Asiatique

Our destination for last weekend: Asiatique.  Asiatique is a fancy shopping, dining, and entertainment venue located just up the river in Bangkok.  There is a free boat that shuttles visitors to the pier there every fifteen minutes.  The whole area is laid out in an American fishing pier/wharf style.  The shops were varied and interesting, the food was delicious, and the beer was ice cold.  It was pure bliss.  Salted potato wedges and fries with ranch dressing washed down with a nice cold wheat beer....It was a snack to be remembered for years in a posh little restaurant with my beautiful fiancee.  Asiatique is the perfect place to spend a few hours relaxing and enjoying all of the little things that make life wonderful.  If you go, hit up the 'doctor fish' foot massage.  It is worth the six dollars to experience.

Job Hunting in Bangkok

Being unemployed now for the first time in years, I have had time to sit back and think about employment in general.  Up until now things have always seemed to work in my favor in regards to jobs.  Put in an application, do your work, and get money.  Simple.  I have held various jobs throughout my 24 years of existence.  I began as a paper boy, worked as a yard hand at my family members’ home, worked fast food, manufactured electronics, and taught English in Korea.  I may have not been the star player in any of my previous jobs, but I always got the work done and received praise by managers and co-workers alike.  Hard work does pay off.  Bank accounts grow (if you are wise with money) and new skills can be added to a resume

As I spend hours scanning job websites in Bangkok, and sent out countless e-mails with my resume, I can’t help but think that something must be off in my tactics.  One would think that if twenty e-mails were sent out, at least a few companies ADVERTISING OPEN POSITIONS would take the time to respond to an inquiry about EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES with them. 

Going to and fro in the city, I often notice people who appear to be my age wearing business suits and fancy lanyards with name tags attached.  What is it that these people do?  How did they find these jobs that I search for restlessly?  What is it that sets me apart from them?  Were they a member of a Alpha Gamma Beta Sigma fraternity with a pledge brother worker at the top of a company?

 I can understand that some jobs want a candidate with a more specialized skill set (doctors, engineers, programmers, etc.) but for an average entry-level position for marketing or management, what really sets people apart?  It must come down to who can make a fancier and blown-out-of-proportion resume explaining about all the things they have done.  From past experience, I know that nearly any entry-level position can be learned on the job.  It is entry-level after all.  .  They do state 0 experience is fine.

What twist of fate makes it to where my resume is sent to the bottom of the never look at list?  It must be karma for things I have done and am not aware of.  I was never the top student in school, but did put in the time and effort to graduate with a great GPA while working 25-40 hours a week through school. I am a native English speaker, speak upper level  Japanese, conversational in Korean, graduated with a high GPA and numerous honor roll awards, good past performance for every company I have worked for, no criminal records, and I get along well with nearly everyone on earth. What skills do people possess that I do not?  It is these questions that I must ponder as I continue towards the path of employment.  

The Grand Palace

This past Saturday, Soojeong and I decided to head to a different part of the city to see the famous Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  We took the sky tram, transferred to a riverboat, and then walked in the blazing sun until we came at last to the Grand Palace grounds.  It was stunning.  It is a rule that everyone entering must be wearing pants that cover their legs, so there were men wearing dress-like skirts, and anything and everything in between.  We paid our money and set out exploring the buildings on the grounds.  There were so many to see.  The level of detail in the design is simply outstanding.  The columns of many look like mosaics made of glass.  Some of the buildings were gilded in gold, and the sun really shone off of them brightly.  We walked around for a bit, entered the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (where photography is prohibited) and cooled off by having a drink and touring a few museums on the grounds.  It was a fun day and I was glad to get to experience the history and culture of Thailand.

First Adventure: Koh Samet

I have officially moved to Bangkok, Thailand.  My fiancee Soojeong took a job here in March and after my contract ended in Korea, I headed out here to start our new life together.  Our first trip together in Thailand was to the island of Koh Samet.  It was a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to the pier where we caught a boat, and then another 30 minutes to our weekend retreat.  The water was nice, the food was delicious, and the beaches were beautiful.  We swam, snorkeled, and sat in chairs next to the water as we drank and ate fried bananas by candle light.  It was a great way to shed off the stress of teaching children for a year.