of getting into Chugoku area. If it turns out that Miwa Jima is too far, maybe we could go to Tottori - I'll have to ask Krista a bit more about what she'd like to do before we come up with our final plan.



Now, it comes time once more to study our options... suffice to say, it would be nice to have a few less spanners in the works every time we start trying to formulate a plan.

Either way, we haven't been idle. We're continuing to get out and about from time to time:

Sanjusangen-do

Chishaku In

Iga Ueno Ninja Town

Hopefully the photos will keep you entertained until I have some good news to post.