Originally Posted by
11Bravo
Human nature*: You give an inch, they take a mile (someone else can do the metric conversion). Because of your extra work for free, hanging around, good nature, you were taken for granted. Because of your attachments to the shop, the boss assumed she could do whatever with no ramifications.
Obviously, walk away. Be happy with the good memories; now, those are just memories. Hopefully, you have the personal contacts (ala WeChat) of your regulars/favs, so you can find out where else they work and patronize those shops. Start the search for the replacement shop.
Celebrate a belated birthday on your next working trip to Thailand - take some vacation days or unpaid leave at the end of the assignment - talking weeks here. Punt in Thailand, taking some breaks to other countries to play tourist sightseeing. Cambodia - Angkor Wat should be on any bucket list. Laos has some nice places. Malaysia KL (RIP Beach Club), Penang. Indonesia. Singapore. Vietnam. Even Myanmar (fantastic country, go see Bagan; take the SLOW train from Yangon to Mandalay). Winter might not be the best time to go see China, but it's mandatory in January-February to see the Harbin Ice Festival, another bucket list item.
I'd just say take this as an opportunity to break the "Birthday-Punting" habit and broaden your horizons.