Leaving My Tokyo Reverie for a Moment to Update You All on my Real Life Now Unfolding
Today we have an interview with a babysitter.
Why? you might ask.
Well, last Friday, our Au Pair Extraordinaire returned to her native country of Taiwan. Her au pair year is all through, so her plan now is to come back and start classes at SF State on September 13, and prepare to take U.S. nurse licensing exams (she was a nurse in Taiwan, but needs to brush up her medical English). If all goes well, she will get her student visa in time and return. She won`t be an official au pair anymore, but will live with us in exchange for babysitting. What a concept -- a free live-in babysitter, a wonderful, responsible young woman whom my kids love, and who can even handle medical emergencies.
The catch? Oh, she might not get her student visa in time, in which case she will just stay in Taiwan, and I will mail her all the possessions she left in a big box in her old room.
The box is taunting me -- will I mail it? Or will she come back to us and unpack it? The suspense is killing me. I keep the door to her room shut, so I don`t have to look at it.
Some of you might be wondering, why do I need a babysitter at all, if I`m not working?
Ah, now here`s where I buried the lead of this post: I`m starting a part-time job on August 15.
Isn`t this funny? For one solid year, I had fulltime, live-in daycare and wasn`t working (a situation explained here) , and right after Au Pair Extraordinaire leaves, I`m supposed to start working. Life is like that.
Now, the job -- you want to hear about it, don`t you? Oh, you know you do.
A friend of mine is a property manager, and his company will be taking over the management of --hmmmm, how can I describe it, without having it come up in Google searches? Let me try this: a complex of shops in the city whose primary tenants are Japanese, and whose recent sale triggered all sorts of controversy. Oh, wait -- I can just link an article on it. Good -- now even those of you from out of town can understand what I`m talking about.
When I was in Tokyo, I got an email from my friend, saying his company got this management deal, and asking if Hub or I knew of anyone who spoke Japanese and wanted a part-time job, just 10-15 hours a week, talking to tenants and keeping track of their concerns. They wouldn`t have to collect rent or do anything like that -- his office will take care of all that. It`s really just a "show your face and talk to people and listen to their problems" job.
"HIRE ME! ME! ME!!!" I wrote to him, and he did. He was surprised I wanted it, since it pays very little. But hey -- I`m cleaning up old people`s dirty lunch trays for FREE now, just to get to speak a little Japanese and keep in peripheral touch with the culture I miss. I will think of this job as community service for which I receive a small honorarium.
And of course my friend is clear that when Little Son starts kindergarten, I will most likely heed the call of the fulltime paycheck again, so I can only make a one-year commitment to this. He said that`s fine.
The timing isn`t quite perfect: the big kids` school starts Aug. 24, Little Son`s preschool doesn`t start until Sept. 6, and I need to start showing up every day on Aug. 15.
So, off to my babysitter meeting. I`ll let you know how it goes.
Why? you might ask.
Well, last Friday, our Au Pair Extraordinaire returned to her native country of Taiwan. Her au pair year is all through, so her plan now is to come back and start classes at SF State on September 13, and prepare to take U.S. nurse licensing exams (she was a nurse in Taiwan, but needs to brush up her medical English). If all goes well, she will get her student visa in time and return. She won`t be an official au pair anymore, but will live with us in exchange for babysitting. What a concept -- a free live-in babysitter, a wonderful, responsible young woman whom my kids love, and who can even handle medical emergencies.
The catch? Oh, she might not get her student visa in time, in which case she will just stay in Taiwan, and I will mail her all the possessions she left in a big box in her old room.
The box is taunting me -- will I mail it? Or will she come back to us and unpack it? The suspense is killing me. I keep the door to her room shut, so I don`t have to look at it.
Some of you might be wondering, why do I need a babysitter at all, if I`m not working?
Ah, now here`s where I buried the lead of this post: I`m starting a part-time job on August 15.
Isn`t this funny? For one solid year, I had fulltime, live-in daycare and wasn`t working (a situation explained here) , and right after Au Pair Extraordinaire leaves, I`m supposed to start working. Life is like that.
Now, the job -- you want to hear about it, don`t you? Oh, you know you do.
A friend of mine is a property manager, and his company will be taking over the management of --hmmmm, how can I describe it, without having it come up in Google searches? Let me try this: a complex of shops in the city whose primary tenants are Japanese, and whose recent sale triggered all sorts of controversy. Oh, wait -- I can just link an article on it. Good -- now even those of you from out of town can understand what I`m talking about.
When I was in Tokyo, I got an email from my friend, saying his company got this management deal, and asking if Hub or I knew of anyone who spoke Japanese and wanted a part-time job, just 10-15 hours a week, talking to tenants and keeping track of their concerns. They wouldn`t have to collect rent or do anything like that -- his office will take care of all that. It`s really just a "show your face and talk to people and listen to their problems" job.
"HIRE ME! ME! ME!!!" I wrote to him, and he did. He was surprised I wanted it, since it pays very little. But hey -- I`m cleaning up old people`s dirty lunch trays for FREE now, just to get to speak a little Japanese and keep in peripheral touch with the culture I miss. I will think of this job as community service for which I receive a small honorarium.
And of course my friend is clear that when Little Son starts kindergarten, I will most likely heed the call of the fulltime paycheck again, so I can only make a one-year commitment to this. He said that`s fine.
The timing isn`t quite perfect: the big kids` school starts Aug. 24, Little Son`s preschool doesn`t start until Sept. 6, and I need to start showing up every day on Aug. 15.
So, off to my babysitter meeting. I`ll let you know how it goes.
posted by L. at 9:14 AM
10 Comments:
Still, what a good opportunity for you! I hope that the box never goes to Taiwan. But it might be nice to have a second babysitter's info on hand, if needed.
Fingers & all other relevant body parts crossed in hopes that you'll "pick a winner"... Heavy sigh, we've only got 8 more days of glorious Time to Ourselves before jumping into the school routine again.
Sounds like a great opportunity.
Sounds like a perfect match. Of course, if he pairs you up with a guy named "Vito" and you're supposed to go make the "monthly collections" with him.... Eeek!
Errr, just joking.
Wonderful news!! And here's hoping that the box doesn't have to get shipped back - keeping my fingers crossed.
Good luck. Sounds fabulous. Hope it all works out for you. :)
How lucky to find something you'll enjoy doing at almost the right time.
Sounds like the perfect part-time job for you - good luck finding a great babysitter to get you through the transition before school starts!
I'll be interested to hear how this goes - we're starting to looking for babysitter/nanny types...
Ugh... Childcare searching. I don't envy you the work. But I seem to recall from your pragmatic advice on a bygone post on the topic at my place... You likely don't get so bent about it all.
Good luck.
ps.. I can just see the box myself. Best to keep the door closed.
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