Funemployment [fuhn em-ploi-muh nt]
-noun
1. The condition of a person who takes advantage of being out of a job to have the time of their life.
2. A happy time in one’s life when one is not employed and is not wanting to be employed.
Officially my last day of work was April 28th. I miss my kids terribly but I left them in good hands, the guy that replaced me has a good heart.
It’s a weird feeling being unemployed. In the past I have always had a new job to fall back on and have never needed to take advantage of UI services in Canada.
Job opportunities here in Tokyo are limited at the moment. There are an abundance of teaching jobs but not much else. Since my most recent job came to an end I have decided that it is time to branch out and try something new. I have been teaching for over 3 years and I have learned a lot but now I want to learn about other things and gain new skills.
I’ve started by opening my mind to other career possibilities. I’m looking into food/beverage, editing and also recruiting. I realize that the latter is a cut throat business but I’m willing to give it a try.
I interviewed for a few different jobs last week. A waitress/bartender and a writing/editing position. I’m still waiting to hear back regarding the second interview for the writing/edition job but in the meantime I have been offered the waitress/bartender job! Hooray! I start on Monday. I have no experience in the food service industry aside from the time I served at Subway and Dairy Queen but learn fast and have a lot of customer service experience. This is going to be fun, I can’t wait!
I do recommend to those of you who may be in search of a job in Tokyo or even Japan to look outside the box. Don’t stick to the main job sites, especially if you want to get out of teaching because 99% of the jobs listed are teaching jobs. Try daijob.com not all of them require fluent Japanese some only require conversational and of course, be pro-active. Don’t wait for the job to be posted apply to the company you want to work for, they may need people and are just not advertizing.
Since I’ve saved up a bit of cash over the past few months I was able to do something I never thought I would be able to, pay off my credit card. Man, it feels good to see the balance at ZERO.
Now, if only I could break free from my student loan debt. That will take a lot more time and money unfortunately.
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Don’t forget about my upcoming event
#quakebook live
Friday, May 27th, 7-11pm
@The Pink Cow, Shibuya, Tokyo
¥1000 + Red Cross donation
Performances by:
Nature Airline
Fumiya Sugimoto
Akiko Otao accompanied by Ai Yamazaki
Find the Facebook event page here
Come, help Japan and be inspired
A Pocket of Words 