Social Distancing

Today's song is: Times They, are a Changing ... Dylan 1964

I can't imagine social distancing working in the entertainment districts of Thailand. Look but not touch is more of a western notion whereas 'No money, no honey' is more Thai. It appears that most of the entertainment districts in Thailand have shut down due to the lack of customer's and the girls have left for their villages through fear of catching the virus and loss of income.

The prices in Bangkok and Phuket were getting out of hand and it was time for a correction.

Speaking of corrections, I believe the world as we knew it will be reshaped by the latest pandemic. It was good that the WHO (World Health Organization) finally got around to naming it a pandemic. I suppose they hung in as PC as long as possible. Another PC action was naming it Covid-19 rather than the Wuhan virus. We would not to point fingers would we.

If things  were not bad enough, the Russians and Arabs decided to flood the market with cheap oil which certainly has not helped the Canadian dollar.

We Canadians seem to be good at testing whereas the US has taken the Ostrich approad of head in the sand. Better not to know I guess, as it would affect the stockmarket and the 401s that the American are counting on in their retirement.

Here in Canada Trudope is cocooning in isolation and coming out of his cottage on the Rideau to make announcements. Shades of 10 Downing Street in England. At least he is finally taking action. I imagine he has a lot invested in the stockmarket as well.

Pubs, restaurants, bars etc. are mostly closed. Even Tim Hortons and Starbucks has shut down their in store seating and are takeout only.

Cocconing and social distancing is turning out to be quite boring, but that is expected. Time to start exercising at home, getting ahead in programming and watching NetFlix and Prime Video.

I got my new glasses courtesy of my glasses insurance.

Are welcome balloons coutesy of Elaine are still flying after 2 weeks.

Jaidan loaded for bear  .. target shooting passes the time

Thavorn coming to grips with a Chromebook and Chrome OS.

TTYL

Enjoying Canada

Today's song is: I Have Been Everywhere Man ... Stompin Tom (Canadian)

The good news is that we are settled in nicely and we have wheels :-) 

The bad news is that Covid-19 is causing all kinds of cancellations and disruptions. Today we registered Jaidan for school to start after March break on the 23rd but the Ontario government just announced that all publicly funded schools are closed tomorrow for 3 weeks (including March break) until April the 5th.

We have a huge fridge and it is loaded with food so we could cocoon for the 3 weeks, but I think not. I would go stir crazy.

The NBA is on hold and March Madness is still a go, albeit, without fans in attendance. Can you catch Covid-19 over the airwaves :-)

I have been meeting all week with school boards, supporting our new software and the meeting have been going well but it is creating lots of work for me. However, that beats doing crossword and Sudoku puzzles to keep my brain occupied.

Did I mention I am enjoying my new wheels?

I might not even need a motorcycle to keep me entertained (at least this year).

TTYL

All Good Things ...

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

All good things eventually must end and my love affair with Thailand has come to an end or is, at least on hold, for 18 months.  At this moment we are planning to visit Thailand again from June 1st to Augusts 31st 2021. More than likely, Pattaya will be our home base with visits to Bangkok, Wichian Buri, and Phang Nga (Phuket).

Our home base in Canada is going to be the sleepy rural village of Osgoode, about a half hour drive outside of Ottawa. Sounds like a good place to sit out the Corona Virus Pandemic that I suspect will be announced shortly after we arrive in Canada. It appears we are getting out of S.E. Asia just in time.

We had a lovely Thai dinner last night, courtesy of the seniors on my basketball team. They are a wonderful group of young men, and I will miss them.

My visit to downtown Bangkok was anti climatic. Cowboy was a ghost town so we visited the Beer Garden and the beer bars of Soi 7. Both of these areas were very busy.  Why the distinction? Cowboy is a tourist destination and there are very few tourists these days and Soi 7 is frequented by lifers and expats.

I just booked a van, via grab taxi to take us to the airport at 7 am tomorrow morning. My senior boys asked to see us off at 8:30 just before we pass through to our gates.  Seems like I made a difference in their lives and you can't ask for more than that.

So, I am a little melancholy as I reach the end, but I am really excited about the next stage of my life. It is great to re event your life every decade. So many people seem to get stuck in the same, same.

  Not for me!

My next post will be from Canada.

TTYL

Wow ... 2 more sleeps

Today's song is: One Night in Bangkok  .. Murray Head

Actually, my last night in Bangkok for close to 2 years.

The last week has seemed so long, but we are close now to start a new adventure. Adventures are great and quickly rids you of boredom. Off to greener pastures, one always hopes :-)

I handed out the team certificates to my varsity basketball team to cap off a great and final season with the boys I committed to for 3 years. It was rewarding seeing them develop as basketball players and become young men rather than boys. I believe they will do well in life.

The team gifted me with a signed jersey, thank you card and a memento of Thailand, a tuk tuk souvenir.

Missing Yen, my grade 8 starter  ... he was at the middle school assembly

My manager and Most Improved Player

Tonight, my seniors are taking Thavorn, Jaidan, and I out to dinner at Mega Bagna. It is my last official duty (not really a duty :-) in Thailand. After dinner, Thavorn and Jaidan will head home and I will catch the BTS to Soi Cowboy to meet up with John for one last walk on the wild side.

Tomorrow should be a day of rest and a time for reflection, and of course the last minute packing of computers and monitors.

TTYL

One Week Remaining

Today's song is: Born to be Wild ... Steppenwolf

I am having fun teasing Thavorn that she only has one week remaining in Thailand and then we are off to the Great White North.  She is handling it well. I suspect the reason is, she is looking forward to a change.

Jaidan continues to mark the days off on his calendar and even seems reconciled to the fact that he will be attending school in Canada. perhaps, he too, is looking forward to a change.

That brings me to me.  Yes, I am definitely looking for a change. It is always good to get away, but it is always good to get back home. The problem, for me, lately, was defining where home was. Home is where your friends and family are. It is were you feel comfortable and safe. recently, Thailand has not been providing those things for me.

The virus numbers in Thailand are no longer reported. Obviously the government is repressing the reporting because they want tourism to rebound. I believe that says quite a bit about the ruling junta party, 'The buck trumps all'.

Meanwhile the virus is spreading to many other countries. I believe it is far from done and will decimate the southern continents of South America and Africa who are ill equipped to handle it.  nature has a way of curtailing populations of every species.

Will be be safe in Canada. Yes if Canada controls exposure to the virus. No, if the virus spreads as our hospitals are already operating at 100% capacity and we can't construct a hospital in 2 weeks as China did. As always there is good and bad (ying and yang) everywhere.

I can't believe how excited I am about having wheel for the first time in over 10 years. makes me want to start thinking about my 2 wheel addiction :-)

TTYL

10 Days and in the Air

Today's song is: Homeward Bound ... Simon and Garfunkel

In 10 days we are in the air, having said our goodbyes to friends and family in Thailand. I have 3 practices and one basketball tournament with my basketball team that I committed to for 3 years. I leave behind the genesis for next year's team and a basketball culture which should provide the grounds for success in future years.

I have been coaching basketball now for 35 years and I am not sure if it is time to hangup the basketball clipboard. I will decide when I get back to Canada. I get back in time for the Canadian University finals which starts on March 5th at TD Place, Lansdowne Park.

Jaidan continues to mark off his calendar and we are hoping for lots of snow when we arrive. We are probably the only ones hoping for snow at this time of year.

I am also looking forward to picking up my car on March the 4th. After much research I have decide on a 2020 Kia Forte GT.

It reminds me of my Chevy Cobalt SS I owned in the late 2000s, about the same horsepower but this one has much more torque because it is a turbo, so I expect more get up and go, especially with the 7 speed dual clutch transmission.

The Forte Kia comes fully equipped with the the safety features that you would want. It should be fun to drive. 

We will start to pack and give things away over this week. We hope to travel with one suitcase each.

TTYL

Pipeline Protests - Anarchy

Today's song is: You Got to Run .. Buffy and Tanya .. Indigenous Peoples

The railroad system in Canada has been shut down for over a week by a group protesting the construction of a pipeline owned by the federal government that would add greatly to the GDP of Canada benefiting all Canadians.

There is much support for the group protesting by the leftists and snow flake generations. Many of them are ill informed. Here is a recent post by an indigenous person:

Wun Feather

Yesterday at 2:24 AM

This post is gonna hurt some feelings.
I am good with that.
I am totally tired of people who say stupid things like "Give us back our land".
Like seriously.
I like to look them in the eyes and say:
"Ok. If you had your land back, what would you do with it?"
I will wait for the answer.
Have you ever taken the time to use google maps and look at the huge tracts of Federal land that are not being used for any purpose at all?
No one is trapping any beavers on the land.
No one is hunting wolves or coyotes, or any other fur bearing animal on that land.
Very rarely do you ever see anyone hunting anymore.
If we compare that land to the land owned by the Hutterite Colonies, you would shit yourself if you saw what they are doing on their land.
They have hay and oats and barley and grain, and they run large herds of livestock and flocks of domestic geese and chickens.
Well, ever since I was 18, I have owned my own home.
Seriously!
I bought my first mobile home in Fraser Lake BC and darn it all, it was mine.
Nobody gave it to me.
I never held my hand out for it like a pet monkey in a zoo.
I earned it.
And I have never, ever, EVER been without at least one house on land ever since that day.
I guess you could say that I am the kind of Indian who just goes to work every day, and buys my own piece of land with the money I earn at my job.
I have every single right that anyone else in Canada has.
Oh.
But because I am a status Indian, (I am non Treaty.) That means even though I am Status, I am not bound by any treaty agreements or obligations.
I have WAY more rights than most Canadians.
Firstly, I have the right to be free.
I have the right to become educated if I want to.
I have the right to freedom of speech, and I have the right to every single privilege that any other Canadian has.
But that is not where it ends!
I can hunt and fish and trap and do significantly more than all my non Indigenous friends do.
No one has ever stopped me from trapping animals for subsistence on crown land.
No one has ever stopped me from hunting for subsistence on crown land.
No one has ever stopped me from gathering medicines, plants, fungi, berries or roots for traditional or ceremonial purposes.
So if I can do all those things like my ancestors did before me, why would I want to have that land back??
Isn't it actually already mine to use anyway??
Only, unlike the land that I have bought for myself over the years, I do not have the burden of paying property taxes on the land where I harvest my moose.
I just drive out there, walk a few miles along a river amongst the red willows, and when I see a bull moose, (I don't take cows because they make baby moose), I decide if it is the right one for the freezer.
Here I am with a couple of wolves in this photo.
I can use the meat, skin and tan the hide, and I can use the fur to make a nice blanket or for the top of my moccasins.
Yep. I still have those too!
You will never hear me say that you owe me any land.
As Canadians you have already given me the most important things.
And that is the freedom to carry on my Indigenous culture and traditions on Crown Land.
I don't want my land back.
I already have purchased my own, and I have the rest of the Canadian Boreal forest to do anything else I want to do.
Thank you Canada.
That is more than enough for me.
Oh. Just one more thing.
Thanks for not standing in my way when I go to work each day.
That would really suck if you did that.
And I promise not to stand in your way either.
That's what us real Indians call "A GOOD TRADE"

It appears that the groups protesting the pipeline do not represent all indigenous persons. 20 of the 29 indigenous elected councils fully support the project and stand to gain a great economic benefit for their communities.

The indigenous people arguing against the project are heredity (thinks kings and queens) not elected and have an axe to grind (oops, is that a racist statement) as they have been replaced with an elected council.

I don't pretend to have all the answers but there are some obvious questions to be asked here. Are anarchist actions by a few people (indigenous or otherwise) to be allowed to shut down the railroad, leading to loss of GDP and jobs of people employed in the transportation industry, such as railroad employees, truckers, dock workers, etc. Do those people not have rights as well.

I also question how these protesters have the time to take weeks off work to protest. I tend to think they do not have jobs other than protesting.

I also question why these protesters would be the first to protest the killing of wolves for their fur, but apparently, it is okay for indigenous peoples to do so.

So many questions, so few answers.

TTYL