Turn Off The Lights – 8th April 2024

April 8, 2024October 2, 2024 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 6 Comments

I’ll play a song for you, in this empty room
Spill my heart for no one else to hear
And when I reach the end of my tune
I’ll turn off the lights and disappear

The memory of my words will stay
Reverberating around these cold walls
And when you wander by one day
You will hear the whisper of my calls

“Be careful what you wish for
When hope blinds you to the signs
Forgetting that less means more
Living the curse of interesting times”

Submitted to No Theme Thursday and NaPoMo

Today I’m feeling:

A little slow to get going this morning as I turned off my alarm to sleep an extra hour.

Starting to think about getting lessons in order and writing new ones for my new classes. It’s giving me some good background anxiety but I trust myself to be able to pull everything together.

Today I’m grateful for:

Finally being able to book flights to Bangkok and back in May to see Arwith and the bands I’ve been working with.

The best thing about today was:

Eating mala sticks this evening. A simple thing but we haven’t done that for a long while.

It was hot enough, even at 8pm, to sweat when sitting still so eating those spicy sticks didn’t really make much difference!

Something I learned today?

Booking AirAsia flights on the website was giving me trouble but using the app on my phone worked instantly.

Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10

Staying in touch with Anchan to try and help her through this time.

Talking with Baipad about dealing with her mental health issues.

What Is Culture Today? – 21st October 2023

October 21, 2023January 26, 2024 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Everything is an advert Begging you to pay But it’s all a load of talk With very little to say No contribution to society Not in any little way Is it only me alone That doesn’t understand the play Too old for an opinion Too old, too far away Is it possible to tell me What is culture today?

Today I’m feeling:

Excitedly anxious as we pack and prepare for our flight this afternoon. I’m not looking forward to it but am looking forward to getting back to Thailand and home. It’s been very pleasant to be back in Sydney as a tourist but that’s all I am in relation to being here this time.

Today I’m grateful for:

Karin and Peter for letting us use their house as a base whilst they are away on their own travels. I’ve never met them but I am grateful.

The best thing about today was:

It hasn’t happened yet but getting off this plane will probably be it!

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

There are lots of empty seats in today’s flight so should be able to spread out a little bit after take-off.

(later) The ten hours are nearly up and this flight has been nowhere near as much of a struggle as the one to Australia. I’ve stayed awake and hope to be able to sleep soon after getting to the hotel and then be back to normal in the morning. Let’s see.

Something I learned today?

Being able to catch up on my Substack reading I read a lot about Israel and Palestine and didn’t realise that the Jews in Israel are extremely disunited and would likely collapse into civil war without having Palestinians as an enemy.

How can I be kinder to myself today?

I’m pretty kind to myself every day. I don’t think I need to be especially kinder. I’d be better served by being kinder to other people and again, I feel I’m kind most of the time too. I have noticed how much Australians are more wordily polite than folks in Thailand but also at the same time how these words don’t always translate into actions.

Today will be a little gruelling as we spend 9-plus hours on a plane. I’ll try to remain patient and kind!

I took this picture because that’s our plane and the last picture of Australia for a while.

Sitting Still – 25th April 2023

April 25, 2023January 31, 2024 ~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

There’s not a sound about
No electricity on the hill
I’m sitting still

A brain that has quieted
With no thoughts to fill
I’m sitting still

Contemplating how much longer
With only time to kill
I’m sitting still

As days speed up, I slow down
Swallowing a bitter pill
I’m sitting still

Time is the only master
And I have to pay the bill
I’m sitting still

Today I’m feeling:

Tired from staying up late and then getting up early as I slowly train myself for 6:15 am starts again next week.

Today I’m grateful for:

The lady at the market stall who gave me an extra mango today. It’s mango season and they are juicy and delicious.

The best thing about today was:

Finishing the Brix Smith and Jack Dee biographies. Both were good easy reads as I visualised their lives unfolding. New books to start!

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

I’d been checking out my flights to Australia on the Airasia website and was ready to book on Sunday night. I sent the itinerary to Amy to double check but she was drunk and replied ‘I’ve got no brain.’ No problem, I can just figure it out on Monday. And that’s what I went to do. The problem this time was that somehow I didn’t have enough credits left to cover the costs. I assumed it was something to do with cached data from going through the process the day before but investigating further I found that my credit had expired in the 12 hours since first looking! Damn it! Oh well, what can I do?

Something I learned today?

Our Sydney friend Runa will visit a relative in Chiang Rai for a couple of days. It seems typical of her that we only find out a day before she arrives. Never organised or good at planning or decision-making. I’m ok to pick her up from the airport if she needs.

What went well today?

Everything went as expected. There was nothing in particular that needed to go well and there was nothing that usually happens that didn’t go well. Not all days are like this.