If isolation tempers the strong, it is the stumbling-block of the uncertain. Paul Cezanne

I haven’t “worked” in two months.

The office I went to was the one beside my bedroom. My habits didn’t become slothful: I still woke up with the sun and puttered around. Good things never last. I spent yesterday in a cubicle at the Chinese business that has retained my services. I didn’t have to look for many jobs in china.

I’ve been working with them since the beginning of August, copyrighting, editing, and researching from home. Two weeks ago I was suppose to start in the office, 30 kilometers away in an industrial area of the city.  But I didn’t. Like many things in China, plans change.

It’s too far, my boss said, speaking of my daily commute. We’ll get you an apartment. I only work in office three days a week (two days from home).  An apartment for two nights a week? Okay. Fine.

The following week: We need to hire someone that speaks English. It will be too difficult for you. Okay. Fine. Not having an English speaker around sums up my life. I can deal with a class of mischievous six-year-olds who don’t speak English, business people shouldn’t be a problem. I don’t think one of them will punch me in the groin while I’m trying to explain something to a colleague.

Then: We need to get the furniture for your apartment. Pick it out.

(I’m not complaining, really. All the concerns have been about me and how to make my life  easier. This speaks to how awesome everyone is. Bless them and their hearts of gold.)

Long story short (too late, I know) I went to the office yesterday. I sat in my assigned cubicle, interviewed a couple of applicants (English speakers), and wondered how I could make my VPN compatible with the office’s network.

I spoke little. I was alone. My colleague at the next desk would send me messages via MSN. No distractions: No computer games or Mrs. Stevo asking where the rice is. Just work.

8 am to noon (although I arrived at 8:30), 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm. Home to the sweaty embrace of Mrs. Stevo. Damn, a normal job! My old life teaching English in China saw me finish work at 8:30 pm, and then usually engage in post-class malty libations in an effort to reduce the day’s accumulated stress. After falling into bed it would all start again.

This is new, but it’s old. I’ve logged my time in offices (far too much time) and thought it was only a memory. Not so.

The difference? My other jobs were based on my education – graphics and journalism. They didn’t speak to my interests. This endeavor is all about photography. I am being paid to blog about photography. Blog? Ha! (Mrs. Stevo usually scoffs at my internet ventures.)

I’m off and running (no, jogging). As soon as the wrinkles are ironed out I’ll be off and running. No more pencils, no more books. I’ll miss my babies (I already do), but there are good things on the horizon.

You see a lot of overloaded motorcycles and scooters in China (all of Asia for that matter). Each morning fresh vegetables (and pig carcasses) are delivered to local markets. The food in China is fresh – as in watching your fish being filleted before you take it home fresh.

How much stuff can get packed on two wheels? Only The Fates know.  Carrie at My Several Worlds has some photos of in her archive of vehicles of burden in Asia.

Scooters are cheap in China. Not cheap enough that everyone rides one, but cheap enough that the emerging middle class can purchase one to tool around on. I’m not sure why. Most housing estates come complete with a smorgasbord of markets and shops. The public transit system in Shenzhen, China, is one of the best in the nation. Scooter-ownership, and the problems that entails, seem superfluous.

Josh at Far West China recently purchased a motorcycle. I’m occasionally tempted to do the same, but the fact motorcycles are illegal in Shenzhen, China, holds me back. Yes, I could buy one, but only ride it around the estate. Stevo, buy a car, you say.  No, that’s no going to happen, unless there is a car donation in my future.

My first sunrise in China, unemployed.

As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, as of June 30, 2009 at 10:19 am (GMT +8) I joined the ranks of the unemployed. My contract ended, they school paid me off and gave me the official release letters. No more will I be hailed with the moniker, “Teacher.”

No more students, no more books, no more boss’s dirty looks. For me, as Alice Cooper said, school is out forever. No more teaching English in China, no more being el instructor grande of English as a Second Language.

Okay, I’m only temporarily unemployed.  I have a job to start in a few weeks, after the return of Mrs. Stevo and perhaps a bit of travel. What is that job? A few of you have asked, in comments and by email. When all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed I’ll let the cat out of the bag.

Every day is a new beginning. It’s easy to get mired in what seems a daily grind, the proverbial rut. Sometimes you need to take a step back and see each day for what it is: A new start. Here’s to a fresh start and new beginnings. For today, it’s a 6:15 pm flight to Shanghai and the Interphoto & Digital Imaging Shanghai (Show) from July 2-5? Visit me at the Phottix booth at the Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center. I’ll be easy to spot: The smiling white guy.

aside: I recent lamented to Norm that China has weak clouds. After last week’s typhoon the sky has been filled with big puffy monster clouds (see above). It’s a pleasant change.

ESL Teachers and a student take part in a basketball game as part of a school charity event in Shenzhen, China.

When I worked for a newspaper I loved shooting high school sports. The weather this day didn’t agree with me. This image looked much better before the JPG conversion. And, I’m way out of practice.  Michael at Expatriate Games has a great description of basketball in China (the nation is crazy for it). I recommend reading it.

The two weeks of sunshine were a tease. I spent most of the weekend inside thanks to torrential downpours. June 1 signals the start of the Pacific typhoon season. A school day canceled because of a typhoon is always welcome. Five weeks and counting…

I mentioned earlier about China and the spring rains. Shenzhen is as dry as a bone most of the year, if you discount the humidity that makes walking akin to swimming.  Not so now.

The last week has seen sunny mornings: An hour or two of waking pleasantness. The skies then cloud up and big fat droplets fall as fast as the tears of a kindergartner with a skinned knee.

After my Saturday afternoon nap I headed to the coffee shop, intent on getting shots of scurrying, umbrella-bearing folk. I was not disappointed. When the rain stopped, I decided on a foray to a local electronics store. Unlike my area, it was raining in the nearby downtown area. Umbrella-less, I returned home very wet. A foreigner walking in the rain without an umbrella gets a lot of stares. At least it wasn’t cold.

Nonchalant, and noticeably unhappy, in the rain.

I don’t mind getting wet. As a younger man I spent close to five hours lost in the Canadian woods during an autumn storm. After wading through beaver ponds, shivering (because someone thought they knew a shortcut), rain doesn’t bother you all that much. This drives Mrs. Stevo mad as her umbrella is ready at the first hint of precipitation.

The rains will end soon, I hope. Shenzhen is famous for cosmetic surgery. I’m considering asking a surgeon to upgrade my body to include gills.

Beyond the statue of Guanyin, the golden Buddhas, the candles and joss sticks, are the more mundane items of a daily existence. Even a Chinese temple needs to be clean.

Phoenix Mountain Temple, Bao’an District, Shenzhen, China, April 2009.