Words Matter

Todays song is: Magic Carpet Ride  .. Steppenwolf

I just finished watching the 10 episodes of NetFlix's Vietnam War Series  .. highly recommended!!!

Dates are starting to firm up for our flights to Canada. My last basketball tournament is February 2nd in Chang Mai so we will be flying into Canada (Vancouver then Ottawa) the first week in February.

However, when to book. Recent research shows the lead time to book varies between countries:

That would suggest booking my flights around November 1 2018. We will book one way for flexibility and use Aeroplan points to get from Vancouver to Ottawa.

On another thought, in this age of eMail, twitter, facebook, messenger, viber, whatsapp, and LINE I am noticing that many people do not understand that words matter. Worse still, with worldwide audiences, words matter more than ever.  Once said or twitted, they are gone  .. the horse is out of the barn.

So I encourage one and all to think before pressing send or publish.

Thavorn came back from the village with a large quantity of bugs (insects) from the village. Apparently there are lots of bug farms out there. Recent research has suggested there are enough bugs in the wild to feed the population of the world 100 times over. Thai people really seem to enjoy chowing them back  :-)

The dish on the top right is fried insects  .. plus fried pork and some broccoli for greens.  Rice is always added for carbs.

TTYL

My Way

Today's song is: My Way  .. Willie Nelson

I like this song because a great Canadian Paul Anka penned it, Sinatra made it popular, and Willie does it best.

Wow, 9 days since my last post. Lots has been happening. We have closed down our apartment and Soi 22 and said our goodbyes to friends and a place we have lived in for 5 years. All our belongings are now either in the village or in Big Tree Residence.

Bang Phli Niwet (the area we live in) comes alive in the morning around 8 am until 9 am and then again at factory closing time, around 5 pm to 6 pm. At these times there is a lot of traffic and many markets and food stalls come alive during supper time.

There is the requisite 7/11 for junk food and other necessities. There is a Thai pharmacy where you can get most things without a doctor's prescription. It appears 'You can Always Get What you Want at Alices's Restaurant' (Arlo Guthrie). The only thing missing are beer and gogo bars as well as massage places although I suspect there are some massage parlours I have not yet discovered. Most things are cheaper. Technically, we are no longer in the City of Bangkok. Rumour has it that elephants show up from time to time, unlike Bangkok where they are not permitted to enter.

Basketball coaching is going well and my U19 team beat last year's alumni team fairly easily. My U15 team will also be competitive. The clinics I run for the High School girls will help but I suspect their coaches have their work cut out for them.

I must be getting old (or perhaps wise) and I don't anticipate spending more than 1 day a month downtown partying, but that could change.

The school has a break coming up the second week in October and we will head off to Phuket along with Thavorn's 2 older children who have never been there, and never flown so they are very excited about the trip. The flight is under a $100 so Thavorn and I thought we would give an experience to remember before we head off to Canada for 6 months.

Things are quiet, Mimmo is in Italy, Harvey is in London, Arthur is in Japan for a holiday, and John is busy with work. Nice to have a family to keep me busy.

John and I are thinking about a Cambodian excursion sometime in November. That will be fun if it comes to pass. Just a weekend this time as 5 days was simply too much activity for these old bones.

Thavorn out with Wacky Tacky and Ploi.

Jaidan catching some zzz's

Fon, Ploi's Tom Boy

Thai girls love to eat  .. don't know how they stay skinny

Ploi  .. good friend of Thavorn

TTYL

First Night in Big Tree

Today's song is: Home  .. Buble

I spent my first night in my new residence last night and it was great. The new apartment is a very large studio with a very modern bathroom and a great king size bed with a real mattress and a duvet and soft pillows to sleep with.  The bed and amenities at charming were not great!

It is also much quieter and Shaun mentioned that I would hear a rooster but I did not. Maybe slept too well.  I now have access to a gym as well as a pool but the gym at the school is nicer so I will use that.

There are many places to eat within 200 meters, a 7/11, a Thai pharmacy, etc.  All the comforts of Bangkok, minus the fancy restaurants, hotels, and bars, but they are 30 mins away by taxis.

Pattaya and the airport are closer so it is a trade off. However I think Don Muang and the government complex are farther .. ouch.

There was some confusion with the driver yesterday. At first, it was 10 am, then 4 pm and lo and behold, he arrived at 10 am and I was not ready so some things got left behind and I will pick up on Friday night which is Harvey's last bar night in Bangkok before returning to merry old (boring) England, London, to be specific.

So, 6 months and we are off to Canada  .. time to start a countdown of some sort.

TTYL

Times .. They are a Changing

Today's song is: Times .. They are a Changing  ..  Dylan, by Springsteen

I no longer hear the crowing of roosters in downtown Bangkok. It was not all that uncommon 5 years ago. Yes, the motorcycle taxis drivers still have a screened in hutch where they raise chicks to be hens but it is not the same.

I also miss the baying of dogs around midnight. Not sure why that has disappeared.

In 2011 I saw a monitor lizard cross Soi 22 and was astonished by the size of it. It was being pursued by a group of Thais that seemed intent on a confrontation. I was happy to see it disappear into an alley. That was the only time I saw one of those lizards. No snakes, but plenty of rats and some cockroaches although much fewer than Malaysia.

Here is a pick of a monitor lizard:

Bangkok used to be known as the Venice of S.E. Asia, before they built the roads over the canals. You can still take a long boat and explore the interior canals.

I point I am making is that Bangkok, downtown, is a changing. I hope things may be a little different outside the city center. Perhaps a warp back in time.

Thavorn and Jaidan moved back to the village and today is Mother's Day and Thavorn gifted her mother with our 55 inch 4K smart LG TV.  It would cost too much to take it to Canada so Thavorn's family will be delighted to get it. Half of our apartment 'stuff' went with Thavorn to the village.

The other half moves with me to our new apartment out near the airport on Monday. Today, I am cleaning up and finishing the packing. At 2 pm I will meet my buddy John to play some pool and enjoy a few beers.

Life is simple, but life is good, but times, they are a changing  ...

TTYL

Malls

Today's song is: We're not Going to Take It  .. Twisted Sister

The malls in Canada do not compare with the malls in Bangkok. The malls in Bangkok are a meeting place, a place to get cool, and lastly, a place to shop.

The malls put on special exhibits about once a month.  Some pics:

and when you are hungry, Ronald is always there  ....

This is our last week on Soi 22 as we start to move 'stuff' to the village and start to move to our new place out by the airport.  I am quite looking forward to the change but I am not sure Thavorn feels the same. However, I think she will enjoy the change for the next six months as we prepare to move to Canada for half a year.

Some pics of our new place:

Our new apartment is 14,000 baht a month compared to 28,000 baht a month downtown.

TTYL

MIA

Today's song is: Where Have all the Flowers Gone  .. Joan Baez

I was, am, an educator and I discovered an emerging trend around the turn of the century. My concern was summarily dismissed at the time but my canary warnings have proven true.

Today's young males are hurting big time for a variety of reasons and rather than go on an on about 'Whole Language Instruction' and the gentrification of the school yard you should read at least one of the following articles.

'Have you taken a stroll on a college campus recently? Where have the men gone? In the latest census, males comprise 51% of the total US population between the ages of 18-24. Yet, just over 40% of today’s college students are men. In fact, in each year since 1982, more American women than men have received bachelor’s degrees Over the last decade two million more women graduated from college than men. And the gap continues to grow. Michael Thompson, author of Raising Cain, a great book on the plight of young males, illustrates the path we are going down with a startling extrapolation. He notes that if today’s trends continue unaltered, the last young man in the US to get a college degree will do so in 2068. Scary stuff.'

Plight of Young Males (Harvard Business Review - https://hbr.org/2011/03/the-plight-of-young-males

'Peterson sees young men as victims of a society that hasn’t prepared them to be men, where postmodern, identity group politics has leaked out of the campuses and into the elementary schools, where being an energetic boy is considered a mental health defect, as social media rumors say.'

'The author, Jordan Peterson, is a clinical psychologist and college professor from Canada. He derives answers from theology, psychiatry and philosophy for questions about life, gender roles, and other hot button topics. His book, 12 Rules of Life: An Antidote to Chaos, is currently No. 6 on Amazon.com and is No.1 in self-help categories.'

Jordan Peterson (Canadian Psychologist, U of T) - https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/young-men-search-for-answers-rising-star-jordan-peterson-gives-them-20180223-p4z1cw.html

'Men’s education and employment problems fuel a mismatch in the marriage department, between women’s desires and reality. In a separate Pew survey from 2014, 78 percent of single women said finding a partner with a steady job was “very important,” putting more weight on this factor than any other, including sharing ideas about children (70 percent) or religion (38 percent). Unfortunately a shrinking pool of men meet that criteria.'

Huffington Post - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/hadley-heath/dont-let-political-correc_b_10281196.html?gucc

Peterson has many excellent videos on YouTube. If you are a young male of a mother with a male child you should spend some time with them.  He is not without controversy from the college politically correct snowflakes and embraces that controversy which just pisses them off more! eh!

TTYL

Thai Logic

Today's song is: Price Tag  .. Jesse J

One quirk of living in Thailand is getting used to Thai Logic. Thai logic that in low season you charge more to maintain your cash flow.  They have not grasped the notion of supply and demand.

Thavorn's brother asked Thavorn for a loan of 25,000 baht to buy a used car (12 years old) in 'great' condition and he would pay it back at 2.500 baht a month, starting in 6 months when he finished paying for his motorcycle loan.

Knowing the Thai concept of 'present' living, i.e the past is gone, and who knows what the future would bring, I told Thavorn that it will break down before he makes the first payment and there is no way his Thai logic would tell him to pay for something he has no use of.

We made an agreement to loan the money but Thavorn agreed never to give or loan a baht to her brother if he failed to pay back the 25,000. I figured that it was a good investment to divest ourselves of ever needing to shell out to her brother again.

Needless to say, my prediction came true and he has never made a payment and does not feel chagrined over failing to do so.

So, fast forward and we need to move some possessions from Bangkok to the village and Thavorn's good for nothing brother has access to his father-in-law's pickup truck. Now you or I would do it for free or the price of gas as a payment of the loan he defaulted on, but he wanted 4,000 baht to do the run.  As it turns out, the father-in-law found out that Thavorn has a farang husband and jacked the price to 5,000 baht (going rate for a Thai is 3,000), we were being generous at 4,000, so I basically said WTF, we will find someone else.

Now, I know Thavorn has slipped her brother 1,000 baht from time to time to buy formula for his 2 boys and I can live with that, but I will be damned to help the brother again. We also pass Jaidan's toys down to his 3 boys. Go figure.  The problem is, he is Thai, and they just don't think the same way farangs do. For example, they see nothing wrong in lying to save face, or get ahead in life, or telling you want you want to hear, rather than the truth.

I do know a few good Thai men, 2 of them.

Catching a taxi in Bangkok

Trump crossing the swamp

TTYL

Canada Eh?

Today's song is: Leaving on a Jet Plane  .. John Denver and Cass Elliot

We will be arriving in Canada about February 15th and today I booked a place to live for 6 months. Now, finding a rental for less than a year and that is furnished is very easy in Bangkok but very difficult in Canada.

AirBnB to the rescue.  AirBnB are furnished and invariably short term. However they tend to be expensive but some hosts do it right and buy an apartment and charge enough to cover their costs and watch the apartment appreciate in value.

I found such a unit for $1750 in Ottawa. It is a one bedroom (albeit small) and everything is included, such as heat, hydro, parking, internet, cable, phone, gym, and an outdoor and indoor pool. It is in walking distance to Tim Hortons. Sure, it is more expensive than my Bangkok accommodation but then again, it is Canada.

This, being our first foray into Canada will be exploratory for Thavorn to get a look see and determine how we wish to proceed. We will return to Thailand in late August for a little under 6 months and then return to Canada for at least another 6 months but perhaps longer.

Thavorn has to accumulate 2 years in Canada out of the next five years to keep her Permanent Resident Status. She has to accumulate 3 years to apply for Canadian citizenship. Of course, Jaidan already has dual citizenship.

We are all excited about trying something different!

TTYL