A job? A job!

First, my good friend Whitney posted a link for me in the comments section of my last post. She had heard something on NPR regarding the cultural smiling and Asia. In this transcript, they call it the "Asian Poker Face."

This makes me delighted because I KNEW I wasn't making this up. Smiling IS extremely cultural and unfortunately I might not ever break the habit of smiling to people I pass by on the streets. I mean, there's 28 years (almost 29) of culture instilled in me saying that if I don't smile I'm being rude and unfriendly and that's a really hard thing to push out of your mind and be comfortable with. You can read the link HERE.

Secondly, I got the part time job as the base movie theatre duty manager! My work will be rather dull and will involve watching over the high schoolers doing their jobs. After much thinking, I decided I did not want a full-time job. There's too much to do and see in Japan and I really need to keep my schedule open. Plus, I don't want the stress that comes with a full-time job. In San Diego, I was reeling from the workload and stress levels of my job. I feel like I'm just now making some sort of zen recovery from that life beating.

With that being said, the next time we live in the United States, I highly doubt John will still be in the Navy. Like I have said in earlier posts, John and I are starting to think of life after the Navy. He's paid the piper with nearly 8 years of service (maybe 10-13 by the time we return to the US) and being on a boat for 6-8 months at a time doesn't sound as appealing to him as it once did.

I get hounded a lot by military wives asking, "Why do you want a job in Japan? Just live of your husband's allowances!" While this is doable, I don't feel right not contributing to our savings. If I make $400-$500 every two weeks, that's money I can send directly into savings so that in the future we will have a cushion to help us adjust to life as civilians.

The great thing about my job is that I don't get paid time off. Why is this great? Because it means I can take off whenever I need to. I don't need to wait for leave and sick days to accumulate nor do I have to worry that I can only take 10 vacation days a year. If I need to have days off, I let them know and they make it happen as long as its not unreasonable (like asking for every weekend off ever).

Anyway, I'm pretty excited, I actually know the guy I'm replacing and he did this job while also being a full-time active duty military member. So, wish me luck! I go in tomorrow and fill out the paperwork!