Tag: Nut

When You Are Ready – 30th January 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 5 Comments

I will always hold you up on high
I will be your rock until I die
When you are ready I will never ask you why

I will walk through this field of dreams
I will remind you all is never as it seems
When you are ready you’ll know what it means

I will give you all the love I can give
I will show you how I learned to live
When you are ready you’ll know who to do it with

You will know there’s much to learn
You will teach them respect to earn
When they are ready – it’s their turn

Submitted to #WDYS

Today I’m feeling:

A little bit slow again but I was able to take it pretty easy with my classes today.  I was still tired and hungry by the end of the work day though.

Today I’m grateful for:

The last bagel in the freezer that I ate for dinner.  Thanks, Nut!  It’s probably been in the freezer for more that six months already but, well, that’s what freezers are for, right!?

The best thing about today was:

Finding out that next week is Scout Week again.  I initially cheered when David told me but then he reminded me that last year we ended up doing some silly useless tasks (that I decided to enjoy at the time). 

Either way – it’s a whole week out of the classroom (again!)

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

Amy called while I was at House saying that she would stay in the city as the new owners of the apartments that Mum sold were having a housewarming party.  The plan was for me to pick her up after I finished work, we go home and then I bring her back to get the truck in the morning. 

When I got there though Amy was still happily drinking and talking whilst I was tired and hungry and itching to get home.  I stayed for a while but when Aun came back from work she offered to bring Amy home later and I quickly agreed that that was a good idea even though I would have to find my own food. 

Of course, I could’ve just come straight home after work but I tried not to think about that.

Something I learned today?

Whilst watching Jerry Grey talking about the possibility of war between China and the USA he brought up a point that makes some sense, about who would fight for the USA in a conventional war. 

This got me wondering about the fact that so many Americans are in debt and many are also homeless.  Is this being done on purpose so that when a serious war might arise the military will be able to easily incentivise joining up as a way for citizens to get back into the black? 

Could they be that cynical or is it my own cynical streak coming through?

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

With writing up old things into this blog I’ve been talking online a little more often with Rich Levine and will also drop an email to Rob again at some point.  He still doesn’t use much of this new-fangled technological stuff and only has email.

I did wait fairly patiently for Amy this afternoon.  Was it a vile deed to leave when it became convenient?  Perhaps, but hunger and tiredness can do that to a man.

My student Nudee stayed back in class after everyone had left and I saw that she was doing some of her own self study with a Kumon workbook.  It looked like a very useful study aid for her and she said she has been using them for about three years to improve herself.  Later she sent me a message that she had received a certificate from them for being in the top 5% of around 3000 students in Thailand.  She was ecstatic and I told her I was proud of her too.

25 THINGS ABOUT LIFE I WISH I HAD KNOWN 10 YEARS AGO – 9. Take More Risks. Don’t be such a wimp.

I think this one would be more appropriate for me ten years ago than today.  Though ten years ago I was still big into risks – such as moving to a non-English speaking country to live.  These days I’m not so big on the risk taking. 

As the body’s inevitable decline edges ever closer I’m not so keen on taking physical risks though I suppose I might get further beyond that at some point and just think ‘fuck it’ such as sky diving when I’m 90 or something. 

I suppose I still take some risks with money as I’m still investing in releasing records that I’m not certain I can sell.  Those are low-level financial risks balanced by spiritual rewards.  I’m not going to sink all my money into trying to make a business out of it now. 

Amy is still considering the risk of opening a restaurant in Australia which would easily see us use up all our money and probably go into debt.  I’m not so keen on this idea though I will happily support her because I think she could do it well.  Whatever happened financially though, the stress levels of pursuing that dream might be enough to make me very unhappy.  My mindset would probably change though once this plan was executed. 

I guess I’m just happy with my life where it is right now and thinking that I would miss this.  Once getting into the maelstrom of something though my survival instincts would likely kick in.

I took these pictures on Sunday because this is where I drove to so that Amy’s mum and dad could leave gifts and give thanks because they had come here before to ask for good luck to sell the apartments and within a month they had sold. I don’t know the reason that they came here or even why these monuments are located here, directly opposite a T-junction.

The Primal Egg – 25th January 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

When you are walking towards your maker
Be prepared with the biggest machine gun
Point it right between their eyes
And ask them first, ‘What have I done?’

Ask your questions, demanding proof
Let there be no pulling of the leg
Your maker may only pronounce the truth
‘What came first, the chicken or the egg?’

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good but a little tired despite sleeping quite well. 

I can feel my muscles aching from the exercising that I’ve been doing.  Not just aching but feels like them splitting and dividing under my skin.  It’s a tolerable pain that indicates growth, at least to my monkey brain.  It doesn’t feel like an injury though my right shoulder is still definitely injured.  I need to find some exercises where I can still use my arms and chest without injuring the shoulder further.  I adapted my normal arms workout this morning to compensate and that went ok.

Today I’m grateful for:

Bronwyn sending me some old photos of me, my mum and my dad.  These are pictures that my mum had and I had seen from time to time in my youth. 

They were passed onto Bronwyn to leave for Hayden in the future but I’m glad to see them again. 

I also found out that there was a book that my mum wrote quotes and poetry in and I’m interested to see that at some point.

The best thing about today was:

Teaching the new grade 10 class and describing what would happen in real life if they failed to do the work that they are employed to do, just as some students did last week for my class work when I wasn’t there and assigned them something to do in my absence. 

I described our classroom as the place of employment, myself as the boss and them as the employees.  I showed them on the board that I was promoting some of my employees and demoting others and that in our classroom this would be indicated by grades. 

Everyone started at grade 2 (in the middle) but the students who did my work are now at grade 3 whilst those that didn’t are now at grade 1.  This certainly got everyone’s attention.  I told them that in a real-life work situation, they would likely no longer have a job!

I really enjoyed explaining this and I could see the satisfaction on the newly promoted students faces.  All they had to do was what was asked and they’ve been rewarded.  I feel like there was some real learning happening and it made me happy to see.  I kept the mood light throughout all this but they understood the ramifications of their actions.

In the second act of synchronicity for the day, I read this in an online newsletter and messaged the class to discuss its meaning:

“’I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday’”

Even writing this is making me feel somewhat smug! Haha.

Something I learned today?

There’s an ant species that’s unique to New York City, known as the ManhattAnt.

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

I’ve been trying to get Baipad to describe her own personality to me because she described her cousin’s personality as similar to her own but she could only answer with ‘you already know.’  I tried to explain that we see ourselves differently from how others see us. 

This morning I sat down with her and Jan, with Apple sitting opposite and I said, ‘Come on, let’s play a game.  Here’s a list of adjectives, pick ten that describe Apple and we had fun doing that for ten minutes.  As I left I told them that tomorrow we will do the same for Jan.  And at the weekend I will ask Baipad again to see if she can answer for herself.

I sat with one of my poor grade 7 students (Nut) in class this morning and helped her a lot with trying to understand the text we were reading and how to answer the questions.  Some days she is ok to accept my help and today was one of those.  When I went to help others she pulled me back to finishing helping her first.  I was glad to see this and I think she was glad of my help.  She will never be a great English speaker but she is doing all that I ask of her.

I sent a message to JubJib reminding her that perfection is a myth.  She happily admits to requiring perfection from herself.

What do I need to embrace about myself?

I’ve become more accepting of my own foibles as I’ve aged.  As a sign of maturity, I don’t tend to do things that I wish I hadn’t any more.  I’m equating embracing and acceptance here but they feel quite comparable at this age.  I am happy with myself and understand myself very well.  I know my weaknesses and attempt to improve them slowly without punishing myself.

Where do I hope to be one year from now?

This is an interesting question for me this time as I feel a little in limbo.  I am very happy where I am but also considering where do I go from here?

I could quite comfortably maintain my life the way it is.  I have no real goals to aim for these days, just continuous improvement.  This feels possible due to stability and not having to deal with other stresses that come with the pursuit of new things.

In this way, I’m quite happy to defer to Amy’s ideas about what she wants in the future.  That may be a big shock when it comes time for action though, this I know.

Should I have a specific goal for this coming year?  I don’t feel particularly ambitious.

25 THINGS ABOUT LIFE I WISH I HAD KNOWN 10 YEARS AGO – 5. Exercise Daily. I didn’t get this until recently. A healthy body is where you have to start everything in life. If you can’t build a healthy and strong body, what CAN you build in life?

I was quite athletic as a child, particularly loving football but once I discovered booze and cigarettes that all slowly went downhill.

Since finally being mostly free of those vices I have started exercising and by doing it first thing in the morning I’ve been able to slowly introduce and lengthen the time spent doing it as I also slowly started to feel the benefits.

Previously I would consistently make the mistake of overdoing the exercise when I would feel the need to get back into it.  It’s a mistake probably 80% of us make.

But as I was reading more about developing habits and starting small and as I’ve been teaching my kids about doing things little by little, that idea has slowly slipped into my own brain to find a better way.

Perhaps when I was younger I didn’t want to admit that I was aging.  As it took many years to develop this beer belly I’ve accepted that it will take many years to lose it too.

Again, as synchronicity goes, I also just read this:

“The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.” – Charles Duhigg

I took this picture last week because I was fascinated by the symmetry of this freshly sprouted pineapple. No new pictures today.

The Teller And The Told – 8th January 2024

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 1 Comment

The movement of air was released
As it passed through shaking lips
The ears were moved by the vibrations
But the brain only received some drips

Over again these actions repeated
And therefore nothing was learned
Forever frustrated, the teller and the told
And so it will be, no respect earned

11th Dec 2025 – Shared with Esther Chilton’s prompt #94 – respect

Today I’m feeling:

Ready to go, ready to do, ready to be.  Struggled through the new abs exercises but didn’t feel quite as much aching around the sides this time.  Back to some arm work tomorrow even though my shoulder isn’t quite yet 100 percent.

Today I’m grateful for:

The dental clinic because I had to change my appointment since I’m now teaching an extra class on Thursday.

The best thing about today was:

Watching my second lot of grade 8s making well-wishing cards and Poppy going out into the playground and giving the card to her crush.  

Then after that, Nicha and Tonkla gave each other cards in what could finally see them become closer.  Nicha has been crushing on Tonkla for a couple of months already.

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

Creme brought two kittens in to school today.  They are just two days old and their mum has disappeared.  She has to feed them goats milk every two hours.  

Is that good for them? I don’t know.  I don’t know if they will make it.  

Too many cats here and not enough responsible owners.  Everyone loves cats but they don’t want to or can’t afford to pay for them properly.

Something I learned today?

Arsenal are out of the FA Cup, Manchester City beat Huddersfield 5-0 and Israel has already spent 60 billion dollars on its genocide of Palestinians.

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

I sent messages to Nicha and Poppy telling them I was proud of their bravery today.

I encouraged and supported Nut and Namsai when I could see them understanding the work I gave them today.

Are these good deeds?  They feel like just the deeds of a teacher. It’s good to note them for myself I guess so that I am reminded of them in the future.

Write about a time when you laughed uncontrollably.

There is a joke, a basic form of which is below, that I used to love to tell when I was maybe 13 or 14 years old.  You can see from the text that the joke is not very long but with a bit of practice you can make it last as long as you like.  

I don’t know where I originally heard the joke but it got a good laugh when I first told it and then, when others had joined, I was asked to tell it again and soon it became a request and even though everyone knew the punchline, which is hilarious because it isn’t even that funny, the laughter was in the telling.  

At some point in one telling of the joke it took so long to tell because everyone was rolling around the room in tears of laughter, including myself.  I reckon it took about an hour.  I felt that that was the ultimate telling and haven’t thought about that joke for a long time.  

As I didn’t remember where I’d heard the joke I wondered if it was even a joke that might be popular and searchable online but sure enough I found it.  

I doubt it will draw much laughter now, unless you are 13 or 14 years old perhaps.

Three scientists were one day discussing what would happen if they rammed a cork up an elephant’s backside and force fed it for 2 weeks. But because the experiment had never been documented and the idea was hard to comprehend they decided to have a go. A week after the experiment had started they began to realize WHY the idea had never been tried, they were stuck for someone to pull the cork out.

One of the scientists came up with the bright idea of training a monkey to do the job, so they spent the next week training it to pull out corks once a buzzer had rung, then push it back in for another go. The big day arrived, they set up all the monitoring equipment and set out to a safe distance.

The first scientist went 1 mile away, the second went 2 miles away and the third went 3 miles. When they were all ready the first scientist pushed the button to sound the buzzer.

BBBAAANNNGGG!

The third scientist (3 miles away) was up to his ankles in shit, the second (2 miles away) was up to his knees and the first (1 mile away) was up to his waist. When the others joined the scientist who was 1 mile away they noticed that he was in fits of laughter.

“What the %$*& is so funny?” asked one of the scientists.

“You should have seen the monkey’s face trying to get the cork back in!!!”

For FutureMe

I took this picture because Earn was happy and dancing today. Her happiness often depends on the interest of boys and she confided something I didn’t quite follow but included the sentence ‘he’s come back’. I’m trying to encourage her to love herself more.

Looking Up – 24th December 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The little girl stares at my dress
Telling me about my pretty hair
Wide-eyed at the new world
The little girl is just me, sitting there

She holds my heart in her hands
As we both are looking up above
Wondering what all the futures hold
For the mystical creatures we will love

Today I’m feeling:

Exhausted still and a little uninspired.  Bruno and Nut will come for a Christmas dinner later, hopefully I perk up a little before that.  I’ve not been sleeping that well due to sore shoulders, maybe from lying down too much!

Today I’m grateful for:

All the work Amy did throughout the day to prepare a great meal for dinner this evening.

The best thing about today was:

Finding Tigger curled up in a plant pot, which still had soil in it.  He was grumpy because yesterday I shampooed his head again and this morning I sprayed on some medicine to help clean up his wounds.  He almost always takes himself off to get himself dirty again after I try to clean him up.

At the same time, Cap had somehow managed to open the door to the spare room and was curled up happily on the bed.  Hopefully he hasn’t peed on it.

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

Amy got upset at me in front of Bruno and Nut when I said I didn’t want any mussels yet as I was filling up on everything else.  She took it as an affront to her cooking skills but that was not my intention. 

There was nothing much I could do except sit there and take her sour words towards me which miffed me a bit as I was enjoying everything otherwise.  I feel like she chose to take my words the wrong way and make something out of nothing.  That’s not something I can control. 

Eventually she lightened up again but still threw barbs every now and then.  I’ll not get bothered by it as it happens occasionally and usually when Amy is drinking happily and suddenly something I say or do sets it off.  I can’t predict it at all. 

Since I don’t drink much anymore it’s just something I need to try and be more aware of in the future.  My default is to be silent but that is not really a good ongoing strategy for communication between us.

Something I learned today?

New clothes are being developed that can regulate temperatures powered by flexible solar panels built into the fabric.

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

I bought some cheap drawing pads for Baipad today but rather than just giving them to her, contacted her friends Jan and Apple, and will give them the books, asking to add a Christmas message and once they’ve done that, to gift them to Baipad.

I helped Amy in the garden when requested and kept out of her way in the kitchen whilst she prepared food for our meal this evening.

I took this picture to try and capture the bubbles in this champagne glass, viewed from above.

Titanic Struggle – 13th December 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 13 Comments

All adrift, clinging to a plank
An act of violence ruptured
The bottom of the boat that sank

All hopeless, no help in icy waters
The push-and-pull unstructured
The cruel winds of heaven tortures

All alone, no kindness heard
Can the heart be healed?
Returned by the comforting word

All afire, broken and impermanent
The future one day revealed
When feet planted on new firmament

dVerse challenge

1st Jun 2024 – Submitted to the Ragtag Daily Prompt

Today I’m feeling:

Very good. I pushed through exercise and felt good for it. At school, I comforted ****** as best I could and asked Jan to keep me updated. I feel a little hopeless about helping her and I can imagine she feels even more so.

Today I’m grateful for:

Nut’s Auntie and uncle who came and cleaned up lots of little details around our garden, in particular, pulling the weeds out from the driveway where our purple grass grows.

The best thing about today was:

Hearing from my grade 10 students that the reason that they wanted me to teach them next year is that they feel relaxed in my class and find it fun and more enjoyable than with Thai teachers. I have to wonder what some of their other classes are actually like.

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

On arriving home Amy was cleaning Bruno’s high-pressure hose (and seemed to be in a bad mood) and told me he wanted it back. 

I was doubtful about this as he had said to keep it as long as I needed and I still have a few places I’d like to clean up. 

I was also informed that I would have to drive Nut’s Auntie and uncle back to Bruno’s after they had finished which would be soon. 

I didn’t say anything, I hadn’t even got the shopping inside yet. I just accepted my fate and took a quick shower by which time they were ready to go. 

Of course, once we got there, Bruno was surprised to get his machine back already as he knew I hadn’t finished with it, and said to take it back. I hushed him and told him not to worry about it, as it already revealed Amy’s little white lie and I made no complaint. Amy seemed to be in a better mood by then, so all was good as we drove back home again.

Something I learned today?

It has only ever snowed two times in the Sahara. How’s that for some relatively useless information.

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

Once again offering support to my students struggling with mental health issues.

I took this picture on Sunday morning because this was the same mountain that we were at the top of the afternoon before, rising out of the cool morning mist.

490 Sins – 30th November 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

A sermon for every sin
A sin for every hour
And all the dreams later
Wishes to enter this tower

Just one more sin, one more sin
This sermon the last
Begging to be let in
From the long nights past

inspired by Chapter 4(?) of Wuthering Heights

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty good in the morning and Amy and I had a nice lunch at Nut and Bruno’s. We came back and had a nap but I felt not quite right after that and now I just feel like doing nothing. I’m in bed at 6.30 already.

Today I’m grateful for:

My grade 7 student messaging me saying that he wants to talk about his mental health problems. I will meet him tomorrow. I’m glad he is self-aware enough to reach out.

The best thing about today was:

My grade 8 students coming to help or just watch my grade 7s with their reading.

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

Run out of enthusiasm and my stomach is feeling a little wobbly. Hope to sleep early tonight.

I took this picture because I was surprised to see this reference to the Sex Pistols Bill Grundy interview on a student’s jumper! No one had really looked at it until I pointed it but when they did they knew that fuck was a bad word.

Tabula Rasa – 24th November 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Born empty, yet complete
A whole thing of being
A clean slate to begin
Eyes open for the seeing
Entropy now underway
Holes puncture the slate
Until the whole is empty
No longer able to create

5th Jun 2024 – Submitted to FOWC with Fandango

Today I’m feeling:

Pretty reasonable, though exercise was a bit of a struggle this morning. Just a tiny tickly dry cough left and there’s little pain from the tooth extraction but just a little bit of a weird feeling in my mouth.

Today I’m grateful for:

A kind of family dinner at Amy’s folk’s house. I ate as soon as I arrived after school as I had only had a few spoonfuls of yoghurt in the morning. Amy rode out to get me some fish congee which was what the dentist suggested for a couple of days whilst the hole in my gum heals. Everyone else was running around preparing food and then ate outside but I ran inside because of the hundreds of busy mosquitoes.

The best thing about today was:

It seems more common these days to not have anything stand out in particular but just to be generally having a good day all day. This is reflective of a more positive and healthy attitude all round.

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

In my last class one of my students advised me that everyone had to be out of the building by 4.30 because the pest control people were coming to spray. 

I don’t know why it is that we have to wait for our students to inform us of what is going on in the school but I’ve gotten used to it by now. 

Something I learned today?

Sadly Kru Fang will leave our school on Monday which is such a shame as she has been the most helpful and friendly teacher of all in our building. I like her a lot. Nothing stays the same.

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

Despite feeling tired during the day I was still happy to accept Amy’s message that we would eat at her parent’s for dinner.

Arriving after finishing school, Amy directed me to walk Leo and though I was hoping to relax for a minute I got over it quickly and let Leo pull me along as he snuffled in any interesting pile of leaves and dirt that he came across. He gives few clues about what is going on his head.

After finishing dinner I was keen to get home but Amy needed some baking ingredient that we needed to go back into the city for. I took it in my stride, even after the first shop we tried being closed and the second shop not having any stock and rushing to the third shop before it closed where finally she got it. I was satisfied with a nice soft cake that I found at the second stop and I think that kept me going.

I sent congratulations to Funfai for more medal-winning tennis and get-wells to Nut, Lin and Baipad.

I sent supportive messages to Aum and Ice because I saw them both enjoying my class of tongue twisters and helping other students.

I managed to go another day without taking a picture. I guess I had opportunities here and there but I did spend a lot of time either in class or in House and distracted with other things like reading or studying Thai.

I feel a little like I’m accustomed now to my environment here in Thailand. It’s not as novel as it once was though I do still appreciate what is around me. I need to get on my bike again soon and go exploring.

Red Wine – 4th October 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Though I am
I used to be
Never felt strange
But do agree

a simple man
a different me
accepting change
that I must be

Today I’m feeling:

Tired but happy and positive. I got another couple of lessons completed this morning and happy with how they turned out. I’d hoped to get to Daytripper to do more but after a quick shop, I got home all sweaty and jumped into the shower and didn’t feel like putting clothes on to venture outside again.

Today I’m grateful for:

The lack of traffic in the morning meant I didn’t need to rush too much to clock in at school.

The best thing about today was:

See the attached picture.

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

I gave in to nap time though I think it was only for about forty minutes. I listened to the Jazzcore podcast so it was a pretty wild aural assault into my dreams. I woke up drooling.

Something I learned today?

Funfai messaged me to say she saw me at school this morning and when I asked her why she was there she said she was playing tennis again. She said she will go again on Friday so I will pack some clothes and perhaps have a chance to have a hit with her too.

What are my top priorities for the day?

Now I’m at the end of the day but I know the main priority was having organised to meet my old students and treat them to lunch. As they were also Bruno’s old students I thought it would be a nice surprise for all of them to catch up. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be difficult for the kids and if they would flake out but they made it and also in good time.

Quote: Humility cannot exist without love, and love cannot exist without humility – Saint Theresa of Avila

I always subscribed to the notion that you must love yourself before you can let be anyone else (though it took me about 40 years to actually put it into practice). Once you’ve understood how to love yourself you learn to put others first and you no longer need to seek their approval or play any kind of game with them. You can be humble before them.

Nut took this picture because I had planned a surprise for Bruno and our old students, Porpieng, Momo and Baitong to catch up together today. It’s been six months since I saw Popo and BT as they switched schools and I rarely see Momo as she switched to the Japanese program. For Bruno, he hasn’t seen them for more than five years! I’d tried organising them meeting a few times before but it never worked out. I think everyone was happily surprised to see each other again.

Last Library Lost – 30th July 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 10 Comments

High on the dusty fumes
Amongst friends old and new
Above us, a high ceiling looms
And a door beckons us through

There are tiny beautiful things
Collected to devour
High above, a princess sings
With such emotional power

Such candies of peace and war
Looking for old times lost
Not knowing what to look for
Or worrying about the cost

Along creaky floorboards and stairs
The world can be travelled at home
There’s nothing else that compares
To reading in one’s own comfort alone

Cries for love in poetic rhyme
Tears for another’s book burning
Forever backwards travelling time
A whole world ready for learning

17th Jul 2024 – Submitted to Word of the Day Challenge
25th Sep 2024 – Submitted to Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Poetic

Today I’m feeling:

Undecided. Still a little weary and the skies are dull and grey again though at least there is rain to make the pleasure of staying inside more appealing.

After lunch of Amy’s homemade lasagna, it’s difficult to stay awake and I thought I could play guitar but Amy has gone for a lay down so I’m struggling through. It seems to have gotten darker throughout the day somehow, the mountains drenched in dark most, as the farmer backs and forths through the watery paddy.

Today I’m grateful for:

The wind, our fans and the humidity. Despite it raining today and as it was forecast for the whole week I decided to wash my bedsheets, hang them on the terrace and shove the fan on them. Tonight I’m back in the big bedroom with clean sheets and another fan. Amy is out with Nut tonight and if she comes back late and drunk she can possibly not disturb me if I’m already sleeping.

Amy invited Bee to go with them but never got any reply before she left. Bee had commented on a photo that Amy shared of us all out at dinner, ‘miss you so much’ etc. but we know that she won’t be allowed out by herself by George.

Who knows, maybe she did get out in the end. But I doubt it.

The best thing about today was:

Watching Sydney hang on against the Bombers in the AFL. We have a slim shot of making finals still this year though to be honest we probably don’t deserve it.

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

Just as I’ve been sitting here writing this Cap came in and pissed on Amy’s bed. A big one, FFS! Just as everything was starting to smell nice… 

I took the wet sheets and pillow and dumped them outside on the terrace then soaked up as much pee as I could before throwing a bottle of baby powder over the whole bed.

Something I learned today?

My OG student Momo messaged me today asking me what question to ask someone to find out what kind of person they are? Cute! She’s switched to the Japanese program this year but from what I understand her pertaining to, she is online chatting with an Italian guy using English. 

Quite amazing how far we’ve come from pen pals writing letters every couple of months to just being able to immediately connect with someone face-to-face on the phone.

Momo is a very intelligent and cute girl. She can snag a handsome Italian!

What is my favourite photo of the past month?

Oddly, it’s this one. I took four photos of these flowers which hang on big trees. None of the pictures were good but I zoomed in and cut the picture down to just this and it has something about it. The image has stuck with me.

I took this picture because these pretty dragon fruit flowers only look good for a day but they are big and cake-like fluffy. Still no fruit.

The Super-Tramp – 22nd July 2023

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Wisdom, so obvious once read
It makes so much sense
Several times heard it said
Forgotten to one’s expense

Cliches are cliches because
Experiences made them true
Turn what one’s thinking of
Into something one can do

Travel along the world in wonder
It’s there for all to see
Love the skies one’s living under
Being as one should be

inspired by an article about W.H. Davies

Today I’m feeling:

Woke up before my alarm with a sore neck but feeling set to go. We went to the city and ran around from here to there as Amy thought about what to buy next and we both got hungry and grumpy by about 11, in search of food we could agree to eat together. I ended up with a small satisfying fish burger from a stall near Sammakhi school, and Amy, krapao from another stall. Crisis averted.

Today I’m grateful for:

The gloves I bought a couple of months ago for use in the garden as today I could quickly pull out the grass growing around the ‘accidental’ cactuses growing in our concrete pot. Easy. Nearly all our concrete pots have things accidentally growing in them. Just things we throw out from the kitchen and one day sprout again.

The best thing about today was:

A big dinner with Nut and Bruno this evening. I was getting tired but then I realised that we’d been eating and talking for three hours already. Three pretty cats came scrounging for food, two heavily pregnant, one of them tiny and no more than six months old itself.

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

When Amy saw me pulling grass and weeds up around the garden she suddenly decided that I could help her move some things for her home dinner party tomorrow. My plan was to go and play some guitar. Never mind. Amy wanted the sofa from Kim’s room moved into the classroom. I didn’t like being in Kim’s room again and have avoided it since April. We need to get everything out from there that reminds me of Kim. At the time, and even now, I feel on the verge of tears. It’s getting better and easier every day but it still cuts.

Something I learned today?

As mentioned above I found a shop where I can buy a cheap easy fish burger in the city in the future if I so desire.

I took this picture because our old boy is still cute and despite looking wise, we know different.