Terrell Owens once said.......

.......about himself that, when he goes out on the football field, you should “Get yer popcorn ready, ‘cause I’m gonna put on a show!!”

Well, when I go out wiff my camera, I’m saying get your scrapbooks ready, ’cause you don’t know WHAT the fuck I’m gonna shoot……

……and, now, this week – I hadta get some sort of security clearance criminal background check for my job to prove that I’m not a threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of Vietnam-ness…..

….Tam suggested that, in order to help facilitate this, we pay a visit to an old drinking buddy of mine -




Yep - That'd be The Captain and myself.....


Waaaaaai......waaaaaay a sec: "Background check for your job??" I thought you already HAD a job?? Huh....?


OK.....OK....less back up a bit here.

Right, so, shortly before I had moved into my new house, circa mid-April, I had been working for the past three months at the Dang Tuan Language Center. It was fun, enjoyable, and I really enjoyed teaching my students Tieng Anh (English)!

After a while, though, there became more and more disagreements about things and issues that were previously agreed upon, and much tension was in the air. Around the middle of April, it became intolerable, and I had felt that it would be best for ALL parties that I no longer continue my employment there, so I handed in my resignation letter, giving a full month's notice before my last teaching date.

I was summoned in to a meeting the next day with Mr. Tuan. There, he and the former school coordinator, had told me that they felt that it was in the school's best interest that I be terminated immediately. I was slightly surprised, but not deeply saddened. I enjoyed my job, it was just that we didn't see eye-to-eye on several issues. I was immediately paid my correct final salary and I was about to leave, when Mr. Tuan and the former coordinator went to shake my hand! I shook hands and smiled. Then, we had a foto shoot, where there were smiles all around. It was certainly thee strangest firing I had attended, but we gave final firm handshakes, and I left. We had went separate ways on very good terms.......

......or so I thought!

Anyways, Tam had handed in HER resignation notice two months earlier and she had been canned the next day (but I don't think that she got the happy ending at HER firing ceremony that I got). So she was in the process of opening her own English Language school, and had asked me if I would come and work there!

Now, I had NO plans after the canning, and I HAD thought about hopping off to Ha Noi, Da Nang, or another town in Viet Nam and going on my merry way there. But I decided to stick around Hai Phong, having just signed a lease on a house and also having accumulated much rubbish (read: Material possessions) and I really didn't feel like hauling them all over Viet Nam nor trying to sell them after just buying them.....so I took the job.

Since my B-3 Business Visa was gonna expire in July, and with the end of the U.S. economic depression NOWHERE in sight for the foreseeable future, I had decided to spend seven weeks back in The States to finalise my affairs and say my goodbyes as I planned on being in Viet Nam for at least 18 months at the minimum.....probably two years, and maybe longer!

It was sometime in the middle of my stay in America (maybe early-mid July) when The Calls came......

.......

.....Tam was calling, explaining to me that some police guy was calling her, and strong-arming her for money, because it had been reported by Tuan to the Authorities that our school had lacked the proper paperwork to operate as a school.

"Errrmmm......Tam?? What THE FUCK is this all about????"

Apparently, to make a long story short - somebody had posted an article, written a blog, or something like that, about Tuan's school. This piece had been taken down before I got a chance to read it, but the gist that I was told about it was that it encouraged foreogn teachers to stay away from there because he rips them off.

So, because Tuan thought that I wrote this piece, and that, because Tam was close to me - he would start sending the Authorities after her school.

Needless to say - this pissed me off to NO end, and I was gonna jump thee next plane to Hai Phong and contact certain well-placed Government friends of mine and have HIS school investigated for several operating violations - but a few friends of mine pleaded with me and talked me out of it.......

WHY he picked ME as writing this thing, I'll never know - apparently, he doesn't realise that he has more than a few disgruntled former employees.....I wouldn't even say that I was a disgruntled employee - Tuan and I just didn't agree on certain things and that was it!!

....still, though, we paid off the bribes, and did all of the paperwork, and now we're legit. And apparently Tuan heard that I was back in town and that I was VERY angry and suddenly, the uninvited visits from the police and the Hai Phong Department of Education and training stopped.

Fine by me - if he stops bothering my school....I won't bother his....and we'll all be happy......

....still, though, I can't help but to feel a bit betrayed! I mean, I was under the impression that we had parted ways on good terms...and THEN he goes and accuses me of THIS? Whatever.....



BUT, whilst I was in The States, Tam did a great job with her school, QUADRUPLED enrollment from 25 to 100-plus in eight weeks, and basically busted her ass making things work - mega kudos to her for that!

www.ETEnglishcenter.com

But things almost got out of hand with the fast growth - we've had to hire staff, take in greater revenue, pay out greater expenses......just been keeping me reeeeaaallllly busy even since I got off of the plane here in Hai Phong a few weeks ago.......so, yeah, it's a bit crazy! I'm very busy.....I have no time to play games with a little man like Tuan.....

.....still, though - I wish I had seen that web page before it got taken down....probably woulda been good forra chuckle!

-E-