This Could Be Anywhere – 10th March 2024

Child, let me take you by the hand
Angel, let me walk you home*
The future, waiting to be planned
You don’t need to walk alone

The coming is with each step
Sun rising over dusty hills
The past taught not to forget
The truth each lesson instils

Praise each day’s hidden delight
Adhere to the wisdom of the word
Now let the sunset each night
Angel, your prayers have been heard

*paraphrasing Unrest’s ‘Angel, I Will Walk You Home’. It could be argued that the first line paraphrases Ralph McTell’s Streets of London too.
Title is a line from Gallucci’s ‘You-Wrecker’.
Submitted to No Theme Thursday


Today I’m feeling:

Tired and dizzy because of an evening coffee and then many trips to the bathroom during the night along with Cap wanting to be let in and out of the bedroom a couple of times. Hopefully I don’t sleep in the cinema this afternoon!

Today I’m grateful for:

Going out to see a movie for a change.  I’m grateful that even here in North Thailand I’m not far away from a movie theatre that shows movies in English.

The best thing about today was:

Nothing stands out today in particular.  Everything has been pretty good.

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

I was expecting to leave at around 2pm today but Amy was hungry and said we will leave at 12.  Well, ok then.

My yearly subscription renewal for Quizizz was automatically deducted today which took out a much-needed 800 baht from my account.  

Not much I can do about that as I need the subscription so that I can continue teaching with this tool next semester.  

I am grateful that they didn’t put the price up which is what normally happens.

Something I learned today?

Okinawa used to be called Ryukyu up until the 1870s and was a tributary state to China before Japan invaded on a murderous conquest.

What made me laugh out loud today?

I don’t tend to laugh out loud much these days unless I’m playing with my students at school – they certainly make me laugh a lot.  In day-to-day life though I am…subdued…. Is that the correct word?

I like to think that I am more emotionally stable these days, as I’ve mentioned before, and not so affected by the ups and downs of my mood.

In today’s thoughts about the best thing about today, the whole day has been pleasant and relaxing without any real highlights and definitely no lows.  This is preferable for me these days.

Perhaps I do need to laugh more (outside of school) and be a bit more playful, maybe.

Sarah took this picture on Thursday because I wanted a photo with Apple, Baipad and Jan to remember them and Iphone snuck in on the right too.

History Now – 8th June 2023

You don’t need to worry about the future 
If you made your foundations solid today
Soon this day is done, there’s only looking back
And reflecting on how you got along this way
Say to yourself that you work and you exist
And it’s some kind of history you’re making
What’s done is done and all is set
That’s the future that you’ve been creating


Today I’m feeling:

Struggled to get up as sleep was interrupted a little by being too hot but once I settled in to exercise my body started to feel good and ready to go. My mind followed suit. I’m writing this as I’m stuck up on stage waiting for this ceremony to finish but I’m not resentful or bothered about being here. Rather than feeling like a waste of time I can read or write in relative peace. The two quick coffees I downed before getting here probably helped a lot too.

Today I’m grateful for:

Kru Karn dragging me up onto the stage for the ceremony today. Although I didn’t understand anything it was nice to watch the traditional Thai dance and the beautiful song that was sung. And then Kru Karn asked if I wanted to leave as she said she had class so I managed to escape before it got too boring. A nice way to start the morning.

The best thing about today was:

In the morning, my body feeling good after exercise and my brain feeling good after coffee. Hearing the song the children sang and chatting with Kru Karn, meeting many of my students in a slightly different setting than normal outside the classroom.
In the afternoon, enjoying dealing with my last class for the day and at least making it a little enjoyable for those that are still struggling to understand. Even the students I mildly punish left smiling. Chatting with Kru Fluke and Kru Fang and then gossiping with some of the students before enjoying the drive home listening to a podcast about Killing Joke’s first album.
In the evening, before running out of energy, I enjoyed revisiting the rest of the day.

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

When I got home around 4 pm I dashed out to go and get the fried fish from the walking street that I usually enjoy but they either weren’t there today or I was too early so I came home empty-handed and had a quick microwave spaghetti meal which wasn’t really enough so I had some pomelo and then some raisins with rice crackers. Even then I didn’t feel sated. 
Around 7 pm I suddenly ran out of energy and feel exhausted and spent. There are a few things I’d like to be doing but feel like I may have to just go to bed. I don’t feel sleepy, I kinda don’t feel anything.

Something I learned today?

I learned that some states in the USA are suing Hyundai and Kia (I think) for their cars being too easy to steal! Now those companies have to keep some hundreds of millions of dollars in reserve for possible compensation claims.  Totally ridiculous!

Where did I make progress?

I made a little progress with my Thai learning and also with my classes. A little progress with working my abs and hanging for 15 seconds a couple of times a day. This progress is slow and steady and is the best type of progress.

How has my personality changed or evolved over time?

I would say I have followed a fairly traditional evolution of personality, gaining wisdom through reflection and not being in such a hurry as in my youth. I’ve learned better control of my emotions, though that has been a long hard road to navigate.

I took this picture because today is ‘respect the teachers’ day and although I was going to skip out I ended up getting dragged up on stage with everyone. I watched the beautiful dance but better still was a choir who sang a really nice Thai song. It made me think about learning some Thai songs to help with language learning.