I will take the job in China. There are many reasons to do so which I will now elucidate in a list…

1. New adventures in a new country.

2. I hate the school I am in. Everyday something happens to make me angry. I am unmotivated because around me is incompetence.

3. I am sick of the lassez-faire, lack of professionalism of some of the staff. Some of them really don’t get it. Some of them aren’t even trained teachers yet they are dealing with children and have classes.

4. The school is going nowhere and the person leading the school is unqualified to do so.

5. I am sick of living in the jungle with no decent supermarket, shops etc. I want to be in a big city for a change. Chengdu has a population of over 10 million.

6. Career wise it is a good move. It will open new doors as a teacher. I will get a two year contract.

7. Oliver gets to go to a prestigious school and the 20,000 US fee per year is included in my package.

8. I have been in the one school for 11 years – time to move on.

9. I will be able to travel to new places from Chengdu – it’s close to Tokyo and other cities I would like to visit.

10. All of my friends will be gone after December and in June for sure. I will always miss the school we had before and the fun it was before we amalgamated. The whole thing has been a huge fuck up. The person who runs the company apparently said to a parent that, “you can’t put the shit back in the dog,” in reference to what had happened with the schools here.

I want no part of such a place anymore.

The job in China is still mine if I want it. I think I have decided I will go this time. I can’t say no twice. As I have said also – it’s time to leave this place. There are many reasons to go and less to stay so it’s a logical decision. Ade seemed OK about it when we discussed it last night. I will try and buy something in Bali as a base. But looking through websites today at houses – I don’t know whether I can afford anything!!! Ade insisted I keep the car but I think selling it would contribute to buying a house and it would be silly to keep it. I have started researching about the city and everything I see looks positive. Supermarkets, shops, cinemas – even an IKEA store. I need to find out about a visa for Oliver though – that could be a complication and I want to take him with me as part of the package is free tuition for him at what appears to be a prestigious group of schools.

Had an alcohol free day yesterday. Boy did I need it. I think I should make this an alcohol free week actually. I will make a concerted effort to get back to my exercise program this week too. Still searching for another job. I keep having to remind myself that I will find something else and that I CANNOT stay here any longer no matter what they are paying me. I feel so angry all the time at school and I know it’s this place and the people. I haven’t saved any money and that’s playing on my mind. I have had a nice life though since I have been overseas. Three weeks left till the Christmas holiday. It’s only a bit over three weeks, which really sucks!

Three day long weekend as Friday was kill a goat day. Lazy days. I did swim on Saturday. Drank far too much last night. Jon the pilot came for dinner. That’s the second time. He brought two bottles of wine so he and I polished off three bottles between the two of us. I gave him the money for buying Oliver’s Wii. Three weeks to go before I am on holiday and we all go to Australia. Can’t wait to get out of here!

I have finally got off my bum and started sending my CV out to more schools. I have expressed an interest in three schools outside Indonesia – Turkey, Khartoum and Japan. The more I think about it the more I like the idea of leaving Indonesia. But maybe that’s because of the disorganised shit that happens at my school. I shouldn’t generalise that ineptness to cover the whole country but Indonesians can’t be described as highly organised people – they are far too laid back sometimes. I wasn’t considering Europe but I could happily live in Istanbul as I have been there twice. And Turkish men…well say no more! I have always wanted to visit Japan and I have an almost obsessive love of sushi and sashimi so I think I would love being there too. No idea about Khartoum…it’s in Africa and sounds exotic but possibly dangerous. I will apply to a school in Angola as well. I also recently discovered that someone I know from Tasmania is the director of a school in Hong Kong. So my CV has gone to him too. The world is my oyster I think is the appropriate cliché here. No fucking Internet at Yoyo’s for over two weeks now!

Am finding it hard to get job applications done. I have sent a few off and received two positive responses but no jobs. I emailed the guy in China who had offered me a job and he seemed interested in giving me a job. I am still not sure that I want to be in Chengdu. But as people tell me I should move on from this place. It’s a good opportunity for Oliver too but the money is not as much as here! I have been very naughty and not stayed in town site for ages. I am just waiting for someone to notice and say something. The holiday at Christmas has turned into this massively expensive undertaking as usual. We are flying el cheapo this time and it’s still costing heaps. I looked at car hire prices today and they seem to have gone through the ceiling. Did some painting at the weekend mainly because I had to produce one for Christmas for the family hash. The Christmas one turned out well and I will use it to email or Facebook all my friends for Christmas. Roll on the holidays! They are shorter than usual, as we have to come back for some stupid fucking team-building thing in Lombok. I am still deciding whether I will bother showing up. If I have another job by then there is no way I will be.

1. Had a flat tyre the other day. Turns out there were two sharpened nails in it. Hmmmm someone is pissed off with me.

2. Ade has been here since last Wednesday. The first night was a bit rough. We fought, but since then it’s been great having him here.

3. No Internet at Yoyo’s since last Sunday. It’s over a week now. Boy that pisses me off.

4. Swam on Sunday and yesterday and will force myself to the gym today.

5. Searching for another job. The guy in China responded and that could be a go. Have heard back from two schools in Jakarta which is positive also.

6. Ade got his visa so we will all go to Australia for Christmas. He is insisting we do economy and I know he’s right so I am finding the cheapest airfares. I do need to start saving some money.

7. Finding it hard to blog as much as I did before.

8. Working on a painting for the family hash t-shirts. It’s a Christmas card idea. Many years back I would produce a series of Christmas cards. I would paint several and reproduce them for sale.

9. School sucks still. I know that’s not going to improve.

I ran away to Lombok last weekend. Someone I have been chatting to for ages from Malaysia came to meet me. He was OK but I wanted to be alone after we had done it. Ate dinner at Square which was very pleasant. Ended up telling Ade I was in Lombok. We had words by sms. We seem to be fighting all the time now. The weekend in Lombok was the first time I have had sex for over a week too. No more visitors to Yoyo’s. I have sacked my gardener/driver as he was Aron’s friend and Aron isn’t welcome anymore. I think that maybe these two were behind all the shit at the mosque I mentioned earlier. Ade is coming from Bali to stay. Not sure how that will go. I wonder how long he will stay this time? I have lost all motivation for swimming and going to the gym. I went out in Lombok. My Malaysian friend came with Achand and Wafer. It was awful. The place was full of smoke. The music was shitty. I didn’t enjoy it at all. Walked out and went back to the hotel. Slept with no action from my Malaysian friend! Had to leave early the next morning and do the bloody taxi trip across Lombok. Arrived at Kayangan to find the company boat was not working and I had to take the public ferry! They had arranged for a bus to pick people up at the other end. I arranged for my car to be brought to pick me up. So it was a long trip home. Have been staying at Yoyo’s quite a bit. There has been no Internet there the last two nights. School continues to be just as shitty as ever. I really don’t know how I will make it in this place till June next year.

I have finally got off my arse and started sending my CV around to find another job. I am determined to find a well paying job in a school I like the look of. Indonesia is my first choice but as the week progresses I think – why? Oliver and I can probably go anywhere. My friend has written an eBook for people wishing to teach internationally and I am using it to find schools. Thanks Bruce.  Follow the link here: http://techtalk.cyberbali.com/?p=26 to read about the author and buy the book. Angola has come up as a destination and yes I would even go that far away. The shit that happened at the weekend doesn’t seem to have gone any further other than one person who used to visit says he cannot see me for a while. Maybe he was behind it. I am really fucking angry when I think about. How dare anyone tell me WHO I have at my house and WHAT I do. Fuck you!

Work becomes more bizarre daily – most of the stuff comes from the new principal. For sure he will go under. You cannot be as incompetent as this person and continue to run a school. My personal life is in chaos too. I am still angry with Ade. I could actually lose my job or be run out of the country. Last weekend was spent dealing with Ade’s lies and being in Lombok. This weekend I have spent worrying about a message I got from the person who runs the place where I live. Apparently I was the topic of a conversation at the local mosque about the more than usual traffic at my house. Shit. She recommended I stay in townsite and curb the visitors. I stayed in townsite on Saturday night for the first time ever. I have been a very silly boy I think. That’s it. There will be no more people coming to Yoyo’s. This has to have come from someone who works here. Or someone who has been here and is pissed off. Shit. Shit Shit… I have spent the whole weekend worrying myself sick. Yesterday I tried to forget it as Jan, Andrew, Oliver and I went to Bungin Island to take photographs but I couldn’t stop the possible ramifications of this from swirling round in my head.  I hate to lie. But I will to get out of this one if I need to. Yeah I have a few visitors. They come to learn English. Just like I do in Maluk on Tuesday evenings.