And oh yes, I'm not going for the overseas cartoon camp after all. I would love to go if the opportunity arose, but evidently it was an empty promise. The HK camp is next week. But I hadn't heard from the organiser since he flew back to Sydney in May, even though I had emailed to ask for a contract etc.

With only 2 more weeks to go, I garnered my thick skin and bombarded him with emails. And finally he replied:

"I won’t know the answer until next week. Parents are booking last minute. Currently we have 100 children a day – we need 300 children to get you to come to Hong Kong. I will let you know in one week – sorry that is the only answer I can give you. It is not up to me – it us up to the last minute parents in Hong Kong."

The nerve of him! That last sentence pissed me off. And my camp partner too. Cos he had never once mentioned that his offer depended on the camp numbers; our negotiations had always been as though it was a confirmed arrangement. My camp partner, a trainee teacher, even wrote in to MOE to amend her job attachment arrangements so as to make it for the overseas camp. I had also passed on 2 teaching opportunities, and my Gary Cao and Eason Chan concerts!!! And all for nothing?

So this was my reply to him, just sent this morning.

"We were under the impression that we would definitely be going ahead, as you kept reminding us to commit and not back out once we've agreed. Unfortunately it turns out that the committment is one-way. It is not realistic for me to wait without a firm committment on your end. I've embarked on another assignment. Sorry, it's not up to me -- it's up to the figures in my bank account."

Shiok ah! I don't care if I'm burning my bridges, for I would NOT want to work again for someone like him --- self-centred and money-minded. To rip off the camp children as much as he can, he sells maggi mee for lunch at $2.50, in warm water that hardly softens the hard noodles. He also encourages them to buy sweets and syrup-sticks at 30 cents each, treating them like lambs for slaughter.

One reason why my partner and I wanted to go for the overseas camps was to make life easier for the kids there; at least if we are around we can try our best to keep them safe and minimise the effects on their health e.g. stubbornly serving the children hot water instead of warm, and making sure they don't spill it on themselves.

I guess the HK and TW children are on their own now. Sorry guys.

 

Labels: Cynic In The House, Designing My Future