The End of an Era
With the closing of the year, we're drawing nearer the opening of our school. I'll be going back to full time plus some. Since the business won't be immediately profitable, or perhaps never profitable, I'm going to start it part time while keeping my job with the university part time as well. This is gonna give me Monday to Saturday on the job, while still paying just enough to live. If the school thrives, of course, I'll be well set. But it looks like at least six months to a year of 6-day weeks with occasional breaks. Here's hoping I don't burn out.
In this switch, I've opted to drop the two kindergartens I've been teaching at the past year. I'm sure I'll have enough kids classes at my school to keep me busy. It means a pay cut, but it'll save travel time. And I'll certainly miss the kids, most of them anyway. This group here is probably my favorite; very smart, energetic, and funny kids. The probably think of me more as some kind of big moving jungle gym that says wierd words.
As far as my adventures lately, things have picked up a bit, thanks in no small part to an active girlfriend. We went to see the Illuminarie in Kobe last weekend, although we got there right when it closed, thus were only able to snap a couple shots. Not wanting to waste the trip, we headed to Kobe's China town for dinner. The main street there was still going strong with street vendors and restaurants, and it was beautifully lit for the Latern Festival going on this month.
We also got out of town last month for a group trip to Wakayama prefecture, south of Osaka. We stayed one night in a Japanese farmhouse of the type used some fifty years ago. That is, cooking over a wood fire and going with out appliances. Kinda like camping inside. The following night we stayed in a cabin near a hot spring river. The cabin was much better, and the hot spring river was nice too, although getting in and out was a bit of thermal shock. This was accompanied by long drives through narrow
mountain roads, with our driver very nervous for her own abilities. I found it quite enjoyable and scenic. On the way back, we stopped at Shirahama (white beach), famous for its imported white sand and a major summer hot spot. That day, however, was crazy cold and windy. It just seemed odd to be somewhere that looked so warm and yet so bitterly cold.
With the closing of the year, we're drawing nearer the opening of our school. I'll be going back to full time plus some. Since the business won't be immediately profitable, or perhaps never profitable, I'm going to start it part time while keeping my job with the university part time as well. This is gonna give me Monday to Saturday on the job, while still paying just enough to live. If the school thrives, of course, I'll be well set. But it looks like at least six months to a year of 6-day weeks with occasional breaks. Here's hoping I don't burn out.
In this switch, I've opted to drop the two kindergartens I've been teaching at the past year. I'm sure I'll have enough kids classes at my school to keep me busy. It means a pay cut, but it'll save travel time. And I'll certainly miss the kids, most of them anyway. This group here is probably my favorite; very smart, energetic, and funny kids. The probably think of me more as some kind of big moving jungle gym that says wierd words.
As far as my adventures lately, things have picked up a bit, thanks in no small part to an active girlfriend. We went to see the Illuminarie in Kobe last weekend, although we got there right when it closed, thus were only able to snap a couple shots. Not wanting to waste the trip, we headed to Kobe's China town for dinner. The main street there was still going strong with street vendors and restaurants, and it was beautifully lit for the Latern Festival going on this month.
We also got out of town last month for a group trip to Wakayama prefecture, south of Osaka. We stayed one night in a Japanese farmhouse of the type used some fifty years ago. That is, cooking over a wood fire and going with out appliances. Kinda like camping inside. The following night we stayed in a cabin near a hot spring river. The cabin was much better, and the hot spring river was nice too, although getting in and out was a bit of thermal shock. This was accompanied by long drives through narrow
mountain roads, with our driver very nervous for her own abilities. I found it quite enjoyable and scenic. On the way back, we stopped at Shirahama (white beach), famous for its imported white sand and a major summer hot spot. That day, however, was crazy cold and windy. It just seemed odd to be somewhere that looked so warm and yet so bitterly cold.
posted by Nick at 5:45 AM
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