Catch Up

So I've not blogged for a while, partially because I've been busy, but also because I've not been in a place where I could sit down and really do so.

For starters, I'm no longer in the country beginning with Q. I was meant to go to the Philippines to take my PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) in mid-November, and two weeks prior to my departure I found out that I would have to leave Qatar since I would no longer have a job or a sponsor. I still went to the Philippines for my course, and at the end of the course I decided to sit the Instructor's Exam (IE) and I passed. So I am now a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI).

I'm still stuck in the Philippines, as it is easier to stay in one place and look for a job. I am pursuing jobs on several fronts:
1. Another job in Qatar or even the Gulf, either in my profession or in whatever I could be hired to do;
2. Teaching English in Japan, Korea, or Taiwan;
3. Being invited to apply for a permanent visa in New Zealand;
4. Looking for a diving instructor job whilst trying to get into something more permanent.

It's not so bad being away from the library, actually. The last job I had really took its toll on me physically. With being in front of a computer 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week, for 2 years and 1 month, my vision has deteriorated to the point where I have astigmatism in both eyes now. I have to wear toric contact lenses, which are a pain in the you-know-where, but at least I can still see. I have chronic headaches and suffer from severe neck and shoulder pain, all of which come and go. A few weeks ago, though, I slept wrong and was in agony for almost an entire week. Stress also triggers the pains, making tough going even tougher. Regular painkillers don't help, either. A drug called Flanax, which targets musculoskeletal pain, was recommended to me here, and the few times I've had to use it have brought relief. I wish I would have known about this sooner! I'd like to see if I could get some sort of alternative therapy (rolfing, reiki, acupuncture or the like) to cure this.

I miss Qatar a lot, and was quite happy there. However, I had already known it was time to look for another job. I had been getting my CV together, and getting it updated and critiqued, and had been looking at employment ads for jobs in Qatar/the Gulf and even for teaching in Japan again. It would have been nice to have left on my own terms, but so it goes. If I hadn't gotten the push out the door, I may still be there thinking I should leave. The grass is always greener, I suppose.

Being in the position of looking for a job, though, I am thinking about going back to uni in either Australia or New Zealand. This is partially so I can perhaps get a more useful qualification (in hindsight, I've got one of the most useless and misperceived qualifications of them all; prospective employers assume you can only work in a library even if you describe your field and skills as Information Organization and Retrieval; Information Optimization etc., and correcting perceptions is next to impossible), but also so I can get more points on a visa application. Plus if I can enter either country on a student visa, this may lead to internships, which could lead to jobs or good recommendations for other jobs. I don't know what I'm interested in yet-- I'm not good at maths, so useful professions such as engineering or business are right out. I started out in Computer Science in uni years ago, but programming is not my forte either. I am thinking about something in communications, actually. I enjoy writing, and I got to do a bit of layout in my last job, which was a lot of fun minus all the political mumbo jumbo and Hail Mary cranky last-minute scramble efforts which were endemic in my last workplace.

I do enjoy teaching, and I've missed being in the classroom. While instruction is a core component of being a librarian, the instructional opportunities were few and far between, and the rare occasions usually tainted by the atmosphere. There were exceptions, of course. So one never knows-- if I am given the chance to teach, I may find this is my calling, and I may pursue a qualification in this profession.

I am also considering a working holiday visa in Australia or New Zealand. I can go for up to 1 year, and this could lead into something more permanent.

"Stuck" here is not an overstatement, either. I'm not fond of where I am, but I know it is only temporary (and I am trying to make it as temporary as possible) and then I don't have to come back. I don't dive at all here, as it is very expensive and quite frankly the last dive I was on here I was so unimpressed that I said no more. I spend my days reading what I can find, which isn't much. I also watch TV, go on walks, and job hunt. A lot. We recently got Internet at the place where I am staying, so this is a blessing as I can stay home to do my work and don't have to be limited to my computer battery time or spend money each time to go online. I also discovered that my Chinese DVD player has a VCD with old-school Nintendo games and game controllers, so I've been busy exploring and rediscovering games from my childhood.