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Post by beta on Sept 26, 2024 23:09:19 GMT
My finances were so controlled then, the numbers were really small but always ran a surplus. If I made what I make now but lived in an Y80,000/mo apt in Tokyo I would feel wealthy beyond all reason. But I don't, I live in an American house with cars and a family and our obnoxious healthcare system. It's better overall. It's hard for me to think back, I spent so much time sweating JET, AEON, NOVA, ECC, etc. In retrospect I think I made the right call for myself in that AEON gives you your own apt (I was 28 and had already lived on my own for awhile) and would put you in Tokyo. But I'm not sure it makes all that big a difference at the end of the day. Maybe JET vs Eikaiwa does, but AEON/NOVA/ECC, I'm not so sure. I actually give Let's Japan and a couple other sites a lot of credit for a realistic head's up. I was not there to reform the educational system. Head down, blend in (to your role), fulfill the duties, and when you're off the clock, you get to enjoy your life. I felt really bad for people frustrated by the constraints on their genuine will to teach! I met Chris once, MacGyver too at an LJ meet up. Everyone was nice and I was impressed Chris picked up the bill. Not at all necessary but nice and I do remember! I left the USA because of the health care system. Bonkers. I forgot about ECC. Too funny! If somebody really wanted to teach, there was always the "do your own thing" route I found. I was there at a workplace to punch the clock and do the work, until somebody was being a goof. Once I was set up, I didn't waste much time on overly annoying managers. I found someone else to exploit my labor. That was kind of Chris. He told me about one meet up. He had a good time. He was quite proud of the site. I remember that much. It's good that there were such sites so that people weren't going into it blind and resourceless. Chris used to say that he would ask people thinking about going to Japan to work whether they were crazy. I think that it was Chris who said something like that. It was. I might have the words wrong, but it is the right sentiment. I was banned from the site so, yeah, I tend to remember those sorts of things like the alcoholic madness and Shawn and Al's paranoia. MacGyver I remember from being on that site. Don't remember much else, though. Japan at age 28. It's a good time to arrive. Just do the work, get what you need, and be gone. |
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nikkeisindex
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Post by nikkeisindex on Sept 27, 2024 14:33:58 GMT
Banned from LJ! Now that's quite an accomplishment. I wonder what you'd have to do to get banned from here. Something to think about.
Shawn I remember, Al I do not.
I probably should have gone earlier than 28 but you know what, everything works out the way it needs to. I'm 48, it really doesn't matter if I went to Japan at 26 or 30. But if I were giving advice to anyone else it would be obvious stuff. Go earlier and have an exit plan. Or a commitment plan. My lack of either did cost me -- but again, hindsight 20/20 and sitting myself down and saying "Actually plan your life" likely wouldn't have done any good anyway.
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Post by beta on Sept 27, 2024 16:13:29 GMT
Banned from LJ! Now that's quite an accomplishment. I wonder what you'd have to do to get banned from here. Something to think about. Shawn I remember, Al I do not. I probably should have gone earlier than 28 but you know what, everything works out the way it needs to. I'm 48, it really doesn't matter if I went to Japan at 26 or 30. But if I were giving advice to anyone else it would be obvious stuff. Go earlier and have an exit plan. Or a commitment plan. My lack of either did cost me -- but again, hindsight 20/20 and sitting myself down and saying "Actually plan your life" likely wouldn't have done any good anyway. Let's Japan brief history. I discovered that Al (Melodius Thunk, I believe) had been "RevD" and that the site had been generating its own conflict. How did I discover this? I was asked to be a moderator so I could see the IP addresses. Chris was at my wedding. I knew him very well, but not well enough, obviously. Some guy whose name I never knew told me about my third or fourth week in Japan that I was living in a golden prison. I got the message. I made sure to do further education while in Japan so that I could move forward in my career, which I did. I remember people writing from home that it really sucked when they returned. It wasn't like that for me. I moved forward in my life without a hitch career wise. I think that 28 is a much better age to arrive, because a person has had some experience being young and inexperienced in a home country. Chris, for example, came to Japan right after university. He really had no idea what it was like to be an adult in Canada, where he was from. I used to wonder whether any of his plans would ever work out, as he really didn't seem to have any skills, credit score, or a clue about a Canada that I knew about. That was my point of reference. I suppose 26 is not much different to 28, but fresh out of university, well, I didn't see many people who did that do well on the eventual return home. Whatever. They did what they wanted. I would just hear about how X country wasn't exactly as great as they remembered it. No kidding! |
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Post by beta on Sept 27, 2024 16:15:13 GMT
I wonder what you'd have to do to get banned from here. Something to think about. Get on the wrong side of the site owner/moderator and that is usually enough. How to do that? Easy. |
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nikkeisindex
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Post by nikkeisindex on Sept 27, 2024 20:12:34 GMT
Memory like a steel trap, good work. DM me your LJ handle? I kind of remember that, the talk of manufactured arguments...
Also a very good point about coming right out of college. I believe all the long-timers I know in Japan came from college and are pretty much aware there's no going back. For you, way to have a plan. I did not and as I said, it was an incredibly rough re-entry. Honestly it took me about 8 years to get back on track. But you know, I have cheap tastes and getting by on very little honestly doesn't bother me. Wife and kid? Other story, not right to be like "we're poor, it's cool, let's have pasta again."
So yes, in a way at 28 I feel like I went to college too early, had no idea what I was doing and didn't make the most of it. In a weird way going to Tokyo then was my actual growing up. Can't really call your parents to tell you how to solve your problems in Japan.
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Post by beta on Sept 30, 2024 6:14:20 GMT
Memory like a steel trap, good work. DM me your LJ handle? I kind of remember that, the talk of manufactured arguments... Also a very good point about coming right out of college. I believe all the long-timers I know in Japan came from college and are pretty much aware there's no going back. For you, way to have a plan. I did not and as I said, it was an incredibly rough re-entry. Honestly it took me about 8 years to get back on track. But you know, I have cheap tastes and getting by on very little honestly doesn't bother me. Wife and kid? Other story, not right to be like "we're poor, it's cool, let's have pasta again." So yes, in a way at 28 I feel like I went to college too early, had no idea what I was doing and didn't make the most of it. In a weird way going to Tokyo then was my actual growing up. Can't really call your parents to tell you how to solve your problems in Japan. Re-entry shock is brutal. I can remember re-entering Japan after living overseas. Not good at all for the mind. Cheap tastes? That is the way to live! 8 years to get back on track is much better than many folks I know who never got back on track. They sort of live a "what if?" life. Japan may seem to others from abroad to be a weird place to grow up, but it was where I had to grow up as well. And, well, Japan taught me a lot about who I was not and who I am. I don't think that any other place I have lived has ever smacked me upside the head as often as Japan did. I only buy expensive things to make money off of them. They are only in my possession to make money off of them. Living frugally is, to my mind, a necessity in a world full of stuff that will bring me no joy whatsoever. |
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Post by sukebegg on Oct 5, 2024 7:39:02 GMT
I was going to further rant about Interac and how there was a small school run by a WMA(J)F couple that was even more fucked about paying late - I remember something about the Lady Boss pulling a knife on a teacher who was demanding his or her pay!
Alas, let it go, let it go, except to honk my own horn: I said something about "didactic materials" in a meeting with the Gaijin Manager of the Hiroshima Branch and maybe one or two other teachers: "What's 'didactic' mean?" Many years later, I was at a Hanami party and a bunch of English teachers did not know the word "quash"...
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beta
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Post by beta on Oct 7, 2024 0:43:21 GMT
I was going to further rant about Interac and how there was a small school run by a WMA(J)F couple that was even more fucked about paying late - I remember something about the Lady Boss pulling a knife on a teacher who was demanding his or her pay! Alas, let it go, let it go, except to honk my own horn: I said something about "didactic materials" in a meeting with the Gaijin Manager of the Hiroshima Branch and maybe one or two other teachers: "What's 'didactic' mean?" Many years later, I was at a Hanami party and a bunch of English teachers did not know the word "quash"... Wow! Didactic and quash stumped that many people. Wow!! |
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Post by sukebegg on Oct 7, 2024 10:01:37 GMT
I was going to further rant about Interac and how there was a small school run by a WMA(J)F couple that was even more fucked about paying late - I remember something about the Lady Boss pulling a knife on a teacher who was demanding his or her pay! Alas, let it go, let it go, except to honk my own horn: I said something about "didactic materials" in a meeting with the Gaijin Manager of the Hiroshima Branch and maybe one or two other teachers: "What's 'didactic' mean?" Many years later, I was at a Hanami party and a bunch of English teachers did not know the word "quash"... Wow! Didactic and quash stumped that many people. Wow!! Not the number but the fact they were "English teachers" - although I imagine the word "didactic" was forward in my mind was due to living in Mexico in the early '90s - it seemed more common than "educacional" although "pedagoia" is also pretty common in Spanish but you have to be careful with pedagogy in English... |
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Post by beta on Oct 7, 2024 12:55:45 GMT
Wow! Didactic and quash stumped that many people. Wow!! Not the number but the fact they were "English teachers" - although I imagine the word "didactic" was forward in my mind was due to living in Mexico in the early '90s - it seemed more common than "educacional" although "pedagoia" is also pretty common in Spanish but you have to be careful with pedagogy in English... English teachers in Japan were, to my mind, very much hosts and hostesses in a hobby mart. Not such a bad place to spend a Wednesday night, I reckon. |
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Post by beta on Oct 7, 2024 17:32:10 GMT
Just heard Elon Musk for the first time. I had no idea that he is from South Africa. (headed back to living under a rock)
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nikkeisindex
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Post by nikkeisindex on Oct 8, 2024 13:28:00 GMT
I feel I've told all my stories before, likely on this site, but Interac did quite a job on me by telling me initially I'd be placed right by where I live in central Tokyo -- amazing, what luck! That's settled then.
Then like 5 days before they call (as I recall it was always a random unscheduled evening call from a different person) letting me know not to worry, they were still working on my placement and they'd let me know.
But I have one? hmm, I don't know nothing about that, guy.
So I had to go out to mid bum-fuck (not where the actual school was) to "interview" with the principal and 1 other teacher.
I got there and surprise, there is no other teacher!
Without exaggeration the interview was: "Can you eat sushi."
I passed!
I don't think any of this was nefarious or intentional, I think they're just a genuine shitshow.
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Post by beta on Oct 31, 2024 4:12:10 GMT
I feel I've told all my stories before, likely on this site, but Interac did quite a job on me by telling me initially I'd be placed right by where I live in central Tokyo -- amazing, what luck! That's settled then. Then like 5 days before they call (as I recall it was always a random unscheduled evening call from a different person) letting me know not to worry, they were still working on my placement and they'd let me know. But I have one? hmm, I don't know nothing about that, guy. So I had to go out to mid bum-fuck (not where the actual school was) to "interview" with the principal and 1 other teacher. I got there and surprise, there is no other teacher! Without exaggeration the interview was: "Can you eat sushi." I passed! I don't think any of this was nefarious or intentional, I think they're just a genuine shitshow. Weird as it sounds, I am much more comfortable with a genuine shitshow than with the corporate world. Others will differ, but I could take the shitshows much more than the corporate soul-destroying world that destroys creativity. |
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Post by beta on Nov 5, 2024 1:34:19 GMT
Coming to Japan. I look forward to seeing some old friends. It's been a long, long time.
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Post by beta on Nov 29, 2024 0:28:05 GMT
 I was watching some vide on YouTube. I thought that the guy was pretty much out to lunch, but I watched the entire video in case there was something I missed. The guy pulls into this place and says that it is his home. I felt bad for the guy. I would not be giving out advice if I was living in this place. I would be trying to get into another place that won't kill me when there is an earthquake above a magnitude of 6.4 or so. |
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nikkeisindex
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Post by nikkeisindex on Nov 29, 2024 10:23:31 GMT
I have a couple of friends who just sort of did the thing of dropping out of society, live in absolute bumfuck Niigata, relatively quietly. I'm sure they're the local noted foreigner, but besides that, just whittling the days away. I'm pretty sure I could do the same and in fact am pretty sure I qualify as "local weird guy" here in Chicago but it's such a dense urban area, no one cares.
Glad you're going back, beta. I realize I've conflated "Tokyo" with "Japan." They're very different. I feel incredibly comfortable in Tokyo. I truly think you could drop me off in my underpants with Y1000 in Yoyogi park and I'd be okay in a day. I don't know nothin about the rest of Japan!
Where are you headed?
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Post by beta on Nov 29, 2024 19:16:48 GMT
I have a couple of friends who just sort of did the thing of dropping out of society, live in absolute bumfuck Niigata, relatively quietly. I'm sure they're the local noted foreigner, but besides that, just whittling the days away. I'm pretty sure I could do the same and in fact am pretty sure I qualify as "local weird guy" here in Chicago but it's such a dense urban area, no one cares. Glad you're going back, beta. I realize I've conflated "Tokyo" with "Japan." They're very different. I feel incredibly comfortable in Tokyo. I truly think you could drop me off in my underpants with Y1000 in Yoyogi park and I'd be okay in a day. I don't know nothin about the rest of Japan! Where are you headed? Kawasaki for my hotel for the first bit. I'll see where I go after that. I lived in Kawasaki for years and years. Yoyogi park in your underwear and Y1000 sounds all right. I liked Tokyo enough to work there day after day. It is a pretty wild place that challenged my conception of what a city could be! I live in the middle of forests here. My house, though, is sturdy. There are off-grid communes around my place. All sorts of people who have dropped out of society long ago live here. I see them in the village. They don't even want to go to the "city" of 10, 000 people an hour from here. So it will be quite a change to be in Kawasaki. And changes are good, even if for only 20 days or so. I have been laughing at myself wondering where Tokyo is going to begin nowadays. I used to reckon the sprawl of Tokyo really began at Tsudanuma if I was coming in from NRT. I will rediscover the endless sprawl soon enough. |
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