Month: July 2024

Each Dawn – 21st July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 17 Comments

I commiserate the death of me
Of everything I used to be
Soon, a forgotten memory
– Considered on occasion

The me that was, been and gone
Wisdom found me with its song
I sought new homes where I belong
– I wish I’d gotten here sooner

So it is with passing friends
In happiness that one pretends
Marching towards our personal ends
– Flowers wilt without water

Reading my own obituary
Wisdom provided sanctuary
This time too, temporary
– Each morning, new life forming

Submitted to Ovi Poetry Challenge 57 – Wisdom and What’s Going On – Elegy
23rd Oct 2024 – Shared with Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – pretend

Today I’m feeling:

Tired and sleepy. I must’ve been woken by the gardeners this morning, though I didn’t even realise until I heard shouts of ‘nong Am’ and ‘loong’ outside whilst I was taking a shower. Coffee got me going a bit and I managed to avoid watching TV until lunchtime.

Around that time, though, Baipad messaged saying that her cat had turned up after 4 days and didn’t look good and asked if I would take her to the vet. I had to choose whether to help her or not, knowing that I would have to pay, as her mum refuses to take their pets to the vet (I’m assuming it’s a financial decision on her part).  And I’m really short of money right now too. 

I cracked when she wrote that ‘otherwise I’ll just have to let her go’.  Her cat, Snow, was unable to move and felt very cold. She really looked like she might go at any minute. Baipad was predictably in tears. Anyway, the kids got in the car and we drove down to the vet near the hospital.

They said that she had feline distemper and only a 10% chance. We talked about options, and they said they wanted to put her on saline and give her some medicine and to stay there for a few hours. I agreed and told Baipad that they could figure out what to do after that. I dropped them home after paying a 500 baht deposit and told her to call me to take them back later.

Around 4pm, she messaged me again and said that her mum would go pick up the cat and a little later said that she was home again and was improving with a 50-60% chance of making it.

I was happy to hear that but also found out that her mum had to pay another 800 baht. I told Baipad that she should start thinking of things that she can do to pay her mum back.

Today I’m grateful for:

The vet nearby being open today. As it is a special holiday this weekend, I wasn’t sure that it would be.

The best thing about today was:

I played guitar for a couple of hours and got in touch with Max and Dave about them possibly sending over some tenzenmen stock for distro over there. Hopefully, that will help get some stuff out of my room.

We also had a long, big rain which flooded our lawn for the first time this year. 

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

Due to my lack of money I’m not able to pay the gardener and had to ask Amy to transfer me the money to do it. I’ll have to pay her back next month.

Something I learned today?

I learned about the colonial city of Aden in Yemen and a little about the retreat of the British Empire from there. I’d not heard of it before but searching online it looks like a very interesting place.

I took this picture because Tigger was very much enjoying rolling in his cardboard tray whilst the rain poured outside.

Deeper Reds – 20th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 12 Comments

Symbolism in deeper reds
Canvas colour capture spreads
Abstract yet educated
Rhythmic patterns illustrated
Leaving be the ugly things
Elevate what this beauty brings
The fusion of knowledge

Spiritual movement college
Aims towards enlightenment
Grittily honest experiment
Evoking the scarlet sage

Dancing eyes across the page
And so the paintings change view
Now that the painting changed you
Creativity in meditation
Invitation to interpretation
Nearer to the stormy sea
Goes the light blue nursery

Animal instincts of segregation

Wisdom rises beyond illumination
Hanging our pictures on these walls
In the museum, how history falls
Risen to rhyme and rearranged
Look at me now, times have changed
In search of happiness and beauty
No submission to customs of duty
Greedy and grim, not another one

Death and frenzy have all been done
Ever since, and so it will be
Raise the tools to stave off misery
Vanquish fear with canvas maze
Inspired to passion with its praise
Spun out a web of dream delight
Hanging on the deeper reds tonight

Submitted to dVerse and inspired by the attached painting by Alma Thomas and information found about her work.

Today I’m feeling:

My regular weekend tired, though I got up early to drop Amy off at the airport as she heads to Udon Thani via Bangkok to meet Jess.

Then Baipad messaged me that Jan will come and meet her at The Black House this morning and wanted to arrange with me to transport her there. 

No problem, though I’m looking forward to getting home later and playing some guitar, reading, writing and listening to some music.

I’m hungry already, too and it’s not quite registered yet that I have to figure out what I’m going to eat today and the rest of this week, with my regular chef being away!

Today I’m grateful for:

The drink lady at Baan Dam who complimented me on my Thai.  And then Jess also complimented me when I was able to answer her questions, though usually in English.  She was at least impressed that I understood her.

The best thing about today was:

Seeing the look of happiness on Baipad’s face when she saw Jan again.  They haven’t seen each other since March and though they chat a bit online, I could see how happy they were to just be able to gossip with each other about their lives.  One thing I really noticed was that they barely looked at their phones the whole time that they were together.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

Just as I was sat comfortably in bed, Cap came to the door asking to be let in, which I did and then Amy video-called and I started talking with her, Jess and Jess’s relatives.  Cap jumped up onto bed and then proceeded to piss all over it.  Motherfucker!

I hung up the call grabbed the sheet off the bed and ran it to the washing machine, coming back with a cut lemon and some paper towels.  After cleaning up as best I could I called Amy back and was feeling a bit annoyed, at one moment feeling relaxed and the next having to deal with this.

Amy was happily drunk and laughed it off but I wasn’t in the mood.  She could feel that and we said good night.  I’ve switched all the bed linen to Amy’s bed and will sleep there tonight.

I’m dog tired, but my adrenaline is up now.  I’ll calm down soon.

Something I learned today?

When I asked one of my grade 12 students what they could do to practice speaking English when there was no one around they said that the practice with ChatGPT.  Not a bad idea.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I talked a little with Freya today and tried to pep her up as she is understandably still feeling down about what happened yesterday.

I took this picture at Baan Dam because these cute bugs would probably make Amy itch. They were everywhere!

Ruins – 19th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Pearls left at the altar
No more reveries for your name
Perfection starts to falter
Then vanish with a lover’s claim

Built to be broken
The air inside, a secret mist
Embraced by all the ghosts
The tragic altruist

Submitted to Wordle #663

Today I’m feeling:

Good, though I skipped exercise this morning as my alarm shocked me awake and my eyes were so heavy.  I thought I’d get straight back to a deep sleep but didn’t as my brain slowly engaged.  I did enjoy the rest though and I probably needed it.

I wasn’t looking forward to my first class, my lazy grade 11s on the relatively boring topic of presentations.  I try to get them going as much as I can but I think that they have other things to think about.  However, it did go well and I pulled back a little to talk with each group about their presentations and it was ok.

The second class, the grade 11 HAP and J-Biz kids, I prepped when they arrived that we would finish early and could complete the final task and bring to class next week.  They were happy with this as they had mentioned that they were overloaded with work for another class.

During that class I talked with Jee about problems between the J-Biz and HAP students in both grade 11 and 10.  She told me that the grade 11s were mostly fine but that in grade 10 they are not connecting well at all.

But she did talk to me about Freya causing all sorts of problems between everyone in the grade 11 class.  I know that there had been some issues before but I thought that it had kind of settled down now.  It seems not.

At the end of my class there was definitely some frank discussion going on between a few students and Freya.  I discussed it with both sides separately a little later but with the language barrier it was a little difficult to get to the bottom of.

It seems like Freya might have a problem with running her mouth at times and not thinking about what she is saying.  Maybe a gossip, playing both sides depending on who she is talking to. I’m guessing that she has low social skills and perhaps her background has played a part in this, though I know nothing about that.  It’s just that I feel that she might be more old school Thai than some of the other kids who are more with the times and less provincial.

Also, she may be getting a skewed understanding of how relationships work by live streaming in class sometimes and getting positive feedback on her looks from ‘fans’.

This is all conjecture on my part and I feel sorry for her because she admits to knowing that she has done wrong and bad things in the past but feels like she is being given a further chance.

I told her to talk with Kru Pooky, who I’m not sure is the best person to go to for advice, though she is a little like Freya too.  She seems to struggle with friends in the school and is always posting pictures of herself alone at cafes on Instagram, which feels a bit odd to me as she is (I’m guessing) approaching middle age, though not unattractive.  I can see Freya easily becoming like her in the future.  So, I’m not sure if that makes her a good or bad person to be talking with!

I also told Freya to talk with me later.  I’ve messaged her this evening but not heard back.  As she struggles with depression and being away from family I just hope she doesn’t do anything rash.

Thankfully my last class of grade 8s was a breeze after all that drama as they struggled with reading in front of class but they tried very hard and did very well.  A quick quiz afterwards and we were all able to get away a little earlier.

Today I’m grateful for:

The friendly lady at the cookie shop in Ban Den.  She was nice as Amy and I video called to figure out what to buy for her to take to Udon Thani.

The best thing about today was:

Feeling good listening to my grade 8s reading and having seen them improve over the week.  A few of them still don’t understand what they’re saying but at least they are getting over their fear of talking.  

It’s a good feeling to watch them evolving their skills over time.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I tried supporting Freya as mentioned above.

It was (grade 9) Earn’s birthday today and I delivered her a piece of chocolate cake from Le Paradis, for which she was appreciative, though I asked her to listen to Kru David in her class (for a change!)

I also let Spain, Praew and her friend through into the cafe so that they could sit in the aircon as the gate hadn’t been unlocked yet.

No Sense – 18th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

Each word written down
– On this paper, correlates
A sense of meaning

Each breath without sound
– A soft paper push-around
Sensed in silent thought

Each heartbeat profound
– Brittle paper tissue ripped
No sense of nonsense

Submitted to Monday Poetry Prompt at Living Poetry
24th Sep 2024 – Submitted to Ragtag Daily Prompt – meaning

Posted elsewhere as a response to the prompt:

Do you have any writing rituals?

I have fallen into a habit of writing at a cafe near my school. It’s fairly quiet and with a bit of reading of other people’s writing, I am usually inspired to write a poem or two myself.

The downside to this is that I have found it more difficult to write at other times and so when it is the weekend or school holidays I have to force myself more to find the time and place to write.

I have a blog policy to only have one post a day and have been adding a poem a day for the last three years or so. Up until about six months ago, I was always a week behind with posts but since using many different prompt blogs I’ve managed to get a couple of months ahead, so posts will still keep coming even after I’m gone!

As a writer, I find it important to read as much as possible. Books-wise I pick ones that I am interested in but blog and poetry-wise I’m still refining what interests me, sometimes slogging through poems and prose that doesn’t engage me at all. That is still a lesson for myself though, helping me to define more what it is that I want to say.

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good after a slow start. I wasn’t sure which way things were going to go as I could easily have slept until 10 am given the chance.

However, I was up at 6 am and did a little testing workout and now all Amy’s cookies are gone, I’m slowly losing some weight again!

Today I’m grateful for:

Kru Mai organising another two hours for me to teach on Monday morning after having that time freed up with the grade 12 HAP students off for three months training.

Initially, when I approached him about it he said that I could have free time and he was a little surprised when I told him that I didn’t want free time but wanted to teach.

The best thing about today was:

Writing and posting a decent poem that got some nice feedback. I’m starting to feel reasonably competent with my writing and getting feedback certainly helps with that.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I’m still being lazy when I get home from school and just sit watching TV.  I want to push myself more but also understand my body may not be so willing these days.

Something I learned today?

I was reminded that today is my old primary student PunPun’s birthday. I haven’t seen her for four years now and I asked her if she kept in touch with her old classmates and I was surprised to hear that she didn’t contact them at all!

Review your acts, Good and bad.

Baipad messaged me talking about flying foxes so I regaled her with information about them in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney. 

She also talked about making art from animal bones and it reminded me of The Black House and I offered to take her and her friends there if they wished.

I took these pictures to send to Jan and told her that we all miss her. As you can see, Apple and Baipad are both suitably unimpressed at having their pictures taken in the morning.

Big Cats – 17th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 10 Comments

Would you cheat the tigers of their worth?
The voices of the dead claim a friend
Hasty to join the march towards oblivion
Bad blood bullets hold a message to send

Bless the big cats in a natural ceremony
A scent on the breeze of the savannah
From the city smells, to our sandy shells
The ringing of bells will cry ‘Hosanna!’

Submitted to Shay’s Word Garden

Today I’m feeling:

OK, though not particularly up or down.  I pushed myself this morning with a full body workout and am waiting to see how my hip reacts, especially as I don’t have a class until 2.30 pm today so I’ll be sitting a lot until then.

Today I’m grateful for:

That Cap ate all his breakfast this morning as he woke us up in the middle of the night, hacking up a hairball.

The best thing about today was:

Helping out in Kru Numnim’s class again in the morning and being able to take the time to help some of the poorer students with their learning and understanding.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I feel a little down this evening and I think it is because I’m thinking too much about our education system here in Thailand. When I see some teachers in their classes, I just don’t understand what they are doing. They are wasting their students’ lives!

When I ask students what they learned today and they say ‘nothing’ I try to get them to understand that they should be angry if that is truly the case.

It’s a struggle some days!

Something I learned today?

There is an app for Makro where I can see what they have in stock. Amy showed me today as I went there on my way home and was once again disappointed to find that they were out of stock of my favourite yoghurt.

Now I can just check the app before going.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

Iphone asked me for some help with wanting to be a buddy for future exchange students and I gave her some advice on how to find out more about what is required.

His Highness.

63 Days And Nights – 16th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

Winds whisper words of desolation
Peak pines prosper on the rocky road
The rumble and sway, a million miles away
From the bustling city I once strode

Pulses of nature, rhythms of the earth
Here time slows my heartbeat and breath
A rugged embrace on the side of a rock
Left to ponder what is life and death?

For sixty-three days and nights
Thoughts flow like the mountain streams
A clear communion with the infinite
A testament to the beauty of solitude’s dreams

A symphony that resonates within
Freedom found alone on a mountaintop
A journey inward through the sands of time
Hold on to each precious drop

For No Theme Thursday I decided on the image above as it reminded me of Jack Kerouac’s short story Alone On A Mountaintop. To try and kickstart my imagination I decided to ask AI (Perplexity) to summarise the story and then turn the summary into a non-rhyming or free verse 20-line poem.

It managed to come up with a poem, that I didn’t closely look at because I could see that it rhymed. On reiterating I wanted it not to rhyme it just came back with the same rhyming scheme! And again.

So I asked it “It seems that you cannot write a poem that doesn’t rhyme. Is that true?” and got this response:

You’re right, I’m having difficulty generating a completely non-rhyming poem based on the summary of Kerouac’s story. As an AI system, I have certain limitations when it comes to creative writing tasks like composing free verse poetry without any rhyming elements.
While I can generate rhyming poems and incorporate poetic devices like alliteration, assonance, and consonance, completely avoiding any rhyming words or phrases in a poem is challenging for me. My training data and algorithms are not optimized for that level of creative control over language.
Humans are generally better equipped to compose truly free verse poetry that avoids rhyming altogether. Poets draw upon their intuitive understanding of language, emotion, and rhythm to craft poems that flow naturally without falling into rhyming patterns.
As an AI assistant, I have room for improvement when it comes to generating non-rhyming poetry. My abilities are limited compared to human poets who can masterfully compose free verse. I appreciate you pushing me to try, as it helps identify areas where I can enhance my creative writing skills. But you make a fair point – I currently cannot reliably write a poem that doesn’t rhyme at all. It’s a limitation I will aim to overcome with further training and development.

Well, I like the honesty. It could’ve led with this information though!

ChatGPT3.5 was more successful and I used parts of its results to inspire me further but its actual poem was pretty lacklustre.

Fatman report

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good though a little cloudy in the brain.  Not feeling inspired to write yet.

I got back to exercise this morning, not pushing it too much and despite some weakness in my hip, it felt good.  I didn’t want to get up and do it, though; I had to force myself up and not attempt to go back to the interesting dream that I was having.  When I immediately couldn’t recall it, I decided to force myself up.

Today I’m grateful for:

Another 90-day report quickly sorted at Immigration this morning.

The best thing about today was:

Forcing myself back into my room this afternoon to play some guitar.  I need to sort out some other stuff in there too but I don’t really like being in there much these days.

I’m not completely sure why, if I’m honest.  It could be an accumulation of many small things such as the wifi not being too stable out there, doubling up the use of aircon whilst there, maybe even feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff that I could actually be doing in there, none of the chairs are that comfortable to sit for long…

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

The power went out in our classroom this afternoon and the lazy Thai teacher, Pookie, asked one of my students, who was doing my work, to go and find another teacher to fix it.  My student was smart enough to quickly come back, though and say that she couldn’t find the teacher, forcing Pookie to go and sort it out herself.

It happened a couple of times and I was prepared to just let the class go and let them complete the work in their own time before next week.

However, it got sorted, and Pookie finally agreed to run only one of the aircon units, as we had previously been asked to do.  She didn’t hang around much longer after that.

Something I learned today?

A day on Earth during the age of dinosaurs was just 23 hours long.

My Journey – 15th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

A boy that was born English
With depression he could not extinguish
Accepted his fate to relinquish
– Leapt into the unknown

Then a man of Australia
Who could not accept failure
Yet failed to modify his behaviour
– The journey was only just starting

Finally to the land of smiles
He overcame all his trials
Accepting all his different styles
– It was the journey, not destination

Submitted to Ovi Poetry Challenge 56 – accept

Today I’m feeling:

Not too bad.  My hip is only slightly sore now, and I think I got it from spending too much time sitting in the cafe on Wednesday and Thursday last week.  I don’t think that it was from exercise so much, though I’m still wary of starting up again, and so skipped it this morning.  I will start again tomorrow and see how I go.

I was a little dizzy this morning until my medicine kicked in, and I felt pretty good by the end of the day.

Today I’m grateful for:

The folks doing the new road again, as they put in some extra concrete to join up with our driveway, which we were expecting to have to do ourselves.  I’m not sure how good it is yet as it is still covered, but it will be better than nothing and cheaper than use having to pay to fix it up.

The best thing about today was:

I had back-to-back one-hour classes with my grade 8s this afternoon, and I was pleasantly surprised at the second class who can the most rowdy at times.  Within five minutes of setting them a writing task, they were quietly completing it, and I didn’t know what to do with myself.

As they completed the work, I told them what we would do on Thursday when they would read the tex,t and they listened attentively so that they could write out some pronunciation in Thai to help them remember.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

In the morning, I had to walk over to auntie’s house where our car was parked due to the road work, and Tangmo wandered over for a cuddle, rub and snack.  His back was wet and there was a sudden smell of cat shit and I was sure that I must’ve stepped in some.

Even after getting in the car I was looking around for cat shit, wondering how a cat might’ve gotten into a totally locked car.  Then, as I was driving along, I smelled my hands and they smelled of some sort of horrible chemical, like a mix of paint thinners and petrol.

The bad smell must’ve been a mix of dirty dog and whatever the dirty dog had been rolling in.  After arriving at school I avoided saying hello and fist bumping students as much as I could and headed towards a bathroom to wash my hands and make sure that I hadn’t sat in cat shit somehow.

One wash helped, but it wasn’t enough. I took a second go at House and started to feel a little less self-conscious.

Tangmo came to say hello again when I got home, and he still stunk to high heaven.  I hope it is not having too much of an effect on him, as the smell is positively cancerous.

Something I learned today?

Today will be the last that I see of my grade 12 HAP and E-sports students for this semester.  It’s a shame, as I had a fun class lined up for them next week.

I took this picture of Ploy because she was bullying me as I was on my way to class.

Lucia : Plume – 14th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments

Lucia came out again to play
Threw on her eventide glow
Plume, a punishing gray raven
Is not the Lucia you all know

Submitted to Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Eventide glow and when I searched this phrase I ended up in a totally different reality

Today I’m feeling:

Sore. My hip is a little bit more recovered, but I zonked out last night on an extra Tramadol, which saw me move very little and now I have a sore neck too.

The recent pain and annoyance of it has put me in a low mood and I have no motivation for anything much today.

Today I’m grateful for:

Not having anything in particular to get done today. I’m not in the mood for anything.

It wasn’t only late this afternoon that I remembered that I hadn’t taken any meds today, which may account for my low mood a little too.

The best thing about today was:

The workers have finally laid the concrete for the road and should all be good by tomorrow. Then we can see what needs to be done to join our road up with it.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

Amy was pretty frustrated this morning after realising that the gardeners hadn’t bothered with one small part of the garden. She kept complaining to me but there’s nothing that I can do to help.

Something I learned today?

Thaksin has been given a royal pardon and will do something connected with the government again.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I barely did anything either way! I did turn off the TV when we were eating, though, so that Amy and I could talk a little.

Another Utopia shot of me, this time reading Rip It Up and Start Again.

The Albatross – 13th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 3 Comments

The crab said to the albatross
“Can you take me from here?”
“Where do you wish to go?”
Asked the albatross
“Anywhere away from these sad rocks,
To the skies!”
The albatross said “Hop in”
And opened wide his mouth
Enjoying a difficult meal

Submitted to dVerse Quadrille #203 – crab

Today I’m feeling:

A little better with my hip, though it kept me tossing and turning all night last night and so when it was light this morning, I just got up.  It was only 7am but I felt better for moving.

I had to deal with an army of ants biting my feet in the kitchen as they were retreating inside from the rain overnight.  Sadly for them, they are all dead now!

I started doing some weeding before heading off for coffee.  I don’t know why.  I just saw one and then kept going.

As I was about to get on the bike, the neighbour told me that they will concrete our drives today and so I can park over the road at Auntie’s, where there is lots of space.  Everything should be finished soon, making our road much easier to traverse.

As our gardeners were due this morning, I asked Amy to cancel them but they insisted on coming.  I guess they need money and know that we are reliable to pay them.

Today I’m grateful for:

The gardeners again.  I’m glad that they came in the end as our grass is cut nice and short again making it less likely for snakes to travel through.  From my quick inspection it seems that they didn’t manage to destroy any cactuses this time too.

The best thing about today was:

Tangmo coming to visit us a couple of times. After coffee in the morning and grabbing some Swenson’s ice cream, picking up Amy and coming home I’ve done a lot of TV watching and hip resting.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

The pain in my hip is out of my control and there’s not much I can do about it. I’m hoping a bit more recovery tonight, otherwise I’ll have to go and waste some time at the hospital.

Something I learned today?

The Swans won this week, smashing the Kangaroos by 79 points. Not a difficult opponent but good to get another win after the small loses over the last two weeks.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I met Nong Kratae at Utopia this morning and she asked me if I would come and help her once a month, as her high school-aged students need more information about IELTS study.  

I told her that I could come along one time and see what it is that I might be able to offer.

I took this picture because Piti was doing his best sexy pose this morning.

Champions – 12th July 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments
Julius Drost

Champions know the taste of defeat
Aces burn on the last turn
Adversity is needed to complete
The winner’s desire to learn

Plans B and C, as good as A
No best case wins the race
The champions turn up to play
And look their failures in the face

There’s no luck to lift the cup
Making a plan to play the hand
Even when dealt downside up
A champion will understand

Submitted to WDYS # 244 and inspired by a recent David Elikwu newsletter

Today I’m feeling:

A bit groggy, perhaps sick, in pain!  I didn’t sleep well because of the pain in my hip and I’m limping around a bit today.  It’s a bit of a drain on my thoughts.

I’m also on the edge again with a sore throat.  Lots of Covid and dengue fever around at the moment.

It’s cool again with some rain but the grey skies are feeling uninspiring.  I’m motivated to sleep more.

Today I’m grateful for:

The young chemist who spoke good English helped me get some tiger balm patches to help my aching hip.

The best thing about today was:

22 Grams coffee for the morning. Gui closed House today to go to Bangkok, so 22 Grams is my next choice. It would be my first choice if it was nearer school and cheaper. 

In the end, I didn’t stay too long as I came to the hospital to drop mum and pick up Amy, who hadn’t slept much as dad didn’t get into his operation until 11pm and out again at 4am.

I came home and struggled around with my painful hip, which seems to be agitated by sitting down.

Something I learned today?

It’s Spain’s birthday today and he told me that he is now 15 years old, which means that he is a year older than everyone else in his class.  I guess that he was held back a year at some point because of whatever his minor social disability is.

Review your acts, Good and bad.

At around 5 pm I was getting hungry and Amy had mentioned the uni having a market on Fridays now. 

I dropped by to Baipad’s to see if she would practice riding up there and though she complained, I convinced her to do it. She lets her lack of confidence stop her from doing things to improve herself. 

Her sister jumped on the back too and we slowly made our way to the uni but there was no market sadly, so we headed back and then Baipad wanted to show me where Fahmai lived and we went there too but he wasn’t home.

At the end of the day, I think that Baipad gained a little more confidence in herself at least hopefully understanding that repeatedly doing something will improve her skills.

Baipad’s chatty kitten, whose name I’ve forgotten already.