Highs and Lows

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Despite what it says on my cv I'm a naturally pessimistic person prone to bouts of depression and sulking so it shouldn't really come as a surprise that I'm finding things a little tough in Taiwan. I used to quite relish my own company, being free to do what I wanted when I wanted but since I met Melissa the last person I want to spend long periods of time with is myself. She's not due out here for another week and I can't wait to see her. Added to that the fact that I've spent the last 2 months back in England seeing family and friends after a 15 month stint in Korea it's come as a bit of a shock to spend entire days on my own not speaking to anyone. The jet lag is still screwing me up and I'm not sleeping well. Anyway this morning i skype a few buxibans (private English schools) and they ask me to send over my CV and contact details. They seem a bit surprised that I don't have a phone so I assure them that i'll have one soon. I need breakfast but I can't face another foul rice triangle so I buy a suspicious looking egg and prawn sandwich from 7/11. Then I go to a phone place that Martin has recommended. Things start off promisingly until they ask me for two pieces of id again. Surprise surprise I still only have my passport so they send me packing. I email Martin telling him that I've had no luck and i'm hoping he takes pity on me and offers to buy me one. I have to be careful with Martin. I'm only renting a place off him and he owes me nothing so I don't want to exhaust his good will. He's already given me a map and a guidebook so I mustn't push it. Then, in a sulk and with nothing better to do I wander up the road to a coffee shop and sit in the sun with a large americano. Later I find a restaurant (turns out to be another coffee shop) where they have pictures of food on the windows and point forlornly at the Thai red curry. It's about as good as you could expect from a coffee shop and takes an age to arrive. When it finally turns up it's nowhere near big enough so I crack and buy my first Big Mac which I eat on the wall outside Martin's. Hopefully tomorrow they'll be some news from the job applications.

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