I am so happy and grateful for my books and my newfound pleasure in reading.
Everybody now has at least two cars, two television sets and a haunted look in their eyes. In short – we are happy.
Albert Umber
To-do list
Finish going through book list ✅
Start Logic course
Carry on – clear emails, close tabs, sort CDs ½
Thursday now – we took the cats to the vet in the city for vaccines. It was good to be out if only very briefly and directly – no dilly-dally.
There’s talk of having to teach our classes online in the new semester – not sure how well that will work and not sure how enjoyable it might be. A challenge – but is it a challenge I want to take? I suppose I would still like to be doing something – let’s see.
Amy has been even more vocal about not wanting to stay here anymore and I think she will go to Oz as soon as it’s feasible again and we’ll get our heads around moving back there. We can’t really do it until Cap and Tigger have gone though – taking them back isn’t really possible.
I am so happy and grateful to be able to afford to fly to visit my friends.
Hanlon’s Razor – never attribute to malice what be attributed to stupidity.
To-do list
Follow usual morning routine ✅
Wear make everywhere ✅
Meditate ✅
Find out about SIM card ✅
Enjoy time with Epit and his kids ✅
It was a terrible start to the day as Amy and I fought over money and my travelling. I was so upset I wanted to cancel my plans and not go to KL. I don’t feel like Amy’s frustrations are really about money or me travelling but more connected with her feelings about Thailand.
I want to suggest to her that she goes back to Australia later in the year and work there for three months and see how she feels. Something has to change.
My plan now is to try and enjoy 12 months more of teaching in the school and if I can’t get on with it then I will stop and just teach at home and online. I think Amy can go back to Australia and work if she really feels like money is going to be a big problem. It doesn’t have to be for six months at a time but that’s up to her.
Another possibility is that she really gets behind teaching at home. I feel like she hasn’t really invested herself into it to make it a viable income yet.
The other thing we should do is to sell the house. I’m sick of always having to think about money and if it is spoiling our happiness even when we live in a beautiful home then we can live anywhere. It doesn’t matter. So long as I can have a space to call my own and a happy Amy then that’s what I want.
I am so happy and grateful that we have drinking water in our house. Not everyone has that.
A man gets an answer to his questions in accordance with his fitness to understand and his one preparation.
The Food Of Paradise
To-do list
Remind yourself again that you may die now
Record another TCRAH ½
Spend 15 minutes planning Bruce’s lesson ✅
Register for Payoneer ✅
WDS spreadsheet ½
It was an enjoyable morning playing basketball and chatting with Bruno. Not so negative and I can tell he really enjoys teaching his students.
Time ran away way too fast today and somehow I managed to squeeze a lot of things in though no time to meditate today. This next week and a half is going to be busy too but I feel quite positive about the way things are going.
School should be easy this week and I’m taking things quite easy now anyway. I’m expecting to be working a lot more next semester.
I’m struggling a little with what to write here as I haven’t been sitting and thinking about things so much today as I was so busy. I do feel happiness though.
“How much more time, energy, and pure brainpower would you have available if you drastically cut your media consumption? How much more rested and present would you feel if you were no longer excited and outraged by every scandal, breaking story, and potential crisis (many of which never come to pass anyway)?”
Excerpt From “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday
This is something I’ve been conscious of for about ten years, since first reading an article about how ‘the news’ is not good for us. In my lifetime the news and its delivery have changed considerably. Someone who read newspapers or watched BBC 2 news analysis shows was deemed to be knowledgeable and worldly.
These days news is everywhere and very little of it is actually news. A couple of decades ago Jello Biafra urged us to ‘become the media’ and technology has now allowed us that opportunity but we, as humans, have subverted this idea to push along our personal agendas.
So, I turned off the news, anywhere it could be found. If there’s something I really need to know I will find out about it. 99.9% of everything else has no real consequence in my life. That gives me a lot of free time to appreciate all the good things in life. It brings me closer to those I should be loving.
Another fantastic slow news day!
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful for the sunrise each morning. With the temple as a pointer on the mountain, I can see how ancient man used this to measure time.
Our intentional, effortful activities have a powerful effect on how happy we are over and above the effects of our set points and the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Sonya Lyubomirsky
To-do list
Finish gratitude letter for Maesara. ✅
Get some solid info from George about lesson plans. ½
Immigration, book shop, relax. ✅
More Coursera, transfer notes to book. ✅
Clean up cartoon drawing. ✅
Today was another easy day and I felt very happy with everything. I actually got a lot more done than I expected. I feel like things are coming together very well in my life. I feel fresher, livelier, motivated and committed.
I talked with George after work – a stimulating and positive conversation as usual. He thinks TLC will ask me to join CRPAO lesson planning before this semester ends which will be fine for me.
George has his way of dealing with ‘troublesome’ people at work that I really admire and something I could definitely learn and improve on in myself. It revolves around listening and thinking a lot more before speaking. My outspoken opinion on things seems to get me into trouble so I need to step back and think about the outcomes more.
Tomorrow I’ve had to suddenly rearrange my day so that I can renew my work permit. I dealt with this change of plan quite easily and shouldn’t cause any issues. Tonight I will savour my trip to Japan when I first met Limited Express (has gone?)
Where can I add more fun to my life? What is the purpose of my life? (Why you do something or why something exists?)
SAY IT ALOUD
Gratitude – Thank you, thank you Forgiveness – It’s OK, it’s OK Curiosity – that’s interesting, that’s interesting
THE GOAL OF LIFE
The goal of life is virtue. Virtue is the only true good. ‘Excellence’ (arête) of character. What’s healthy/beneficial = what’s honourable/praiseworthy. “Living in agreement with Nature”
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful that I don’t give in to my impulses (all the time). Despite being tired this morning I will go to the gym as I challenged myself to yesterday.
I think sometimes people are afraid to be happy or to let go.
Lorraine Robertson
To-do list
Go to the gym in the morning ✅
Finish writing to Chrissie ✅
Start editing TCRAH #25
Draw one of our cats (find some videos on drawing cats)
Savour things for longer
Started off well by pushing through tiredness and going to the gym.
Came back and started finishing off my email to Chrissie which I put a bit of extra thought into and only ended up completing after lunch just before teaching, which then pretty much turned into being dinnertime. I did continue sorting things in my room though. I also remembered to call Hayden but he didn’t pick up.
This coming week should be very cruisy as for 4 days we are playing adjective bingo with different groups of students.
Tomorrow I’ll get a list of students who would like to do extra work so I should prepare that for the following week.
After school I will also go to TLC and have a chat with Nancy about different options for next semester. With George’s advice I’ll also tell her about what has happened with Jimmy.
My biggest lesson in the last year is something I am still in the middle of. I know some of my shortcomings after the situation at CRPAO and the lesson for me is how to deal with something like this again in the future. I am continuing to explore meditation, exercise, journaling and pulling back a little bit.
Gratitude Journal
I am so happy and grateful to have had many opportunities to smile this week. Driving to Rayong, taking photos on the beach, finding alcohol at the corner shop, meeting Kaew again, tipping Aing, our waitress at Vertigo Too, for her great personality and service, looking out across the Bangkok skyline under a full moon, drinking good beer and laughing with Lekky. Smiling every day with Amy.
frequency lab with grey daturas, hit the jackpot, vincent over the sink
waiting waiting waiting at the airport – finally a customs guy finds us and wants to know why jj, yukari and koji have equipment with them – i just tell him they were recording before and have come back to sydney for one night before flying back to japan.
eventually limited express (has gone?) come out and we sheepishly load up the car and drive into the city to frequency lab.
we take everything up and vincent over the sink start pretty soon after – these two guys are great but we only get to check out a couple of songs before hunger calls.
we make it back to see hit the jackpot who are another wonderfully simple band – playing with a complete disregard to anything at all – they’re cool! i’m running around wondering if everything will be ok as the place fills – it looks to me as though the equipment is ropey and the drumkit will fall apart but it’s all there is…grey daturas manage to crank everything up a notch and chris on sound manages pretty well with the noise.
the place is packed now and no one else should be allowed in but it seems the place is getting more and more full as people squash right up to the microphones. a 10 second soundcheck and limited express (has gone?) special show time begins once again with ‘free style riding’ and ‘aloha!’
the grins are wide on everyone around and people are climbing over each other to get a view. the enthusiasm is running both ways as the band crank up the tempo, heat and intensity. jj makes his way into the audience during stop-go and yukari during tiger rock.
limited express (has gone?) finish special show time with another crazy run through ‘talk to me, all right’ and a ripping version of spy which disintegrates into a squall of noise before a jj jump to full stop.
the audience won’t let them go though and beg for more so get treated to a beautiful rendition of ‘drawtoborn’ and another quick run through ‘free style riding’ after which jj and yukari get carried through the crowd to rapturous applause.
everyone is happy! everything is good! limited express (has gone!).
jj – “thank you sydney audience! thank you punk rock! we are rock and roll! certainly we will come here again” yukari – “it is no problem, language or different country, music is great!” koji – “tonight we rose to the occasion and the last show of the tour was a great show”
Oh, what beauty I wake with, wrapped in her smooth tentacles. A delight to behold in hazy mornlight. A flicked switch lets us ten minutes more ponder dreams just dreamt and what’s in store.
When finally eyes open full through sleepy dust Sandman left, I rush towards her lips to welcome the new day. Soon sadness takes her as she prepares her head for the assault of new studies. I humour her softly and we both understand.
My day away from her is frantic and if adrenaline could be tapped I’d sell you a barrel. When our paths cross once more she is chef and smiling in anticipation of our evening ahead. This cold old blown night sees us streaking off to pump iron with guys who’ve pumped iron too hard. We opt for more gentle affairs as rowboats, cycles and steps set our hearts a-booming in our ears and we leave satisfied we’ve fit ourselves in ten short minutes – but we are properly happy this first hurdle has been taken.
Dinner on laps we watch skaters ice skating for medals decided on some pompous judges opinions. Who shall so decide what is best? Let’s value each and every performance for what it is. I enjoyed it all, not caring about placings or pride.
Now my Broni sleeps dog day tired while I write away and wonder what else I may do. I do not wish to disturb her so I may just slide down beside her once naked and light turned off.
Goodnight dear reader; I hope you, too, find happiness as I.
Burnt pizza and Piat D’or – our celebratory meal for this – the first day of a new month. So much to look forward to – I look forward to every moment.
Me and Broni dance like serpents across the living room floor – slipping our tongues over each other’s golden skin, so smooth and soft. A mad dash to the bedroom and my baby straddles me and writhes along with me to our own sweet music.
We dance properly to crazy love tunes after and revel in the glory of our own happiness and pleasure. I fix the room up some more and sing songs of the Suns. Tonight I feel free. Free from the outside world, free from exploitation and outside influence. I’m inside my head and my head tells me I’m happy. Not as I was a couple of years ago. I needed drugs to get inside my head but lost the essence of what was outside. I was trapped.
I still have pleasurable memories of particular moments and I’m thankful for the experiences. We all have different learning processes. I’m glad my mind is still open for learning. Onward is our quest for knowledge.
