Still haven't been paid.
This blogger sums up the situation quite well.
I'm looking for a new job while suppressing the knots in my stomach and the rising tide of rage and cynicism. Cynicism is winning. Rage is simmering. The knots won't go away.
In America you're more likely to be tasered and beaten by a police officer than attacked by a terrorist - and it's getting worse. Thank you George Bush and the New Police State.
In China, the Three Gorges Dam is turning into an ecological disaster. Thank you Communist Dictatorship and Blind Progress.
In New Zealand some idiot tried to lower their Mitsubishi Lancer by loading rocks into the boot. Thank you Rampant Stupidity.
Update: We got paid on Friday afternoon. In full. I'm amazed...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
More stuff
But no news on the Nova front.
A Colorado university has come up with a new and cheaper way to mass produce solar cells.
The Japanese tradition of using proverbs based on the gut is disappearing...
Sealand is in the news again - this time over a plan to launch its own communication satellite. Legal downloads of copyrighted material anybody?
Want a Dead Body Diploma or join the Order of the Octopus? Come to Japan!
A Colorado university has come up with a new and cheaper way to mass produce solar cells.
The Japanese tradition of using proverbs based on the gut is disappearing...
Sealand is in the news again - this time over a plan to launch its own communication satellite. Legal downloads of copyrighted material anybody?
Want a Dead Body Diploma or join the Order of the Octopus? Come to Japan!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tuesday...
... is D-Day for the company - as well as my (apparent) pay day. We. Shall. See.
More reports have been popping up in the mainstream press here in Japan and the boards are the usual frenzy of rumour-mongering and doomsday scenarios.
There may not be so many people left in Japan to teach by the time I want to retire anyway...
I think I slept last night for a while...
Some quickies.
This certainly made me smile (and even laugh) amongst all the stress and strain of the past few months. I might try some of these in the 100yen shop and see if they cross cultures!
Do travellers who boycott countries do any good?
A quarter of Africa's GDP ends up in the pockets of its leaders...
It's always interesting for me as a linguist and pop-culture fan to find out where the two meet. Here's the origin of the phrasal verb, "to jump the shark", or the moment when something loses its credibility and sinks into the abyss of mediocrity... 30 years ago this month.
In the end I end up dreaming of finding a big pile of money outside my front door one morning and travelling the world...
Dream on.
More reports have been popping up in the mainstream press here in Japan and the boards are the usual frenzy of rumour-mongering and doomsday scenarios.
There may not be so many people left in Japan to teach by the time I want to retire anyway...
I think I slept last night for a while...
Some quickies.
This certainly made me smile (and even laugh) amongst all the stress and strain of the past few months. I might try some of these in the 100yen shop and see if they cross cultures!
Do travellers who boycott countries do any good?
A quarter of Africa's GDP ends up in the pockets of its leaders...
It's always interesting for me as a linguist and pop-culture fan to find out where the two meet. Here's the origin of the phrasal verb, "to jump the shark", or the moment when something loses its credibility and sinks into the abyss of mediocrity... 30 years ago this month.
In the end I end up dreaming of finding a big pile of money outside my front door one morning and travelling the world...
Dream on.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
"A state of flux"
That's the best phrase I've heard to describe what's happening at the moment.
The news about Nova closing branches has finally hit the mainstream Japanese press. Included in that are also reports about Nova getting evicted from its schools as well as evictions of teachers due to non-payments of rent.
The main thing the press is picking up on is that they are closing around 200 of about 900 schools. Nova's press releases have denied that the schools are closing, but are 'merging' and this is not part of an 'organizational decision' . That sounds like doublespeak to me.
The Australian press has also picked up on the story. Given that a major proportion of recruits come from Down Under, it is a worthy news story.
So, in this state of not being paid, I find myself thinking about what will happen next. I want to stay in Himeji, my home sweet second home, but realistically, the chances of picking up another regular job are slim. The best I could hope for is to become an ALT - working in the school system. That takes me back to school, which was something I wanted to avoid. Another alternative is to move 'close' to Himeji - like Kobe.
I could just pick up private students and open my own school! Hmmm.... no. Risky with a capital 'R'.
While the Japanese private English education industry is going through tough times, closer to my real home things are also not so good. Recent figures show that Australia spends less on publicly funded education than most other OECD countries. Also Australian school students spend less time on learning core subjects such as mathematics, science, languages etc. than most other OECD countries. No wonder parents are trying to send their children to private education in droves.
Here is a very well written article about problems with children these days - namely being disrespectful to elders and undisciplined. It firmly points the finger at parents (thankfully! As a former high school teacher I am truly tired of teachers being burdened with child-raising duties) who lavish their charges with excessive praise and few limits.
Enough heavy stuff. I'm getting exhausted with wondering if I'll have a job next month...
Here are some awesome examples of 3D paintings in public places. There are some amazing optical illusions here!
Also (with apologies to Adam and Jodi) Coldplay is torture.
The news about Nova closing branches has finally hit the mainstream Japanese press. Included in that are also reports about Nova getting evicted from its schools as well as evictions of teachers due to non-payments of rent.
The main thing the press is picking up on is that they are closing around 200 of about 900 schools. Nova's press releases have denied that the schools are closing, but are 'merging' and this is not part of an 'organizational decision' . That sounds like doublespeak to me.
The Australian press has also picked up on the story. Given that a major proportion of recruits come from Down Under, it is a worthy news story.
So, in this state of not being paid, I find myself thinking about what will happen next. I want to stay in Himeji, my home sweet second home, but realistically, the chances of picking up another regular job are slim. The best I could hope for is to become an ALT - working in the school system. That takes me back to school, which was something I wanted to avoid. Another alternative is to move 'close' to Himeji - like Kobe.
I could just pick up private students and open my own school! Hmmm.... no. Risky with a capital 'R'.
While the Japanese private English education industry is going through tough times, closer to my real home things are also not so good. Recent figures show that Australia spends less on publicly funded education than most other OECD countries. Also Australian school students spend less time on learning core subjects such as mathematics, science, languages etc. than most other OECD countries. No wonder parents are trying to send their children to private education in droves.
Here is a very well written article about problems with children these days - namely being disrespectful to elders and undisciplined. It firmly points the finger at parents (thankfully! As a former high school teacher I am truly tired of teachers being burdened with child-raising duties) who lavish their charges with excessive praise and few limits.
Enough heavy stuff. I'm getting exhausted with wondering if I'll have a job next month...
Here are some awesome examples of 3D paintings in public places. There are some amazing optical illusions here!
Also (with apologies to Adam and Jodi) Coldplay is torture.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Catching up
And what a week it's been so far.
If you haven't heard, our pay has been delayed. The English-language Japanese press has been largely silent about it which has been rather disappointing. Then again, with so few actual facts to go on it's been especially frustrating for all of us as well. All the regular instructors were paid today (5 days late) and us slightly up the ladder should be paid tomorrow.
The internets have been filled with rumours and speculations about the demise of Nova.
My hope is that we pull through - for my own selfish reasons (I don't want to have to pull up roots and relocate - plus I like the job) as well as for the sake of the students and staff. Realistically I'm preparing myself (and K) for anything. As one of my friends said, the company is in a state of flux, and 'flux' means 'change', which means we have to keep our options open.
Games. Fun and.
So I turn to the internets for info, but also escape.
So I found this uplifting story of a family who jettisoned their car and ended up with 35% more money from what they didn't spend on it!
I found a nice little list of places to avoid for my next holiday - except perhaps Chernobyl...
And finally, it wouldn't be a week in Japan without finding out something incredibly weird as well as something very indicative of the culture here...
Sometimes the posts just write themselves.
Here's hoping that the Vietnam/Cambodia thing is still a 'go'...
If you haven't heard, our pay has been delayed. The English-language Japanese press has been largely silent about it which has been rather disappointing. Then again, with so few actual facts to go on it's been especially frustrating for all of us as well. All the regular instructors were paid today (5 days late) and us slightly up the ladder should be paid tomorrow.
The internets have been filled with rumours and speculations about the demise of Nova.
My hope is that we pull through - for my own selfish reasons (I don't want to have to pull up roots and relocate - plus I like the job) as well as for the sake of the students and staff. Realistically I'm preparing myself (and K) for anything. As one of my friends said, the company is in a state of flux, and 'flux' means 'change', which means we have to keep our options open.
Games. Fun and.
So I turn to the internets for info, but also escape.
So I found this uplifting story of a family who jettisoned their car and ended up with 35% more money from what they didn't spend on it!
I found a nice little list of places to avoid for my next holiday - except perhaps Chernobyl...
And finally, it wouldn't be a week in Japan without finding out something incredibly weird as well as something very indicative of the culture here...
Sometimes the posts just write themselves.
Here's hoping that the Vietnam/Cambodia thing is still a 'go'...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Errrrmmmmm......
From the 'Only in Japan' files, comes this delightful story about soy sauce that you can put on ice cream.
That's right.
At last...
(Yummay!)
In the light of last night's crushing loss (88 points was it? Why, yes, 88 points. 88 points you say...) in the rugby and the poor showing at this year's World Athletics meet in Osaka (one bronze medal was it? ...) it's good to see that Japan can be the world champion at something other than producing beautiful women (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Say hello to Ochi Yosuke, your Air Guitar World Champion for 2007! Maybe it was that sweater that got him over the line. Raaawwwrrr!
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Gawd...
Will someone please just bite the bullet and impeach Bush already!? Or perhaps just send him off to The Hague?
At least before he does something really, really stupid (as opposed to everything else he's done so far) like this. Or this.
At least the Australian government are now trying something to entice the Japanese back to Australia - apart from fixing the horrific exchange rate (hmmm???). The "Where the Bloody Hell are you?" campaign didn't exactly translate well into Japanese ('so, where are you?') and I think I only saw the ad on Japanese TV TWICE in the past year. Not exactly spending big on getting it out there...
Also, let's face it, for such an outwardly polite and genteel nation (at least the ones who have enough money to spend on big overseas trips) that kind of invitation wouldn't go down well at all.
So, it's back to the drawing board and time to come up with an oldie but a goodie - pawn Australia's World Heritage sites, and likely tack on a few koalas for good measure.
At least before he does something really, really stupid (as opposed to everything else he's done so far) like this. Or this.
At least the Australian government are now trying something to entice the Japanese back to Australia - apart from fixing the horrific exchange rate (hmmm???). The "Where the Bloody Hell are you?" campaign didn't exactly translate well into Japanese ('so, where are you?') and I think I only saw the ad on Japanese TV TWICE in the past year. Not exactly spending big on getting it out there...
Also, let's face it, for such an outwardly polite and genteel nation (at least the ones who have enough money to spend on big overseas trips) that kind of invitation wouldn't go down well at all.
So, it's back to the drawing board and time to come up with an oldie but a goodie - pawn Australia's World Heritage sites, and likely tack on a few koalas for good measure.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Quickies...
I have this evening to catch up on posting some stuff for the memory hole, so here goes...
(in order of being discovered... excuse the randomness)
It's OK to be a night owl - like yours truly. Now in Europe work hours are being adjusted to suit them. Thankfully!
Japan is weird.
A good article looking at the forgotten holocaust of Armenians by the Turks during World War 1.
The Sexiest Movie Assassins... aaaahhhhh... Miho.....
The top 10 most influential albums that sucked on release. I own two of them, which I thought was pretty good going!
An interesting article about a new type of battery that may finally kill the infernal combustion engine.
But driving would never be the same without Jack.
Australia is continuing to become a nation of idiots. Let's hope our children never learn to sue us.
Actual headline: "The world's leading micro artist has finally made it big"
On September 13, boycott pasta in support of the fine Italian nation. The price of pasta (as well as other basic foodstuffs) has gone up 30% thanks to (you guessed it) bio-fuels.
And I'm spent!
(in order of being discovered... excuse the randomness)
It's OK to be a night owl - like yours truly. Now in Europe work hours are being adjusted to suit them. Thankfully!
Japan is weird.
A good article looking at the forgotten holocaust of Armenians by the Turks during World War 1.
The Sexiest Movie Assassins... aaaahhhhh... Miho.....
The top 10 most influential albums that sucked on release. I own two of them, which I thought was pretty good going!
An interesting article about a new type of battery that may finally kill the infernal combustion engine.
But driving would never be the same without Jack.
Australia is continuing to become a nation of idiots. Let's hope our children never learn to sue us.
Actual headline: "The world's leading micro artist has finally made it big"
On September 13, boycott pasta in support of the fine Italian nation. The price of pasta (as well as other basic foodstuffs) has gone up 30% thanks to (you guessed it) bio-fuels.
And I'm spent!
Oooh....
That's tasty!
That's a Woodley Queen Adelaide 1999 Regency Red - Shiraz / Ruby Cabernet / Cabernet Sauvignon. Opened tonight and going to be drunk in a hurry. It's magnificent!
The pasta sauce in the background is onion, bacon, mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes, red wine and basil. Also pretty spiffy, if I might say so myself!
The pasta sauce in the background is onion, bacon, mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes, red wine and basil. Also pretty spiffy, if I might say so myself!
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