Chirography & Life

This Taiwanese process is a lot more stressful than I pictured. I mean - I knew it’d be stressful - I just didn’t know how to picture it.

Today I sat down with my agent and she was just as unsure of how to apply for teaching jobs in Taiwan because she is truly just a recruiter for students to come from Taiwan to Canada, not teachers to go from Canada to Taiwan. All in all, she and her husband helped me out, and offered me a job in their sons company in Japan if all else fails.

I contacted a recruiter company I’ve been following for awhile. I actually got to talk to them on the phone, which was neat. I emailed them, and like most people right now, they want a copy of my Bachelor of Arts Degree (which I can’t get for another two weeks so it seems). I need to get that copy signed by the Taiwanese embassy, so hopefully that goes smoothly once I can finally get my degree from the university (stop holding it from meeeeee!).

I need to get a criminal record check done, and I’ve been told that this may be possible at the RCMP, which means I don’t have to drive into downtown Surrey.

I’ve been running really low on money, and after finally paying off my visa, it’s back at close to 1k because of all the school forms, grad requests, school portraits, and TESL forms I’ve had to complete, not to mention gas. And, I’m not even done filling out forms.

The voice I keep hearing in the back of my head reminds me that no limitations I see on earth can ever limit God: no matter how small the timeframe and how big the challenge. I think of that, and I say to myself, “No need to stress - God can accomplish anything in milliseconds, so it can be done.” And yet, I find myself stressing although I know if it’s meant to be, it will be.

This is a huge part of my personality shining through - I cannot handle loose ends. I hate ambiguity and I need to have answers, even if it means “Wait 2 weeks.” I need something semi-tangiable to cling to.

A friend of mine today told me that I’m not trusting God 100% because I’m still trying to provide these things for myself, and sort out everything on my own. I guess I am saying I trust Him with my head but not actually doing it with my heart. I need to let go and be relaxed, even if that means things don’t go according to plan and I don’t get to Taiwan on the schedule I thought I had made with God.

Just goes to show that you can never be 100% about anything and really, God is the best  one to trust because He really does have it all in His control. I just need to stop stressing over things that I don’t control. As my friend said, right now only 10% of my situation is in my control, and the remaining 90% is left with my school, future employer, Taiwanese embassy/government, and the Canadian government.

I’ve done what I can, now I just need to relax and let it go.

/endrant

Tomorrow I go to get my grad portraits taken. I asked my mom if she was considering ordering any. She said no because she didn’t buy any for my elder sister. Today I told my dad that I will be sitting down with my agent tomorrow to apply for jobs in Taiwan: he was un-phased. Instead, he got up and went outside to help my sister work on some gardening project she is constructing for her PDP class.

It’s not that I think my sister shouldn’t receive help with her practicum - it’s just a bummer that I seldom receive recognition for anything that I do career/education-wise. My father has insisted that I select a “practical” graduation gift like a necklace (as my sister did) instead of a kobo ereader (like I would like so as to bring my books to Taiwan). Though to appease him I decided to pick out a purity ring, he said he simply does not have time to go to the mall to look at any with me - and yet a few days later when my sister approaches him, he dedicates his afternoons to this building project.

It’s hard to feel like a success in your parents’ eyes when they continuously compare you to the older sister who is less successful than you are. /sigh

Phillip and I just opened a can of Fanta that I had gotten when I was in Germany in 2005. It tasted off. After we had poured it into two glass cups, we stared at the pale pop and the strange chunks floating inside it. Phillip then raised his glass and toasted, “to good health!”

I think it was about a year ago when I saw a cute photo of a Japanese child in a Totoro costume. It’s been on my iphone forever; and just the other day, it showed up on my dashboard again. This time it had a link to the flickr page. That led me to the blog of the photographer, who is the girl’s mother (both a photographer and clothes designer).

Her blog is quite fantastic. Take a look here:

http://youandmie.wordpress.com/

Here is the original photo:

Just went for a run in the rain; it was actually quite nice. I ran around 1/2 of the lake, and walked the rest. My goal will be to run the entire length of the lake (twice, without dying).

Starting to realize these workouts take me less than 30 minutes. I need to work out longer to combat how much I eat, or I’ll forever be at a standstill. xD