The Wandering Monkey

After some amount of back-and-forth, I am happy to say that I have reached an acceptable agreement with the company in Beijing.  My start date will be very soon; within a week's time.  I'll be moving to Beijing for the foreseeable future.  (So Mom, please sell the car!)

 

The timing on this came down to the wire.  My visa expires at the end of this month, and I had set a last-possible-day deadline for myself.  Either find some sort of job in China, or start the US job search.  It would not have been bad to go to the US, but overall I would prefer to stay in China.

 

It is with some amount of sadness that I leave Shanghai.  It has been my home and my 'original' China city for almost four years.  I have a lot of background here, and I know a lot of people.  Plus, as I said before, many people have heard of me from the swing dancing, too.  Although I am not really that active in the swing dancing anymore, I invested a lot of my heart and energy into it.  It was my life for many years. 

 

A friend of mine recently said, "When first come to Shanghai, you can do just about anything.  You are getting your feet wet, so feel free to direct movies, teach English, start a company, or even do swing dancing.  But", he added, "I always thought you swung for about one year too long."

 

This may be so.  I spent the last year getting the club stable for my departure.  It's still running today, with the crew I set up originally.  I went to the dance party last night, and it was fun in part but awkward in part, too.  My ex- was there, and although we are on good terms it was our first time together in swing dance.  But overall it was good.  I had a decent time, and I was able to say goodbye to a few folks.  So, nice.

 

Now I begin an entirely new chapter.  There is a swing dance club in existance in Beijing.  My friend Adam started it at the same time I started one in Shanghai.  But he's running it just fine.  I won't have the time to commit to it like I used to, and I really am ready for something new.  I'll just join as a participant for the time being.

 

It's going to be a bit odd getting used to Beijing.  It's a little different from Shanghai.  And also, this gives me a chance (and, indeed, a reason) to drop some of my old bad habits.  Such as.... oh... computer games!  At least for some time, I'll need to stick to work, exploring Beijing, and making new friends.  Not a good time to lose my evenings and weekends to games.  Not right now.

 

With regards to the job, the aforementioned well-known US company is Microsoft.  I'll be working in their e-commerce division, and it is an exciting opportunity.  Their team is expanding, and there is a potential for promotion as time goes by.  There's also many quite decent benefits.  Overall, I am pleased with the offer and I am looking forward to this opportunity.  It's quite a thing.  I walk down the street sometimes and I think, Wow.

 

I think that is all there is to say for now.  I'll be living in temporary housing for about one month while I get situated and find a place of my own in Beijing.  So it's really happening.  A job with a future, and in China no less.  In probably two days I'll be on a plane to go there, so I'm packing today.

 

Nice!

-J