Notes of a personal nature

In a rather bold decision I told my director last Friday that I would not be renewing my contract for my current position. By the end of this coming February I will have worked at Pukyong National University for four years bringing my grand total of time spent in Korea to five years. My how time flies.

I am now really hoping that I made the right decision. My idea was to find a 'better' position with fewer hours per week. Now that I kind of have to find that 'better' job I'm having second thoughts. You see due to the nature of being a contract worker in Korea, particularly one who prefers university work, finding a new job is kind of like finding a new apartment in Montreal - everything has to by signed sealed and delivered by a particular date. Montreal moving day is July 1st, the first day of the new semester is March 1st. So around now university positions become available, people get let go or choose to leave and it's basically a big scramble to get something good before before being tossed out of the country. Add to this the tension that's running through the ex-pat English teaching community because of pending changes to immigration laws that will see the tightening of visa issuance and it's proving to be an interesting time.

Of course I won't not get a job, I just hope it works out that I manage achieve my goal of improving my situation. I don't really have any major problems with Pukyong but I feel it's time for a change. And ideally I'll have fewer working hours so that I can get my blasted dissertation wrapped up within the next year. A lot of my anxiety has more to do with the prospect of moving. I haven't done that in almost four years and I've become rather snug in my current living quarters.

Good luck to me!