I thought my next blog would be a reflection of last year and my thoughts about the coming year and all the changes that are in store for me personally and for my country as we finally reach the end of the Bush dynasty (I hope). But here I am on the second of January with a new little story and a feeling of being overwhelmed. Here's the story:

I'm in the process of getting a business started. I thought about it for a long time and finally figured out how to do it, what service I could offer. I'm a teacher, so it wasn't easy. I can't start a whole school all by myself. But when I was in Korea, teaching one month long classes it came to me. I could teach private, one-month long intensive English classes in such things as Communication, Business English, Academic Writing and TOEFL prep. (Last night I added a pronunciation clinic. I'm working on those plans.) I was really excited about it and full of hope that finally I'd break the cycle of not having enough money. It's a sound business plan, I think. I want to be legit, so I found a room to rent. It's in another business suite with a group of alternative medical people who are very kind and have good decorating taste. The room is small, but beautiful and very comfortable. A couple of weeks ago I went down to the county seat and applied for a fictitious name for my business. I have a website up and fliers have been distributed around the county. Today I went to the city where the room is so I could apply for a business license. Hold on, it can't go that smoothly. If I were still in Korea I wouldn't have a problem. I doubt they even bother with business licenses. I shouldn't complain, I know. We are more careful about certain things than they are in Korea. It's smart. But, honestly, all I want is to rent a small room for one class at a time - just me and no more than 12 students at a time. Here's the way this game is played: I first get a "parking summary" from the landlord. This is a document that shows all the businesses in the building and the planned parking for everyone. I told them that my classes would be mostly in the evenings and weekends when no one is in the building. It didn't matter. They need it. OK, no big problem, I'll bug the landlord for this. But then they'll have a hearing to determine whether or not the room is suitable to be an "educational facility" and if there's enough parking. A hearing? I'm on trial? I just want to help people and have a little business of my own. This is capitalism, what you want us to do, right? It will take 2 to 3 months to go through this process and then, if they say I can have my business I can apply for a business license. So, does this mean I can operate my business with the "Conditional permit"? That's not a license. I asked if there were any other way. What if I just say I'm an independent contractor? No, it doesn't matter. If I'm teaching, it's an educational facility. Oh, did I mention that the above game costs me $375 to play?

What would happen if I had the classes without a business license? I wonder . . .