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You have found the rude dude to be worthy of reconsideration from your first viewpoint. That is the mark of maturity so many today miss altogether. Glad to hear your heading back to some center of employment, looking forward to more of your posts! Your travel log has been a great source of fun, as has your comments with the pictures. You ever thought of doing a 'travel' book for the person who wants to really see the world about them?

Well good news, I heard from my new job and they aren't furious that I'll be a day late. But bad news is she mentioned that she talked with her manager about it, which in Chinese culture is code that you're walking on thin ice. Pretty much in their system anything getting sent up the ladder is a bad thing, means your "making trouble", and in these group based cultures (and Chinese are pretty much the inventors of the group based culture) "making trouble" is being on the hot seat for "removal"!

However it's not fatal, I'll just have to be more butt kissy and appreciative once I get there, and having spent the last year wisely saving (and now leaving Thailand with the majority of my travel budget intact) having access to a nice sum of money largely takes the edge off of all other stresses, doesn't it?

Still, I'd like it to work out, and seeing the plane was full on the day I was supposed to be there, I was not thrilled, and had to wait both all weekend (Thai holiday) to just find out what flights were open, then all day and night to hear back from the job (Taiwan holiday), and this morning our US Consulate should have my passport, if they're late I can probably kiss this job goodbye, but there are more fish in the sea around here, and I can easily go back to Plan B which was to pay for Chinese classes in Taiwan (gives you visa extensions) and just live there under my own steam while I take my time looking around, not a bad alternative!

And, as a final note, if you're ever working in a Chinese environment, and if you happen to be a rising star, then even if they're really excited about you, then they'll hide it and keep it from you (not send it up the ladder, at least not that you'll ever see them do it), until some big moment that they'll announce you're great. That's after ragging on you and dumping on you. It's contrarian as hell, but they always have this idea that, even if you deserve something good, everybody should get to hammer you before you get the good thing, or else it isn't fair! On the other hand, good Chinese will always give you the good thing, but just after you "pay" for it. Bad people might cheat you, but that's true everywhere, of course. That's why mentions to boss are bad, but no mentions are either neutral or good. Crazy, but that's why I like it, I guess. Mental stimulation!

Yes, I guess waiting for all these pieces to come together had me a bit more wound up than I was admitting to myself. And a little voice tells me I shouldn't be drinking wine anyway. Though as I cut back and cut back on booze (ultimately quitting altogether, but I'm not in any hurry!!), I find I'm drinking "cleaner" drinks (like wine, in fact I now drink only wine, if there's no wine then I don't have anything, because Socrates says it's OK to drink wine, but in "moderation"!), and I'm drinking less often, like now I have a moderately strict rule of drinking no more than two days in any week, and sometimes no days. And in fact, I've found the reduced frequency and only drinking wine does actually keep my mind crystal clear, and I easily remember everything I said and every one I talked to and where, it's pretty cool.

But still, even just one glass slows your cognitive abilities, then the weenies of the world have more of a chance to mess with you (and to be fair, many of them are roasting in agony, even if they don't show it on the surface, so your sudden "weakness" (that is, your suddenly being a bit slow on the uptake, because you imbibed in an adult beverage) is a catalyst they are not capable of resisting)). And all that comes together to imply that my run in with crap head is largely my own fault for drinking (however moderately), and something being one's own fault is the most annoying thing of all, isn't it?! ;-)