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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!