Well, I’m finally getting around to writing this post now. Sorry for the long absence. I’ve been terrible about keeping in touch the last few months. According to Juvers, it’s been two months since my last post, so I’ll start there.
The term ended at the end of February, and we’re on summer holidays now. I already miss my kids a lot, and I also miss the routine of going to my schools. Since then, I’ve been doing a wide assortment of things, including teaching holiday programs at schools, holiday club at the office, volunteer teaching, and teacher training. I suppose that’s all a bit boring though, so I’ll skip the details.
Last week was Song Kran, which is the Thai new year’s. They celebrate in a variety of ways, but the most fun is by having a nation-wide water fight. You walk down the street, and people just shoot you with water guns. I didn’t go anywhere special within Thailand for that, but I did get shot by some kids on my street. I guess you could say I enjoyed it.
I went to Malaysia and Singapore during the week I had off. During this trip, I visited Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Melaca, and Singapore. Penang is an island in the north of Malaysia. The highlight there was an Indian restaraunt which was highly authentic. KL is the capital of Malaysia, and the highlight there was the Petronas twin towers. They are featured in the movie Entrapment. Melaca was an old capital of Malaysia, and it had lots of historic stuff. Singapore was pretty cool, though it was insanely expensive. I was excited because they had Mt. Dew, and I have been craving it.
The big news, though, is that I will be starting work at GM, probably in July. I am going to be a controls integration engineer in a team working on the 6-speed transmission. Don’t ask what that means, because I don’t really know to be honest. I’m going to be in Milford, MI, which is just outside of Detroit. GM’s test facility is there. It’s called the Milford Proving Grounds.
I’m not sure when I’ll be coming home. It’s the million dollar question. I finish my contract here on May 30th, and I will leave Thailand shortly after that. I would like to go traveling for a month, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford it. I’m trying to find some work at a summer camp or something, but it doesn’t look promising.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Thanks for the update, Scott. Congrats on the GM position!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Hey Scott! Glad to hear that you are still enjoying yourself and taking in all the sites over there. Congratulations on the position at GM.
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:52 pm
hey man, so what spurred the sudden return of interest to a “typical” job? i remember talking you a while back, and you thought you might do this for another year after you were finished. also, is this the same place you interned at (i know it was gm, but i mean milford)?
anyway, glad to hear from you.
April 26th, 2008 at 6:47 am
The sudden interest in an “adult” job honestly comes some from the fact that I’m afraid I won’t be able to get said job later in life. Right now, I’m one year out of college, and taking a year off looks pretty normal and acceptable. Two or three years from now, it might be construed as slacking. Furthermore, my skills diminish every year I’m not using them, and employers are sure to know this. I’m assuming my marketability will drop dramatically as a resul. Though, I wouldn’t really call it a sudden return. I just haven’t discussed my life decisions too openly here on this site. Traveling and living abroad for a year has altered my views on life pretty dramatically.
And no, I was at a different facility during the internship. More importantly though, I was in a different department.
April 26th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Out of curiosity, how have your views changed? I imagine something like living in Thailand for a year would definitely affect a lot of ppl.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Scott, I remember a post nearly a year ago that you mentioned an interest in alternative energy regarding your next job or grad school. Is that something you are still interested in? Or is it something that this new position will entail?