:: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 ::

Still under the gun of Attila the Hun with a cinnamon bun

For those that have not yet heard the news (in no small part due to the fact that I haven't mentioned it in my blog yet), I have finally found a job here in Prague. And as an English teacher, no less! I now work for a language school called Glossa, one of the larger language schools in Prague, employing over 120 teachers! So far, it hasn't been too bad.

I started last Tuesday, with about 13 teaching hours, and am slowly adding more hours to become full-time. Of course, the hours suck. Most of my teaching is in-company work, where I go to a business and teach classes to their employees. As these companies don't want their employees studying English when they should be working, most classes are either scheduled early in the morning (say, 7:30-9:00 am) or in the late afternoon/evening (say 5:30-7:00 pm). So far, not so much a fan of getting up at 0-dark thirty, but that's the way it goes.

The logistics are sometimes a nightmare, as well. Different metro stations, different tram lines, finding the building, trying to communicate to Czech-only-speaking receptionists why I'm there, what classroom or office I'm teaching in, etc. On the plus side, I do get to see a lot of Prague I might not otherwise see, but the travel time from Opatov, where I live, can be a bit much.

But lest you think I hate this job, the teaching itself is actually quite nice. Lesson planning takes up a bit of my off time, but I try to get it all done on the weekend so I have my free time free during the week. And this week, I'm looking forward to the national holiday on Friday, which means I don't have to work. Yay!

So I'm plugging along, and eagerly awaiting my first paycheck, which I'll get in the middle of November. Of course, it will only be for these last two weeks of October, so I still have to wait for December to get my first full paycheck. Until then, I see a lot of ramen noodles in my future. Mmm, tasty.

Me being me, of course, my soul isn't exactly jumping for joy at the fact that I'm working again (a one-year extended study-vacation in Sweden will do that to you, I guess), but my wallet assures me that it's feeling much less stressed these days. I guess I'll take the little victories wherever I can find them.

:: posted by Rob 10:16 AM [+] :: 0 comments
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Slouching towards Bethlehem

Another in a long line of online surveys and tests, you can now find out Which Fantasy/Sci Fi Character Are You?

I seem to be G'Kar.

Ceaselessly struggling for a well-deserved redemption, you carefully arrange your alliances and energies.

There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom.

I always kinda liked him, and how apropos, as my Polka dot and I are currently wending our way through all five seasons of the Babylon 5.

It's more fun than a barrel full of Vorlons.

:: posted by Rob 11:32 AM [+] :: 0 comments
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Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

From Holly Lisle's Pocket Full of Words, an interesting endeavor:

1. Delve into your blog archive.

2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).

3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).

4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext or hidden agendas...

Here's mine:

I truly cannot understand how the "citizens" (and those quotation marks are there for a reason) of this country are so blind to what's going on.

That's from January 15, 2004, a post entitled Spelling America with a "K" now, are we?

Things have changed. Then, I was happily* living in Northern VA and working for Benetton. Since then, I've gone to Sweden, got a Master's degree, and have since come to Prague and am trying to make it as an English teacher. And yet back home, it seems that things are still the same. A fact that can be either refreshing and comforting, or frightening and sad, depending on your POV.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, indeed.

* And if you believe that, I've got a nice bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in...

:: posted by Rob 10:57 AM [+] :: 5 comments
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