Tag: Word of the Day Challenge

Sacred Solitude – 29th January 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

I must nourish myself to face the world
I’m always on the way to my home
I’m happy to have myself as my best friend
I’m never lonely when I’m alone

6th Mar 2024 – Submitted to Moonwashed Musings
11th Sep 2024 – Submitted to Word of the Day Challenge

All it takes to get better at something is first a willingness to be bad.

Austin Kleon

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to all the people, technology and coordination that enable Amy to fly from here to Australia this weekend. It is not that long ago that this would be difficult to imagine.

I’m at home now, alone. Amy will be in the air on the way to Bangkok. The first hour at home. Have rearranged the living room and bedroom furniture a little as I will exercise in the bedroom in the morning now. Save a minute of time as I figure out a new routine for the working week.

It feels weird to have some freedom, or almost complete freedom (except for financial). Have I gotten used to the pseudo-authoritarianism of a loving relationship? Of course, whilst I’m free to do whatever I like, I will not do anything that would damage my and Amy’s relationship.

After saying goodbye at the airport, I dropped by Big C and bought some pomelo and had forgotten that there’s a B2S there and so splashed out on two new pens to replace those that ran out or broke last week. An 80 baht extravagance. I have to get carfeul with money. I’m already running coffee credit at House and Utopia until I get paid again. Need petrol for the bike and the car. It’s a test.

25th Feb 2026 – 4 years and a month later, I’m still running credit at House and Utopia – though not the same one. I do pay it off every month.

Not Wank – 23rd January 2022

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Wank, wank, wank, wank, wank
I’m not voting for you
‘Not wank’ gets my vote
My ballot paper is true

Inspired by this true election story
5th Nov 2024 – Shared with Word of the Day Challenge – ballot

People aren’t looking for something to read – they’re looking for something they can share with their friends to make it seem like they really care about what’s happening in the world around them.

Nathaniel Malt

Gratitude Journal

I’m so happy and grateful for our grass-cutting machine which destroys our long grass and my small plants when I’m not careful! If I do a little cutting each day/week, then I can save money on getting a gardener to do it.

15th Aug 2023 – I have become lazy and just let the gardener do it unless it is really out of control and they can’t come for a few days. I’ll cut for about 20 minutes and then give up exhausted!

Amy and I went for a great meal last night at a new Japanese izakaya near the clock tower. The food was yummy, though it made me wish to go to Japan again. I drank a bottle of expensive sake, which had me dizzy after almost the first sip.

When I weighed myself this morning, I was 1.3kg up on yesterday! Back to exercise in the morning again tomorrow!

Trying to push the chattering thoughts about what was said to me on Friday out of my head as I try to defend myself internally from harm. Not easy to submit and let go. I liken George to a fire – warm and comforting yet easy to get burned if you get too close. I wonder about his being Lebanese, which he is always keen to hide, about being raised Christian yet unable to forgive or even understand others, and wonder about being from the Middle East and why it is so fucked up there.

And ultimately wonder about my own prejudices and faults. They are the only things I can change. The only things I can try and change. Stop killing myself.

In The RV – 21st December 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

The power’s gone out
And there’s snow on the roof
So begins the test
If you are living in truth
There’s no heat now
Time for another sweater
“The sacrifices are severe
But the rewards are even better”

Inspired and quoted by interviews with Christmas tree sellers in New York at the Cafe Anne newsletter
11th Nov 2024 – Shared with Word of the Day Challenge – sweater

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to see the almost full moon on one side of the sky this morning, followed by a red sun rising over the mountains on the other side of the sky.

I didn’t sleep well on the 19th (Fui told me there was an earthquake and that may have woken me up.) and skipped school, not that I would’ve had much to do anyway with kids at home. Still, a couple of them sent me their work, which made me happy.

I spent most of the day reading comics in bed, which was excellent!

In the afternoon, I dropped over to Bruno’s and we went off for a good walk that took me over 10,000 steps for the day and I felt pretty good after that. I unloaded a lot of complaining on Bruno. He knows and understands the kind of things I’m going through with school. He listened sympathetically whilst we took a trip around the hilltop village near where Laetitia used to live.

I would like to do more walking, especially in these cooler days but my dodgy feet are holding me back. I should go and get them checked out at the hospital – see if the insurance gives me any cover for that.

25th Sep 2025 – I still haven’t done this!

I was pretty down at the weekend. Post alcohol malaise, I think, and I’m a little worried about when Amy is not here. She helps keep me steady and motivated at times like these.

I’m sitting in House at the moment and feeling a little anxiety as there are many things I want to do and I feel like I’m rushing things. Not teaching the kids online (and just assigning work to complete) has definitely made me busier as I spend more time following up on them. Oh well, I feel like I’m doing the right thing. Time to make calls for my next class.

Naked Cowboys – 4th November 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Two naked cowboys dangling their dicks
Deadset on destruction with their bag of tricks
The smartest of the bunch wandering the hills
Who can piss the highest, counting their kills

Sing it to the mountains
Sing it in the squares
The naked cowboy fucked it all
And pretends he really cares

Inspired by the picture and the American Military-Industrial Complex.
Shared to Word of the Day Challenge – naked

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that yesterday I was able to spend time preparing work in the cafe and get out of school for the afternoon.

A very nice day again. There was a big storm in the morning as I drove to work and traffic was bad around school and as usual, the car park and entrance was flooding, so everyone was stepping carefully.

I clocked in and dropped my things and ‘dashed’ down to House for a couple of coffees. Stuck in traffic, I calmed myself, knowing that I could spend this extra time listening to podcasts. I still had half an hour before class was due to start and the baristas were late to arrive but I was still calm and it gave me extra time to pet Tokyo anyway.

I made it back to school with enough time to spare to collect a speaker I needed for a listening exercise for my first class and got there to happy children, in both my class, and the one next door, where many of the kids know me from teaching them in primary.

Classes all morning were successful and my experiment with 2/9 seems to be OK so far, delegating a little of the responsibilities to group leaders. As they have chosen subjects and given me texts/websites to work with, I now am under pressure to put together lessons and classes in time for them. But I can feel, as I read through, that I have ideas about what they can do and what kind of work I can create for them.

Scoffed some lunch and went off to pick up Bruno. Took him to 22 Grams as he hadn’t been there before and we sat and chatted together as well as with Donut. I savoured my coffees and my time this afternoon and, after dropping Bruno home, had an hour to kill back at school in the teacher’s room, so read a few things and ended up working on 2/9 lessons.

I’ve really enjoyed the day and feel powered by the energy of my students and friends and that can override any negative thoughts I still might have in my head. I can acknowledge them and let them float away. I’m excited enough about all the things I still want to do for myself.

Remembered – 18th August 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

Dull light, half awake, in lucid dreams
Words arose to poem make, remembered as
‘An intimate melody to my ears reached
Through downy feathers, softened so
Was the tune of my fucking alarm clock!’

26th Aug 2024 – Submitted to Word of the Day Challenge – remember

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to all the people who help keep our electricity supply constant. It is something I had always taken for granted but now that I live in a place where it can be unstable I must remember all those who made it happen and continue to make it happen.

Struggling to savour, I notice. Maybe forgetting how good everything is, or the constant good feeling I seem to have these days, is becoming too normal.

Spent a lazy morning filling in the visa forms and reading, while drinking coffee. Arranged for my morning class to do work ahead of time so that they could skip my class if they wished, which freed me up!

Re-connected with Big Tom, who is still living in Adelaide, though no longer working at DXC – made redundant due to offshoring. Good to chat with him even if only through Twitter messages.

Trying to nail Scarborough Fair on guitar so I can complete the level in Yousician is driving me crazy and torturing my fingers. But never give up! It’s cool to think that by moving some fingers on some strings that nice sounds can emanate.

Looking forward to more Louis XIV tonight and comparing it to our current situation in Thailand. Also, reading about being a ‘good’ Dad and considering how I have lived my life has affected Hayden. He is struggling with addiction and depression, and I can’t help but consider my role in that. He is going to have a difficult time ahead.

Second Chance – 1st August 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ 2 Comments

Give me my life to live all over again
To make the same mistakes, to suffer pain
To break my heart into a thousand pieces
Or could I iron out all those nasty creases?

Do things better this second time around
See the wisdom quicker that I found
Grow up or blow up, find the balance
Realise sooner all my hidden talents

Inevitably I would end up the same
Wishing for another chance again
Got to live now because this is all I get
Walking towards something to discover yet

27th Sep 2024 – Shared to Word of the Day Challenge – second

Weight: 77.4kg

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for this pizza Amy made today. For the workers who made the tortilla, the cheese, the Earth for its avocado and the salmon that gave its life for me to eat it.

We brought Tigger back from the vet today. His blood is still not right but they want him to come home where he’s more comfortable. He looks pretty sorry for himself and Amy and I are both worried for him.

Something these days doesn’t feel right. The situation here is weird at the moment and it feels like everything is on hold so it’s hard to feel too relaxed. Part of it is just being fed up with the situation but also, even just thinking about going back to Australia, even in ten years’ time, is already on my mind. It’s like I can’t enjoy it here anymore because I know I will have to leave.

I know everything in life is like this. Perhaps this is why I am not content. I need to get my mind back to enjoying what I can because I can’t change the way things are.

Hit The Reward – 23rd July 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Hit the dog, hit him hard, make him pay
That’s the lesson every dogging day
Hit the boy, hit him hard, he never learns
The lesson for him is that anger burns

Hit the bottle, hit it hard, that’s your sword
But understanding is based around reward
Hit the road, hit it hard, there’s no return
You lost them all, none shall learn

1st Jun 2024 – Submitted to Word of the Day Challenge

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for 20 minutes of extra sleep this morning. Usually, I’m awake before my alarm but not today. After resetting it for an extra 20 minutes I went straight back into deep sleep.

I talked with Hayden briefly yesterday. He sounds pretty down with life – not articulating it into words but just in his tone and choice of words. He had nothing to say really as he hasn’t been doing anything except playing video games for the last two months.

Bronwyn is staying at his place in Newcastle at the moment, actually, her house, where I’m guessing he is living rent-free. He says he’s annoyed with her because she doesn’t give him enough space. When I asked him ‘space to do what?’ he just answered ‘space to be himself’. I translate this as ‘space to do nothing.’ Being 25 years old already it shocks me how little he can do for himself.

Bronwyn is a control freak and does everything for him because she can see that every time he tries to do something and fails, he just gives up. Now it seems like he doesn’t even want to try.

I’ve been telling her for several years to cut him off (financially) and let him fend for himself but she can’t bring herself to do it. And now it is super easy to get caught in online loan shark debt too. That boy is going to fall hard one day and I blame myself as much as anyone.

Working By Yourself In Teams – 15th July 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes things don’t go right
The first time of trying
But to carry on without fixing it
Makes me feel like crying

Wasting time doing double work
Instead of finding a solution
Our so-called green administration
Contributes even more pollution

29th Apr 2024 – Submitted to Word of the Day Challenge – work

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful that I didn’t have to teach at school yesterday as the Thai teachers all went off to get the second shot of the vaccine cocktail and decided to cancel all classes. Relaxing day.

Eyes – 10th June 2021

~ shaun tenzenmen ~ Leave a comment

Looking with fresh eyes of wonder
The non-judgemental eyes of a child
Eyes that ignore another’s blunder
Eyes at once both wide and wild

Mistakes forgotten, sweet eyes forgiving
Eyes above looking down their perch
Youthful eyes not tired of living
Energetic eyes on a constant search

31st Jul 2024 – Submitted to Word of the Day Challenge – eye

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful to have food in my fridge for breakfast this morning. And yesterday I ran out of energy but could find something to boost me back up.