Curfew---Geezus!

[Lager]

Apparently we have a cufew here of 11. OH of course we were never told this-that would be too easy. I went to the FAO office to pick up some unread China Daily's. She says "you were out late one night?" What?-who me? So then she says the gate closes at 11 now that the students are back.

I will need to ask more about this at our dinner tomorrow..Not too worried-I recall my 1st school said this but it was never a problem. In fact the guards later showed me how to open the gate..What are they going to do do---turn you away at 3 in the morning? .But the guards here seem weird---I get a suspicious look every time I go out.

Really I'm not out late that often--esp here there aren't many places to go. But still I don't like not having the choice. Anyway I'm going to let them know I never would have come here had I known this,,,Even more absurd my last job was all kids but we were free to come and go,,,My opinion of this place is really dropping fast.

[Raoul Duke]

Time to run. Never let a place have this much control over your personal time.

[con's fly is open]

If you're over 30, especially well over 30, play the age card. "Mind your own business, boy." Depending on the gender, "young lady" works just as well.
Meanwhile, smile and nod at the guards every time you come and go- respect is a rare commodity when you have that low-end gig. A guard who knows you is even better than owning keys- friends in low places, etc.

[Crippler]

And Con has many friends in low places. I hear that Garth actually mentioned that in a live performance...

[MK]

Gates are locked here at 10.30 pm everynight. Being young and nimble, I just jump over (its a low gate), and no-one cares. Dunno what's gonna happen next time I bring company home...suppose Chinese are used to this kind of nonsense....

[con's fly is open]

For your information, smartypants, it was Randy Travis. Get your white trash trivia straight.

[Lotus Eater]

The gates are closed here around 12:00 but we still come and go as we please - either just roll them back or squeeze between them and the tree beside them. If there is luggage and stuff the gate guard will get out of bed. I have given him cigarettes, sat and chatted with him re his family - he likes me now :>))

[con's fly is open]

Yet another laowai advantage: your face IS your I.D.

[Crippler]

www.planetgarth.com/lyrics/friends_in_low_places.shtml


C'mon Con, you can't fool an old cowboy like The Crip.

[motis]

Pretty much anywhere you go, there will be locked gates at night, and gatekeepers. It shouldn't be that big a deal to just wake up the gatekeeper to go in and out late at night, but you should tip them one yuan when you do. If they're hard to wake up, try to get a key.

My first job in China, the compound where I lived had a gate that got locked at 10:30 PM. I jumped over the adjoining wall a couple of times (with the help of some conveniently parked bicycles).
The gate was guarded by a beefy older fellow who lived with his little family in a tiny house right next to the gate. I smiled and said "ni hao" every time I saw them, which I figured was a good start. One day I went shopping, and when I came home I pretended to have forgotten to buy something, and I asked the old guy to watch my groceries for a few minutes. When I came back, I had two bottles of wine... the sweet kind the locals seem to favor. I thanked him for watching my groceries and gave one to him.
The next day I asked him for a key to the gate. He looked around to see if the coast was clear, then slipped me a key and told me to be sure to lock up after myself.

[con's fly is open]

Yes, I am wrong and you are right. It's just that my Grandma is... VERY SICK!!!


(for the next two weeks I can weasel out of anything! I won't even have to bathe)

[Lager]

I've decided I will adopt the "pretend I didnt hear that" approach---one of my favorites. I got drunk last night and got in somehow. I think half of it is this worrying about you thing. So if they are so worried are they going to send you away at 3 in the morning?

And yeh jumping the fence is an option.

Watch out Con---Crippler knows his country and western tunes!

[Crippler]

Cut my teeth on Hank, Willie, Waylon, Johnny and many others. Don't much like the new Nashville sound that sold out to Music Row. Maybe I should start a thread on Oldtime Country and Outlaw Music.....

[Lager]

Merle Haggard is considered great but cant say I know him well. One of my favorite bars in Korea is Grand Ole Opry....Line dancing,,,cowboy hats,,,great place...

[con's fly is open]

This got covered in a thread about 5 months ago, so it's time to repeat.
Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Reed, Don Maclean, Don McLean, and the immortal Hank Williams.
Patsy Kline, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Maria McKee, Linda Ronstadt, Niko Case, Juice Newton, Rosanne Cash, Rita Coolidge.
Ozark Mountain Daredevils, The Divinyls, Wall of Voodoo, Ween, Blue Rodeo, The Cowboy Junkies.

Much as I hate New Coutnry (read: country pop), I'll give Garth, Dwight and Randy their due. But Billy Ray can rot in Hell for all I care.

[con's fly is open]

Cannot BELIEVE I left out Willie Nelson (and Merle Haggard, even if my favourite song of his is the Dukes of Hazzard theme).

[ilunga]

So what's the latest lagerlout?

I've supposedly had a 12:00 curfew for the last year but coming home at 2,3 even 5:00 has never been a problem.
Bringing a guest back has now become a problem though. I've always had the disapproving looks next day despite my attempts to sneak my guests out at quiet times.
I got lucky with said stage dancer at the disco last friday and thought I'd been discreet. I went out on friday night to be told by the guard I wasn't to bring any girls back. Obviously this has come from my boss and she hasn't bothered to run it past me.
I'm pretty worried about the whole situation now. You know the company I work for Lagerlout, I've a feeling they're struggling financially.
They're really messing us around with the internet and now we've not been paid this month. Strike action is planned for friday if things aren't sorted

[MK]

I tore my m'kaying jeans climbing over the gate last night. poo.

[ilunga]

Ouch! My Diesel jeans are my prized possession, I'd be gutted.

Luckily my gate's easy to negotiate.

[MK]

So's mine. I was drunk.

[Lager]

Ilunga - could be the different branches...I would be shocked if Jinan are hurting for money. One of the mothers told me and Chase the tuition for her kid. Cant remeber but it's HIGH. I think it works like a key money thing. They pay (say) 100 000 Y and the interest is tuition and they get it back later. Something like that...Expensive anyway. No excuse for no tpaying though.

Jinan were idiots at times but were OK in some areas. Guests--opposite sex were no problem at all. I think all of us had a girl or guy there at different times. Female teacher pretty much had her borfriend move in..And no curfew...Here- a College-are much more strict...Curfew...Actually I dont think they enforce...What would happen if you couldn't get in and then went and got in touble>? One day the FAO came by and a female student was here---just a friend..Anyway the FAO gave her the 3rd degree and even took her phone number...Maybe it's a small town thing..Hopefully you get the pay sorted out...

[con's fly is open]

ilunga said:

So what's the latest lagerlout?

I'm pretty worried about the whole situation now. You know the company I work for Lagerlout, I've a feeling they're struggling financially.
They're really messing us around with the internet and now we've not been paid this month. Strike action is planned for friday if things aren't sorted

Attaboy! If, as Lagerlout said, it's a big company, then financial problems are due to some reckless and/or crooked money management in your school. Your deadline is quite generous, so if they call your bluff, sit down and refuse to do a m'kaying thing, and if they get mean, suggest that the public would be better not to suspect financial troubles.
If you lose your job over your impudence in insisting to get paid, imagine what it would be like if you stayed another three months.

Workers unite!

[ilunga]

I'm happy to sit it out until I actually need some money (the weekend). I've heard it's an across the board thing. Teachers in Dalian and Kunming are having similar problems.
What they did last year was pay us for ten months of the year (not february and august).
Now they're saying "we're not paying you in september but you'll get paid in february"
I said "I need money now" "Oh well you can borrow some from the finance office"
I'll be here in february but the other three teachers won't be so it's no good to them. They're on a different program to me though.
Borrowing 1000 is no good. I need the lot for the next two weeks and for the mid-autumn hols.
It's a stupid idea they've come up with. I thought they might be struggling because there's about 100 fewer students than last year andthe food seems to be going rapidly downhill. They also seem to have removed the broadband internet and installed some crappy thing that crashes constantly.
M'kayin' amateurs!

[burlives]

They might have shot their wad. They might also have found out who m'kays them least. Whatever they're doing Chinese respect least those who force least. If you have nothing to worry them, they have no worries about you. In short, to get paid, you have to become an issue. It's one of those really ass-wiping situations, where you have to rise up onto the radar and become a target. Payment is payment, and someone will blame you for it later so you might as well Conan now if you have to. It will settle down later. It will.

[Lager]

Ilunga---That sounds like something for "lifetime" employees this paying you 10 months out of 12. Jinan seemed to round off the contracts until end of terms which makes sense. So if you start on Oct 1 you would sign a 9 month contract. And get paid each month. I agree---this time I will need the full salary with the holiday. It sounds a bit shifty--but then again I am getting drunk at the moment.

I can e-mail Nancy---who stayed at SO this year and ask her if they are having trouble. But I don't think it would mean much---unless the whole chain is in trouble in which case---panic. It sounds like an accounting thing...I'll e-mail her and say Hello and let you know in a few days...