Saving my nose from the grindstone

Another tough week; My gym closed it's doors, throwing my whole routine off course, and then yesterday Bungal (Georgal Idiomas in Barranca del Muerto; http://www.georgal.com; **stay away from those fuckers**) and I split up for good. My depression had hit a real low; anxiety, paralizing fear, a profound dread of an impending doom... I just wasn't sure I could maintain my work habits anymore under those conditions. Bungal meanwhile was doing nothing to lift my spirits; they still hadn't delivered my visa and they were moving my classes around left and right, giving me classes that a fucking parrot could squack out of it's ass ("say chair, repeat, chair, repeat, chair..."), further pulverizing what remained of my daily routine. Working there had been getting deeper and deeper under my pale, white skin, so on Wednesday I delivered my formal resignation to be effective June 30th, which is when my 6 month contract would have terminated anyways. Apparently that wasn't good enough for them because with my resignation in their weasling hands they told me that I was fired. See, if I had quit on the 30th like I had intended I would have been free and clear with some extra cash in my pocket, but getting canned before my contract expired however meant that I would have to pay *them* for the "training" I had received in January. After deducting that amount from my paycheck I was left with a negative balance of $500 pesos to be payed the following week. The real kicker is they posess my American passport (which supposedly they'd been using to obtain my work visa) and they're holding it hostage until I pay up.

Still though, even after that I felt an enormous burden lifted and my depression almost immediatly began to dissipate. Even after I'd effectively been fired (technically they say I quit) and after they'd begun ransoming my passport, I felt lighter, more relaxed, optimistic even; that's how much I hated working for them. Actually $500 pesos doesn't seem like that much for peace of mind.

I should clarify something; I love teaching English. I love the students. It's fun and dynamic and challenging and I'm good at it. It comes naturally to me. What I hated was my employer. That and the daily commute, especially when I was called down to their shitty office for a good nagging from umpteen different bosses.

Anyhow, I'm taking the rest of the month off to reinvent my routine and recondition my mind, body, and soul so I can sustain myself through my next adventure. Starting Monday I'll start jogging in the mornings, go swimming, join a new gym, take up some tai-chi classes, meditate, read, write, play guitar, eat healthy again... really get myself centered and balanced. And after that there's good news for my next job too; I already have classes in the works via the school that awarded me my teaching certificate; Teachers International; http://www.teachers-international.com. And In August I'll be visiting Columbus for two weeks, so I have that to look forward to too.

Ding-dong the witch is dead. Burn bitch, burn.