No, I definitely have not. I realize I haven’t posted any new digital art in quite a long time, but there is a reason for that. I was recently told by the Vientiane College (VC) administration that I would no longer be allowed to work there. It isn’t because of anything I’ve done except to become older. It was explained to me that all of the teachers are covered by Workman’s Compensation (WC) by the Laos government in case of accidents while on the job, but anyone over 75 years old was ineligible for the WC, and all teachers who work there MUST be covered. Well, that leaves me out; I’m 77, almost 78.
Consequently, beginning next year, I’m out of a job with no income except for my U.S. Social Security monthly payment. It’s not a huge amount, but I think it might be adequate to hang around here for at least awhile. But if it’s not, I’ve been trying to get monetized with a couple of YouTube channels I’ve got going. It won’t be easy, but with all the time off I’ll have in the near future, I’m gonna give it a shot. I’m OK working at VC for the rest of this year, just a couple of months to go. I was told that next year I could still cover for teachers who might call in sick or miss a class here and there for other reasons. That doesn’t happen often and the most I could probably expect is around a hundred dollars a month, if even that much. The administration told me that I was still welcome at the school, that I was part of the VC family. A small upstairs gym was recently installed and I was welcome to use it, and to attend various functions that might be going on, like workshops. After the workshops, free food and drinks are available. Unbelievably, the school installed a small bar next to the gym, a bar available for teachers and Lao staff only. (Do you know of any other school, anywhere, that has a bar in the building where classes are taught? Nope, me neither.) I doubt I would make use of the bar, but the free food would be nice.
So, why try to hang around in Laos? Well, it’s pretty cheap to live here, despite an almost 8% inflation rate. Also, I’m taking high blood pressure medication and for a three months prescription of a couple of meds I’m taking, the cost is $50. That’s for three months! I can’t even begin to guess what the price for equivalent meds would be in the States. Sky high, I’m sure. And I recently had dental work done–a couple of implants and a full new set of lower dentures. The total cost? $4,500. What would that be in the States? Don’t even want to imagine.
As a backup plan if I can’t manage to stay here, I’d move to another country other than the U.S.A. On my radar are Mexico, Belize, The Dominican Republic, Panama, or Colombia. There are others, but those are the top of my list. But, who knows what the future holds for anyone or everyone.
The takeaway from this is that eventually I’ll get back into digital art, and maybe I’ll even try to start another YouTube channel about that subject or the subject of my artistic attempts in general. Who knows? I’ll keep you informed about my status and my life in general. Wish me luck!