It's (N)Ova!!

For anyone in Japan, I'm sure you know what the above title means, but for those elsewhere, let me fill you in on the facts........
Nova is the biggest eikaiwa (english conversation school) in Japan. At its peak a few years ago, it had over 400,000 students and over 900 schools nationwide. When I came to Japan two years ago I had no problems getting a job with Nova and was happily working for about a year and a half when the sh*t started to hit the fan.
In June of this year the Japanese Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry slapped Nova with a six month ban on signing new long-term students as a result of shady dealings, particularly concerning student refunds (or lack thereof). At the time this was a bit of a concern, but it was soon forgotten by most students and teachers, including myself - especially as I'd just sussed out my weekends off, so I was pretty happy at the time.
For a few months everything was gravy, but deep down there was trouble brewing - Big Trouble!!! It started when the Japanese staff were payed late for a couple of months, which obviously didn't concern me (particularly as I didn't know this at the time), but when the teachers were payed late, the ugliness of the situation finally rose it's head.
A few days before September 15 (payday for teachers), a fax came out that said some salary payments may be a few days late. I got paid on time, however my manager didn't (along with all other "titled instructors"). Over the next 10 days I think there were four faxes sent out that promised payment to those who hadn't been paid, and it turned at that all these faxes were lies, just stalling for time until they finally paid them 2 weeks late! The Japanese staff were due to be paid on September 27 and to my knowledge they still havn't been paid.
Around this time Nova announced that 200 schools would be closing (probably because they're not paying rent) and stories started to emerge of teachers being threatened with eviction, even though their rent payments are automatically deducted from their salary....hmmmm, where's all that money going??
October 15 was the next D-day...would we get paid? Apparently not. A fax came out on October 12 to say salary payments would be made on the 19th.....like the Tui ads say..."Yeah Right!"...well, I guess we'll wait and see anyway.
So, what the hell have I been doing during all of this? Let me tell you....Soon after the first late payments in September I started looking for a new job. I had to "call in sick" a few times this month so I could attend job interviews. I went to work at Nova on Monday (15th) and it smelled like death was in the air. On Monday I got a job offer, but I didn't jump at it too quick because there was one more interview I had scheduled, so I asked them to please wait a few days (pretty risky call given the circumstances, especially as there are so many others looking for jobs and taking what they can!). Anyway, they agreed to hold the bus for me as I was their number one choice, so that was cool - a bit of job security. Called in sick on Tuesday and studied up about the company where I was interviewing for the next day....and watched Planet Terror of Grindhouse....awesome movie if you like that stuff!!...but anyway, called in sick again on Wednesday (this morning) and went to my interview. Wasn't sure how I went at first, so rather than wait and stress out all day, I took Aki to DisneySea and we had a fun day there (better rides than Disneyland), although I was checking my phone all day for a callback. When we left at 6pm I still hadn't received a call so I figured they didn't want me, so I'd have to take the first job, which wasn't bad, but not quite what I wanted (too far away and working nights). Got home and checked my emails - nothing. Damn......30 minutes later I noticed a new email - scrolled down..."Congratulations...." Sweet!!!
That was a few hours ago. Since then I called the other school to decline their offer, had a celebratory drink, called Nova to say I was still sick (of working for free), had another drink, emailed and called everyone here, topped up my glass again, started writing this blog and had a couple more drinks!!! (Whoa, my glass is empty again!!!)........
Anyway, I'm going in to officially resign tomorrow and hope there's enough money to get my pay from last month. My new job is a little different. I'll be teaching young'uns at a kind of kindergarten. It's called the Imagine Child Development Center and is in Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan and about 15 minutes by bicycle from my pad. I can burn my ties because they're not part of the uniform - shorts and T-shirt are more appropriate. I'm just stoked that I got out when I did coz I can see the company going under very soon.
To any (ex)students that might read this, I hope you can get your moneys worth before the company folds and good luck for your future studies. Teachers - get out now, the job market is already flooded (I estimate I beat out about 400 applicants in being offered those two jobs...the competitions gonna be a lot harder when it closes for good).
So that's my little story...the last month or so has been a very memorable experience. I'll let you know how the new job goes after I've learned the ropes.