You know that moment when you're in a game of high-stakes poker and you look down at your cards and you raise your opponent by two hundred bucks and realize you've just made the gravest mistake of the game, and have inextricably f—ed yourself over?
I came to that disturbing epiphany just last week. I am in a deep hole, and it's going to take some doing to get me out of it.
We might be facing a crisis here.
An unexpected delay in the paperwork process for our Korean visas (apparently it takes EIGHT weeks for the State Department to process an apostille, not four as originally advertised) has forced us to wait until now to get all of our documents in order. In the meantime, Miss H and I have missed out on some excellent opportunities in Korea, opportunities that may not repeat themselves.
My situation at work has compounded matters. Due to the delays, I was forced to retract my resignation from my company and stay on for an indeterminate length of time. Meanwhile, however, my superiors had already hired a replacement, who now must needs be trained. That means that my hours have been cut back by half. Thanks to my parents, my financial situation is by no means desperate, but it can little stand any loss. I'm beginning to worry about my loan payments and credit card bills. (My credit account, in fact, is still reeling from the trip to England I took last year.)
So that's the situation: dwindling funds, missed opportunities and dashed hopes. Miss H and I are scrambling to cultivate other options in case the worst should happen (i.e., we can't find a teaching position in South Korea before mid-November), but it's a slow and dicey process. Increasingly I feel as though the walls are closing in on me.
I have a few cards left up my sleeve. I'll keep you posted.
I came to that disturbing epiphany just last week. I am in a deep hole, and it's going to take some doing to get me out of it.
We might be facing a crisis here.
An unexpected delay in the paperwork process for our Korean visas (apparently it takes EIGHT weeks for the State Department to process an apostille, not four as originally advertised) has forced us to wait until now to get all of our documents in order. In the meantime, Miss H and I have missed out on some excellent opportunities in Korea, opportunities that may not repeat themselves.
My situation at work has compounded matters. Due to the delays, I was forced to retract my resignation from my company and stay on for an indeterminate length of time. Meanwhile, however, my superiors had already hired a replacement, who now must needs be trained. That means that my hours have been cut back by half. Thanks to my parents, my financial situation is by no means desperate, but it can little stand any loss. I'm beginning to worry about my loan payments and credit card bills. (My credit account, in fact, is still reeling from the trip to England I took last year.)
So that's the situation: dwindling funds, missed opportunities and dashed hopes. Miss H and I are scrambling to cultivate other options in case the worst should happen (i.e., we can't find a teaching position in South Korea before mid-November), but it's a slow and dicey process. Increasingly I feel as though the walls are closing in on me.
I have a few cards left up my sleeve. I'll keep you posted.
4 comments:
It seems like many people around me, myself included, are experiencing crunch circumstances in one way or another. I can't help but feel that the lesson in all of it is non-attachment to outcomes. I know that may not cheer you up, but I also know you'll land on your feet, no matter what.
Haha. Just realized the verification word is "forevers." Make of that what you will.
Bad breaks, my friend. I hope your ship is righted post haste and you are on your wait.
And yeah, those State-ees are a dicey lot. Spent a year with them at the Embassy in Baghdad. I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them...
Godspeed!
Yuck, hope everything works out alright. The red tape part of moving and travelling anywhere is the worst, because no amount of "wanting" can make it go faster.
That is terrible. I thought the state department would expidite the process for an additional fee. Maybe they don't do it anymore?
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