wanted

Well, well!

I got a call around 5:20PM from one of the teachers at the nearer branch office of my new employer: they want me in the branch tomorrow at 1PM for an orientation, and I'm supposed to be there for a full day, i.e., until 9PM. I'm excited about going there, but a bit apprehensive that I won't have enough time to study for the test that has to be taken at the end of training on Saturday. Friday is also a training day, so I won't have any study time that day (except maybe in the early morning). So tonight I'll do a good bit of cramming (I've done some already) and arrive at the branch tomorrow, brimming with questions.

In other news: I've already cancelled my ETS session for Friday. On that day, I'll also fire off my "I want a divorce" email. My buddy Mike wondered whether I'd like to retain some sort of relationship with ETS, but at this point I'd say the likelihood is low, for several reasons.

First, there's the general dearth of work. I've heard from some supervisors that this isn't going to improve for another few months. Second, there's the fact that my new job will likely include a Saturday schedule, which leaves me only Sunday to rest. I'm not like my brother David, who seems capable of working seven days a week under the burden of two jobs; I need at least one day to myself-- preferably two. Working for ETS on Sunday after six days with my new job would be the short route to insanity. Third, if I did stay with ETS, I'd most likely sign up for 4-hour shifts. You have to sign up for these a month in advance, and priority is always given to people bidding for 8-hour shifts. Even during a high-traffic month, then, there's a good chance I might not get work.

So no: all in all, it doesn't seem likely that I'll be continuing with ETS. I'm thankful for the work I've been given, but there simply hasn't been enough of it for me to think about continuing with them.

For prudential reasons, I haven't named my new place of employment, so from now on, just to avoid saying "my place of employment," I'm going to give it une appellation fictive: Yong Bulal (dragon balls). That's right: I now work for YB. And I will not be giving out my email address to any students lest they find this blog too easily. This won't be like working and blogging in Korea, where Korean coworkers are unlikely to find your blog unless steered to it. This is the anglophone internet, so there's always a danger that some curious kid will spend time hunting down your online presence.

It's therefore doubtful that I'll be saying much, either positive or negative, about YB that might be used against me by students who have nothing better to do than fuck up other people's lives for no reason. I'm not saying I won't write about my job at all; I'm just saying I'll probably have to be very careful about what I write. Anyone who's read my rants about EC (2004-2005, just before I left to go to my wonderful career at Smoo) knows exactly the sort of language I'll need to avoid.

Right now, though, it's nice to be wanted.


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