Don’t Poke A Sleeping Cat – 8th August 2024

Behind the smiles, sharpened fangs
The soft face belies a strength
When considered less than human
She will go to any length
To give you a pause for reflection
A reconsideration of your role
Don’t imagine her at your level
With the humanity you stole
For her, it’s just another fight
One she’s fought so often
The rage never dissipates
And she’s careful not to soften

Written after seeing a particularly strong performance by a front woman for a band (SpeechOdd) and their song ‘More Than Decoration’.

Submitted to Poets and Storytellers United and somewhat connected to the prompt “Love your neighbour as yourself”


Today I’m feeling:

Exhausted.  I think that I slept deeply but only in small bursts, so that I woke up well before my alarm and realised that I needed way more rest and so I reset my alarm and decided not to go to school today.  I’m glad I did.

My alarm woke me up again at 7.30 and I sent messages to Kru Mai and sent some work for my morning class to complete and send to me.  Then it was back to sleep.

Around what I thought was maybe 10 am, I thought about maybe getting up but then checking my phone, I found that it was already 2pm!  I got up quickly, though still groggy and dozy.  I got on my laptop and sent work to my afternoon class that was due to start in 30 minutes.

After that, I almost fell asleep again watching videos and at around 5 pm, Amy made me fish congee with ginger, which made me feel much better, though I’m about to get back into bed again now at 8.30.

I think I’ll be ok to go to school tomorrow but the morning will tell for sure.

Today I’m grateful for:

The delivery guy who dropped off the record covers from Malaysia, though, didn’t contact me until later to pay the customs fee.  I don’t know what he would’ve done if I hadn’t paid him but I knew this was coming and happy to do the right thing despite how fucking annoying paying these fees are.

I can’t imagine anyone in the West trusting people like that.

The best thing about today was:

Catching up my exhausted body.  Have done little else today.

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

Naturally, sending my students work to do whilst I’m not in class causes more work for me – especially with the students who don’t bother to do anything and I have to chase them up.

River Of Sorrow – 10th February 2024

When the bottle was empty of pills
There’s no time left to grow
Amongst so many ills
It’s the bitterest one to swallow

When the son takes the rope
Believing there’s no place to go
Those left now to cope
Traverse the river of sorrow

When attention wasn’t sought
And she suddenly became the show
Life is no longer a thought
Slipped into the undertow

So pass the many hours
That survivors will never know
And drift away the flowers
Along the river of sorrow


Today I’m feeling:

Fuzzy and weird. After a delicious afternoon nap yesterday I got into reading comics so much in the evening that I was up just past midnight. I shoved down some medicine in the hope of waking up flu-free and slept reasonably well until 11. I do feel better but fuzzy around the edges, eyes unable to focus 100%.

Today I’m grateful for:

Matt for buying me a drink and giving me half a pack of tramadol after running across to Central.

The best thing about today was:

Seeing live music in Chiang Rai. Punk, hardcore, metal! Who’d’ve thought?

Something I learned today?

A Wall Street Journal report says Iran is having trouble reining in “Iran-backed militias” and offers one reason why: The US killed the guy who was good at reining them in!

I took this picture because this was the venue for the show before dark. The sound inside wasn’t fantastic due to the stage being shoved in the corner which is circular. This made for some wild and interesting sound distortions from the guitars though.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #68 – Teeth Razor Sharp – 10th December 2020

The demons are attacking our integrity, the bogeyman is coming, teeth razor sharp.

This week there’s music from The Fall, Viletones, The Butthole Surfers, Frank Zappa, Psyche, Super Adventure Club, My Dad Is Dead, Dwarves, Toots and The Maytals, Moff Skellington, Red Forty, Descendents, Sun City Girls and Lucid Rivers.

Incidentals taken from the Church of the Sub Genius Hour of Slack.
Listen right here or Podbean, Stitcher, Apple, Amazon…..all those cool places I guess.

https://www.facebook.com/The-Chiang-Rai-Alternative-Hour-107307097314670

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have another two days off school and be able to spend time at home and with Amy.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #65 – Nothing’s Going To Stop It – 19th November 2020

They are on to us!  We’re being hunted down but nothing’s going to stop it!

Highly curated, carefully selected and specifically ordered* for your listening edification by world-renowned DJtenzenmen, who has over 100 years of experience in this business.

This week there’s music from Peter Black, The Saints, June of 44, Beastie Boys, Kurws, Plam, Satan’s Rats, Madness, Krause, Hard-Ons, Alamaailman Vasarat, Wall of Dwarfs, Motelli Skronkle, HIRS, OMFO, Tako, Septic Death, The 1985, Space Negros and Charming Hostess.

Intro and background music by Utotem, Phantom Tollbooth, Daniel Striped Tiger and someone else I forgot.
Incidentals taken from the Church of the Sub Genius Hour of Slack.

Find us on Twitter and Facebook too. Tell us if you like it, tell us if you don’t.
Listen right here or Podbean, Stitcher, Apple, Amazon…..all those cool places I guess.

* ie totally random.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have two days off this week. I feel so lucky to work in a country that has so many public holidays.
I am so happy and grateful to Kru Champ for being an understanding teacher and appreciative of my concerns to do the best for the students.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #59 – 9th October 2020

The stupidest rock podcast on the internet as voted by everyone, everywhere.

Highly curated, carefully selected and specifically ordered* for your listening edification by world-renowned DJtenzenmen, who has over 500 years of experience in this business.

* ie totally random.

This week there’s music from The Scapegoat, White Blacula, Funkadelic, The Move, B Team, Hamster Theatre, PFM, P-Model, The Tempos, MFQ, Hot Snakes, Angelic Upstarts, Beatles, Volcano Suns, Born Against, Feed Me Jack, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Regurgitator, Satanique Samba Trio, Rosalina Mar and Wolves.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE STUPID!?

Find us on Twitter and Facebook too. Tell us if you like it, tell us if you don’t.
Listen right here or Mixcloud, Stitcher, Apple, Amazon…..all those cool places I guess.


Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that today will be a quiet day with no kids around. I will miss them though. Almost a month before we see them again!

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #55 – 12th September 2020

From now I’m going to tell you that these selections are highly curated, carefully selected and specifically ordered for your listening edification by world-renowned DJtenzenmen.

I tell you this because these kinds of things sell!

The truth is that the music is randomly selected by iTunes – but as the iTunes library is already carefully selected with only the best top quality material from 50 years of research then satisfaction is surely guaranteed!

This week there’s music from Shield Your Eyes, Cecil Buffalo and the Prophets, DJ PicaPicaPica, Invisible Ghost Luigi, Mutants, Butthole Surfers, PFM, Sun City Girls, Gelbart, Ne Zhdali, The Freeze, Massacre, Cypress Hill, Deep Turtle and Orthrelm.

Intro and background music by Utotem.

Brain dump (by mouth)

Attempting morning pages exercise using dictation with phone (Samsung)

Your post goes against community standards
Who was the man in the castle?
Ride around MFU placing stickers – advertising podcast – my stickers are tiny – maybe some people will see, will notice
Utopia this morning – met Pim, Fern’s friend
Woke up late – decided to turn off alarm in the middle of the night – My plan schedule now out of whack
Soon I will read Hendrix – Maybe sort out some more music – Do yoga – Meditating – some more reading – Maybe record some more podcasts in the evening
Try to relax
Teaching English online – I don’t look forward to it but enjoy it when it happens
2 o’clock already
Big rain – big sun big rain
Next week not many hours – How to make use of the time – Always things to do

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my cracking neck these days. Hopefully, it is cracking more because it is becoming more flexible with doing more stretching and yoga. It feels sore but better than before.



The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #48 – 18th July 2020

Music from Lindsay Cooper, Unrest, Work and Play, Boss Hog, Sonic Youth, Code of Honor, Gas Rag, The Cichlids, False Prophets, Buff Medways, Fun Things, Fire Engines, XTC, Electric Prunes, Blues Inc, Thug, Arcwelder, Void, Makimakkuk, OMFO, Orthrelm and Park Ji Yoon.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my patience and care for Amy and for being able to turn an annoying situation into an ok one. I left her with Bee and George in the nightclub and tried to sleep in the car which was difficult but eventually, I ended up listening to music on my iPod. Listening to the Van Pelt and US Maple made me happy. Instead of thinking I had to suffer being uncomfortable until Amy was ready to leave I told myself that I get a chance to listen to great music.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #38 – 16th May 2020

Music from Curse Ov Dialect and Kaigen, Social Distortion, Bannlyst, The Fall, Unknown, Sun City Girls, The Misunderstood, The Crime, Rancid, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, The Slaves, Billy Childish and Dan Melchior, Itch, My Dad is Dead, Heavy Vegetable, Refused and The Rattles.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that the men came today to look at our roof which blew away a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully, they can fix it. I don’t envy them, having to work on the roof in the blazing sun today.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #35 – 18th April 2020

Music from Senyawa, Jamesy and Sean, Far East Family Band, Air Miami, Arcwelder, Flesh Narc, X_X, Deerhoof, Hidden Rifles, The Damned, Chepang, Lindsay Cooper, Tigermen, Fifty Foot Hose, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, F, Younger Brothers, Shadow Minstrels, Cypress Hill and Eddie and the Hot Rods.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my computer. It enables me to do so many things. I wonder if I could live without it? Of course, I could but I don’t think I want to.

To-do list

  • More 1994ever ✅
  • Record TCRAH – spend time on this one ✅
  • Watch less TV today ✅
  • More drawing

Today is Tuesday. I haven’t been writing in here because I have gotten myself absorbed in some good TV and by the time I come to bed it’s too late to turn on the light and write.

I feel like things are coming together more in my room – nearly got all the CDs in their cases – after more than two years! Now I’m trying to get rid of the CDRs and thinking about all the DVDs I have and what to do with them.

I’m hoping to keep up with all the backlog of 1994ever and other bits and pieces of writing. It’s been enjoyable to go through all those, thinking about the past. It still feels like it happened to someone else. Even brief glimpses of mundane things pop into my head and it makes me think about what times and events that I’m part of now will pop into my mind in the future.

Life feels quite mundane and predictable though I also feel quite happy and content.