Reflections on 2024 and Looking Ahead

 2024 has come and gone. We started it off in Thailand during the month of January. It was a great trip, with Jaidan and I spending the majority of it in Bangkok and Thavorn spending half in Bangkok and half visiting her family in Phang Nga (hope I spelled it correctly).

We flew back through Abu Dhabi and spent a night there as our flight was delayed. Arriving back in Canada, Jaidan resumed school and Thavorn went back to work. Life became very routine! And I became very bored!

John and Fon were in Thailand and were scheduled to fly back to Canada at the end of June to live with us for the 2 summer months. However, I pulled the plug on Thavorn's job as it basically became worthless for her to work. I am sure that it came as a surprise to Fon as she was to work with Thavorn during the summer. I was also fed up with driving 2 hours a day over the past 2 years. I have not regretted my decision as I now have Thavorn home all day with me :-)

In February I developed an incisional hernia and went on a waiting list for surgery which happened in October so I became 100% healthy once again. Jaidan also entered grade 5 in school much to his chagrin.

My business has been going well which enables Thavorn to save as much as she would have if she had worked. We went from filling up the gas tank every 4 days to filling up once a month. We became carbon tax winners rather than losers.

We bought and learned how to ride an eScooter this year. This included Jaidan who has yet to learn how to ride a bicycle.

In June my basketball team won a gold medal albeit in div 5 at the provincials. In Septemver I signed up to coach U19 boys for the third time since arriving back in Canada. They keep me young :-)

I spent too much money at Christmas, as always, but Christmas is for kids (and Thai women) and as a wise man once told me, 'Work more, earn more'.

Looking ahead to 2025, we hope to bank about $20K and perhaps get ready to move back to Thailand in the summer of 2026. We would enrol Jaidan in an International School for grade 7. However as the best laid plans for mice and men, things could change.

We will have a new government in 2025 and I am hoping things will be better in Canada. They certaintly can not be worse than the past 9 years of liberal, woke government. When I arrived back in Canada in 2024 after living overseas for 10 years my initial thought was, 'What the fuck happened to Canada!'.

Happy New Year to All

TTYL

Christmas 2024

 Merry Christmas to All

Another Christmas has come and gone. My sister Ann hosted us at the lake and treated us to a prime rib roast that was awesome.

It was a very white Christnas with about 25 mm of snow over the last few days.

Jaidan enjoyed his many presents as Christmas is really meant for children. He received a 34 inch monitor and gaming chair plus $100 in Roblox gift cards and is making use of 3 on Boxing Day. He also received a game board to play checkers, chess and back gammon on. 

Coninuing on, he received a DJI Neo drone and a Cytron edukit to learn progtramming and controlling devices.

Thavorn received a jean jacket, a DJI OSMO camera stabilizer and selfie mount, plus 20 crispy $50 bills to keep in her wallet.

I bought my own Christmas gift which was a Tamiya TT02 RC car kit that I have been putting togers for the past 4 days. Lots of fun plus a few mistakes.

My family is all healthy, Elaine is healthy, and Ann is awaiting her hernia surgery which we hope happens sooner rather than later,

We wish all our friends and family a Merry Christmas.

TTYL

Thailand is Calling

 John and Fon moved back to Thailand full time at the end of summer and are really enjoying being back. Part of the enjoyment is that living in Thailand is like being on vacation full time. You can eat out all the time and fly around the South East Asia as it is much less expensive than Canada.

However, it is more expensive than it used to be because the Canadian dollar is not doing well, mostly thanks to the Liberal government that has been in power since 2015 and has no idea how to govern.

Thailand has had a good year mostly due to tourism but the manufacturing sector is not doing well.

When I first started going to Thailand in 2010, a CDN dollar got you 30 baht. Nowadays, it gets you 24 baht. The American dollar has fared much better and is still getting around 32 baht.

I am getting bored with the routine in Canada and Thavorn knows I am so she seems OK with me visiting friends in Thailand sometime in the new year for about 3 weeks. That would be fun! It is much more expensive for Jaidan and Thavorn to accompany me and Thavorn does not enjoying flying much at all.

Once in Thailand, it is also much cheaper when I am by myself as I tend to stay in cheaper hotels and eat inexpensively on the street. Monet save goes into my entertainment :-)

I can also fly through the states as it is much less expensive. Thavorn would need a visa to fly through the States.

THe new book by Malcolm Gladwell is worth reading.

I upgrade my work area with 2 new monitors and an Asus Duo laptop that has 2 OLED displays. I now have 4 screen for productivity.

Thavorn and I recently celebrated our birthdays but it is not much fun getting older.

My hernia repair was awesome and I am getting ready to hit the gym again once I get the all care from the surgeon which happens around the second week in November.

That is all the news, but I warned you, life is a bit boring these days.

What's Wrong with You?

 I have some observations about relationships and a question to ask.

On my walk this morning, on a beautiful sunny Fall day, and I smiled at oncoming walkers and said good morning. The majority of them did not acknowledge my hello. Some were alone, some with a partner, and some with a dog. What's Wrong with You?

On my walk I cross over a roundabout crosswalk. Most people stop, some roll right through, and some speed up so they don't need to stop. What does 3 seconds add to your drive? What's Wrong with You?

On my walk I pass my son's school and in the primary school yard their is a young couple with school age children letting their dogs run unleased. Every entrance to the school property is signed no dogs allowed. What are they teaching their children? What's Wrong with You?

The above got me thinking. Throughout my life I believe I was basically a rule follower. I am not talking legal rules, but perhaps societal norms. I have usually tried to do what best for those I come in contact with. I have coached for 40 years, worked in a supervisory capacity for 30 years and hired, and mentored many employees. I have even been accused of hiring my friends.

Coaching has always been something I enjoyed. My goal was to make players better and over 30 of those players have gone on to play at university. I just received two happy birthdays on my Facebook. Thank you and for the remaining hundreds of players ... What's Wrong with You?

In my career I mentored quite a few people who went on to very successful careers. I just received an eMail from one of them saying happy birthday and let's get together for a chat. The others (you know who you are) are probably patting themselves on the back and thinking how smart I was to have such a great career. Perhaps it is time for some self reflection and a birthday wish. What's Wrong with You?

I only taught for about 10 years but in those 10 years I think I may have made a difference in young lives. My goal was usually to make students smile and succeed in my course. Every now again one reaches out to me to say thanks. If sometime, you think back and realize 'That was the best of times ...' you should reach out, not necessarily to me but to some teacher or coach that made a difference. What's Wrong with You?

Since retiring, I have reached out to colleague and students when there was a need and tried to make a difference in their lives. You also know who you are. One particular student does not even reply to me if I ask how she is doing. What's Wrong with You?

What I take away from all of the above is that people move on and when they do they leave behind what was. Interesting enough, that is the theme of a book I taught to my grade 8s for 3 years.

That was Then, This is Now

Novel by S. E. Hinton

Perhaps I am just becoming maudlin in my old age ... or in search of truth like Don Quixote in 'Tilting at Windmills'

TTYL

Fall is Here

 Canada is getting ready for winter as Fall arrived on September the 21st. Our pet squirrels (we have three, a brown, a grey, and a black) have started to horde and stash the nuts we give them each morning. They are pretty tame and eat out of Jaidan's hand. As the weather is turning cooler they are asking for more because they have to stash enough nuts to get through the winter. They eat well as we feed them cashews and almonds.

Jaidan is back and school and he still likes that I walk to school with him and walk back with him after school. I don't mind as it helps me to get my 10,000 steps in.

The basketball team I coach, which is U19 boys has been selected and our first practice is September 30th and I am looking forward to it. Most of the boys are new to the team and seem pretty keen on being a part of it. It should be a good year.

I had my preoperative briefing at the hospital yesterday and it went well. My hernia operation is next Thursday, the 3rd of October and seems pretty routine as my hernia is fairly small. The operation last about an hour with a recovery of 2-3 hours and then I get to go home.  Apparently and can get back to my routines the next day.

Thavorn is still enjoying not working. She is not bored as long as she gets to go shopping once a week. Shopping is fun with her as she is easy to shop for being XS/Small and looks good in most everything much like Aly. I am assuming Aly has managed to stay slim and in good shape.

I still amuse myself by programming microcontrollers and building RC cars. I would rather be bar hopping in Bangkok or Pattaya but that is not an option at this moment although Thavorn said I could visit Thailand by myself for a couple of weeks if I get really bored. That makes it much more cost effective as it is only one ticket and I can fly through the states.

My friend John is back in Thailand full time now and is enjoying it. Much more to do and much less expensive than Canada for eating/drinking out. The night life in Canada really sucks for older folks who want to have fun.

Both of my sisters are waiting on operations as well and have wait time longer than a year. Canada has let way too many students/immigrants/refugees in during the past 5 years and it has overloaded our health care system. You have to wonder why politicians can look farther than their nose and do simple math. Of course as boomers age they need more health care as well.

I miss being in Malaysia where I could simply pay for whatever health care I needed and it was timely and way less expensive. Thailand is similar but harder to figure out.

Thavorn turned 38 on the 24th of September and of course, I gained (lost) another year.

TTYL

Summer Time

 It has been a great summer with beautiful blue skies and warm temperatures with just enough rain. I get a real kick out of our weather warnings stating that the high today will be 30 degrees. I guess they have never lived in Malaysia or Thailand.

On a health note, I feel great and hope to start running again after my hernia surgery on October 3rd. I have maintained my weight loss and get lots of compliments on how I do not look my age. I will be 74 in September but really feel nor look different than when I was 63 when I met Thavorn. Thavorn agrees but still enjoys calling me farang toew (spelling is probably wrong).

Jaidan just turned 10 and is growing like a weed and will probably be as tall as Thavorn (5'7") by Christmas. We would love to visit Thailand soon but I doubt anything will happen before the summer of 2025. I can't really complain as we were in Thailand twice during the last 12 months.

John and Fon have been living with us for the summer months but they are both looking forward to being back in Thailand. In Thailand, everyday can be an adventure and does not have to cost much money. Whereas in Canada, leaving the house will easily cost you $50 and lots more if you want to do something like have some chicken wings and some beer or perhaps listen to music.

I continue with my pursuit to learn something new everyday and that usually involves experimenting with microcontrollers. BTW, some of the best microcontroller boards come from Malaysia in Penang. Differently world class stuff. The company is Cytron Manufacturing.

My 2 sisters are starting to run into health problems but unfortunately that comes with age. I feel blessed to have all my original parts.

The next time I am in S.E. Asia I plan to visit some of the countries I have not been to for 10 years. That would include Malaysia and Vietnam as well as the Philippines which I have never visited.

Let me see if I have any pics:

Jaidan's friends are all asians. There are many Asians where we live, but unfortunately no Thais that we are aware of. Mostly Filipinos and Chinese and his best buddy is Vietnamese.

We bought an eScooter and it is a blast. We all ride it, but defer to Jaidan who really enjoys being mobile. I miss motorcycles but c'est la vie, maybe when I move to Thailand fulltime.

Jaidan will be starting in grade 5 this year and is a very good student. We will have to make a decision at the end of grade 6 whether to stay in Canada of move to Thailand and enrol Jaidan in an international school. The next decision point will be the end of grade for the same reason. Tough decisions but it is nice to have options.

That's it for now,

TTYL

The End of June and Graduation

June has come and gone. In Ottawa it was a cold and rainy month and Ottawa is very green due to the rain. Jaidan finished grade 4 today as it is the end of the school year. He did quite well due to his being a very good student who takes school seriously.

He will now be a grade 5 student this September and also reaches double digits as he turns 10 on July 31st. All in all, he is a great kid. I have ordered an electric scooter for him which should arrive next week around Wednesday, Here's hoping he learns to ride it as he has still to learn how to ride a bicycle. He definitely is not a risk taker and does not like pain.

I am still waiting for a date for my hernia operation. The incisional hernia is a result of a bad cough I picked up while visiting my kidney surgeon in the hospital last February. My family doctor had referred me to a general surgeon and I had not heard anything. I called my family doctor and asked for the phone number of the surgeon to find out how long a wait I had. His administrative assistant told me I was in the middle of the pack. Did not tell me much as I do not know how big the pack is and how many people get treated per week.

I spoke to my family doctor again today and he mentioned he had a buddy who is a surgeon in Hawkesbury which is about an hour out of Ottawa and asked if I would be amenable to travel. I told him to refer me as the wait will probably be only two months at that hospital. It appears the province should have a better system to distribute patients across hospitals and surgeons. I have already been waiting about 4 months.

Thavorn and I decided it would be best for her to quit work. She makes minimum wage which amounts to about $30K a year. My income is $110K a year and I worked out it cost us $14K a year for her to make $30K so she was really only making $16K a year. It is rather complicated explaining why but it has to do with clawbacks, carbon tax, loss of pension sharing, the price of gas and the toll on me, driving 2 hours a day. It has been about a month now and we are both happier!

It appears we are in Canada for the next 2 years as Jaidan has expressed a desire to stay at his current school which goes until grade 6. He has made some good friends and does not want to lose them. Thavorn has also expressed a desire to not visit Thailand in 2025 but maybe sometime in 2026. She does not like the long assed flight and finds visiting her family costs her way too much money :-)

Some pics:

TTYL