Current mood:

excited

Job + tickets
So – I got hired today! I picked school D from my lists (if you saw those). I am going to be an ALT in the kansai area starting in April I start training right after my current job ends on March 28. I get 2-3 weeks off in Dec./Jan and like 4 weeks off in August, all at a reduced pay rate. I will be based in a junior high and work at 3 elementary schools. The guy said they would be more like "rock star appearances" meaning I would go like once every 1-2 months. I will get a language bonus because of my Japanese minor (I have to send my transcript to them so Monday night I need to call my school). If I do an on-line teaching ESL course I can get another bonus. I will also have a transportation allowance since I have to drive to my schools.

The program also has a "helper" assigned to me. They are usually housewives in the area who will help me with things like finding an apartment (they will start looking soon), helping me set up bills and all, and if I have problems with the school they will help with that. Kinda like my mom away from home.

If I bring my car with me then they will give me money straight up to pay for getting the apartment. Otherwise they will pay for a car, but I will pay for insurance and shaken. Sometimes they pay for part of the shaken or repairs as a bonus for the good teachers.

I also get 5 sick/personal days a year. My work day will be 8:45-5:00.

I do have to pay for the key money for an apartment, and I will have to furnish it myself. Moving is going to be a pain. Oy so much to do!


In other news my friends and I applied for the Yoko cons in Tokyo. They added shows, which is good. The restrictions for getting a ticket were crazy. Basically, each membership could only apply for one ticket. If you want to try for 2 tickets you had to have 2 different memberships. Of the 9 memberships we tried with, 6 missed, 2 we haven’t heard yet and 1 hit.

It’s just nuts because they added shows and made it so that you could only get a ticket if you have a membership. Apparently they say they are going to be strict and check all tickets. And even if you have a letter you can’t get in. I personally think that is bull because there is no way that they are going to check more than 5000 tickets.