Orble - Maybe... Maybe Not?

July 21st 2011 00:43

It's all done, finally. All my paperwork is sent out to the various different places that it had to get to, such as the Passport Services, FBI, CSUN, etc. Plus, I got paid yesterday. So happy to finally get paid for things that I wrote about a month ago, but it was kind of well worth the wait. Now, all I need to be is patient.

I interviewed for a position in Andong Korea, and have yet to hear back from them. I'm very nervous. From what I've heard, the school is supposed to get back to you by the end of the week, at most, but I haven't heard word one, either way. My husband tells me to wait, to not apply to any other jobs, but the wait is killing me. I wish that they would just let me know that I didn't get it, or that I did get it, and they are ironing out the finer details of the contract. That would at least let my mind rest knowing that something is getting done, instead of just falling by the wayside. It has been over two weeks since that happened, and I've never heard of it taking this long. But, I must remain vigilant, and wait to hear from them. Patience is a virtue, and I must work on it.

So, about Andong, South Korea. I absolutely love the place, and have fallen in love with all the pictures that I've found on the internet.

Here's what South Korea is in general: Abortion is outlawed, homosexuality is frowned upon, and for that matter, a boyfriend living with his girlfriend is socially unacceptable. There aren't tree huggers, but there are people so steeped in tradition, that they understand how the world works, in their own opinion, and to take care of the earth is second nature. Everything is in a balance, and that balance must be maintained. Be nice to those around you, and they in turn will be nice to you. The crime rate there is amazingly low, so much lower than here in America, and for a young lady to walk alone after dark, should she have issues finding an escort, will rest assured that nothing will happen to her. Parents can spank their children without fearing that they will be taken away from them. Teachers can discipline a classroom. Should you get arrested in South Korea, the judgment and punishment are severe and harsh. The prisons aren't over crowded.

My mom told me that this is how America was during the greatest generation. I hope that she's right.

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Posted By: Eothemina - Category: No Category

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Apostille... Do's and Do Not's

July 16th 2011 06:31

So, one of the multitude of things that you need to do in order to teach abroad is get your Bachelor Degree apostilled. I had no idea as to what an apostille was, so I went to AAA in order to find out more on the subject.

In 1961, the powers that be wanted to make a way to have national documents internationally notarized, so they came up with the apostille, which is French for certification. That's the long and short of what an apostille is.

How does one go about getting an apostille? These three family friendly steps show you how.

1. Notarize locally a COPY of your bachelors degree. Some notories might want to make the copy there, but for the most part, you're on your own.

2. Take the notarized copy to the local county clerk, and get yet another stamp of approval from them.

3. Finally, take or mail the notarized, authorized copy to the Secretary of State, and then they might give you your apostille.

And, I really wish I knew this before I did what I did.

Here's what I did, thinking that it would save a ton of time.

I took my diploma, the hard copy, the only diploma that I ever had, and gave it to the worker at the local Secretary of State office. I handed her my diploma, and asked her for two apostille's.

THAT'LL BE $52, she said, rather gruffly. Whatever... she worked for the state, so she must have known what she was doing. Otherwise, how would she have gotten the job there? So, I handed it over, and sat in the waiting room.

Time passed, and when I noticed that people were coming and going quickly, I began to wonder what happened to my paperwork. She came back up, and notified me that my last name was different on my Bachelors degree. I told her that I got married, and showed her my marriage certificate. She took my marriage certificate/license back, and so I sat back down to wait some more. Fifteen minutes later, she came forward, with my bachelors degree, the original one, with half a stamp on it, and the apostille stapled to the front, and a second apostille stapled onto my marriage license. I asked her why she didn't make copies, and apostille the copies. She then proceeded to tell me that they didn't accept copies, and couldn't apostille the copies.

So, extremely distraught, I walked out of the office, and started crying in the elevator. My diploma had been defaced. A guy in the elevator told me that I should go to the Korean Embassy, because they would know what to do. I went there, and they showed me the three friendly steps, but I can't do it until I have a new diploma. At least I know what to do now, and hopefully you will too.

Have a great day.

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Posted By: Eothemina - Category: No Category

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How I came to want to teach English in Korea...

July 8th 2011 22:29

So, it's been a long time since I've posted. Sorry. My life has been monotonously annoying since I stopped writing in here.

California is reaching new heights in unemployment. Saw that one coming, when OTHER people decided to reelect Jerry Brown as our governor. I've had a few interesting interviews, but nothing came through.

Until one night, late at night, I received an e-mail from a gal in Korea. WE NEED TEACHERS! it said, emphatically. WE NEED ENGLISH SPEAKING TEACHERS TO TEACH OUR YOUNG HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH!!! and, I pushed it aside. Who in their right mind would uproot their family, and move to Korea from the land of opportunity? Not I, I said proudly, deleting it, and shutting down the computer.

A week later, it came again. PLEASE!!! COME AND TEACH OUR YOUNG!!!!! My sister loves Korea, so I forwarded it to her, only to get a reply about another month later, "You know, you should take this job," she said in her annoying internet voice. So, I said that I would think about it.

Then, a series of events happened.

MediCal said that they didn't want us on MediCal anymore, because we've been on it for too long, and we got shifted to another healthcare system, which forced us to go to the county health system. My little girl got sick, and after a whole two minute observation, they said that she'll be fine. Give her some Tylenol. She wasn't. She got very lethargic, didn't gain any weight for six months, and wasn't her usual self. So, I went back, and said that something is wrong with her. Low and behold, she got the diagnose of Failure to Thrive, and the number one cause of failure to thrive is child neglect. So, we were sent to the SCAN clinic, they found out that she had a very bad bladder infection, and was put on meds. In the meanwhile, my husband and I were told to be interviewed by social workers, to see if we were fit to be her parents. Yeah. Needless to say, I'm very angry, and had we been able to go to any other clinic, we wouldn't have had to go through that.

In the meanwhile, I was talking to my husband how he felt about laving and going to Korea. He said that he would think about it, and then the catastrophe happened.

Another late night, as I was checking my email, another letter from the same gal in Korea came to me. TEACH IN KOREA, AND YOU WILL GET FULL BENEFITS! PAID VACATIONS!! MEDICAL INSURANCE!!!

Medical insurance?

MEDICAL INSURANCE!!!

For the first time, I started talking seriously about moving to Korea with family, but would they be allowed to come? That was certainly a deal breaker in my book, so I wrote her back, on a glorious June afternoon, with questions. She got right back to me, and answered my questions correctly.

So, it looks like I am off to Korea to teach English, maybe. I have my first over the phone interview on Monday, and we shall see what will become of that.

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Demoralized, Depressed, Defeated

August 31st 2010 07:49

Demoralized, Depressed, Defeated

I need something new, something to keep me accountable. I have fallen out of any semblance of a schedule, and lack the motivation to keep on going. I guess that getting my thoughts out here, anonymously, really helps.

So, I had two completely awesome interviews for the same company, but when it came to the third, no beans for me. Then, I started questioning myself as to why the heck am I working so hard for a part time job? Am I not worth more than that? Should I grovel? Probably, but I'm not ready for that just yet. I'm going to wait until I hear back from them. So, I'm still looking. I think I might have a lead on a job further away from my home base, but I haven't been able to get there.

Enter problem #2-weight gain. I now weigh a massive 186 pounds. Before I got pregnant, I weighed 150. When I started dating my husband, I weighed 130. I really have to get my weight under control, but how does one do that if they don't have any budget to work with? I will look into this problem, and see if there's any free/near free diet program out there with the help of the all knowing internet.

Lastly, and I think that it's a combination of the previous two, I am sick, and my little girl is also sick. Could it be the weight gain that has attributed to my lack of antibodies? Could it be the stress? That's why I'm thinking it's both.

To Do This Week:

1. get better.
2. start a new exercise regime
3. Acknowledge that my life won't always be this way.

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Quickly...

August 17th 2010 01:40

Wow... it's been a while since I gave this up, but maybe not completely given up right now. I'm inbetween laundry, cleaning, my daughter's down for her nap, and I have little less than half-an-hour before my rehearsal.

So, some things came up while I was away. First, tried for a grant writing job as I'm convinced that this is my calling, and didn't get it. I'm not giving up, though, as grant writers are being sought after.

Second, thought about the overturn by the judge on the whole same-sex marriage thing here in California. I have a lot to say on the subject, but time limits me to on a very few thoughts. Several of my friends are gay, and I really wanted it to go through for their sakes. But, instead of that going through, I wanted common law to go through, so that the pastors and priests that I know won't be forced, by law, to marry same sex couples. I hope and pray that they find a loop hole to jump through so that they don't have to question their morality.

.

Thirdly, being in a play is fun and all, but when the director wastes my time, I become very mad, which she has a tendancy of doing. I get there on time, wait half an hour for everybody to settle down, then two hours into rehearsal, they might get to my part, for the last half hour. Yep. I'm pretty mad about this, but what can I say? I will stay with it until the bitter end

Lastly, my little one just turned 1. It was an overwhelmingly great party for her, and I throughly enjoyed myself.

Ok, quick, sweet, straight to the point, and without pictures or spell check. I will remedy this later.

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The End of one thing

July 20th 2010 08:35

Today was a very somber occasion, which was made worse due to my blowing everything out of proportion. Like much of the US, my sister told me that she's going to be laid off from her job of 3 years, because the owners can't afford to keep her on anymore.

She said the reason why she didn't want to tell me was due to the fact that she thought I would be disappointed in her. I shook my head. Have I really been in my own little world lately, that I didn't notice what was happening around me? Do I truly live my life vicariously through this internet? Maybe... Maybe not

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what CAN you do with a degree in english?

July 17th 2010 08:39

A few weeks ago, frustrated, pulling my hair out by the roots, and all around mad at everything and everyone around me, I posted, for the first time, on my LinkedIn Account, what can you do with a degree in English. Several very good answers popped up, such as:

Karen Valentine, a manager for customer service at Anthem said, "Would you consider a marketing job? The health care industry {Insurance} are always looking for good writers." I looked it up... sure they're a great place to go, but you have to have a medical background, and I am in no way shape or form, medical or biologically savvy

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Living a Lovely Life

July 11th 2010 05:42

My life has been kind of up in the air, since I got the job in Tehachapi. Granted, I'm not going to see the fruits of my labor until I get all the paperwork turned in, and win the grant money for the orchestra. But, the possibilities seem wonderful.

Other than that, not much happening. Just kidding. I rarely take it easy, and have had a great education on moving the past week

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Hand in Hand

June 28th 2010 21:55

After last nights rant, I feel a little bit better today. The sun is shining, it's a balmy 105 outside, and my little girl is taking a nap in the middle of the day. Not to mention that I have a husband that loves me regardless of all of my short comings. So, with my sense of propriety renewed, I've decided to write about something that really hits home with me... reading. Nonfiction, fiction, magazines, manuals, pretty much anything I can get my hands on. I feel that reading makes me a better person, a better writer, and healthier. Because I'm always learning different techniques on how to live my life, how to approach others, and how to deal with different things in my life.

That said, I know a lot about the different websites out there that offer books. Much more than amazon.com, even though it's listed as the biggest book seller in the world, but I claim that their website can be more than daunting. On the front page, there are products listed that have nothing to do with books or reading. If you type in the title of a book, such as Alice in Wonderland, there were no books on the first page. When I limited the search to just the book, there were more than one edition, different publishers, different prices. When I searched for a first edition, or a rare edition, they sent me to another website, The Manhattan Rare Book CompanyThey didn't have the book that I was looking for

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Struggling with myself.

June 28th 2010 07:48

So, I took the second class in grant writing, and learned pretty much the same stuff that I learned in the first class, with an emphasis in personal grant writing. This was all find and dandy. I met more people, made more connections, and once again had hope. Then, I got over confident in those around me, and offered them free advice.

For two months, I have tried to get the YMCA in my area to offer Tai Chi as part of their healthy living. Well, it was just my luck that a board member from the YMCA was taking the class, and she sat down right next to me. She struck me as a sly woman, older, wearing her Coco Chanel sunglasses, with her very big designer bag. I try not to judge books by their covers, and people are often better than books. So, I pitched my idea to her about all the wonderful healing factors of Tai Chi, how hard it is to find an outlet in the AV, and many other benefits that come with it. She tilted her head down, as if she had heard it all before

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July 2011

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August 2010

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July 2010