Month: October 2021

A Miracle – 9th October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Marvel at the synchronicity
I was just thinking about elephants
But the cheapest form of miracle
Is, in fact, just coincidence

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be able to order little cables and things online from Lazada. So cheap and easy.

Damn, I feel good today. Stepping out of the cool aircon of the car and into the bright, humid heat felt like jumping into a cooling swimming pool, enveloped in something smothering the skin. The heat soon burns away the cool skin feeling but the engulfment remains. A soft warm cocoon around my body that finds its way into my brain receptors, bringing comfort and safety.

A relaxing wake up yet busy beginnings with bedclothes washing and cat feeding. I pushed through the punishing abs exercises again, jumped in the shower and headed off to Utopia for coffee, reading more of the Rolling Stones biography but somewhat unable to focus for long.

Back home, Amy had already started teaching her two students, first time in seven months. Now she will be busy most weekends again.

I secreted myself in my room, intending to practice guitar but got swept up in more poetry blog entries and listening to more live Mission of Burma recordings, which I have found at archive.org. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime.

A quick filling Pad Thai before setting off to the city for Amy to get her first vaccine shot. The blue skies of last week now replaced with the smoky white haze again as the farmers burn everything for the next forced season.

As I’m driving, my mouth is contemplating the creamy milky coffee at House. They’ve turned me onto a signature drink they call a Dirty. It’s cold, fresh milk mixed with a good lot of cream and then a long, extracted shot sits atop. You sip and slurp the creamy milk through the shot and it is damn delicious. The taste is throughout my mouth as I’m writing and I’m contemplating a second but shouldn’t. Keep it as a treat.

Not sure what the plan is next but I’m looking forward to getting back to my room and listening to more music and hopefully playing guitar.

Oh yeah, I squeezed in a haircut too – finally. My hair was getting out of control. Need to shave and dye my hair sometime this weekend too. Perhaps I can maintain the deceit of still looking under 50 years old as the 54th approaches.

Foundations – 8th October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

There’s a plan that’s been put in place
Decided years ago, real and known
Paths set to further the human race
Historical analysis shows how we’ve grown

Allowances were made for deviations
When the train almost left the tracks
The firm bedrock for our foundations
Ensured the plan always had our backs

All the charlatans and fly-by-nights
Have long since been forgotten
War of words no longer become fights
And we stopped ourselves becoming rotten

Instead of an instant profit turned
Future generations were the consideration
Making sure that all history was learned
We came together to celebrate this creation

I see parallels between Asimov’s Foundation stories and the differences in the way the US and China plan their futures. It feels like the US system is constantly hamstrung by its election cycles and lack of consistent vision whereas China has its five-year plans and I think extending even further into the future.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be able to watch interesting YouTube videos all day at work, as well as reading so much. And go for coffee. I am grateful that the Thai teachers don’t hassle me with extra work.

The never-evolving discussion around reading is taking place again. Some of our classes only had 50% attendance rates, some even close to 0% attendance, yet we somehow have to give 60% of the class grade 3 or above (grade 4 being the highest). As ever, what a nonsense. Well, I just continue to do the best for my students where I can.

My abs workout has suddenly gotten more difficult, really pushing my ability to even hold my legs in the air to complete some sets. Keep going, keep going.

Finished reading Foundation last night, and Al Franken’s The Truth With Jokes. Interesting parallel reads and both great books.

Singy – 7th October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Rob’s singing about his cat again
And I’m trying to sing-a-long
I can’t quite hit the harmony
And I get the lyrics wrong

But the joy is in our hearts
As we’re belting out this song
There’s no difference between us
We are all where we belong

Inspired by listening to Thingy and the genius songwriting of Rob Crow and his songs about his cat Molly.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that the dentist called to remind me to go today and bring my mouth shield because I forgot it last time.

It’s been pretty hot during the days recently and despite flooding in other parts of the country, it hasn’t rained here for a week or more now. The temperature in the evening is perfect though, and when the skies are clear, Venus and Jupiter (maybe) are super bright up above.

When I got home on Tuesday, Amy wanted to go for a swim and despite the sun being behind the mountains, when we got to the resort pool, just 3 minutes ride from us, it was a very pleasant hour or so, which a few other families were also enjoying. Relaxing here, overlooking beautiful jungle mountains and rice fields, a clear pool, food and drink, we both once again blessed ourselves for how lucky we are.

It’s dentist time again today. Let’s see how much these damn things will cost me this time! I’m happy to still have most of my teeth. I can still see my dentist’s face from when I was a teenager, always telling me to brush more and stop eating candy. He was trying his best but my rebellious streak thought I could survive forever.

Well, here I am, mouth full, sometimes hurting and most times painful on the wallet. I can remember a time when mum got her first clip-in teeth and I must be older than that now. So, I can consider I’m doing well enough, right?

The last few times I stayed with her, I was always amused in the mornings when she would wake up and ask me to hold on while she put in her teeth. A few more were required by that time. She’d also have put in her hearing aids and put on her glasses. Is that my destiny too? So long as I can put it all off a little longer, that’s ok.

I can’t imagine not losing my hearing, considering all the loud shows I’ve been at, surely exposed more than my mum had in her lifetime. Her parents both went deaf but I don’t know about anything on dad’s side. Hopefully, I inherited something good there.

This Shirt – 6th October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

This shirt is too tight
Restricting my space
Sleeves too short
And collar around my face

Nice design and style
But not quite the right fit
It’s only 8 am
And I’ve got all day to wear it

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for a great massage yesterday. Combined with my working out recently I can feel my body and thinking changing for the better.

Is it post-massage hangover? Slept well, woke up happy enough but sitting this morning, reading and sipping my usual big cup of cappuccino, I was aching and uncomfortable. I’ve noticed that I really love lying down on my back – it’s about the only position I feel comfortable in. I don’t have to use many of my puny muscles to support myself.

However, I recognise that this is not anyway to thrive and is one of the reasons for soldiering through the Six-pack in 30 days course, which, when you look deeper, is actually Six-pack in 90 days but who is gonna buy into that? I’m pleasantly surprised by my sticking with this regime so far, two weeks or more, and notice a sense of overall well-being, despite the achy bits and let’s hope that strengthening these stomach muscles will be part of the solution to the random pain points throughout my body. Or at least, perhaps, I’ll be able to touch my toes.

24 Jun 2025 – Update to this is that whilst I still have a better feeling of well-being, I don’t have a six pack, my body continues to ache and I still can’t touch my toes.

I finished entering in my 1979 diary to the blog, which has been an interesting exercise in the memory-jerking reminiscence department, but I have to keep remembering so that I can actually write alongside the diary entries at some point.

The more I think about collecting my life history into one place, the more ideas come along or memories of things forgotten are prodded forward for evaluation. When I see all the shit in the world I can’t believe how I lucky I am. I think about this every day now.

Check Your Dreams – 5th October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments

Conspiracies abound among the paranoid
Secret cabals of lizard men must be destroyed
Spooks at every corner have been deployed
Data analysis deep tracking employed

Inception matrixes to check your dreams
Killer drones are shooting laser beams
Manufacturing consent it seems
Our new masters are our own machines

10th May 2024 – Submitted to No Theme Thursday for the attached picture prompt

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that I pretty much managed to finish my grading files in an hour yesterday. A whole semester measured with a number.

Today’s a good day so far (it’s 2pm). Probably the best thing was spending an hour in the city getting a massage. First one for a long while. How grateful I am to be getting paid and being able to get a one-hour massage! I’m thinking to go back again on Thursday! Why not!?

There is nothing particularly bothering me personally these days. My life is sweet. I’m conscious that I’m reading a lot of news again, generally about the US and the US-China relationship. That shit is making me angry and I’m wondering if I should just cut it all out again.

Amy and I finally watched The Tiger King and that documentary seems to highlight for me everything that is wrong about the USA. In my youth, I always argued for freedom but as the saying goes, ‘with great freedom comes great responsibility’. I don’t think freedom to be ignorant and stupid was quite what my idealised youth was thinking of.

False Faces – 4th October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Accept me the way I am
What you see is what you get
There’s no fake smile hiding
Something you don’t know yet

Speaking as I see it
Truth will rise to the top
Connections are only made
When your false faces stop

There’s nothing to be afraid of
Whether we’re friends or not
I’m happily surrounded by
The honesty my friends have got

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for the opportunities we have – we can put some money into mutual funds to help us in the future.

A pretty busy but also relaxing weekend. On Saturday, we prepared for Bruno and Nut to visit on Sunday, although I must say Amy did most of the preparation where food was concerned. Actually, no – she did all of it!

On Saturday, I wasn’t feeling too hot, probably side effects from the vaccine and I slept in the afternoon. Luckily, I felt better by Sunday and when Bruno and Nut came, we had good food and a good gossip.

Bruno has managed to get himself a good bit of work on the Netflix film about the Thai Cave Rescue and seems to have met some interesting people there.

T.M.I. – 3rd October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

*So many things to be late for
How can anyone keep up?
Have you heard the latest
Gossip overflows its cup
It’s a big world of T.M.I.
Mindless work is just distraction
Just time for another meeting
To discuss avoiding action

*I read this line somewhere and was immediately taken by it and wrote it in a notebook. Then remembered it again when I was struggling for ideas and came up with this.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to chat with Bruno and Nut at our house. It was a pleasant afternoon with food, alcohol (not me) and coffee and cake. Nut seems pretty down-to-earth and straightforward. Amy and I like that.

Sandcastle – 1st October 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Some revel in comforts
Others itch for change
Nest has been made
Now time to rearrange

Build a dream castle
Atop a mountain high
Next a beach paradise
Under this big sky

Settle down right here
The sun shining bright
Nothing lasts forever
Thus day turns into night

Weight: 77.7kg
Resting heart rate: 48

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have had my 2nd vaccine yesterday and didn’t have any side effects. Hopefully, it protects me well from Covid.

The beautiful cat is not here today. Probably for the best! Amy was happy to have finished the last couple of days’ baking work though she still has one more tray to do today. I think she is secretly pleased with the results of her work and is half decided on whether to pursue this further. She is equally happy to just do baking for pleasure and when she wants, rather than putting pressure on herself.

I had my second Pfizer shot yesterday with no real side effects that I could tell, except for feeling really good! I maybe a little achey but it’s hard to tell if that is just my normal state these days. Lower back and neck are always like this anyway,

No more classes now and I guess we start grading next week. Pretty easy and I’m able to fill my time, whilst having no work to do, with plenty of reading.

If the weather is ok on the weekend I may go for a ride into the mountains, though as I write this I’m thinking I should wait a bit until the ground dries out.