Telos Journal Edition Three October 2013 | Page 16
What isn’t necessary is for Jim to facilitate teachers’ monetary distresses. But Ben and
Jim’s branch hasn’t raised base pay in ten years; the ability to get inventive beyond
closed classroom doors is an unrewarded enterprise, besides. Somebody said once that
professional mobility within the workplace is fixed like a penitentiary: there’s no where to
progress. Ben chuckled; Jim didn’t. A custodian-foodrunner-computer technician
wouldn’t dare to become a secretary, for example. That would require too much work.
So at 9pm, when the day’s work is finished, Jim and Ben make a bolt for the door and
garner free thoughts for the closing evening. Only the locals may worry; what
contemptible jerk brings disquietude to Bali anyway? You don’t see that on postcards.
Ben sometimes stops for a Bintang (the only brand of beer big enough to survive the
government’s 300% alcohol tax) before faithfully returning home to his new wife. But on
one occasion, Ben left work and his students without a sign. His wife later found him
slumped over at a bar he sometimes visits. He tried to finish the workday but his fears
warped into wild angst which took hold over him like paroxysmal psychosis. Even
though this wasn’t uncommon, it created quite the buzz around the cubicles that day,
a kind of intriguing fascination from other full-time teachers. What could possibly have
driven Ben to leave without notice? It didn’t ruin Ben’s career, however; Jim had
already left for the day, second in command took sympathy, and corporate protocol,
the ‘three strikes you’re out’ policy, was already arranged. Ben did return to work two
days later with slightly more color, but it’s not excessively hard to tan in Indonesia.
Ben and Jim often think: “How tough is it to follow a pre-made curriculum which
concurrently runs the clock tick…ticking on through the precious times? ‘It’s not where
you are; it’s who you are’, right? Monetary motivations are for shallow souls; all workers
need is to be appreciated by their employers here and there: a yearly Christmas party,
a day off here and there, free coffee, maybe even some overtime.”
The hidden owner can be heard, uttering somewhere: “For God’s sake, you’re in Bali!
Look out your window, worker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