Was it a fantasy? A fair fumble in the past – Mystical ticks as the clock rewinds That magical ache in the chest again, at last – A blood-pumping petition reminds
Gave up reality for frolics in the dark – Gardenias by day, jasmine by night Naked in starlight, reignited the spark – Gladdens the mind from a dark requite
A little bit weary before coffee but fairly upbeat after. Will try to get out to my room before watching any TV today, make sure I do things that are pleasurable, though take some effort, rather than just sitting watching the box all day. Whilst content may be interesting, too much at one time gets boring.
Today I’m grateful for:
The staff at the hospital who gave me advice on when to come back to get my medicine.
The best thing about today was:
Playing guitar again for a couple of hours was fun and though my skill seems to have plateaued, I’m starting to understand it a little more deeply.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I went up to the hospital, though only after talking with Hayden about health, which reminded me to see if the psych was there. Actually, I knew that he was only usually there on Monday mornings, so I wanted to find out if he would be there next Monday, but as today and next Monday are holidays, the department he is in is not open. It was a vague hope that they would be.
However, a nice member of staff, with reasonable English, told me that he would be there from 1pm tomorrow, so I figured I’d take tomorrow morning off and wait at home until then and go to my afternoon class at 2.30. I don’t want to have to go back and forth twice tomorrow as I’m short of cash and will need to refill the tank at some stage.
Something I learned today?
Biden steps down as the 2024 US presidential candidate, and civil war there feels like more and more of a possibility.
On a similar note: Jellyfish are not fish; they have no brain, heart, or bones.
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I followed up with Baipad about her cat and also with Freya about herself.
I took this picture because finally, our ground is waterlogged again.
Winds whisper words of desolation Peak pines prosper on the rocky road The rumble and sway, a million miles away From the bustling city I once strode
Pulses of nature, rhythms of the earth Here time slows my heartbeat and breath A rugged embrace on the side of a rock Left to ponder what is life and death?
For sixty-three days and nights Thoughts flow like the mountain streams A clear communion with the infinite A testament to the beauty of solitude’s dreams
A symphony that resonates within Freedom found alone on a mountaintop A journey inward through the sands of time Hold on to each precious drop
For No Theme Thursday I decided on the image above as it reminded me of Jack Kerouac’s short story Alone On A Mountaintop. To try and kickstart my imagination I decided to ask AI (Perplexity) to summarise the story and then turn the summary into a non-rhyming or free verse 20-line poem.
It managed to come up with a poem, that I didn’t closely look at because I could see that it rhymed. On reiterating I wanted it not to rhyme it just came back with the same rhyming scheme! And again.
So I asked it “It seems that you cannot write a poem that doesn’t rhyme. Is that true?” and got this response:
You’re right, I’m having difficulty generating a completely non-rhyming poem based on the summary of Kerouac’s story. As an AI system, I have certain limitations when it comes to creative writing tasks like composing free verse poetry without any rhyming elements. While I can generate rhyming poems and incorporate poetic devices like alliteration, assonance, and consonance, completely avoiding any rhyming words or phrases in a poem is challenging for me. My training data and algorithms are not optimized for that level of creative control over language. Humans are generally better equipped to compose truly free verse poetry that avoids rhyming altogether. Poets draw upon their intuitive understanding of language, emotion, and rhythm to craft poems that flow naturally without falling into rhyming patterns. As an AI assistant, I have room for improvement when it comes to generating non-rhyming poetry. My abilities are limited compared to human poets who can masterfully compose free verse. I appreciate you pushing me to try, as it helps identify areas where I can enhance my creative writing skills. But you make a fair point – I currently cannot reliably write a poem that doesn’t rhyme at all. It’s a limitation I will aim to overcome with further training and development.
Well, I like the honesty. It could’ve led with this information though!
ChatGPT3.5 was more successful and I used parts of its results to inspire me further but its actual poem was pretty lacklustre.
Fatman report
Today I’m feeling:
Pretty good though a little cloudy in the brain. Not feeling inspired to write yet.
I got back to exercise this morning, not pushing it too much and despite some weakness in my hip, it felt good. I didn’t want to get up and do it, though; I had to force myself up and not attempt to go back to the interesting dream that I was having. When I immediately couldn’t recall it, I decided to force myself up.
Today I’m grateful for:
Another 90-day report quickly sorted at Immigration this morning.
The best thing about today was:
Forcing myself back into my room this afternoon to play some guitar. I need to sort out some other stuff in there too but I don’t really like being in there much these days.
I’m not completely sure why, if I’m honest. It could be an accumulation of many small things such as the wifi not being too stable out there, doubling up the use of aircon whilst there, maybe even feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff that I could actually be doing in there, none of the chairs are that comfortable to sit for long…
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
The power went out in our classroom this afternoon and the lazy Thai teacher, Pookie, asked one of my students, who was doing my work, to go and find another teacher to fix it. My student was smart enough to quickly come back, though and say that she couldn’t find the teacher, forcing Pookie to go and sort it out herself.
It happened a couple of times and I was prepared to just let the class go and let them complete the work in their own time before next week.
However, it got sorted, and Pookie finally agreed to run only one of the aircon units, as we had previously been asked to do. She didn’t hang around much longer after that.
Something I learned today?
A day on Earth during the age of dinosaurs was just 23 hours long.
A vile legion, no alkaline vial A third eye opened up to show The first two burned out and bled Soon forgotten, supposed to know
A toot of one’s own horn I found myself getting in touch With beauty scarily sublime It overwhelmed, too much
As skin returned from blue The views up there began to fade Stirred up in a sandy wave To crash on the beach I made
It’s not these orange-tinted glasses Or butterflies flowing from my gut Reality was just a ‘barely hanging on’ Out of my mind, a door slowly shut
Submitted to No Theme Thursday and the attached picture as inspiration.
Today I’m feeling:
Pretty good. An easy start and a relatively simple first class with my grade 8s.
Today I’m grateful for:
Being able to quickly rearrange my afternoon class so that everyone could finish early.
The best thing about today was:
Getting home by 3pm and though it’s a bit of a negative, I lazily watched TV rather than getting anything done.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
My second class was supposed to be at 2.30, but a few students had told me that because other teachers were away, they had nothing to do until then.
So during my first class, I was thinking how to start at 12.30 instead so that everyone could finish early.
I decided to go for it and messaged them to come at 12.30 and we would find a classroom to study in.
It was only a little later that I realised that I had forgotten that this class is made up of students from two different programs, and one had classes until 12.30, which meant that they would miss lunch by coming straight to my class this time.
I thought I’d smoothed it over because I knew that they wouldn’t actually study until 12.30 and asked them to quickly grab lunch whilst they could.
The class went well and we got it all done in an hour, as the room was due for another class.
Later, I heard that the two groups of students were quarrelling about this change of plan, so I had to try and smooth things over. Though I also found out that this was not just about what happened today, but an ongoing situation between the two.
Something I learned today?
Burmese armed resistance are financing themselves by flooding Thailand with cheap drugs, causing a moral quandary for those who support their fight for (supposed) ‘democracy’ there.
Somehow, I never come across these cheap drugs!
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I watched all the students preparing for the drama competition and personally wished each of them good luck for the next few days. Lin, Jet, Namyen, Guitar, Noah, Poppy, Achang, Alew, Wipping, Palm and a couple of others. I dispersed all my coins to them as they begged for spending money while they are away. I think that cost me 17 baht in total! I hope that they have a good time because they have been working hard on this play.
I took this picture because these are my old students, Aoey, Pleng and AimAem rehearsing their speech for their competition. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t stop themselves from laughing when I started taking pictures and holding my hands as they were. As with my other students, I wished them well and to try their best.
A little bit down this morning, but not about anything specifically. I think it was still the leftover rust from drinking on Friday. It takes so long for me to recover now that it just isn’t worth it.
I struggled with exercise this morning but glad that I did. I have found some videos that I might try to follow, too. I keep going across different exercise apps, but they all want my money and for some reason I only just now realised I can just follow along with videos instead. I’ll try my first one tomorrow.
I felt much better after my first class, my happy grade 12s and the lesson I had come up with worked well with them, so that gives me confidence for the next two classes that I try it with.
Today I’m grateful for:
My wage (again!). Much of it disappearing already into cat food, the electricity bill and a little shopping. A bit more will disappear tomorrow when I pay off my credit at House.
The best thing about today was:
Kru Tang roping me into helping a trio of primary students with their pronunciation for a presentation that they will give next week. Their English is excellent already and I could only offer minimal advice.
But the best things that came out of it is that for three days next week, many students are away at these competitions so the school will be closed to students. Those not in competitions are to be taught online.
What that means for me, though, is no classes as I don’t have the knowledge or facility to teach online.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Suddenly, the power went out when I was teaching and I was assuming that it was in the whole building, school or area. I continued teaching without missing a beat and writing on the board instead of using the projector.
Something I learned today?
At the end of the class, when the power went out, I discovered that it was just our room where it was out and so I assumed that a breaker had been tripped and now I know where they are.
Another teacher asked me if both of the air conditioning units were on and I wasn’t sure but it made me think afterwards, what if they were? There are two air conditioning units in each classroom, why have them if there is not enough capacity to use them!?
Review your acts, Good and bad.
I sent Baipad and Anchan a translated parable from Khalil Gibran. It is about fear and dealing with it.
I talked it through with Baipad who is not well practiced at understanding allegory or thinking more broadly about things.
I hope that she understood the meaning a little deeper than before.
Slowly sipping on iced lemon teas Savouring the freshness of the breeze – Who will prepare the food to bring? – Who will push and pull the swing?
Feet put up and nestled with a read Imagining there’s nothing else to need – Who will make sure the dog is fed? – Who is gonna bake the daily bread?
When the body is settled in for rest And doing nothing then becomes a test – Who will ensure the grass is mown? – And cut the trees that are overgrown?
Dreaming of more of these lazy days Wondering what the bee to the flower says – Who’s gonna counter the middle-aged spread? – The time to sleep is when you’re dead
Tired, dizzy and upset. I slept very badly, waking at 4 am thinking about Amy and how I haven’t been supportive enough of her.
I was remembering that I had written that when Amy returned from Australia it would be good for her to get some business going and every time we have talked about it it has just felt impossible, in that it feels like it would be too much work for too little return.
Along with the many events since she got back, Grandmum passing, her brother’s wedding (and various issues that that has raised) and friends visiting, it hasn’t really but been easy for her to focus on starting a business too.
But now I feel that this may be able to focus her attention away from sitting around at home and brewing and stewing about things going on.
I started to wonder if one of the reasons that I am generally happier is because I am busy all the time. I don’t have time to think about the little annoying things that bother me. Maybe Amy needs that distraction.
I wanted to talk to her this morning about this but she is very grumpy and short with me. When I asked what was wrong she just said that it was her problem and no one else could help her. She said it’s nothing about me, that I do everything right, I’m a good husband and she needs to be by herself.
Of course, that could mean anything. Will she leave again? Will she leave for good?
I’m really upset about all this but still have to keep my head for work at school. I’d rather be sleeping and not having to think about all this. Wild scenarios are playing out in my head and none of them are particularly good.
Today I’m grateful for:
My umbrella. For my last class (grade 10s) I gave a brief overview of two pieces of work that I wanted them to do, whilst at the same time we would go to the gym to watch one of the students playing volleyball. Just as we arrived there though the game finished.
I sent the work to our chat group and most of them started doing it whilst a few seemingly slipped away (but I will catch them!). As they started working though, a huge storm came and flooded the school and also trapped us in the gym on the other side of the football pitch. We were stuck there for about an hour and I helped everyone who was having difficulty (and I’m chasing those who got away now this evening).
Having planned ahead and bringing my umbrella I made my way back across the field and into the flood! Some kids were trying their best to stay dry whilst others took advantage of the slippery playground and dived headlong across the basketball court.
The best thing about today was:
A poem that I wrote today. Somewhat inspired by events as written here, it was a challenge to write using lots of metaphors and I feel like I did it well.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Not being in the best of moods I struggled with my first class (grade 8s) this morning as they were unfocussed and doing their very best to wind me up. I ended up choosing a group of about ten boys, some of who were messing around and I asked them to leave. Things were a bit easier after that though still a struggle.
I sent a message to their homeroom teacher and deducted 5 points from everyone for their disrespect and then tried to forget about it.
Looking back at old entries here I can see that I have said before that it seems that each year’s students seem to be less and less able (generally speaking) and so it seems this year. I am teaching out of a book that I used with grade 7s a couple of years ago and many of these grade 8s just look at me bewildered!
I had texted a message to Amy earlier with what I wrote above in the What I’m Feeling section and when I got home she was very upset at what she perceived as an attack on her. Whilst that was not my intention at all I listened as she finally started to open up and get things off her chest.
(Reading back what I wrote I don’t really see an attack on her (of course we all perceive things differently) and I was really just thinking out loud because there was no communication at all last night)
As she was talking I thought perhaps I have misunderstood some things – particularly when it comes to her happiness. She tells me that she is happy with things at home, with us but not with the things that she can’t control such as the family issue and dealing with the bullshit builder.
I said that I thought that she was unhappy because of all these things and always talking about returning to Australia. So perhaps I misread some of this and so she took affront at me trying to find ways to keep her busy.
She is a very good homemaker, a great cook and takes care of most everything around the house and I certainly appreciate that about her. I do not want her to leave me here again for a long period of time if it’s possible. Yes, we can both survive by ourselves but I was only happy doing that knowing that we were still together, talking every day and supporting each other.
Amy says that I am very involved with my work and students and perhaps that is something that I need to pull back from somewhat. I know that whilst Amy was away I put all my love into little Kim Chi and all my heart into my work. Now that she’s here again I need to shift my focus back to her.
We are both still upset and ruminating but at least some talking has happened and we both understand each other a little better.
Something I learned today?
I was chatting with Lin and though she was frustrated that she couldn’t say everything that she wanted in English she did very well. I suggested that next year she change to the English Program but then she told me that her parents want her to be a doctor.
I asked her what she wanted to be and she semi-seriously said a K-pop idol. I asked if she could sing and she sang me a little song. I then asked her about dancing and she said she could but she was too shy to demonstrate.
When I suggested that being shy won’t help her to be an idol she changed her mind to be a gangster’s wife!
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I chide myself for my selfishness and lack of understanding of the person closest to me in my life.
I chide myself for a lack of imagination and taking things for granted when it comes to taking care of our relationship.
My usual Saturday morning tired already. It’s only been a three-day workweek for me too.
Last night I felt kinda invincible. Throw anything at me and I can do it.
Come the morning and I can feel my brain struggling to connect things together. As I was reading about John Lee Hooker and BB King I was thinking about something else entirely and I can barely remember either.
Quick coffees today as we will take Nong Na out for lunch to thank her for taking care of our cats last weekend.
Today I’m grateful for:
Taking the time to go to the city for lunch, picking up Na on the way. We got to the hotpot restaurant at 12 and I couldn’t believe that it was 2 pm when we had finished. Time went so quick and I was very relaxed.
The best thing about today was:
The mix of the hotpot soup that soaked into the rolled-up tofu sheets, then dipped into a peanut and sesame oil sauce with chopped garlic and then a sip of some Chinese milk drink to take off the heat. Awesome!
The staff were concerned that the soup would be too spicy for me but to be honest I could’ve done with some more Sichuan peppers in there!
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
As seems to be getting more normal these days, time is out of my control and disappearing faster than I would like. I sat in my room after lunch and started investigating a cento poem, which required looking through lots of other people’s poetry to pick out lines from.
Doing that and catching up on some other poetry reading evaporated 3 or 4 hours and I didn’t end up coming up with anything for the cento yet. I still need to collect more before trying to put it together.
Something I learned today?
The USA has threatened the capability to shut down chip manufacturing in Taiwan if China should invade. The short-sightedness of the threat is incredible as it would mostly affect USA products such as Apple, nVidia etc.
There’s a lot of crazy in the world right now, perhaps I should stop looking.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
We drove to pick up Nong Na this morning as there was a bit of rain around and I drove us to the city and back. Whilst Amy paid for lunch I paid for the durian bingsu dessert.
I also picked up a couple of 20 baht Japanese toys for Baipad and NamHom whilst at the bingsu shop.
Nong Fah took these pictures because Anchan was sleeping in class like this! I asked her later about it and she told me that Kru Ren doesn’t know anything about teaching and is difficult to understand! The kids are smart enough to know their education sucks but don’t know how to get out of it and the culture here is not to question those seen as above you.
A bit tired again, maybe from mentally preparing to get back into it with the kids again tomorrow. I’m excited to see everyone again.
Today I’m grateful for:
Twinkl having a free download day for their whole site. Perfect timing! I got a stack of role-play and conversation starters that I can go through and see if I can use in my new classes.
The best thing about today was:
Spending time out in my room, clearing out emails, writing and reading, sorting out files on computers and online and probably the top thing was playing guitar with the new strings that I put on yesterday. Sounds good again!
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Our internet connection got fixed but it still seems a little shaky. I’m struggling to download some of these things from the Twinkl site because it’s so slow. I’m trying to handle it with patience! Mostly!
Something I learned today?
This morning Noey told me about a nice breakfast cafe in the city which had sourdough toast with avocado and smoked salmon. I’ll try it one day. It’s called In Am’s Kitchen.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I helped Amy with moving a big cactus from a pot to the ground but it was very clumsy and awkward. Hopefully, it doesn’t get blown over whilst waiting to get some deeper roots.
What have I been reading lately?
I’m two-thirds through Charles Shaar Murray’s Shoots From The Hip, today reading about The Boomtown Rats and Guy Stevens. It’s a nostalgic read about the wonders of the music business.
I’m halfway through The Decline of the British Empire, which is an amazing read but requires extended periods of concentration that I haven’t been making enough time for recently.
I’m still in the early stages of Goodbye 20th Century, the Sonic Youth biography but I’ve been skipping that and reading plenty of comics instead, 2000AD (still 21 years behind on that!), Judge Dredd Magazine, ALL of the New 52 comics (only up to 630 of 2500 comics so far!), Volume 1 of Shadowman, Heavy Metal (still in the 1978 issues – some of them are hard going) and I want to start Lucifer and 100 Bullets when I’ve finished Shadowman, Stray Bullets too.
I also have 4 books open on my laptop that I’m dipping into every now and then.
I took this picture last weekend at Chatuchak weekend market as there were plenty of tunnels of books to explore. No pictures today.
Like Jack, I ran quickly from my dreams Eager to discover what it all means In the moment, exploring the themes Is anything at all what it seems? – Put it down on paper – To review this endless caper
I found a box and put time inside
Was it living or was it writing? It’s only myself that I’m fighting A jazz dance in the underlighting Each pair of eyes met, newly smitten Fresh fruit waiting to be bitten Another story begging to be written – Late nights spent on the town – Running home to get it down
I found a box and put time inside
And when I meet my future me I’ll open the box to look and see Words pressed, sentimental free Whether tragedy or victory – Presented here from me to you – A diary of everything I do
I found a box and put time inside
Submitted to No Theme Thursday and dVerse Meeting The Bar (bop poem) Inspired by the movie The Subterreans, based on the Jack Kerouac novel of the same name, where one of Jack’s girlfriends criticises him for always running off to go and write about the events of the night whilst he could have stayed and enjoyed more adventures. For some reason, this interaction always stuck with me. Either way, WordPress provides a box of time for our future selves.
Today I’m feeling:
Anxious this morning. I woke up well before my alarm thinking about going to Bangkok and preparing for school next week.
Starting to relax a bit as I wait for the plane as I leave control to others for an hour or so until landing again.
Today I’m grateful for:
The crazy mixed-up rail options in Bangkok for helping learn more about getting around and gauging travel times. It’s also helped me achieve 10,000 steps easily.
The best thing about today was:
Meeting old friends and new ones at the show tonight. First Nampan and Pam from SpeechOdd.
Then Team, who is a young uni student that contacted me last week trying to make connections to put together a screamo band. Later, another young guy called Poom bought some screamo from me so I introduced them to each other.
Of course, I met Arwith and his bandmates in Piri Ries.
I met Sano-san from Low Fat again and exchanged CDs.
I briefly talked with Fern who is the owner of the venue.
Nampan introduced me to the High Voltage folks.
I also met one of the guys from ADxHD (Korea) who also plays in Struggle Session (China).
Another guy came up to me and asked if I was Shaun and if I remembered him? It was Sasha from Russia! I met him about nine years ago in Kuala Lumpur when we were both staying with Kimi!
It is a little sad to think how small our world is because it feels like there are so few of us interested in this music. But it is amazing to bump into random connections anywhere in the world.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
Just my sweat. Thankfully I bought an extra pair of clothes as I was expecting this.
Something I learned today?
Coming from Don Muang, don’t get off the train at Chatuchak for Chatuchak market! Even the nearest station at Bang Sue is a fair walk.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I left some stock free of charge at Heaven and Hell. Poowanat gifted me a CD in return.
I sold some merch at a discounted price at the show and also gifted the venue the Trumans Water and Flesh Narc CDs.
I took this picture because I finally got to see SpeechOdd play.
Pretty good so far. Setting my alarm for 15 minutes earlier each morning in preparation for my return to work next week. I have a slight twinge in my left lower back from too much sitting around for the last couple of days and probably aggravated by the tree moving yesterday. I got back to exercising today too.
Today I’m grateful for:
Our pumpkin! The pumpkin that both Amy and I took care of to try and get it to a size and maturity that was edible, ended up in our spaghetti dish for lunch and it was great. Well done everyone!
The best thing about today was:
Cleaning out my inbox. It accumulates quickly and I don’t get a chance to follow up everything as I would like. I will need to get on top of this when I start working again next week. Get my priorities sorted again.
I’ve already started clearing out my YouTube Watch Later list by either watching in full or watching a little and deciding it’s not that important.
What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?
I decided to sort out a hotel room for myself for this coming Sunday in Bangkok. Nampan sent me a link to one near the venue and through Google Maps it linked to an Agoda booking where it said the cost was just 419 baht. Nice. It also said that if I downloaded the Agoda app I would get a 10% discount, so I did.
However, once downloading and going through the same process the total became something like 600 baht! So I went back to the original Agoda page and went to the checkout and the actual total was about 550 baht in the end!
Well, it’s still cheap enough. Never trust the price of anything you see online. Everything is a subtle scam.
Something I learned today?
When I got home from Utopia at around lunchtime (I was there so long cleaning out my inbox) I was happy to find that Amy had ironed all my shirts! I gave her a big kiss but it was already too hot to hug for long.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
Baipad messaged me after a few days of quiet and she mentioned that she was expecting a delivery to her house in the next couple of days but is still stuck out at her grandma’s.
I suggested that she contact a neighbour or her friend Butter to pay and collect it if and when they call, or failing that she could call me and I could sort it out for her.
I’m starting to see that she has not been raised, or pursued herself, with a mind to think about how to get things done. Perhaps she’s spoiled a bit and I think the issue between her and her mum is that her mum doesn’t see any maturity in Baipad’s behaviour and actions at home, so she continues to treat her as a child that needs taking care of.
I suggested that she show her mum who she is and what she wants in her life and her mum might start treating her differently.
It reminded me of the time I asked Hayden who he was and how much he struggled with that question. Many of us do.
Did you do something difficult or challenging today?
A couple of days ago I watched a video about a tongue exercise and I’ve been trying to do it once or twice a day. It’s simply rubbing your tongue between your teeth and lips/cheek in a circular motion, first one way and then the other, 25 times.
It sounds easy, and it’s not really difficult but I soon started to notice how useless my muscles involved in this exercise are, particularly my neck.
I will keep practising and hope that it helps a little with my neck problems.
I took this picture because Tigger was chilling on the terrace in the late afternoon, perhaps waiting for a storm that never came.
I’m pouring rainbows down on you Until your cup is filled You’ll overflow with a love so true It can never be killed All your seeds will bear fruit In fields never to be tilled Joy spread deep from the root A life spent fulfilled
Pretty good after a long sleep from the day of travelling yesterday. Should be a relaxing day ahead.
Today I’m grateful for:
Aircon. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this but today was freaking unbearable outside between 10am (when I woke up) and around 6pm. Even just going to the kitchen or bathroom was a chore. It’s going to be hotter this coming week too!
The best thing about today was:
I didn’t do much to speak of today though when the sun did finally relent I enjoyed watering the parched earth in the garden.
Something I learned today?
Charles Cunningham Boycott (12 March 1832 – 19 June 1897) was an English land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the term boycott.
Review your acts, and then for vile deeds chide yourself, for good be glad. — Discourses 3.10
I gave Art and Noey some gifts of candy that I picked up at the market in Chiang Saen yesterday.
What’s a recent realization I’ve had about myself?
I’m starting to BE old. I’m not in need of thrills or excitement so much these days.
I think I realised this when I think about travelling overseas. When I think about going somewhere with Amy I’m not so interested in planning things to do and where to go.
When I see people in places on YouTube videos I think that might be nice to go and see but I’ve just seen it pretty well. I would be taking the same photos every other traveller has taken. I feel like I may not be able to savour it deep into my soul like I might have done before. I’m much more amenable to just getting on a tour bus and letting others deal with logistics.
Having said that I’m still interested in organising a tour for a band around Southeast Asia and dealing with the stress of that, perhaps because the shows would give me the drive and inspiration I’d need.
Perhaps this is not a great realisation but has crossed my mind more recently.
Amy took this picture because this princess was enjoying our (relatively) expensive prawns yesterday.
1994ever 