Heartiest greetings once again, dear Stella ...

I liked that musical adage la TESOL, and trust you will hence forth rank l'il ole moi amongst your gold(en) variety of friends.

Of course, the employers will always crave that fresh meat on the scene, but to my mind, for two principal reasons: (1) a teacher who has been on the job for at least two years will most likely feel he/she is automatically entitled to a raise above the standard salary offered to the school's instructors; (b) the longer a teacher is permitted to remain, that individual will invariably feel he/she has the right to critique and/or interpret management policy and decision-making, not to mention the fact that the students eventually tend to depend solely on his/her opinions about not only the schoolwork and school policy, but virtually everything else under the sun. What I'm trying to say is that teacher longevity tends to create heroes, while in the eyes of management, such individuals will eventually create obstacles for its one-sided future objectives. Of course, that babe, Kristie, was a cool tool for the Japanese school to advertise. It was obviously a most practicable ploy designed to draw the attention of new students, i.e., fantasizing, masturbating teens ... frustrated failures at marriage ... and old farts, the majority of them probably having forgotten how to fantasize! All in all, ESL can be regarded as a strange business, but a business, nonetheless.

Once again, dear Stella, when dealing with the ESL world, the byword should be EPHEMERAL. With this wholly logical attitude in mind, one need not suffer the pains, anxieties, or pangs of conscience associated with sudden change -- whether it be inflicted by management or committed in the interests of self-preservation. I have always tried to play the good guy in my life. But when it comes to the business world, I fear this is usually a more than somewhat impractical mode of deportment. Nay! Nay! As my wise and sainted English grandfather, a former history professor, used to say: Life can be beautiful, but business? ... Business is merely business! So, tell me, Stella, WHY the hell am I so #@#!%* poor???

Hang in there, Kiddo. You're the best!

The Arrogant One