2.28.2011

Enjoying our daytime lives.

So, Saturday night was kind of a shit show. Which I fully knew had the potential to happen. There were a lot of good parts to it. A lot of important parts, which I'm going to keep being vague about. But there was some really bad shit that went down as well. Not for me, directly, but still. As Busan put it, it might be time to "enjoy our daytime lives" for a while. In other words, it's nearly spring and time to put the clubs and bars and all-night nonsense behind me for a bit. Wake up early on Saturday mornings and enjoy the weather and the city, alcohol-free. Not completely alcohol-free, obviously. This is still Korea we're dealing with, after all.

The sad part is, I don't think anyone involved was even drunk. It's just that atmosphere that can make things go all wrong, in the same way that, on the right night and in the right mood, it can make everything seem fantastic. And part of it was.

At any rate, from the way my ex Co is making things sound, I'm going to need my head about me in the coming months anyway. According to her, she had a nice long chat with my new main co on Friday and she's basically completely against everything she said. Ex Co is, it might be important to note, in the process of trying to convince me to come over to her new school when the current foreign teacher's contract ends. Which might be a possibility, depending on how right she is about this new co-teacher.

Basically the issues Ex Co took with New Co surrounded the fact that, in Ex Co's opinion, New Co expects me to do all of her work. I'll apparently be taking over the English library, the English reading competitions, the English club, and possibly the English after school program. All of it, and all of the work involved behind it. Ex Co considered that all to be her responsibility, as the head of the English department. Apparently, New Co considers her job as head of the English department to be managing me while I do all of that myself.

I'm not making up my mind about this yet. As EC drove me home from hwaeshik on Friday night, she sighed in exasperation as I explained that it might be a good thing. Because I could use the experience, and I could learn a lot. Haven't I been the one complaining recently to Busan that my job isn't as challenging as it used to be? However, I think it will only be a good thing if NC goes about it with the right attitude. If she's as much of a bitch as EC is making her out to be, we might have some problems.

This is why forming good relationships with as many of your co-workers and higher-ups as you can is important. I don't have any fear about this situation. I won't need this one new co-teacher's recommendation or support, if I choose to leave. All of my previous co-teachers and our outgoing VP have told me that any time I want to leave my current school, I will always have a position open at theirs. I don't have to stress out about it at all.

Either way, I'm not pre-judging. And I'm not stressing out at this point. I can handle seven months of a hard work situation, no problem.

Only one way to find out. This week, it will begin.

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