ROC or Bust

[Note: I've been quite busy with my new job in the last few weeks so my blog entries have been few and far between. I hope, as my learning curve starts to even out a bit with this teaching gig, that my blog productivity will increase in the upcoming weeks... Cheers, Martin.]

In June of 2003, I got laid off from my job for the 2nd time in 3 years. I was tired, bitter and confused, as I spent 19 years in an industry where I apparently have worn out my welcome. After some pause, I decided that I needed a shake up and a major one at that. Be careful for what you wish for, as I found myself 6 short months later in front of a classroom full of screaming Oriental children in the small town of LuChou. LuChou is located just outside of Taipei, the capital of the Republic of China, or better known as, Taiwan.

Now I have never done anything, even remotely close, to this before in my life. I do not see myself as a risk taker. Recall, in earlier entries, I wrote of identity and my identity in the spring of 2003 was:

• Torontonian turned Ottawanian;
• a Leaf fan in Sens country;
• Entrenched career in hitech;
• the white guy who asks for the fork at a Dim Sum place;
• a 40-something finally thinking of buying a house;
• my motto - better to be secure than happy.

Life is a series trade-offs and choices and I, for better or worse, made mine. Looking back, it was certainly not an unhappy life, but it was limiting. I was living like I was the father of a large family & had a big mortgage, and needed to keep my job to keep everything going. It's funny how one chooses to see their life in a certain way because the alternative might be so scary. A defence mechanism perhaps? Anyways, for me, nothing was farther from the truth.... I am, and have always been, free to do what I want. If I screw up, it is me who is let down - no one else.

The decision to go to Taiwan was a difficult one. It felt like I was committing suicide. That is, ending my life as I know it and heading into an unknown place. My fears were like squirrels running up and down my spine. The actual decision took about two months and when the smoke finally cleared, it was my principles, my philosophy of life that emerged from somewhere deep inside, to guide me in my "fork in the road" moment. These revelations were:

(1) To risk living is to risk dying. If you are afraid of dying then you are afraid of living.

(2) I never, ever gave one second of thought about Taiwan in my life. I wasn't even sure where it was on a map. So, to shut everything down and todder off to this island somewehere will prove to myself a very important concept - that life is never predictable - you could end up somewhere, anywhere as you choose. A good lesson for those of us who suffer from tunnel vision from time to time.

(3) Life is like a court of law. You set precidents for yourself. Every time you risk, you open doors for the future. One step back, two steps forward.

(4) Finally, what do you want your life to stand for? Has this just been a big waste of time? What do you want?

I will write about some of my experiences in Taiwan in the upcoming blog entries...

Some information on Taiwan can be found at:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tw.html

I have also posted some of my pictures of Taiwan at:

http://mehavecable2.blogspot.com]