my new job starts next week and i have to say that i am really looking forward to getting started. it's going to be nice to be doing something that i'm good at, get paid well to do it and flex some creative muscles again. it has been a long year teaching, which i honestly think i am not bad at, but it's really not for me. when i stop to consider the things i enjoy about teaching, it's actually the planning and finding new methods to teach so i guess my new job is going to be a perfect fit. one other positive thing that has come out of my retirement from teaching is that my previous employer wants to utilize my ideas so they've asked if i would be interested in doing a seminar/workshop in january. in essence, give some suggestions and share ideas with other teachers who were once my colleagues. it sounds like a very exciting opportunity and i am considering it heavily...could be the start of a side project or something...that's why i love taiwan...so many opportunities are out there.
speaking of opportunities i actually got one of my designs printed and out there. a couple of my friends are in a burlesque troupe here in taiwan and they were in need so i took a crack at it. came up with a simple, retro pinup girl which fit the bill. it wasn't anything too fancy but i was really happy with the way it came out. so, i didn't ask for payment this time but have gotten some recognition and hopefully it will start to snowball from here. i really enjoy the challenge and creative process so fingers crossed that it turns into more. i'm still considering getting some courses under my belt, not only for qualification purposes but also so i have a better understanding of creative mumbo jumbo. i keep saying that i will take these courses, but keep putting it off as there is always something else that needs to come first. c'est la vie.
as for putting things off, elisha and i decided that it's high time we start to make our house a 'home'. got the ball rolling yesterday by making a list of all the things we could add, improve upon, or repurpose in our place. most of the changes are cosmetic, displaying some photos and art as well as changing things around a bit. we've also decided to slip cover our peeling leather sofa and replace a couple pieces of furniture to give us more space. after making some decisions i mocked up how things might look with photoshop and i gotta say, the place is going to look suave. the idea is to get everything in place before we have our housewarming party which has been put off again and again. the main theme is to blow our friends minds when they walk in the door. dreams of grandeur? perhaps but sometimes dreams have to be lived. on the serious, it's going to be nice to have some peeps around to relax and make them green with envy over our totally rad apartment...lol.
not too much on the social scene this weekend...going to a friends' tonight for beer, pizza and garden while introducing a pair of potential roommates. i mentioned in my last post that a friend had recently returned to taiwan after a four year hiatus, well she is need of accommodation. she is currently schlepping it from somewhere in the mountains of xindian all the way to xinyi/dunhua and that is quite a hike. my other friends' place is a mere three blocks from her job and it just so happens that one of the ladies if heading out on a backpacking adventure for a few months so it's perfect timing. it's not permanent, but it will allow my recently arrived friend to find her feet, save some money and then find something. gotta love it when things like this happen and you can help out two quality people at the same time.
think that about does it...going to try and update more often once i'm back on a regular work sched...until next time.
