Tag: mala

When Peace Is Treason – 15th April 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 4 Comments

This is our genocide so that makes it ok
We’re making money and making them pay
Never been the good guys, why start now
Doublespeak makes us believable somehow



Accepting that our morals are better than yours
Peace is treason in this world of wars
If you don’t agree then we’ll have to kill you

And when we need an enemy, you know, it’s still you



Blessed are we with the God-given guns

Bombs with the power of multiple suns

No longer left with any place to hide

Welcome to our wonderful genocide

Today I’m feeling:

A little slow to get going this morning but now I’m coffeed up and lesson planning so my brain is engaged.  Kinda don’t want to stop except I need to eat something!

Today I’m grateful for:

The weird Chinese tea that tasted like medicine but successfully cooled my mouth at the mala soup restaurant.

The best thing about today was:

Starting with a bang and feeling good winding down from around lunchtime until nighttime!  I could’ve gotten more done but things will get done at the right time.

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

Baipad told me that she was hoping her mum would be sympathetic and understand how depressed she was after taking an overdose but whilst in the hospital she asked “Why don’t you just die?”  Jesus Christ.  I didn’t know what to say except that ‘I’m sorry’

Something I learned today?

Tibet is actually called Xizang.  Not even the locals have ever called it Tibet.

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

After Baipad told me what her mum said I consoled her and advised her to tell the doctor as much information as she can about her situation and feelings.  She’s a little shy and scared to talk about this, preferring to hold it all in but it’s obvious that this is having a negative effect.

We dropped a case of beer to Goleng and thanked him for taking care of Amy last night after she drank too quickly and threw up around 7pm and passed out soon after!  Despite that she said she had a great time and everyone was laughing with her this morning.

I took this picture because today was the last day for splashing water for Songkran.

Black Cat – 9th April 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

Born lucky, amongst cat’s kisses
Brought love and calmly kept
But laughing aloud cools kinship
Banging loudly and can kneel

Business lull as corporations kaput
Broken laws allow constables kvetching
Black light awareness, cooly kindhearted
Both looking around catching kittens

Submitted to Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge and NaPoMo.

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good though this heat is a killer.  I’ve made an agreement with myself not to complain about it though.

It also seems like last night’s mala upset my stomach a little bit this morning but I should be good to go for the rest of the day?

Today I’m grateful for:

Going to Lost and Found, a new cocktail bar in Chiang Rai, after Amy was disappointed with The Space due to poor service and average food.

The best thing about today was:

Starting organising lessons for next semester.  It was a bit of a headache and I only did it for a couple of hours, whilst at Utopia for morning coffee, but it is something that will kickstart my brain again to fill in all the gaps that I need.

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

When we arrived at The Space we sat outside next to the river but with the humidity and the sun setting suddenly there was a great birthing of insects which usually indicates the coming of rain. Let’s hope so but at this time these little critters were dropping into our drinks, food and clothes. We quickly dashed inside with everything.

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

A couple of weeks ago Amy drunkenly said she wished that she had a globe and then forgot all about it – but I didn’t.  I ordered one from Lazada that arrived a couple of days ago and left it for her to find this morning.  Sadly, on opening the box we found that it was badly packed and the cheap plastic base had splintered a little.  So my next task is to super glue it and then assemble it.  Amy seemed less excited about it than when she was drunk but never mind.  Happy anniversary little Amy!

Whilst Amy was extremely upset at the restaurant I tried to stay calm and enjoy some of the food and quickly picked up that we should leave with haste.

I took this picture because as Amy had checked in at Lost and Found on Facebook, earning herself six free shots!

Turn Off The Lights – 8th April 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.

Carcasses – 8th October 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Held together with string
These bones are grey
No more gifts to bring
And just empty words to say

Thrown onto the pile
Then deleted
A last goodbye smile
Broken and defeated

Whilst wheels are turning
They often roll on clear
And all the bridges burning
No longer bring the fear

Not meant to thrive
And natural to decay
Barely kept alive
Forever felt this way

inspired by this post at Spinning Visions about the changing relationships of friendship over time.

Today I’m feeling:

A bit more lively at first but after an hour or two there’s some aching eye muscles. Again, tired but not sleepy. I have things I want to get done this morning though so I’ll push on through.

Today I’m grateful for:

Aing to come from Bangkok and take care of our cats for a couple of weeks whilst I go to Australia. Amy and I both appreciate that a lot.

The best thing about today was:

Chatting with Boss and Noey over coffee this morning.

Playing guitar for an hour again.

Dinner at Mana Mala with Aing.

All equal and taking up a majority of the day.

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

Time feels like it is flying out of control at the moment and I’m wondering what I will have to drop in the future as I don’t think I can keep going like this! Just stay flexible and ride the wave wherever it takes you.

Something I learned today?

Both Noey and Boss (at Utopia) broke up with their partners recently. Boss seemed a little down today so maybe he’s still dealing with it but Noey said she was over it a couple of days after the breakup. She also says she’s not that interested in finding another boyfriend and that most boys here are too short for her!

What is my deepest hope?

Ridiculous I know but I vote for the old-fashioned world peace. I mean that is my ‘deepest’ hope.

Other hopes are for personal health, happiness and satisfaction. Likewise for my friends and family and then outwards from there to the rest of the world.

I have a minor hope that Amy will be happy back here in Thailand for a while at least.

Hope both our cats can stay healthy for another ten years.

I can control some of these things to a small degree and won’t be disappointed if something out of my control sees these hopes dashed. 

Did you have any bad ideas this year?

I reckon I have bad ideas every five minutes but now I’m smart enough not to act on them. 

There’s not been anything that stands out on initial thought. I also haven’t really been attempting anything unusual or challenging that I might regret.

Maybe some ideas could have been executed better; I’m thinking about the record label mostly here. As I’m a little bit out of the loop with things going on around the Asian music scene it’s getting tougher for me to know who to promote to.

As I’m writing I’m getting a crazy idea to do a 7” for my friends in Stacked State as they are just about to release a new CD. That may be a bad idea financially but it’s not about the money.

I took this picture because P’ti is happy keeping guard in the shop window. I wish our cats could be so comfortable around other people. Coincidentally, check the picture from October 9th 2022!