Asking for input (about age)

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Monte
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Asking for input (about age)

Unread post by Monte »

Hello - my name is Monte. I am 70 years of age but young at heart, and amazingly healthy, thank You Lord.

I actively participate in the new field of anti-aging. To be introduced to this, please visit my site at forever-young.info. And please remember, I make no claim to be a web site developer!

I live in the United States, west central Indiana. I am old, overweight and my blood type is A+ - a prime candidate for dying, from COVID-19. I have stopped interacting with the world, as the result.

My wife, a green card holder, was obliged to cease her employment, as well. Her job entailed interaction with the public, as it's mainstay.

I hold a bachelor of art degree in photography and design. I can and will get a TEFL certificate, online.

In my last job I drove a hopper-bottom (grain truck) for a year. My professional history is mostly in the computer field.

When programming was out-sourced to India (and similar places), where lots of smart young people can live quite well on $5 (US) per hour, I went out on my own. I offered my services, first as a consultant to small businesses, wanting to computerized their operations, then as a computer repair person.

Fast-forward, to the present. I seek a way to "ride the (COVID-19) storm out." Recently, my interest has turned to teaching English, online. I have no desire to actually go somewhere, in order to teach. In my younger days, maybe, but not now.

It would seem that an inordinate number of people have drawn the same conclusion; seen, the same opportunity. And, in turn, that opportunity has been greatly diluted, maybe invalidated.

I ask for advice. I need to attract the attention of someone who is NOT affiliated with an online TEFL school and has knowledge of the current need for beginning online teachers.

While we do have savings, they will not last forever. I do not want to waste my time and money on something that will not work.

Would you please respond? Thank you.
jmczzz
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Re: Asking for input

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In the same age bracket etc. I too have looked at teaching English online. it is not particularly creative nor fulfilling as I can tell but the biggest factor is an international competition for these jobs has driven down wages currently offered to approx $7.00 per 45 min class. If I was doing it for the money I would stick with the truck driving. Of course, if you can perform as a TV clown I think more is paid to teach online in China. Jim
Monte
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Re: Asking for input

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jmczzz wrote: 20 Jun 2020, 17:47 In the same age bracket etc. I too have looked at teaching English online. it is not particularly creative nor fulfilling as I can tell but the biggest factor is an international competition for these jobs has driven down wages currently offered to approx $7.00 per 45 min class. If I was doing it for the money I would stick with the truck driving. Of course, if you can perform as a TV clown I think more is paid to teach online in China. Jim
Thanks, Jim. Waiting for more...
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John V55
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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You’re wasting your time Monte. Online teaching took off in China a few years ago, but quickly fizzled out. It was seen as more of a status symbol and is quite expensive for the end user. The providing individuals and companies made the money, not the teachers doing it and it’s more or less died a predictable death now.

Everyone is looking for a way to ride out the coming economic storm following the virus hype, because there’s a big recession coming. The predicted tens of millions didn’t die, but the panic and lock-downs that shut down world economies will take years to repair. There is no easy way to make money anymore Monte and only the online companies will tell you there is.
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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I have to agree with john V55. I spent several hundred on a 168 hr TEFL course + I am a retired USA public school teacher K-12 with 25+ classroom yrs, have 2 BAs, and a Ms. ED. now tho only job offer i have is $7.00 an hour online. I am being told i need a CELTA and more "training" to teach teens. WHAT! I was even successful in teaching getto alternative high schools and adult male prisons. all I can say is HYPE! I am going to the southern Mountains of Mexico until the virus and recession is over. hahahaha James
Monte
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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John V55 wrote: 28 Jun 2020, 13:36 You’re wasting your time Monte. Online teaching took off in China a few years ago, but quickly fizzled out. It was seen as more of a status symbol and is quite expensive for the end user. The providing individuals and companies made the money, not the teachers doing it and it’s more or less died a predictable death now.

Everyone is looking for a way to ride out the coming economic storm following the virus hype, because there’s a big recession coming. The predicted tens of millions didn’t die, but the panic and lock-downs that shut down world economies will take years to repair. There is no easy way to make money anymore Monte and only the online companies will tell you there is.
Thank you, John. I appreciate your candor.

"The predicted millions" have YET to die, which does not mean they won't. This thing is real. By your words, I predict you are a Trump supporter. Noone knows better than I that there is no point in talking to a Trump guy. Your minds are made up and that, is that.

My web site is china-must-pay.org. I give you a page, from that site: https://china-must-pay.org/current/dogandpony.htm

The COVID-19 thing us just now getting off the ground. The worst is yet to come, and that is putting it mildly. When we consider the people living in third world countries; the lack of information, from those countries...

COVID-19 is a biologic weapon. (Need proof? It's on the home page of my site.) China has attacked us. The Donald may seem a fool, but I have my doubts. Could it be he is a megalomaniac, and they promised him they would make him King, after this is over? Is he, in truth, working with China to overthrow the USA, without firing a shot? Logic, and what he has done certainly point, in that direction.

At any rate, take care of yourself, John. Stay home. Wear a mask. The people that are citing their constitutional rights as an excuse not to wear masks REALLY pi** me off. Nowhere in our constitution does it grand anyone the right to put some else's life, at risk!
Monte
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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jmczzz wrote: 28 Jun 2020, 18:20 I have to agree with john V55. I spent several hundred on a 168 hr TEFL course + I am a retired USA public school teacher K-12 with 25+ classroom yrs, have 2 BAs, and a Ms. ED. now tho only job offer i have is $7.00 an hour online. I am being told i need a CELTA and more "training" to teach teens. WHAT! I was even successful in teaching getto alternative high schools and adult male prisons. all I can say is HYPE! I am going to the southern Mountains of Mexico until the virus and recession is over. hahahaha James
Your last line may have been a joke, but not to me. I have been actively searching for a place to which I can run. It seems that by going to mexico you would be stepping off the frying pan, into the fire.

Just getting there on a plane is more risk that I am prepared to take. In February, we went to Vegas. Wifey is Philippina, and she had not seen it. One the plane a woman coughed, non-stop. I think I already had COVID. I am not willing to bet my life on it, that's for sure!

I am the husband. My duty is to save my family. And I don't know what to do. We are considering Vietnam but that's an entire day, on a plane - not to mention a forteen-day quarantine, when we arrive.... Xusa's sister works there, teaching english, and she makes twenty dollars an hour. The visa situation in Vietnam leaves a lot, to be desired...

I am old (70). I will die soon - no matter what. But Xysa (wifey) is thrity-three. I need to protect her (and myself) but I don't know what to do. I'm at my wit's end.

I hold a BA in photography and design. I have no teaching experience and, to be honest, the thought of a room filled with young kids, day after day, does not really appeal to me. I like writing. I may be delusional, but I think I have flair for it. You can see some of my "work" at: china-must-pay.org.

Thankfully, living in a small city in Indiana, we have some time. I predicted the current "surge" in COVID the same day I learned they were cancelling the lockdown. (the batteries in my cristal ball are dead and I'm not the least bit psychic) I foresee a literal he77 on earth, with the coming of autumn.

Maybe some of you guys are expats. If so, PLEASE tell me where we can go, in order to survive?
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John V55
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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Hi Monte,
I’m not American, or a Trump supporter. Tens of millions were predicted, might, possibly, maybe die of the virus, (flu)? Climate change might, definitely maybe destroy the world either five years ago if you listened to Al Gore or in 12 years if you listen to Greta? We live in an age of beliefs and the US is the leader. Having said that, it’s no different here in Europe.

Away from the topic, but if you really want to know what’s going on in the west, you’ve had a very nasty dose of cultural Marxism and that’s now turning into progressivism. I wrote this several years ago, but if you just read the first few pages you’ll get the drift of it. There is no theory, there are only facts which those of us who do social and political science saw coming years ago. Just scroll down to read.
https://www.academia.edu/24806338/Cultu ... cial_Chaos

There is no easy way to make money and the online teaching gig specifically targets those without qualifications or experience with promises. It’s a post-industrial west, bankrupt and led by the corrupt. Bring on the revolution. :)

Psst, you need a lot of help with SEO and content on your site. Just sayin’. :)
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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Didn't mean to be flippant about your problem situation. We are quite similar except I am a few yrs ahead of you. I am 77 married to a lovely Phillapina now 40ish (her candor). 15 yrs ago we bought a remote small mountainside farm I have restored to natural habitat so now live isolated in the woods. We raise most of our own veggies and fruits, have some chickens. we are on the grid but also have our on back up solar, rainwater collection/irrigation and sewer systems, and well for back up. I foresee a tough time in the USA for the next decade at least. So I am glad we got this set up before the stuff hit the fan. We make rare trips into the nearest town 16 miles of State 2 lane Hwy and always wear a mask. So better find a safe place to hunker down friend and ride it out. A small town in Indiana isn't too bad. Stay positive and good luck. I keep a steady stream of applications and resumes going out to safe places. But nobody wants you if older than 50. I also find that my 20 + years teaching, double B As, a Ms. Ed. and TEFL is no match for a 25-year-old with a new buzz CELTA and a TV clown nose. James
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John V55
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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^ That’s about right James. Despite all the political hype of booming economies across the west, we never really got out of the 2008 crash and now the virus. I personally don’t know anyone who has died from it, or even someone who knows someone else who did. The post WW1 influenza pandemic; now there was a killer disease that wiped out between 20 and 50 million! This one is nowhere even close to that.

Greta says the world is going to end in 12 years’ time due to the climate; the estimated millions of dead from a particularly nasty form of flu didn’t happen and a recent EU Commissioner states he’s in touch with aliens from other planets … I just smile and shake my head at it all. :roll:

In our brave new world the chances of getting a job after 60 are slim and after 70, I suspect is nigh impossible. I’m a young 65 and I’ve given up trying. Time to put my feet up and laugh at the millennial generation as they pull down statues, try to make populations colour blind and get excited at the colour of Kim Kardashians designer socks! :lol:
Monte
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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John V55 wrote: 29 Jun 2020, 23:17 ^ That’s about right James. Despite all the political hype of booming economies across the west, we never really got out of the 2008 crash and now the virus. I personally don’t know anyone who has died from it, or even someone who knows someone else who did. The post WW1 influenza pandemic; now there was a killer disease that wiped out between 20 and 50 million! This one is nowhere even close to that.

Greta says the world is going to end in 12 years’ time due to the climate; the estimated millions of dead from a particularly nasty form of flu didn’t happen and a recent EU Commissioner states he’s in touch with aliens from other planets … I just smile and shake my head at it all. :roll:

In our brave new world the chances of getting a job after 60 are slim and after 70, I suspect is nigh impossible. I’m a young 65 and I’ve given up trying. Time to put my feet up and laugh at the millennial generation as they pull down statues, try to make populations colour blind and get excited at the colour of Kim Kardashians designer socks! :lol:
I have been driving a grain truck. Not a lot of prestige, but $20/hr works. Wifey was working at Dr Tavel. That had to end. Infected people walking in all day... She was good about that but I know it broke her heart. We were cruising - puttin' money in the bank every week. Now look. But nobody is mad at china; nobody wants to make them pay.

Hey... what if Greta is right? My solution? LETS PARTY!
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John V55
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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^ Why blame China? No country deliberately introduces viruses. Aids was thought to have originated in Africa. Do we blame the Africans? The influenza pandemic of a century ago was termed the ‘Spanish flu’ because it was believed to have started in Spain. That’s not Spain’s fault either. The latest virus is also now being referred to as the ‘Wuhan virus’. In an overpopulated globalized world, the spread of viruses is now a regular occurrence. H1N1 2009, MERS 2012, bird flu 2013 … The spread of viruses and the economic consequences of laissez faire capitalism (2008) are things we’re going to have to get used to. Stand by for another huge economic downturn following this particular virus.

Greta is simply another part of the belief system that western societies have tied themselves into along with BLM, Antifa and the cultural equality behind open borders. The social and economic security our generation grew up in has gone and it’s now more a matter of survival. I can’t see any grounds for optimism for a long time to come.
Monte
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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John V55 wrote: 30 Jun 2020, 07:06 ^ Why blame China? No country deliberately introduces viruses. Aids was thought to have originated in Africa. Do we blame the Africans? The influenza pandemic of a century ago was termed the ‘Spanish flu’ because it was believed to have started in Spain. That’s not Spain’s fault either. The latest virus is also now being referred to as the ‘Wuhan virus’. In an overpopulated globalized world, the spread of viruses is now a regular occurrence. H1N1 2009, MERS 2012, bird flu 2013 … The spread of viruses and the economic consequences of laissez faire capitalism (2008) are things we’re going to have to get used to. Stand by for another huge economic downturn following this particular virus.

Greta is simply another part of the belief system that western societies have tied themselves into along with BLM, Antifa and the cultural equality behind open borders. The social and economic security our generation grew up in has gone and it’s now more a matter of survival. I can’t see any grounds for optimism for a long time to come.
If you read the home page of my site you would have seen that I dedicated a lot of space to NOT blaming the chinese people, as I indetified the CCP as the enemy. When I wrote that I knew it would detract from the point I was trying to make. In my mind there are things more important than achieving my goal. Fairness, and doing no harm, are among them.

The changes of which you speak are but one of the results - the symptoms - of the real problem. In our times, capitalism was held in check by morays. It is the denial of those morays that has caused what are problems, to us, and a bonanza, to the rich. The problem, simply put, is "OUR" GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN BOUGHT, BY THE RICH.

A solution, beckons. Rats, keep winning the rat-race. So, become a rat.

I'm glad I'm old - almost done. I don't want to play what is now the only game, in town.
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John V55
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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^ Trying To separate government from the people is an entirely western concept. Through propaganda and indoctrination governments produce the morals and values of a society. For instance, in the Obama years the US moved towards the radical left with Antifa, BLM and the ‘gay’ rights movement, focusing on identity politics. Conversely, Trump has brought in laissez-faire capitalism and spawned the ‘Proud Boys.’ Contrary to what the western media say and allowing for some obvious disgruntlement, the CCP is very popular in China. The Chinese embraced regulated capitalism and beat the US at its own game. That’s why all the hatred.

In a country focused on individualism and materialism, the US was always destined to become autocratic. The biggest enemy in western societies is not the Chinese government, but those sitting in the White House, Wall Street and in the multi-national banks. I too refuse to join in the belief bubble game and am quite content to watch the slow social and economic collapse from afar. :)
Monte
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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John V55 wrote: 01 Jul 2020, 07:57 ^ Trying To separate government from the people is an entirely western concept. Through propaganda and indoctrination governments produce the morals and values of a society. For instance, in the Obama years the US moved towards the radical left with Antifa, BLM and the ‘gay’ rights movement, focusing on identity politics. Conversely, Trump has brought in laissez-faire capitalism and spawned the ‘Proud Boys.’ Contrary to what the western media say and allowing for some obvious disgruntlement, the CCP is very popular in China. The Chinese embraced regulated capitalism and beat the US at its own game. That’s why all the hatred.

In a country focused on individualism and materialism, the US was always destined to become autocratic. The biggest enemy in western societies is not the Chinese government, but those sitting in the White House, Wall Street and in the multi-national banks. I too refuse to join in the belief bubble game and am quite content to watch the slow social and economic collapse from afar. :)
China most certainly has not beaten America, at anything. A solution to their communism was to bring china, kicking and screaming, into the capitalistic world of the 20th century. The "playing field" was intentionally slanted, in their favor, in order to accomplish same.

I did not start this thread to create a forum for you, or me, to promote our political views. I would be mildly interested in how " individualism and materialism" create autocratic states, but right now it does not matter, to me.

Right now, my focus is on how my family can survive the literal hell on earth I see, on the horizon. You say you are content to watch the world descend into hell, from afar. Which implies you have found, and now occupy, a place of safety.

My question is simple: WHERE THE HE77 ARE YOU, and HOW CAN I GET THERE?
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John V55
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Re: Asking for input (about age)

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You’ve got it totally wrong about China, but as you say, this isn’t the place for a political discussion. I saw what was already happening over a decade ago, as did many others. This was while the majority were cheering on the credit card boom and by 2006 I’d already made plans to get out. I missed the housing crash, the food kitchens and unemployment and went to Thailand, married and then we both went to China to work. We bought a house in Thailand with what I earned and next year when I get my state pension I’ll spend the five winter months in Thailand and the seven summer months in the UK, which I have to do so that I can remain entitled to pension increases and the National Health Service.

The good old days have gone and they’re not coming back, which is why politics comes into it. If you can (usually) correctly predict the way things will go, you can also prepare for the future. I’m currently in the UK.
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