Office hours ended on friday with my inbox remaining disturbingly lacking in emails from the japan embassy. granted that there are like 23 days (13 working days) left in march, so my worry may be a little premature. the worry is mainly because i don't like being kept in suspense for overly long. they contacted me for the interview on 07 january, which was tuesday of the second week. if i follow that same timeline, i should know either way by this coming tuesday. i'm sorely tempted to call them next friday or the following monday if there's still no news by then. worst case is they tell me that i haven't been accepted. actually no. worst case is they tell me to continue waiting, because i won't be able to make any solid plans! in view of that possible scenario, and also to remind myself of things to do, i figure that i should write about both cases - acceptance and rejection. was thinking of doing a simple bullet list, but i think i'll go into more detail since it might be a fairly huge change in my life.
acceptance
if they do take me on, then like the song says, i'll be gone. not in a day or two, though. more like in a month or more. i suppose the biggest task would be to figure out what to bring, and what to leave behind. i'll probably end up bringing a laptop, tablet, stationery, clothes, maybe toothpaste and supplements. toothpaste only because fluoridated toothpaste is apparently hard to come by in japan. and as for the supplements, i mean, since i've bought them, might as well consume them before they expire, right? i hope that bringing them into japan won't be a problem.
the next challenge would be deciding what to do with the stuff that i'd have to leave in singapore. the most convenient thing to do would be to just leave everything in my room, but i'm not inclined to do that. my current idea is to sell/give away what i can, then pack the remainder into boxes and store them somewhere. thinking of asking some friends for favours, or worst case renting a small storage space. i was kind of toying around with the idea of bringing my desktop along, but i'm pretty sure it would be more hassle than it's worth.
of all the stuff to leave behind, i can't forget about the car. there are currently 2 options: deregister and scrap it, or sell it to my uncle. the second option is contingent upon whether he wants to buy it, of course. but my cousin did suggest that i at least ask, because it would make more sense for him to be able to drive around.
apart from that, there's still all the services that i'd have to terminate or put on hold. still thinking what to do with my phone number, because i really like it a lot. not to mention that basically all of my contacts associate me with that number. i think i might end up just paying the monthly bill, but i'll probably also switch to a non-contract basis. there doesn't seem to be a service to suspend it or put it on hold, and even if there was, i doubt they'd allow me to do it for a year. i'm thinking of closing an extra bank account, to have all my cash in one place in case emergency withdrawals might be required. not to mention reducing the risk of falling below the minimum sum required. that should be most of the important considerations.
rejection
there is still a chance that they might not choose me, and it's vital that i remind myself of that. even more importantly, it's essential that i have a plan so as not to waste any more time than necessary. even in the event of rejection from JET, i still have 2 choices - to aim for japan, or settle in singapore. i do know about some other companies that have similar schemes to JET, you know, the whole going to japan to teach english thing. the difference is, they're private companies and not government-linked. the pay is a little lower too, and there's one company that pays by the class instead of a fixed monthly salary. i'm not sure if i want to do something that's variable/commission-based.
based on all those considerations, perhaps it might be more viable to stay in singapore? i mean, i could interpret rejection from JET as a sign that it's not the right time to move to japan. or i could interpret as a test, that i need to further prove my commitment. but that's all up to my own interpretation, isn't it? whatever the case, there's no denying that i'll draw a higher salary in singapore. i was just browsing jobstreet to get a feel of what's available out there, as far as science-related jobs are concerned, and i noticed 2 things. (1) there seem to be so many jobs with amazing terms available, and yet they're not filling up. (2) the IP firm is still hiring. based on what i know of the office space conditions, i wonder why? oh well. not my business. a part of me still believes that i might do well in the IP industry. but well...i suppose that it would be no harm in applying to another firm, if only just to convince myself that IP is not for me.
even if i do stay in singapore, i do plan to move out. i realize that staying with people who don't bring me joy is very emotionally taxing, and that i'll still be unhappy no matter what. the idea is to rent a room, but from who? there are a few people i have in mind, one of whom would be my big brother figure. my cousin was originally my #1 choice, back when he just got his new house. but my cousin-in-law's brother moved in with them, so that didn't work out. it's even less likely to work out now, what with the baby. i am also kind of considering asking my friend (scary JC friend's boyfriend), but i'm not sure how the logistics might work out there. i mean, his house is big enough, and he doesn't need extra rental income, but i think i'll only ask him if most of my other options don't work out. based on his character, i think he'd probably be ok with it. but i don't want to push my luck. just to entertain a wild fantasy of mine, i did consider asking lawyer guy. i know that he lives alone as well, and hence probably has a spare room available. but it might be a bit weird to get asked this out of the blue, no? still, one can hope. another possible candidate is my guild leader...although he's low on my list only because he smokes.
looking again at the JET terms and conditions, it seems that early arrivals are due in japan by 12 april. that's just a hair over a month from now. which means that if i do get selected, i'll have just about the bare minimum reaction time to submit my resignation, call in favours, all that stuff. that also means that i'll have to change my plan, and call them by this coming wednesday. of course, the april deadline may be pushed back due to coronavirus, so that's something i have to take into account too. one scenario which i haven't adequately prepared for is in the event that i am selected for JET, but have to depart at a later date, say september. i'd have to find things to do for however long it is between now and flying. i'm just thinking that it might be better if they flat-out reject me if they're not sending me over in april, but we'll see.
acceptance
if they do take me on, then like the song says, i'll be gone. not in a day or two, though. more like in a month or more. i suppose the biggest task would be to figure out what to bring, and what to leave behind. i'll probably end up bringing a laptop, tablet, stationery, clothes, maybe toothpaste and supplements. toothpaste only because fluoridated toothpaste is apparently hard to come by in japan. and as for the supplements, i mean, since i've bought them, might as well consume them before they expire, right? i hope that bringing them into japan won't be a problem.
the next challenge would be deciding what to do with the stuff that i'd have to leave in singapore. the most convenient thing to do would be to just leave everything in my room, but i'm not inclined to do that. my current idea is to sell/give away what i can, then pack the remainder into boxes and store them somewhere. thinking of asking some friends for favours, or worst case renting a small storage space. i was kind of toying around with the idea of bringing my desktop along, but i'm pretty sure it would be more hassle than it's worth.
of all the stuff to leave behind, i can't forget about the car. there are currently 2 options: deregister and scrap it, or sell it to my uncle. the second option is contingent upon whether he wants to buy it, of course. but my cousin did suggest that i at least ask, because it would make more sense for him to be able to drive around.
apart from that, there's still all the services that i'd have to terminate or put on hold. still thinking what to do with my phone number, because i really like it a lot. not to mention that basically all of my contacts associate me with that number. i think i might end up just paying the monthly bill, but i'll probably also switch to a non-contract basis. there doesn't seem to be a service to suspend it or put it on hold, and even if there was, i doubt they'd allow me to do it for a year. i'm thinking of closing an extra bank account, to have all my cash in one place in case emergency withdrawals might be required. not to mention reducing the risk of falling below the minimum sum required. that should be most of the important considerations.
rejection
there is still a chance that they might not choose me, and it's vital that i remind myself of that. even more importantly, it's essential that i have a plan so as not to waste any more time than necessary. even in the event of rejection from JET, i still have 2 choices - to aim for japan, or settle in singapore. i do know about some other companies that have similar schemes to JET, you know, the whole going to japan to teach english thing. the difference is, they're private companies and not government-linked. the pay is a little lower too, and there's one company that pays by the class instead of a fixed monthly salary. i'm not sure if i want to do something that's variable/commission-based.
based on all those considerations, perhaps it might be more viable to stay in singapore? i mean, i could interpret rejection from JET as a sign that it's not the right time to move to japan. or i could interpret as a test, that i need to further prove my commitment. but that's all up to my own interpretation, isn't it? whatever the case, there's no denying that i'll draw a higher salary in singapore. i was just browsing jobstreet to get a feel of what's available out there, as far as science-related jobs are concerned, and i noticed 2 things. (1) there seem to be so many jobs with amazing terms available, and yet they're not filling up. (2) the IP firm is still hiring. based on what i know of the office space conditions, i wonder why? oh well. not my business. a part of me still believes that i might do well in the IP industry. but well...i suppose that it would be no harm in applying to another firm, if only just to convince myself that IP is not for me.
even if i do stay in singapore, i do plan to move out. i realize that staying with people who don't bring me joy is very emotionally taxing, and that i'll still be unhappy no matter what. the idea is to rent a room, but from who? there are a few people i have in mind, one of whom would be my big brother figure. my cousin was originally my #1 choice, back when he just got his new house. but my cousin-in-law's brother moved in with them, so that didn't work out. it's even less likely to work out now, what with the baby. i am also kind of considering asking my friend (scary JC friend's boyfriend), but i'm not sure how the logistics might work out there. i mean, his house is big enough, and he doesn't need extra rental income, but i think i'll only ask him if most of my other options don't work out. based on his character, i think he'd probably be ok with it. but i don't want to push my luck. just to entertain a wild fantasy of mine, i did consider asking lawyer guy. i know that he lives alone as well, and hence probably has a spare room available. but it might be a bit weird to get asked this out of the blue, no? still, one can hope. another possible candidate is my guild leader...although he's low on my list only because he smokes.
looking again at the JET terms and conditions, it seems that early arrivals are due in japan by 12 april. that's just a hair over a month from now. which means that if i do get selected, i'll have just about the bare minimum reaction time to submit my resignation, call in favours, all that stuff. that also means that i'll have to change my plan, and call them by this coming wednesday. of course, the april deadline may be pushed back due to coronavirus, so that's something i have to take into account too. one scenario which i haven't adequately prepared for is in the event that i am selected for JET, but have to depart at a later date, say september. i'd have to find things to do for however long it is between now and flying. i'm just thinking that it might be better if they flat-out reject me if they're not sending me over in april, but we'll see.
-random thought of the day: So many considerations!-
No comments:
Post a Comment