Physique skills for Shade. (Endurance, Pain Threshold, Physical Instrument)

e: 1006/1200 raised for a new bike! so close already! thank you to everyone who shared and donated so far!

surprising perhaps only me, my life absolutely exploded again. i have very few resources at the moment. 75% of my tiny disability benefit income goes to rent, and my mission-critical ebike was stolen, leaving me stranded in a desperately filthy boarding house.

i need funds, for transportation and supplies. i cannot walk long distances, necessitating a bike or scooter and delivery services

anything helps, especially sharing this post anywhere!

i completed the id verification which may have been giving some donors problems before, so now i am more ready to take your cash than ever. everything
helps, and thank you so much for sharing!

By the time of the end of my first visit to South Korea I had been screwed over by three different employers, had the drama of some of the worst human beings on the planet in my face, and my romantic relationship had cooled off to the point where we only spent time together because we didn't have anyone else to spend time with on weekends. By the end we had painlessly shifted into Besties Mode.

There are worse endings to a partnership.

It was the end of the Wild West era of working in South Korea as well. No more showing up and getting a job solely because you have the correct pigmentation. There were going to be actual requirements to get a work visa. Some requirements, like the criminal record check, guaranteed people move on to less strict nations in South East Asia. Or go home.

I jumped to Taiwan. It didn't work out. So I went back to South Korea and a potential relationship(s). They didn't work out. Unlike the easy parting with my ex, these ones ended with a lot of drama. It wasn't my drama, but I did have to suffer from it.

I had a chance at a job in western Seoul that was at a small hagwon. They were willing to pay a pretty good wage because the supply of foreigners had dried up overnight. I was at the end of my rope emotionally and mentally and I knew in my heart it was time to say good-bye to South Korea. I didn't want to return to Canada because of reasons I'm still parsing to this day.

Then, like a biblical miracle a Japanese friend from university happened to catch my tale of woe. Her husband's EFL company was opening a new branch in the ass end of Kyushu and needed a teacher. It didn't take long for his boss to become my new boss.

The date for my arrival was set. I just had to get my ass there on time. Old School Weeb finally on his way to Japan! Gonna reach the promised land.

The polyptych up above was that journey across the water to Japan. I think it took me two flights to learn to utterly hate flying as a mode of transportation. Taking the ferry across allowed my to reach deep into my Maritime Man of the Sea DNA and finally enjoy an international trip for once.

As far as I can tell the Beetle Ferry is still running, being a service that survived Covid intact. I recommend it.

The final shot was the only source of light I had for the longest time because apartments don't come with lights. I don't mean no lighybulbs, I mean no fucking light fixtures at all. You want a light overhead you needed to buy one and bring it with you and wire it up.

That after I paid a fair sum just for the honour of being allowed to pay the landlord rent.

The uncharitable miserliness was probably my main issue with Japanese culture. I could go over a lot more things that irked me there but there are a million YouTube videos that cover the same issues you can go look at.

When I get asked about which nation did I like the best, I can only answer honestly: They're all good in a lot of ways and they're all shit in a lot of ways. I don't know if that counts as wisdom but it's a damned sight smarter than thinking you're in the promised land because it's easy to buy G-nibs.