Month: November 2021

When Karlotta Died – 20th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Gunter IV owned a mansion
Overlooking the Biscayne Bay
Stands to make 30 million
When it goes on sale today

Eight bedrooms to sleep in
Whilst watching the morning fog
It’s ridiculous to consider
That Gunther is a dog

The rich staying rich is so easy
Even a dog could do it
He doesn’t even live there
And somehow I already knew it

Based on this story

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my abs. They hadn’t been used for many years and now I’m making them work. I think they can remember what to do.

I could die right now, sitting at my chair, as I continue to sort through music files to listen to as I have been doing for year after year. Listen, listen, keep or delete, listen later – maybe later never comes, it doesn’t matter. I enjoy the process. It keeps me occupied with something I enjoy, even if it is endless, somewhat mindless, essentially worthless to anyone but me. I dig it. Twenty million hours of music in a digital library. Keeping obscure and weird tunes in the unconscious conscious minds.

I don’t give a shit what you think. I don’t care if you are pretending to be friends with your acquaintances, if that’s what you wanna do. Your judgment, as mine, is irrelevant. I’m with my people. My singers, guitarists, drummers and whatever. I’m at the club of my dreams, surrounded by the people I love, doing what they love.

I upgraded my guitar playing and have also figured out this app, Capo, that gives you the chords for any song file you have, so I’ve been trying to play along to some Crane, Superchunk and Mudhoney. I don’t know what I’m doing but it’s fun.

I talked with Amy’s student, Na, this afternoon as part of her class. We talked so much that we went an hour over time. She was nervous at first but settled in and I could feel she was happy by the end, especially when she said ‘I want to talk!’

Damn! The enthusiastic students make it all worthwhile.

The Hum Of Life Has Gone – 19th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Those were the days of objects that sing
Now all our machines ever do is ping
I don’t want to say that it’s wrong
But I’d like to hear a different song

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that most students didn’t come to school yesterday – I ended up drinking coffee and getting a massage.

My neck and back were sore yesterday evening after my massage yet somehow I was invigorated and stayed up reading pretty late.

Today has turned out a little busier with more students around but all at a nice, manageable size. I’m thinking about changing 2/11’s work as they all seem a little confused about even simple things. At the opposite end, 2/9 are doing super well.

I watched a short video about sexual assault in Thai schools and I want to show it to 2/9 and have some discussion around it. I talked with the class leaders to make sure that they tell me if they think there may be any problem for any students to watch this. I mean, who knows if anyone is going through those things now? They seemed to think that it would be ok. So now I’m looking forward to putting together some questions and scenarios for them to discuss.

It’s interesting and frustrating, the different levels I am teaching these kids at. I think they are all great though – even the lazy and disinterested.

My Wife’s Performance Review – 18th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday I reviewed the dog
Today I review my wife
I feel her performance
Doesn’t meet the standard for my life

She’s got some goals to reach
And I will keep on poking
Look out, here she comes
No honey, I’m joking! I’m joking!

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for the adjustable bracket I bought for my iPad so that I can read laying down flat and looking straight up. I hope this helps a little with my sore neck.

Well, turned up today to find only 4 students come to my first class and none to my second! I guess I would’ve done the same after getting a vaccine and being told you may get sick afterwards. I would definitely be sick!

But, I haven’t let the kids off – I sent them the work I had planned. I expect the good ones to do it. It will help them with their work for next week.

It means I have another full day mooching around so at the moment I’m in 22 Grams as I had to come and collect Amy’s vaccine passport. I will apply for one too next week, now that I know where to go and what to do.

Hayden called me yesterday and seemed pretty upbeat. He’s getting involved in some disability care training, which could be really good for him. Doing good things for other people will definitely improve your own self-worth and esteem.

Amy’s student, Nong Na, will come on Saturday and I will teach/talk with her for half an hour or so. I’ve been thinking about what to do and as I’m writing this, the idea has come forth for her to interview me. Sometimes the act of writing provides the inspiration.

I’m waiting for Central to open in 15 minutes (11 am) to go and double-check the price of the MacBook Air. I’d like to buy it before Amy goes away. My laptop is starting to get very slow and finicky, especially the trackpad. As I mentioned before – it still works though. 12 years use for a laptop is pretty good going!

I already prepared all of next week’s work for classes yesterday, so I can start on 2/9’s future classes with the subjects they’ve chosen. I could probably finish that all this afternoon and, who knows, maybe even tomorrow, students will still be ‘sick’. Then next week I can just sit in cafes and read, write, caffeinate.

Here I am again in another job where there’s hardly any work to do. I’ll motivate myself to improve the quality of my work. Put effort into the common good.

(Later) I made a good decision to go and get a massage. I feel great! Now, I’m back at House for afternoon coffee and I’ll go back to school around 3 pm, as I did yesterday, and eat lunch!

A Dog’s Performance Review – 17th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 11 Comments

Oh dog, your performance is far too poor
You are not achieving what we hired you for
The rats still run rampant everywhere
You’re on probation until you start to care

Your KPI’s are well below par
Do you know exactly what you are?
Eating shoes and snapping at flies
You are a dog! Do you realise?

Scared of cats and other critters
The village bears your many litters
Hopefully, these puppies understand their job
The proper work of being a dog

Based on this article
15th Aug 2024 – Submitted to What’s Going On – cats and dogs

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that I have been asked to be the voice of the Chiang Rai Flower Festival again.

Amy was pretty drunk yesterday. She is obviously very excited about going to Australia and open to the possibilities there – lots of options. Sometimes when she is drunk, her emotions can swing wildly. Last night she was ok but cried a few times, not with happiness or sadness but with gratitude and appreciation for her parents and me.

We both went to bed early and I held her little body in my arms as she settled down and rolled over and found her sleep. I had some interesting dreams, with lots of people from my past.

Today I usually only have one class and that was cancelled as the kids are off for vaccinations. I knew that I had to do recording for the Chiang Rai Flower Festival today, like I did last year but I only found out that I had to go to the CRPAO official offices, next to Immigration, about 15 minutes before starting.

I met Kru Gratae and Kru Tee there and they did their Chinese version and I did the English version, even nailing the long Thai name first time. The texts they use are pretty weird, flowery words that any English speaker would immediately recognise as fantastical hyperbole. It’s pretty funny to read though.

So for the rest of the day I’m pretty much free. I will take advantage and prepare the class work for students next week, do a little reading and check out more of this free literature course that I found online.

Tall Tales Told – 16th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The stories we tell always change
To suit the audience being told
Fake news has been around forever
The preposterous tales of old

Legends live on in our minds
To moralise for the present
Made obvious for the new generation
Who is bad and who is pleasant

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to the two guys who make the You Don’t Know Mojack podcast as they have introduced me to good music that I would maybe never hear otherwise.

I don’t know how many months now that it has been that I have been trying to play Scarborough Fair 100% accurately on guitar. It made me mad and then I got all ‘whatever’, thinking that one day it will come. I’m still waiting for that day. The chord change from Dm to F was/is the main stumbling block and when I do manage it I end up not quite nailing something else. Never give up. I do fucking hate this song now though.

I’m out in my room and can hear Amy screaming inside. I don’t mean screaming scared but just drunkenly emoting loudly on the phone. She does get excited after a couple of wines.

Good classes today. Some testing students but not too bad. I’m pretty calm most of the time now.

I Need A Maid – 15th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Feed the cats, iron the shirts, wash the dishes
My wife has gone with the bestest of my wishes
She did so much and I even paid
But without her, I realise that I need a maid

First-world problems, yes, I understand
Pleasure and housework don’t go hand in hand
Now I’m wishing that my wife had stayed
Cos I don’t want to admit that I need a maid

See yesterday’s poem

4th Jun 2024 – Submitted to Ragtag Daily Prompt

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to Amy’s parents for understanding her and not making any crazy demands of her.

A reasonable Monday with a couple of classes. Felt good, students playful but did their work. Did they learn anything? I’m not so sure! Keep plugging away.

I’ve had lots of thoughts go through my head that I though might be interesting to write down but I failed to capture them at the time and now they’ve left the long winding river, somewhere out of reach. If they’re important enough, I’m sure they will float back sometime.

Gone Away – 14th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

There’s no problem between us
I’d never tell you you have to stay
We are always together at heart
Even after you’ve gone away

Our dreams are sometimes different
And other times they are the same
We push each other to realise them
Cos our love will always remain

With the latest technology
We are merely a whisper apart
It may be a while ’til we meet again
But you always remain in my heart

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for Google Translate. It can help make the parents aware of their children’s work and to push them to complete it.

On Friday afternoon, I started to enjoy a grim feeling. Lethargic, sour thoughts, dizziness. I got home and vegitated with some Netflix but I couldn’t enjoy it.

I woke up feeling good on Saturday but soon this sad feeling appeared again. I was very aware of it. Anything I watched or read compounded it; nothing was contributing anything good to the world.

I slept a little and in the evening read a load of comics and a little bit of Rollins ‘Stay Fanatic’. I thought that perhaps I should understand clearly what Rollins was saying about the power of music and he hides himself in the melodies and nuance of those sounds. Perhaps I should’ve tried the same.

Today, I’m feeling ok again and intend to indulge myself in some music – just listening, nothing else. Something familiar.

I’ve recently been adverse to going to my man cave. Something about it displeases me and I can’t quite figure out what. Could be time for a rearrangement. I want a comfy armchair to relax on. I rarely see comfy armchairs in Thailand.

A Celestial Emporium – 13th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

For things that tremble as if they were mad
For suckling pigs and mermaids that emperors had
Any grunt and squeal from a secret dictionary
Must define the world in words less ordinary

Inspired after reading about this piece of writing from Borges.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for this island in our dining room where I’m now sitting. I can remember when it was being built – I can remember when it didn’t exist and now we use it all the time for eating, writing and preparing food.

Beyond The Blind Spot – 12th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

Seeing things as they are
Dreaming them as they could be
A dark forest, a wide sky
A landscape full of human history

A spirited manifestation
Flashes of insight, literary
The lyrical moment happens
There born, the epiphany

Inspired and mangled from Black Paper: Writing in a Dark Time by Teju Cole
30th Oct 2024 – Shared with Ragtag Daily Prompt – epiphany

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to be able to watch our jacarandas grow a few feet higher and the trunks a little thicker, every year.

Friday again already. It’s been great to be able to sit at House and keep up with lots of reading and writing. Next week I won’t have so much free time like this but have the pleasure of being face-to-face with students. I’m happy with all the scenarios at this stage. I’m enjoying everything. Is life too easy?

As with a couple of years ago, I’m kinda excited for Amy to go away for a while, leaving me to fend for myself and indulge in all my endeavours. I do know, though, that I will also get lonely and I will miss her a lot. Especially her cooking.

It looks as if Jess and Mei will be coming to Thailand soon too. It will be great to see them again and I know Amy will have a great time with them here.

The Week That Was – 18th February 1979

Byrne’s Music – 11th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

It’s a sex diagram
A time machine
Program Annihilator
A heartbreak scene
Messages subliminal
A Smith’s repetition
Gimmick harmonies
A metaphor competition
Ambiguous lyrics
A chaotic romance
Banging the drum
A community dance
Disturbed facilitator
A melodic personality
Layered catalysts
A concerted reality

Inspired and mangled from here: http://davidbyrne.com/explore/tree-drawings-arboretum/photos/music-tree-2002/1 with added references to SST, The Fall and Scream. The tune in my head is the Minutemen’s ‘One Reporter’s Opinion’.
13th Apr 2024 – Submitted to FOWC with Fandango

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for the possibilities to keep my brain engaged other than the mindless use of social media.

Here I am again, safely tucked up in my corner at House – talking online with the good students and anxious if the other students are actually doing any work.

Amy is busy working out more details for her trip to Australia and I’m wondering what I’m gonna eat when she’s away! I’ll need to get organised with shopping and potentially – shock! horror! – cooking! I think any cooking will purely involve potatoes, cheese, onion and garlic!

After a relatively good period with less neck ache, it seems to be playing up again. I’m back on the abs workout and hopefully that helps a little. I think that when Amy is not here, I will try sleeping in other places, second bedroom, lounges, etc and see if they make any difference. My neck has been a problem for more than a decade now. Hopefully, my general fitness improvements all keep me going a bit longer. Like another 50 years if possible!

I was surprised at the happy ending to the Aladdin story. I’m uncertain if there was any moral to be learned from the story and curious if it was told for any more purpose that is culturally adjacent to its places of telling. I always thought of being able to wish for anything as a curse; that was my cultural context.

Reading some Rollins last night resonated with me a lot, particularly about doing things alone. I need to check out more of his more recent writing again.

It’s 11:11 today and I don’t think I can afford to buy anything on sale at Lazada this time. I looked at the new MacBooks in Central yesterday, considering buying one sometime but also clinging on to my current machine as it is still pretty reliable. I often get these compulsions to get things even though I perhaps have no real need for them. And even though I can afford them, I’ve noticed myself more recently talking myself out of things or delaying that gratification, perhaps to enjoy the anticipation for longer. Anticipation is usually more pleasurable and longer-lasting than gratification.

I think I’ve already talked myself out of the new MacBook Pros and could easily manage with the MacBook Air, which is about half the price. For what I currently use it for, it is more than capable.

I also want to get a big iPad and would be happy enough with an older one, so long as it can store books and comics on it. I just want it for reading. Still, my current iPad is adequate, though some comics can be tough on the eyes after a while.

I also note to myself my many first-world problems while surrounded by people with their third-world problems.

The Week That Was – 11th February 1979