I recall the forests walked in winters Kings Copse and Queens Copse Muddied paws, misty views Foreboding darkness within Fresh pine beds for love’s liaisons Illicit affairs away from spies Let’s hope no one else is walking their dogs Wet nose Surprise!
Shared with dVerse MTB: An Etheree Tree and inspired my explorations in my youth where I would often walk our dog or just go exploring for fun. Sometimes, with my first girlfriend and hidden deep within the dark confines of the forest, we would lay down on the soft pine needle bed. Queen’s Copse is a pine forest and King’s Copse is an oak forest. There are not many pictures from this area and the one above doesn’t really show just how dark it was inside, just a few feet away from the track. No light was getting in there.
Good once I got going. I woke up stiff but tried my best with some tough ab exercises (tough for me!).
Lin told me this morning that my tummy was smaller today but I think she was teasing me!
I continued with my grade 8 classes in the same style as yesterday and that all went well (for me at least!)
Finishing off with just half of the students in my grade 11 class – the HAP students, as last week I only taught the J-Biz students and I knew the J-Biz kids could go and do preparation work for the Japan Day next month.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 8
Today I’m grateful for:
Gui at House contacting me saying that he will open again but he’s starting again at a new location in the city, which is a shame as it will be too far for me to go each day.
It was nice of him to contact me, though and let me know what he’s up to. I think I will try and get out on Tuesdays when I have a four-hour gap between classes. I will go to his new shop and also try a couple of others to see if I can find a nice spot again.
The best thing about today was:
Today was another one of those all-around good days with nothing in particular standing out as better than anything else. I like days like this.
I also think that going back to a full tablet of sertraline has had an immediate effect on my mood. I’m told that it’s such a low dose that it’s not even likely to be doing anything and it’s supposed to take a couple of weeks to take effect and perhaps it’s the placebo effect and all but either way, after just two days back at 50mg, I don’t have any bad feelings or thoughts.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
It was a little annoying to me to watch George just sitting in a classroom looking at his phone whilst his class were just playing games, doing make-up or messing around. I teach those students too, so I took the opportunity to help a couple of them whose work I didn’t have time to check during my class with them.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
David was getting frustrated with trying to print out his monthly report today and he asked me to help. I ribbed him about using a Windows laptop and even me trying to help didn’t fix the problem.
I asked him to send me the file so I could try it and, of course, it printed properly on the first try.
With my little windfall yesterday, I sent Anchan a little more money to support her.
I’m also trying to encourage Baipad to get back into drawing more, especially as it is something she shares in common with a boy she likes.
When I was coming back in from the cafe, some of my old grade 9 students were kicking a ball around, so I joined them. Next to us was another group of students also kicking a ball around.
Kru Ell was navigating her way between the two groups when the other group’s ball accidentally hit her on the head and hands, knocking her glasses off and spilling her drink to the ground.
The boys were super apologetic and I got the one boy who had kicked the ball to quickly go back into the cafe and get her another drink. Kru Ell’s glasses were ok and she was more shocked than anything – she didn’t blame the kids.
Toey took this picture of Baipad because they met after school tonight. I think she sent it to me to show how happy she was to meet him! Young romance.
Look deep into the eyes Of the cat and dog freed from its cage There to be seen The root of all human happiness To chase around the beach, cuddle and engage
Pretty good this morning. I got out of the house a couple of minutes early so that I didn’t have to rush to get to school.
Tuesday classes are pretty straightforward as they are grades 10 and 12 and whilst I had some strugglers, it was actually fun to try and get them to understand the minor grammar points.
Later, though, I was reminded about a lesson request I had before about the Thai TV show Hormones and I ended up putting that together during my break.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 7
Today I’m grateful for:
Whoever it is that fixes up our electricity supply and whoever it is that calls them when our power goes out.
The best thing about today was:
Having some time to sit down and write. I hadn’t really written anything for a few days and wasn’t feeling particularly inspired and so I forced myself into a writing headspace until I found it familiar again. I was fairly happy with the results, too.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
This evening, after dinner and after dark, the power suddenly went out. We went out to investigate and whilst most everyone still had power, a few random houses were out. I’m not quite sure how that works but anyway….
As I was walking back up our driveway, I had a feeling that I needed the bathroom, which was a bit annoying as there may only be one flush in the cistern. My stomach was telling me to hurry up and I got to the bathroom in the light of my phone and went to get the scoop from the big tub of water we keep stored there (in our second bathroom) when suddenly… it was too late. I had no control!
I was undecided whether to pull my pants down or not! I was scared I was going to spray the room. The smell was nauseating and, as I did finally manage to sit down, my guts emptied further as I sat there bewildered.
I could barely see anything with the light from the phone and was scared to even look but luckily I seemed to have contained most of it either in the bowl or my pants, which I duly rinsed in the shower with water from the tub, also showering myself.
I cleaned up myself, the bathroom and my clothes properly after the power came back.
My stomach is still a bit off and I’m just hoping that there are no surprises whilst I’m sleeping!
Amy thought it was hilarious and was immediately on the phone to her mum, describing everything and laughing her head off!
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I encouraged Nong Fah to do some extra English study and to practice speaking with me more when she has a chance. I hope that she doesn’t get left behind in high school and then end up wondering what she should be doing.
I took this screenshot because I saw Iphone live in Tiktok and then found this welcome page text. Iphone is definitely not 18!
Great with an underlying tiredness that isn’t really bothering me.
I got up and got going, enjoyed a couple of simple classes where I had time to interact a bit more with some of the poorer students.
Got home by 2 pm and straight into my room sorting more comic files and a bash around on guitar. With practising a little bit more this week, I can feel some improvement. The only downside is that with the dead hangs that I’ve been doing, my fingers aren’t quite moving so freely. Hopefully they will as they get used to be used.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 8
Today I’m grateful for:
Kru Mai helping me by switching one of my Friday classes to Wednesday so that I have more to do on Wednesday and fewer hours to teach on Friday.
The best thing about today was:
No one thing in particular. It was a good day all round. I have a suspicion that I will be very tired and catching up on rest on Saturday, though.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Nothing stands out here today. Everything went well enough.
Something I learned today?
In my classes, I notice subtle changes in relationships and today I talked with Wipping in the morning, who is fed up with some of the nonsense that goes on with her friend group. She separated herself a little to concentrate on studying, and I talked with her a little about how she is probably a bit more mature than her friends, but that they will catch up one day and she should hang in there.
Later, Miyor arrived with a different friend group than usual and she told me later that she and Khaofang had a falling out over nothing much. Those two are always clashing over something, though and I wonder if things will be back to normal again next week.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I messaged Kru Jern about our student Nomsen, as she always complains about a headache and wanting to sleep. She also has lots of sores on her arms and she says it is because she is itchy.
I asked Kru Jern to check in with her because whatever issues Nomsen is having, it is affecting her ability to concentrate in class. She’s a good kid and I like her and want to give her all the opportunities that I can whilst she is my student.
I took this picture because when I got home, Tigger was here chattering away. I’m not sure what he was talking about. There was nothing obvious outside the window.
A little brighter today and trying to fight laziness. Must push hard as I spend a lot of my free time lying down and reading. I love reading but need to move my body more. What to do?
(Later) I avoided the dreaded nap today by playing guitar badly for more than an hour in my room and messing around sorting files on my computer for music and comics. Both things get me so excited, along with reading books too.
And before I know it, it’s dark outside, early evening as the winter slowly creeps nearer, yet I feel full of energy.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 7
Today I’m grateful for:
The lady who served me at Tanapiraya, who remained fairly calm as there were many customers at the time and then she had to figure out what the free items were that the store was giving away and deal with the technology of the till software, which wasn’t doing what she wanted.
The best thing about today was:
Playing guitar was enjoyable, though the cheap strings that I bought are making me appreciate the more expensive ones that I will buy again in the future. As I’m pretty much just bashing away, it doesn’t matter too much but even I can tell that it should sound better!
I also just finished writing a poem connected with Native American mythology and compassion. I really enjoyed composing it and testing my brain with ideas.
Something I learned today?
Psephology is the scientific study of elections. I learned this from a poem I read today! ‘Psephos’ means pebble in Greek and ‘psephomancy’ is divination by pebbles. Pebbles were used by ancient Greeks in voting.
I took this picture because I was surprised by his sudden appearance as I was working near the window this afternoon. He’s getting bigger. This evening he’s still around, having a little relax near our water tank where I gave him some chin-rubs and affection.
How can you ever let me down? We’re not made to be broken Just like fools, we left so much unspoken Now the future is a past that’s come back around We were made to be broken How could you ever let me down?
Not bad once I got going, it was a struggle to get up this morning and my right shoulder was a little achy from using the new silica scrubs I ordered from Temu in the shower last night. For some reason, I had a sudden urge to clean.
Amy came with me this morning as she had some things to do in the city and she’ll pick me up again at 2.30 for my only day of the week to be able to get home a little early.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 8
Today I’m grateful for:
My old students, Ploy and Ozone, playfully begging me to teach them again. I’m not sure exactly what brought this on for them but it made me feel good.
I wish I could teach everyone who begs to be taught!
The best thing about today was:
Listening to my grade 8s attempting to read a reasonably difficult passage of text and doing way better than I expected.
They are no longer afraid to try and to fail or get things wrong. Though some still need to be pushed to work because they are not really interested, I can see that they do have the capabilities if they so desired. Unfortunately, they are too busy with distractions most of the time.
Something I learned today?
Today I learned something that has left me a little stunned.
When Amy picked me up, she told me that she had gone to Nut’s house to have lunch with her and Bee, as Bee was visiting the psych at MFU.
Bee then told the whole story about her and George and it is fucking amazing!
Firstly, Bee moved out of their house about 3 years ago and they have been separate ever since! All this time, we have been saying that George was holding her back and that she was stupid to stay and she had actually already left.
This got me thinking about why she never said anything before and it turns out that George is still trying to influence her and to keep things secret from other people.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We were all shocked to know that they were actually married! Neither of them had ever told any one of us so-called friends about this.
And why did she leave? She finally had enough of his vicious manipulation and control and had to get away from him. She said that he is totally self-absorbed and selfish. He has no friends and only cares about himself.
Well, those things I had figured out for myself and now I feel completely validated. He is indeed the dark empath, the smiling narcissist.
Bee said that he talks badly about everybody behind their backs. This is also a reminder for me to try and not to do the same thing but this one is going to be difficult, as I would love to put him in his place. I’d like to wipe that smirking smile off his face!
Interesting that Kru Mai said George no longer talks with him in the teachers’ room but that George has told others that it is Kru Mai who no longer talks to him!
My mind is blown by all these revelations and it makes me feel more confident in myself. All those times he tried to manipulate and control me, too and got upset when I refused to comply – it’s all making sense and falling into place.
I should never have doubted myself. I realise now that on quite a few occasions in my past, I have been a very good judge of character.
I learned a lot about myself today and that’s great!
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I bought an inspirational poster online and put it up in one of my classrooms today. I will refer to it at different times during my lessons.
I took this picture because today is Halloween and crazy little Winter wore this to school. He is fucking hilarious!
Spark-lit dancers under crescent moon On a hilly heather discotheque The nighttime gathers the darkened gloom In the ninth house, strong intuition Vibrates in sync and to earth attune A circle storm, a drummers dreaming Through the night and to the wilds commune Seen from afar on this pale blue speck Mother Earth awaits the day’s costume
The following is a letter from December 28th, 2023, delivered today from the past
Dear FutureMe,
You turn 57 today. This is it, the downhill straight hurtling towards the finish line. Finish with a flurry, why not?
Right now I’m sitting in House, this very familiar spot, looking out into the messy garden here. My body aches from chest and arm exercises but it feels good. Slowly making this machine the way it was supposed to be. A little late….but never too late.
It’s the 28th of December, the kids all had sports day yesterday and it was a blast. So much fun for everyone. Today is a combined Christmas/New Year party day and sure to be fun too. I’ll go back to school soon and stick around for a while before heading home for a five-day break. We talked about going to Chiang Mai which I’d really like to do but being short of cash means we’ll just be at home, spending New Year’s Eve at Mum and Dad’s.
I wonder what life will bring between now and when receiving this letter. I don’t have any definite plans but Amy is planning to go to Turkey and Europe sometime this year and maybe even a quick trip back to Australia.
I’d like to get back to other parts of South East Asia again to meet friends but also need some other motive, like a band tour to tag along with. I also only have April to take a break like that without getting penalised payment at work. Let’s see.
School has been great this year and the connection I feel with my students grows exponentially as I’m introduced to a new batch each year. I really hope I can stay here in this fulfilling role for a good while.
Do something nice for Amy today. And every day.
Let’s go!
Today I’m feeling:
A little bleary, as last night Amy was excited to find a weed and alcohol bar where she had some kind of cannabis cocktail, and I had a cold milk CBD smoothie. It was a very gentle, calming feeling but we were both knocked out and slept til 8 am.
Crisia had to be ready by 6 to go off to an elephant farm and tomorrow, her birthday, she has to be up at 4 am to catch a flight.
Which reminds me. Happy Birthday, Shaun.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 7
Today I’m grateful for:
Shaman book shop in Chiang Mai for having quite a few books in stock that I am interested in. Before coming here, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy more books but the power was too strong and I could’ve bought many more!
I’m also grateful to all my students wishing me a happy birthday and some saying I am the best teacher! I choose to believe that they are sincere!
Also Hayden for video calling me from Germany. He flies back to Australia on Tuesday.
The best thing about today was:
Breakfast next door to the bookshop.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
As it’s my birthday, Amy wants to celebrate with me, which means a few bar stops around Chiang Mai and I’m ok with that, but right now we’re at Library and the music is loud and definitely going to aggravate my tinnitus! If I stick my fingers in my ears, I can hear the ringing.
It’s ok. It’s my birthday, our last night in Chiang Mai and no hurry to wake up tomorrow either.
Something I learned today?
Ipswich managed to score three goals yesterday but lost to a last-minute winner by Brentford. Still waiting for our first win of the season.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I’m being a good and patient driver this evening as I taxi Amy, Crisia and Nong May around for food and drinks.
I took this picture because the golden hour felt comforting in this Thai back lane.
I got myself up and running at 6.10 having already woken up a little earlier yet again!
Last night I made a little mistake as we received a message from school with our new timetables and I had a look at mine and was a little frustrated.
Firstly, I have been given 25 hours again, whilst David got 22 and George only 20! Then I noticed that I have two seven-hour days on Monday and Friday! Finally, I have been given 4 separate one-hour classes throughout the week, which annoys me as my planning is usually for 2-hour lessons. With only one hour, it will usually only end up with about 30 minutes teaching time at most.
Funnily enough, one of my students Jee, messaged me saying that she was disappointed that I would only teach her for two hours a week again and I mentioned that I was frustrated too, for the reasons above. She replied, ‘That’s not fair!’ But I said to her, ‘Yeah, but it will likely change anyway,’ and considered that things are not set in stone just yet.
Unfortunately, it couldn’t stop my brain working overtime for a while as I was trying to sleep and I was playing out scenarios about what to do and say.
By morning, though, I had let it all go and just figured to get on with things and accept them. For now, at least.
After a long, happy, hot day, I was starting to feel flaky as I was driving home. I could easily have slept until tomorrow even though it was only 2.30 pm, but I knew that wasn’t going to be possible.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 8
Today I’m grateful for:
Baitoey, an old student of mine who I will teach again this semester, who helped me get things sorted to create a new LINE group for her class. This class has 48 students and is certainly going to be a challenge to keep them all engaged.
Kru Ning also helped me out, as she is the homeroom teacher for them, too. It’s good to have a reasonably competent ally when dealing with a big class like this.
The best thing about today was:
Catching up with all the students again. I got so wrapped up in talking with them that I didn’t even make it to my first coffee until after 10 am!
They all seemed happy to be back at school again and to see their friends. I was certainly happy as kids came to talk and play all throughout the day.
Kwang also turned up to see her friends before she switched schools. I gave her a hug and told her that I would miss her. She said ‘how much’ and I told her, just a little bit.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Amy told me in the morning that Nong Oh’s mum passed away today and that she wants to go and help at the temple today and tomorrow. This means there’s little chance of rest for me before we do the three-hour drive to Chiang Mai on Saturday morning.
Our third funeral this month. What can we do? I am grateful to still be alive and healthy to have these problems.
Something I learned today?
I found out that sports day is at the end of November, for a couple of days and for most of the month leading up to it, we will have 50-minute periods instead of our usual one hour.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
Driving Amy and Baew to the temple after school this evening. There’s not much that I can do to help here, so I was quite relieved when Amy suggested I bring a book.
I took this picture because we are not the only ones making a home here.
A little underwhelmed, though everything has been just fine.
I think this is my third day on half a sertraline, and I haven’t had tramadol for a couple of days, too. I’m trying to get by just on kratom and see how it goes.
My butt was sore yesterday from too much sitting and my neck is sore today from not sleeping in the best position last night.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 7
Today I’m grateful for:
Discovering an old letter from Roger Miller of Mission of Burma! I don’t remember ever writing to them! I have some treasures hidden in my piles of old stuff and looking forward to rediscovering them!
The best thing about today was:
Getting up when I couldn’t stop my brain spinning, as I was drifting into an afternoon nap. It forced me to get up and go look for some photos in my room and then get distracted whilst there and finish off another book of poem updates that had me thinking hard to figure out when they were written and who/what they were about.
In the process of doing that, I found a few other things that were interesting and that I will add to the blog over the weekend.
I am a little conscious of the fact that I am spending a lot of time going back over my past and not generating any particularly memorable moments right now! But I feel ok with that at the moment. I’ll get bored at some point and go and do something else for a while, I’m sure.
Something I learned today?
Amy was telling me why she liked a particular Thai TV show at the moment, because the presenter is standing against injustices carried out by monks. This is very unusual, she said. It gives me hope that Thailand is slowly changing and hope that Amy will be a little bit more positive towards her country.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
In reading through other people’s poetry, I tried to find something positive to say wherever I could.
I took this picture because these two flowers look like buttons to be pushed, but best not to!
Good again, though I still have a sticky throat. I’m back at the ENT at Sriburin hospital. Let’s see what they say this time.
No big plans for today. Hope to read, write, play guitar and listen to music when I get home again.
Health:
Physical: 7 Mental: 7
Today I’m grateful for:
Everyone at the hospital again. A quite quick turnaround with the result of getting some different medicines.
They shoved the camera in my mouth again and things looked better than last time. Though, because it doesn’t feel any better, it means the sticky phlegm is below the voice box and isn’t visible now.
The best thing about today was:
Not worrying about too much of anything. Although I got out of the hospital by 11 and picked up Amy from her eyelash shop, we then had to go to a couple of banks to transfer a wad of cash and they were both very busy.
Then, stopping off for some food for lunch, it ended up being 2 pm by the time we got back, so I didn’t get much reading in or go out to my room to play guitar.
But that’s ok. I’m feel fine with it.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
When we woke up this morning, Amy came back from the kitchen and said that the baby cow had been stuck in the garden all night last night!
I went and said hello. He’s not afraid of me now and I walked him to near the gate where he stopped to pee. When I opened the gate, Tangmo ran in and was bemused to see the cow there and started barking and running around. I told him to calm down and he started marking territory. He’s so jealous of anyone and anything being around us! The cow chased him a bit and I went back inside for a shower.
I didn’t want to lead the cow out because I couldn’t see his mum nearby and didn’t want him to go wandering off. At least he’s safe in our garden.
When I came out again, the cowman came by and called the baby over and Tangmo went off, too, maybe to make sure that he left.
Something I learned today?
I watched a video about a video game that made me laugh a lot. It is called Squirrel With a Gun and it looked hilarious.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I got Noey to talk with Amy this morning about opportunities for her to go to Australia next year.
I offered to take Baipad to practice riding the motorbike some more too. She’s not thrilled because she is lazy and still lacks confidence. I will try to keep pushing her through her defences.
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