I accepted a position finally. I will be teaching kids in Hong Kong; Kowloon specifically. And, I think Andrew and I will be in the same school which is good because I just don't think living and hanging out together is enough. I fly to L.A. to see Dan again on Aug. 27th and from there to Hong Kong on the 30th. Be sure to check the blog as I will update a lot over the next few months.
I have been unemployed for two weeks now and it has been bliss. I spent the first week on a futon in the West Village looking for jobs in China. Andrew and I applied for about 23 jobs in Hong Kong within 3 days and then waited to hear back. In the meantime we drank coffee and stared at each other all day long. I had some great going away events with some close friends during that week. I said goodbye to the teacher crew, church friends, Jenn and Kari, and Collin. After a week of goodbyes, I was ready to just leave and be done with that painful process.
I came to Houston on Monday to spend some time with my family. Its great to be here, but I already miss New York and have actually experienced some reverse culture shock. The heat here is deadly so I’ve quarantined myself into the living room in front of a massive TV and my laptop. I’ve seen some close friends that whom I missed while in NYC. Ryan and Laura made me dinner last night and we laughed about old times as always. Micah, Jacy, and I sat around the pool and enjoyed the High Life which we live so well. Cheers to Jacy for choking one down. I’m blessed to be around such close friends, like Jacy, even after leaving my big-city crew.
After a week of job searching and no responses, Andrew and I started to get a little nervous so I applied to some positions in Shanghai. I had 4 replies before the night was over. Last night we got an offer from a Christian school in Hong Kong and I believe we have two conference calls tonight. Things are finally shaping up and China is becoming a reality. I think we are both equally excited about each city and now the hard part will be deciding where we want to live.
Finally, I have been broke for weeks now. I get an e-mail every morning telling me that my checking account is empty. I changed my setting to not receive the alert, but they keep coming anyway. To alleviate my financial problem, I’ve decided to go work at my dad’s company for a few weeks. I’ll start in the office on Monday and while I’m disappointed that my fantasies of reading by the pool are now just a dream, the move to China will be much easier with some scratch in my pocket.
Well, I'm really doing it. I moved out of my apartment last week and shipped my stuff home. My last day at work is tomorrow and there is a celebration planned after. I bought a plane ticket to Texas and I'm almost certified to teach English.
I hope this is a good decision...
Actually, things feel great. I've been dreaming of my last day at work for months upon longer months. It feels like the last week of school there and everyone is congratulating me for escaping our company. I've been staying at Andrew's apartment in the West Village and having a blast. I woke up at 8:30 this morning and still made it to work on time. Over the long weekend, I went to Fire Island with some friends to hang at the beach all day. We had so much fun that we skipped the ferry boat and hung out on the island for a few extra hours that night.
Last night I found out that a bistro around the corner, which we all pass a few times a week, has some great free live jazz each night. I thought that I would hear so much live music moving to New York, but it usually cost too much. Now I really wish I had known about this place earlier. The timing was a little off though.
Speaking of bad (my dating life) timing, within my final month of living in New York I have met two really cool girls that I would love to hang out with and attempt this 'dating' thing everyone talks about. They are both very cute and I have fun every time I'm around them. Its a good thing I'm moving to Asia or else I might actually begin a relationship with one of them.
All of that said, I'm excited about leaving. I'll have about two months to relax and do things I can't in New York. I'll see some friends and spend plenty of time home. I might even try to leave the states a few weeks early and do some traveling before my new job begins. Speaking of which, I should probably start looking for a teaching position.
In the past week or so, I've been getting really excited about some things I usually couldn't care less about.
One is television, specifically the HBO show Entourage. I really don't watch anything on T.V. besides baseball and an occasional Scrubs episode, but thanks to a million dollar marketing campaign aimed at me and every other 22-30 year old male, I am absolutely hooked on this show. I don't have HBO, but I do have an internet and a video iPod, so I downloaded the first two seasons and watched all 22 episodes while commuting on the subway. I was addicted and luckily last night began a new season to curb my cravings for L.A. jackasses. My buddy Jerry has HBO so I watched the season premiere at his Brooklyn apartment last night and might start making the weekly trek out there.
My second drug-like addiction has been for World Cup soccer (football). Like most Americans, I know nothing about the sport and I get by fine. But, toss $5 in an office pool and everything changes. I haven't missed a match yet and have already slipped out of the office twice; into a pub across the street with about 100 bankers to catch the game. I'm keeping a bracket and can't wait for the next Costa Rica match so I can sport the only soccer jersey I own. They'll get killed, I'm sure.
So, T.V. dramedys and World-class soccer. Keep 'em coming!
I went to Los Angeles over the weekend to see Dan. He lives in Santa Monica, which is beautiful and teaches in Malibu. Life is hard for Dan.
Except for the traffic, smog, and heat, which do exist in L.A., I realized that Southern California is beautiful (I already new Northern Cali was perfect). I was blown away by all of the trees and plants everywhere. We made the best margaritas ever with lemons we picked off a tree in his backyard. I'm ready to be somewhere that doesn't consider concrete nature.
Saturday and Sunday we went to Dodger games and took our shirts off. The California sun is intense and would've roasted us if we didn't move to the shade. Dodger dogs are great and the stadium is the most beautiful stadium in all of sports. On Monday we walked down to Venice beach and back. The entire walk took about four hours. We realized that between all our time spent in Costa Rica, NYC, Chicago and LA, we have probably spent more time walking than anything else. Dan is a good walker.
Hopefully during the summer, I'll be able to go back and spend a little more time in Santa Monica. Dan has the summer off and I'll be unemployed. I can think of few better reasons to sit on the beach and drink homemade margaritas.
I feel like a Senior in high school. I know that in a few weeks, this painful routine of work will be over with and I will have a full summer to myself followed by a completely new lifestyle.
I'm in the process of getting certified to teach English abroad. My plan is to quit my job in late June/early July. Details are vague after that, but I will most likely spend a week or two in NYC then a few days in Boston. Sometime in the latter half of July I will load all of my stuff into a rental car and drive it to Houston. I hope to spend at least three weeks in Texas and perhaps make it all the way through August. I'll do some road tripping to Dallas, Austin, College Station etc. to see some friends and have some fun. I might even go to L.A. so see Daniel if money permits.
During all of this I'll be searching for a good gig in Hong Kong and hopefully Andrew and I can end up at the same place. Ideal starting date is September 1.
Until then, I'm marking days off my calendar at work. The sun is shining outside, summer is around the corner and I've got a lot to look forward to.
It seems like everyone today is complaining about the high cost of gasoline. Everyone except city-slickers like me who enjoy the freedoms of being sans vehicle.
Over the past 6 years, the cost of a barrel of oil has risen from around $20 in 2000 to the $70 range of today. Gasoline, a derivative of crude oil, has followed suit and is drilling a hole in the pockets of American drivers.
The reason for the rising costs is simple supply and demand, Economics 101. We drive bigger cars and use more gas. As a result, we demand more energy so the price continues to rise. This is a fact that many are quick to ignore. Instead, drivers want to blame the government for reasons I do not understand. The government aims blame at oil companies simply for being profitable (isn't that the goal of a market economy?) and in turn labels the American producer of oil, the giver of life to SUVs, the evil empire of our prospering economy.
I can understand why someone would blame a corporation for high prices, but it is still an incorrect assumption. Oil companies do not determine prices. This is done by energy traders who try to predict which way the price of oil will go. For the most part, energy companies like Exxon buy this and process it and sell for a mark-up to cover their costs.
Its true that oil companies reported record profits this year, but that doesn't they are gouging the consumer. The Economist justified this today in an article, "The understandable ire comes from a basic economic error: consumers observe that the oil that producers were already pumping is not costing them any more, and therefore conclude that they shouldn'’t be making higher profits on it. But high prices are what brings new supply onto the market-supply that wouldn'’t be cost effective to pump if oil cost less than $72 a barrel. This gives oil companies a windfall on the oil that is cheaper to pump, but it is not gouging." Oil companies don't pocket profits either. These monies are used in higher risk investments to produce more oil and gas.
For what its worth, Ben Stein had an article today that suggests, "if we want to blame anyone... maybe we should blame ourselves for the oil pinch." All of this is to say, if Americans want lower gas prices, the consumer needs to lower their consumption and allow supply to catch up with demand.
Now my company can add a new item to the list of inconveniences we have - no international phone calls. Our two main offices are in London and Singapore.
Previously on the list:
-No Training
-No Business Cards
-No Office Supplies
-10 yr old Computers and software
-No Expense account
-No Lightbulbs above my desk
-Ran out of paper
-No International Calls
