Coming Home?

On Friday, the Employee relations guy called me into his office and gave me an ROF notice (ROF stands for Reduction of Force.) This means that my contract was being cut short – because rebar is almost done, not because I am a poor worker – and I would be returning home 45 days after recieving the notice. Now there are three dates at work here: my end of contract date (EOC), my 330 days tax exemption milestone (330), and my ROF date. My ROF was set for April 14^th, My 330 is May 10^th, and my original EOC is June 15^th. Going home before my 330 would disqualify me for the overseas tax exemption (which is bad,) but I would get to go home much earlier than originally planned, (which is good.)

So on Saturday evening I got to call the fam and tell them that I was coming home in April, exciting, huh? However, today my superintendent (my boss’ boss) told me that they ROF’d me without his knowing and he managed to get it reversed because he wanted to keep me around, so I would definately make it all the way until my EOC. I had just gotten kinda excited about going home, and now I have to stay in China again! See what I get for being such a dependable worker? So now I have to call mom tonight and tell her to scratch all of the vacation and study abroad plans we had come up with two nights ago – I’m going to stay in China! (Maybe.) Which, after all, isn’t really that bad – I do make a lot more money this way, I get to learn a new trade, and I have more time now to invest in what I wanted to accomplish before I leave here. Haven’t really learned much Chinese yet...

I’m still having fun in the Far East, and still making the most of every moment! See you... well, I don’t know when, but sometime!