Why is it that there's always something wrong?
I had my first interview of the season today and since this job requires the same skills sets that I utilized at my previous job, everything is perfect...except that the job site is in the boonies. And I mean deeeeeeeep: forests, two-lane roads, ahh, you get the picture.
You might be thinking that this is a small price to pay for having food on the table, but it was such an issue that it was brought up twice by my interviewers today...because they know what traffic is like in this city. It took me 40 minutes to get there today traffic-free. Who knows what it'll be like during daily rush hours!
Other instances of such imperfections in the past:
1. Love what I'm doing and professional development opportunities, but horrible boss.
2. Love the city I'm working in, organization and my co-workers, but horrible salary.
3. Love the proximity of my workplace to home, but crazy co-worker and no opportunities for advancement.
Is there a "perfect" job out there for me? Will the stars ever align? Will my career stop mirroring my lovelife just this once? Ha!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
EPIK Proportions
I wasn't even thinking about this, but I somehow ended up finding information about the 2009 EPIK Program after perusing through the Republic of Korea's Seattle Consulate website. South Korea's EPIK is what JET is in Japan.
For my veteran blog readers, you may remember that in 2005, after a long application process, I was accepted into the JET Program, but had turned the opportunity down due to what was then thought of as a "better" job ("better" meaning better-paying and more aligned with my marketing degree). The said job turned out to be a bust and I ended up buying a plane ticket to Manila instead and spending the next 22 months discovering how American I was in the homeland. ;P Regardless, it was the best experience ever and I wouldn't have experienced it had I not done the unthinkable.
So, four years later, EPIK enters the picture. Is this just a coincidence? Some issues to consider:
1. No teaching positions are in Seoul. There goes my BigBang concert opportunities. Ha!
2. Pay is quite low for me and my bachelor's-degree-holding-self.
3. Whereas JET's application process takes some 10+ months, EPIK's process is only 3 months and no, I don't consider this as a good thing.
4. This experience would be a lot funner if I were doing it with a friend.
I can't believe I saw this on the eve of my first job interview of the season. Aigoo! Let me know if any of you guys know anyone who has done this.
For my veteran blog readers, you may remember that in 2005, after a long application process, I was accepted into the JET Program, but had turned the opportunity down due to what was then thought of as a "better" job ("better" meaning better-paying and more aligned with my marketing degree). The said job turned out to be a bust and I ended up buying a plane ticket to Manila instead and spending the next 22 months discovering how American I was in the homeland. ;P Regardless, it was the best experience ever and I wouldn't have experienced it had I not done the unthinkable.
So, four years later, EPIK enters the picture. Is this just a coincidence? Some issues to consider:
1. No teaching positions are in Seoul. There goes my BigBang concert opportunities. Ha!
2. Pay is quite low for me and my bachelor's-degree-holding-self.
3. Whereas JET's application process takes some 10+ months, EPIK's process is only 3 months and no, I don't consider this as a good thing.
4. This experience would be a lot funner if I were doing it with a friend.
I can't believe I saw this on the eve of my first job interview of the season. Aigoo! Let me know if any of you guys know anyone who has done this.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Back to Life, Back to Reality
I'm back in Seattle...physically. Mentally, I'm still wishing I'm in Asia.
I didn't have internet connection anymore when I moved to my more expensive hotel for my last three nights in Seoul. And my days in Japan were too hectic to even try to sneak in some blogging time. Tsk. Must...back-blog...soon.
The verdict? I heart Seoul better than Tokyo. Crazy conclusion, right? Afterall, I've always had a thing for Tokyo. But as always, you never know what you really like unless you try it.
Tokyo to me is just pure chaos. I didn't dig dodging crazy salary men running down the escalator/stairs to catch the train. Kei and I kept saying, "Do they really need to catch THAT specific train?! The next one arrives in like five minutes!" In addition, being squished inside the subway everyday is not fun. If I wanted to be in that situation, just give me unlimited rides on Manila's MRT during rush hour. If Tokyo's subways were full of the oppas in Seoul subways, I wouldn't have minded getting squished, but Tokyo's subways are full of red-faced (read: drunk) middle-aged men starting at 5pm. Hardly fun, I tell you.
Coming from Seoul, everything was much more expensive in Tokyo. Come on, $7 for a KFC meal?! Really?! Where the hell did they get those chickens?! Seoul street food is so plentiful that you can make anything a meal for just $1. Plus, the subway rides were much more expensive than in Seoul. Okay, so Tokyo is way bigger than Seoul, but $3.30 for each ride does add up quickly. Compare that to my $0.90 - $1.20 subway rides in Seoul and you'll understand why I'm whining like a typical American.
And for some reason, Seoul appeared friendlier to me. I barely spotted people smiling in Tokyo; those in the subways were always asleep or looked just dead tired. And Kei would always point out to me when there's an announcement that a certain train is delayed because someone tried to commit suicide by jumping on the tracks. OMG.
Despite the jokes people make regarding Korea's tagline, "Korea Sparkling", I actually now understand it; granted that it should really be "Sparkling Korea" if anything. However, the city is really sparkling: the subways are clean; the people are ALWAYS dressed sharply (they seem to not know what jeans are); and cultural traditions are always combined with something modern, producing stuff that are new and authentically Korean (think JUMP and NANTA).
So, if God were to ask me where I'd like to work in the future, I'd pick Seoul, but this is not to say that I wouldn't think of working in Japan. Just please not in Tokyo.
I didn't have internet connection anymore when I moved to my more expensive hotel for my last three nights in Seoul. And my days in Japan were too hectic to even try to sneak in some blogging time. Tsk. Must...back-blog...soon.
The verdict? I heart Seoul better than Tokyo. Crazy conclusion, right? Afterall, I've always had a thing for Tokyo. But as always, you never know what you really like unless you try it.
Tokyo to me is just pure chaos. I didn't dig dodging crazy salary men running down the escalator/stairs to catch the train. Kei and I kept saying, "Do they really need to catch THAT specific train?! The next one arrives in like five minutes!" In addition, being squished inside the subway everyday is not fun. If I wanted to be in that situation, just give me unlimited rides on Manila's MRT during rush hour. If Tokyo's subways were full of the oppas in Seoul subways, I wouldn't have minded getting squished, but Tokyo's subways are full of red-faced (read: drunk) middle-aged men starting at 5pm. Hardly fun, I tell you.
Coming from Seoul, everything was much more expensive in Tokyo. Come on, $7 for a KFC meal?! Really?! Where the hell did they get those chickens?! Seoul street food is so plentiful that you can make anything a meal for just $1. Plus, the subway rides were much more expensive than in Seoul. Okay, so Tokyo is way bigger than Seoul, but $3.30 for each ride does add up quickly. Compare that to my $0.90 - $1.20 subway rides in Seoul and you'll understand why I'm whining like a typical American.
And for some reason, Seoul appeared friendlier to me. I barely spotted people smiling in Tokyo; those in the subways were always asleep or looked just dead tired. And Kei would always point out to me when there's an announcement that a certain train is delayed because someone tried to commit suicide by jumping on the tracks. OMG.
Despite the jokes people make regarding Korea's tagline, "Korea Sparkling", I actually now understand it; granted that it should really be "Sparkling Korea" if anything. However, the city is really sparkling: the subways are clean; the people are ALWAYS dressed sharply (they seem to not know what jeans are); and cultural traditions are always combined with something modern, producing stuff that are new and authentically Korean (think JUMP and NANTA).
So, if God were to ask me where I'd like to work in the future, I'd pick Seoul, but this is not to say that I wouldn't think of working in Japan. Just please not in Tokyo.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Nara
With feet that were about to fall off, I opted to go to Nara today since its sights seem to be all clustered together. However, instead of saving some foot energy, I wasted some right off the bat.
Instead of asking for directions when I got out at the JR Nara Station, I just started walking south, munching away on one of my baked goods for breakfast. It didn't dawn on me to ask someone until I got to a 7-Eleven realized that there hasn't been a single white person in sight. Sure enough, I should've been heading north, then turn east to get to Nara Park from the train station. Thankfully, the 7-Eleven staff was quite nice and pointed me to the right direction; she wanted me to take the bus, but I opted to walk instead like I always do (and I wonder why my feet were aching?!). And I really should get a darn compass so that I don't make these kinds of mistakes again.
Ahh, Nara. It was yet another city that was much calmer than Tokyo. My first stop after a long walk from the train station was Kofuku-ji Temple with its 50-meter-high five-story pagoda. I already started missing Kei with her DSLR because my camera can't really do these shots justice. After seeing more free-wandering deer, I headed over to Todai-ji Temple with the Daibutsu-den (Great Buddha Hall), "57 meters long and 50 meters wide, making it the world's largest wooden structure. The hall enshrines a huge statue of the great Buddha. Weighing approximately 300 tons and standing some 15 meters tall, it is the largest Buddha statue in the world." Unfortunately, since the hall was dimly lit, my pictures of the Buddha was subpar. Sadness.
There were lots of school girls around, wearing their school uniforms, and whenever I would see one I swear that the Sailor Moon theme song kept popping in my head (...Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight...Never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon...).
Before I left for my trip, Ed's sister-in-law kept telling me to go to the Omizutori, Water-Drawing Festival, when in Nara. However, I arrived in Japan way after the festival so I had to settle for just dropping by the Nigatsu-do Hall and imagine what that place might have looked like a few weeks earlier. The hall overlooks a cliff so it was nice to get fresh air and cool down from all the walking.
Further up was Mt. Kasuga-yama where the school girls ate their lunch. The very green hill, also the sight of the yearly grass burning festival, was a great backdrop against the very blue uniforms of the girls.
At Kasuga-taisha Shrine, another World Heritage Site, there were a million lanterns along the path. I do wonder what all these places look like at night, but I know that my chances of getting lost is much higher when it's dark; heck, it's usually daylight and I'm often treading the wrong path already. ;P
By 1pm, I started working my way back to the train station at a pitstop to eat a tendon in the city center. I also dropped by the local Starbucks to find a Nara mug, but unfortunately, there was none to be found.
I already knew which direction the train station was so I decided to take some of the little side streets along the way instead of walking along the main road that I took earlier in the day. I always love doing this because you get to see how the locals live. This is also the reason why I hate guided tours because you're always just looking out of a window instead of actually rubbing elbows with the people that actually make the place what it is. And just like Hiroshima, I do like Nara better than Tokyo. It's small town Japan and more laid back.
By 2:30pm, I was already on a train heading back to Osaka. I was going to make a stop at Horyuji for the Horyuji Temple, but I really think that the last 13 days have taken a toll on me: I wanted rest instead of adventure.
When I got back to Osaka, I had planned to take a short rest, do my laundry, then head back out to explore the area of my hotel. However, a sucky thing happened.
After paying more for doing my laundry in Osaka than in Seoul, it didn't seem like any soap actually dispensed out of the washing machine like it should've and after 30 minutes in the dryer, my clothes were barely dry. When I took them out of the dryer, they weren't even hot. So instead of spending another round of yen for another cycle, I grudgingly brought my clothes to my room and tried to figure out how to hang them in my room with only two hangers around.
With no jeans or socks, I couldn't go out for the night like I had intended since I only had my khaki skirt and flip-flops on. So, I just headed over to the Yoshinoya across the street for dinner and called it a night. Unfortunately, when I got there, they didn't have a vending machine so ordering was a little trickier than usual. "Gyudon...take-out." Plus, all the seats were taken by men and one of them who looked quite sleazy was looking me up and down. Eww.
By 7pm, I was already twiddling my thumbs, trying to figure out how to entertain myself. The TV in my room only had a handful of crappy channels, none of which were in English. Ugh! But then again, I did wish for rest and sure enough, I got some tonight.
Instead of asking for directions when I got out at the JR Nara Station, I just started walking south, munching away on one of my baked goods for breakfast. It didn't dawn on me to ask someone until I got to a 7-Eleven realized that there hasn't been a single white person in sight. Sure enough, I should've been heading north, then turn east to get to Nara Park from the train station. Thankfully, the 7-Eleven staff was quite nice and pointed me to the right direction; she wanted me to take the bus, but I opted to walk instead like I always do (and I wonder why my feet were aching?!). And I really should get a darn compass so that I don't make these kinds of mistakes again.
Ahh, Nara. It was yet another city that was much calmer than Tokyo. My first stop after a long walk from the train station was Kofuku-ji Temple with its 50-meter-high five-story pagoda. I already started missing Kei with her DSLR because my camera can't really do these shots justice. After seeing more free-wandering deer, I headed over to Todai-ji Temple with the Daibutsu-den (Great Buddha Hall), "57 meters long and 50 meters wide, making it the world's largest wooden structure. The hall enshrines a huge statue of the great Buddha. Weighing approximately 300 tons and standing some 15 meters tall, it is the largest Buddha statue in the world." Unfortunately, since the hall was dimly lit, my pictures of the Buddha was subpar. Sadness.
There were lots of school girls around, wearing their school uniforms, and whenever I would see one I swear that the Sailor Moon theme song kept popping in my head (...Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight...Never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon...).
Before I left for my trip, Ed's sister-in-law kept telling me to go to the Omizutori, Water-Drawing Festival, when in Nara. However, I arrived in Japan way after the festival so I had to settle for just dropping by the Nigatsu-do Hall and imagine what that place might have looked like a few weeks earlier. The hall overlooks a cliff so it was nice to get fresh air and cool down from all the walking.
Further up was Mt. Kasuga-yama where the school girls ate their lunch. The very green hill, also the sight of the yearly grass burning festival, was a great backdrop against the very blue uniforms of the girls.
At Kasuga-taisha Shrine, another World Heritage Site, there were a million lanterns along the path. I do wonder what all these places look like at night, but I know that my chances of getting lost is much higher when it's dark; heck, it's usually daylight and I'm often treading the wrong path already. ;P
By 1pm, I started working my way back to the train station at a pitstop to eat a tendon in the city center. I also dropped by the local Starbucks to find a Nara mug, but unfortunately, there was none to be found.
I already knew which direction the train station was so I decided to take some of the little side streets along the way instead of walking along the main road that I took earlier in the day. I always love doing this because you get to see how the locals live. This is also the reason why I hate guided tours because you're always just looking out of a window instead of actually rubbing elbows with the people that actually make the place what it is. And just like Hiroshima, I do like Nara better than Tokyo. It's small town Japan and more laid back.
By 2:30pm, I was already on a train heading back to Osaka. I was going to make a stop at Horyuji for the Horyuji Temple, but I really think that the last 13 days have taken a toll on me: I wanted rest instead of adventure.
When I got back to Osaka, I had planned to take a short rest, do my laundry, then head back out to explore the area of my hotel. However, a sucky thing happened.
After paying more for doing my laundry in Osaka than in Seoul, it didn't seem like any soap actually dispensed out of the washing machine like it should've and after 30 minutes in the dryer, my clothes were barely dry. When I took them out of the dryer, they weren't even hot. So instead of spending another round of yen for another cycle, I grudgingly brought my clothes to my room and tried to figure out how to hang them in my room with only two hangers around.
With no jeans or socks, I couldn't go out for the night like I had intended since I only had my khaki skirt and flip-flops on. So, I just headed over to the Yoshinoya across the street for dinner and called it a night. Unfortunately, when I got there, they didn't have a vending machine so ordering was a little trickier than usual. "Gyudon...take-out." Plus, all the seats were taken by men and one of them who looked quite sleazy was looking me up and down. Eww.
By 7pm, I was already twiddling my thumbs, trying to figure out how to entertain myself. The TV in my room only had a handful of crappy channels, none of which were in English. Ugh! But then again, I did wish for rest and sure enough, I got some tonight.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Hiroshima and Miyajima
Since we didn't go anywhere in Hiroshima yesterday, we had to make up for lost time especially since Kei wanted to be back in Tokyo by 6pm.
Wearing our matching Crocs, we headed over to the Peace Memorial Park which was quite easy to find and everything I wanted to see was located there: A-Bomb Dome, Cenotaph containing all the names of the atomic bomb victims, Children's Peace Monument, Eternal Flame of Peace, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It was quite fitting to be there at a time when I just left South Korea and all the talk there was about NorthKorea's failed missile launch.
We didn't wait for the museum to open since I really didn't want to go there and read all about the horrible things that happened when the first atomic bomb exploded. To this day, the images and text that I read regarding the Pol Pot Regime in Cambodia are still quite vivid in my mind two years after I visited.
At 8:15am, the clock at the park started ringing; my guess is that this happens everyday to signify the time when the atomic bomb exploded. Shortly thereafter, a man came to unlock the Peace Bell which allowed me to ring it once.
Heading back to the hotel, we dropped by the city center again so that I could buy a Hiroshima Starbucks mug. It's really amazing how this city has bounced back from all its past sufferings. And as I kept telling Kei yesterday, I actually like this city because it's more civilized than Tokyo and people here look happy.
After checking out of the hotel, it was another round of hauling all our stuff on the train. Luckily, we found available medium-sized coin lockers at the JR Miyajima Station and we managed to fit my luggage into one of them with some tweaking. After riding the ferry to Miyajima Island, it was all gluttony from there. We each ate a stick of squid pieces right when we got there (think inihaw na pusit with teriyaki sauce). While I happily ate mine in peace, Kei kept being followed by one of the free-roaming deers. Maybe because Kei was short so the deer could easily see and smell what she's holding? HaHa!
Further down the road, we found a stall selling fried sticky rice topped with an oyster (oysters are a specialty in Miyajima) and each bought one for $5. I swear, this country is too darn expensive. Finally, we saw the infamous "floating" torii gate. We passed by Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, forgetting that it's a World Heritage Site, and headed over to catch the Miyajima Ropeway to go to Mt. Misen.
Okay, so I thought that the ropeway would drop us off at the observatory part of Mt. Misen. Afterall, we had to ride two cable cars to get there. But guess what? It was still an uphill hike to get to the summit! What the?! I had no idea. I swear, I haven't been doing anything, but go up steep mountains on this trip!
After what seemed like an hour of blood, sweat, and tears, we finally got to the summit, some 535m above sea level. The view was awesome! We could also see the cable car station from there and couldn't believe how far we walked. After seeing more gray clouds roll in and hearing thunder, Kei and I headed back to where we came from. Soon after we arrived at the cable car station, there was an announcement that weather conditions may delay the cable car rides. Sure enough, we had to wait a few minutes before ours departed and the ones going towards Mt. Misen had no passengers in them. The rain poured while we were riding down the mountain and we were quite thankful that we left before we got soaked and muddy. Too bad for those folks we passed by on the trail heading the other way.
Famished, we ate a chicken and egg donburi at the nearest restaurant we saw. When we walked back to the torii gate, we saw that it was low tide and it wasn't "floating" anymore. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go up to it. I bought a few momiji-manjus (steamed bean-paste buns shaped like a maple leaf) to take with us on the train. You'll never be hungry when you're traveling with me. ;P
To catch a shinkansen, we had to go back to Hiroshima where we arrived half an hour early for the one bound for Shin-Osaka. We had enough time to have some green tea lattes, our last drink together.
At Shin-Osaka station, it was time to bid farewell. I had to catch the train bound for Osaka while Kei had to catch the one for Tokyo. It was quite nice to have a 24/7 travel buddy with me for four days, but at the same time, I was looking forward to going around alone despite being a bit scared of the language barrier.
I got to Osaka Station fine (it only took like five minutes) and found the Tourist Information Center which gave me directions to get to my hotel, HotelKinki. Yes, you read that right. It's actually a love hotel, but budget-conscious travelers have been using them. Since they just finished renovating the whole hotel, my Japanese room was brand-spanking new. Score!
For dinner, I didn't want to walk far so I just went to the KFC across the street. $7 for two pieces of chicken and a biscuit. Yes, $7! With no drink! Crazy, crazy country, I tell you. On my way back to the hotel, I saw the many nudiebars surrounding my hotel. How appropriate for Easter Sunday. ;P
Wearing our matching Crocs, we headed over to the Peace Memorial Park which was quite easy to find and everything I wanted to see was located there: A-Bomb Dome, Cenotaph containing all the names of the atomic bomb victims, Children's Peace Monument, Eternal Flame of Peace, and a whole bunch of other stuff. It was quite fitting to be there at a time when I just left South Korea and all the talk there was about NorthKorea's failed missile launch.
We didn't wait for the museum to open since I really didn't want to go there and read all about the horrible things that happened when the first atomic bomb exploded. To this day, the images and text that I read regarding the Pol Pot Regime in Cambodia are still quite vivid in my mind two years after I visited.
At 8:15am, the clock at the park started ringing; my guess is that this happens everyday to signify the time when the atomic bomb exploded. Shortly thereafter, a man came to unlock the Peace Bell which allowed me to ring it once.
Heading back to the hotel, we dropped by the city center again so that I could buy a Hiroshima Starbucks mug. It's really amazing how this city has bounced back from all its past sufferings. And as I kept telling Kei yesterday, I actually like this city because it's more civilized than Tokyo and people here look happy.
After checking out of the hotel, it was another round of hauling all our stuff on the train. Luckily, we found available medium-sized coin lockers at the JR Miyajima Station and we managed to fit my luggage into one of them with some tweaking. After riding the ferry to Miyajima Island, it was all gluttony from there. We each ate a stick of squid pieces right when we got there (think inihaw na pusit with teriyaki sauce). While I happily ate mine in peace, Kei kept being followed by one of the free-roaming deers. Maybe because Kei was short so the deer could easily see and smell what she's holding? HaHa!
Further down the road, we found a stall selling fried sticky rice topped with an oyster (oysters are a specialty in Miyajima) and each bought one for $5. I swear, this country is too darn expensive. Finally, we saw the infamous "floating" torii gate. We passed by Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, forgetting that it's a World Heritage Site, and headed over to catch the Miyajima Ropeway to go to Mt. Misen.
Okay, so I thought that the ropeway would drop us off at the observatory part of Mt. Misen. Afterall, we had to ride two cable cars to get there. But guess what? It was still an uphill hike to get to the summit! What the?! I had no idea. I swear, I haven't been doing anything, but go up steep mountains on this trip!
After what seemed like an hour of blood, sweat, and tears, we finally got to the summit, some 535m above sea level. The view was awesome! We could also see the cable car station from there and couldn't believe how far we walked. After seeing more gray clouds roll in and hearing thunder, Kei and I headed back to where we came from. Soon after we arrived at the cable car station, there was an announcement that weather conditions may delay the cable car rides. Sure enough, we had to wait a few minutes before ours departed and the ones going towards Mt. Misen had no passengers in them. The rain poured while we were riding down the mountain and we were quite thankful that we left before we got soaked and muddy. Too bad for those folks we passed by on the trail heading the other way.
Famished, we ate a chicken and egg donburi at the nearest restaurant we saw. When we walked back to the torii gate, we saw that it was low tide and it wasn't "floating" anymore. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to go up to it. I bought a few momiji-manjus (steamed bean-paste buns shaped like a maple leaf) to take with us on the train. You'll never be hungry when you're traveling with me. ;P
To catch a shinkansen, we had to go back to Hiroshima where we arrived half an hour early for the one bound for Shin-Osaka. We had enough time to have some green tea lattes, our last drink together.
At Shin-Osaka station, it was time to bid farewell. I had to catch the train bound for Osaka while Kei had to catch the one for Tokyo. It was quite nice to have a 24/7 travel buddy with me for four days, but at the same time, I was looking forward to going around alone despite being a bit scared of the language barrier.
I got to Osaka Station fine (it only took like five minutes) and found the Tourist Information Center which gave me directions to get to my hotel, HotelKinki. Yes, you read that right. It's actually a love hotel, but budget-conscious travelers have been using them. Since they just finished renovating the whole hotel, my Japanese room was brand-spanking new. Score!
For dinner, I didn't want to walk far so I just went to the KFC across the street. $7 for two pieces of chicken and a biscuit. Yes, $7! With no drink! Crazy, crazy country, I tell you. On my way back to the hotel, I saw the many nudiebars surrounding my hotel. How appropriate for Easter Sunday. ;P
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