Tag: coffee

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.

Circles – 31st July 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Wound tight and stomach knotted
Endless thoughts, head is reeling
Darker schemes are being plotted
No single road seems appealing

A roundabout, eyes are blurring
Sleep offers no more respite
Each waking moment reoccuring
A falling dream from a great height

A catch-22, a spinning top
Dante’s rings, ever decreasing
A perpetuum mobile, never stop
Piled on top and never ceasing

8th August 2021 – I stuck this poem into an AI story generator and it came back with this:

A cloud of gas, an oil well, and then one day, well no, I’m not going to say it again I can’
I can’t wait to share some music with you guys. I’m still working on it, – the best soundtrack I’ve ever heard. That’s it, folks, that’s the end of this sentence, no? Okay, here’s a short one: I think I might have died. Maybe. When I did, my body was on . … I guess that is a word. – no. Okay. You know what? That is it for this one; I’ll give you a minute. Sorry. How many minutes, anyway? I don’t know, maybe two. What was the last song that you listened to ?
… You might notice that in all this time no one has been to my room. No one’s been in my bed. So far, the only person I have had to talk to is you. Sorry, sorry, this is going a bit fast, okay?

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that Utopia is ok to give me credit until next week as I haven’t been paid yet. It’s a very slightly guilty coffee.

Here’s the weekend again. Grabbed coffee, read about the Beatles, filled my bike tyres and got 20 baht of petrol because that’s all the cash I had. Came home and Amy had washed the car and asked me to wash the bike, which I did as Tangmo watched on.

After I had finished and come inside I heard Amy scream that Tangmo had got through the screen door and was walking around in Kim’s room. When I came out Kim didn’t seem much to care and I got Tangmo out and fixed the door.

After a shower, I went back in to see Kim and to make Tangmo watch that he has to accept Kim and that we can be with her without him barking and pushing at the door. Tangmo wasn’t ready for this lesson though and pushed the doors again and barked more. Kim got angry this time and scratched me and attacked him. Eventually, I had to kick Tangmo in the head to get him out. He was very upset and ran off sulking! Kim is the priority though. And making sure the door doesn’t get fully broken. Tangmo will probably sneak back in quietly later. I’ll give him a pat then.

Now listening to the Beatles CDs I have, which still don’t really interest me musically. Still trying to finish off all my DVD burns; will get there eventually.

For what has been a fairly quiet morning I’ve done quite a lot. Not much of interest though. These are what days are I suppose.

Double Cap – 7th June 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Give me the big cup!
Double up!
Make them big shots
Top it off!
Drink it slow
Then take off!
When it’s time to go
I got enough!
Buzz and howling
Flying high!
The fear of falling
Pushed aside
Tomorrow morning
Same again!
Without a warning
Jump my brain!

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for our spare room outside – that we can adapt to be Kim’s new space. She won’t be an outdoor cat anymore which will frustrate her but I’m thankful we have this reasonably sized space that we can give to her.

We got that attitude! – 6th June 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

I am so happy and grateful that this morning I can go and read and drink coffee in my regular weekend cafe and then I can come home and swing in my hammock and watch the football. I must remember how much of a good life I have and not to take it for granted. I am better off than a large percentage of the world population and I value that very much.

It’s been a while. Things have been up and down. I wonder if I am becoming bipolar in my old age!?

Last week, I had what felt like a severe brainfart – not sure if it was purely emotional or driven by something physical, as I had to take a couple of days off work, during which I mostly slept. I seem to go through this cycle every two or three months – just get exhausted for what feels like no real reason.

I don’t feel overworked or overstressed – it just feels like a sudden illness. I always put it down to minor reoccurrences of glandular fever, but who knows? I went to the hospital, and they just said I had a cold, which seemed like a cop out.

By last Friday, a week after that exhaustion, I felt great again – almost ridiculously good. It was strangely noticeable.

On the Wednesday, I went home in a black mood after getting a message that teachers had to stay at school until 4.30 pm, even though we finish class at 4 pm.

I’m always keen to get home quickly and enjoy my free time, and this news had me contemplating quitting again. But luckily, I got back into reading ‘How To Think Like A Roman Emporer’ again, and it offered some perfect advice as a reminder.

The fable is of the dog tied to a cart. If the dog pulls against the direction of the cart, then everything is a struggle, and the dog will suffer. Sometimes, the better option is just to go with the cart and find a way to get loose later.

Thankfully, Thursday was also a holiday. I went back to work on Friday, still a little sulle,n but something clicked inside me again to pick me up.

My final online class of the day, with some of my favourite students, went easily and quickly, and I let everyone finish early but something that made me feel good was a couple of students not wanting to leave and wanting to talk more, practice some listening and speaking and just have some no-pressure learning.

I got home energised and excited despite having a difficult broken sleep the night before and nailed some guitar learning for myself – sometimes a few days break helps you get back to it and better.

Back to these online classes again tomorrow. I hope I wake up on the right side of the bed, so to speak, or that the good things I’m doing for myself – yoga, meditation, study etc – remain in effect. Good, good, good.

Infinite Jest – 23rd May 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Be on guard, the road widens
And many of the detours are seductive
Talent is its own set of expectations
Try to be a no-one, so instructed

Of multiple exposure melodramas
Learn to care and not to care
This is where you are not who you are
Shaped or broken, remain aware

Learn from those who fail
This is your body, they want you to know
This is the whirlpool, a friend
Your torn blue ankle tells you so

Unconscious exercise becomes a way to escape
A long waking dream of pure play
On the line, you must call it fair
A thousand times and every day

*pilfered and inspired by David Foster Wallace’s ‘Infinite Jest’

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for a relaxing Sunday morning with coffee and a book and then a couple of hours watching football. A little cooler today, thankfully, though still hot. The future is looking bright (if you close your eyes to other things!).

I Am The Librarian – 15th May 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

I am the librarian tending to my books
Sniffing, smelling, rearranging order
Perhaps one day I’ll open them
Be a reader instead of a hoarder

A world of so many tales
Told by those who breathed them
Where I can be lost, then found
And I can be relieved then

I am the librarian lending out my books
We can share such stories
Of those failures and losers
Or those who shined in glories

20th Sep 2024 – Submitted to Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Hoarding

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to Art at Utopia for giving me two free coffees today. I gave him a couple of books and some sketches I did but didn’t expect anything in return. As a bonus, the coffee was even more delicious than normal.

We got that attitude! – 23rd April 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

I am so happy and grateful that today I can grab coffee at 22 Grams in the city. We have to take Kim Chi to the vet, hopefully for the last time. Thankfully, she is starting to eat again and acting more like she normally does. Due to Covid, I haven’t been going out to have coffee so it’s a positive that 22 Grams is close to the vet.

The best thing about today was laying lazily in Amy’s arms (or she was in mine), naked, aircon dreaming, drifting, relaxing – purposefully relaxing. It was a very nice feeling once I could strip away things I had to do, supposed to do or wanted to do.