Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Rainbow

Hi,
Monday was moving day. Sorry I didn't write, but so much was going on, I just couldn't break away. For those of you who waited patiently for the long-distance mail, I apologize. But not for the fun I had. (Ha)
The song over the week-end was Stevie Wonder's "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life". Here's another easy one, since you only have one day: 'It's getting near dawn, when lights close their tired eyes...I've been waiting so long, to be where I'm going, in the __ __ __ __' Clue: Week-end song holds the key. Trio from the 60's.
We checked out of the Wangcome early, and said good-byes to some of our friends on the staff. Blue met us at the hotel and we all rode to the new house, with all our stuff, in a hotel van. We were greeted by Boon Serm and his wife Khomauey.
With all the major appliances in place, we felt very comfortable about moving in. Our large bedroom stays cool with the new air/con, the fridge gets cold, and, such as it is, we have a stove. Oh, and the place is pretty clean, thanks to the cleaning crew I mentioned Friday. Because the house is so big, we had a crew of six working on the place.
A short time after we started unpacking, La and her sister Boot arrived. I should mention that La is one of those words that can mean several things, depending on the tone. Spoken the wrong way, it can mean donkey. One must watch ones tones. Anyway, La couldn't stay, but Boot, who speaks pretty good English, stayed in her place. Our first lunch was wonderful. We had stir-fried rice with chicken and vegetables, plus sautéed mixed veggies. After we ate what we could (she made too much because we said we were hungry) she brought our cut watermelon and Thai oranges. Here's an interesting bit: Thai oranges have green skin when ripe, yet they're orange inside.
The afternoon found us heading, once again, to Big C. This time it was an entourage. Boon Serm was going to approve my getting the internet in my name. Since the phone line is in his name, I could get the net in mine, as a foreign user. His wife, Blue, Lisa, me and Boon Serm's brother Soom all piled into his plush Toyota touring van and set out on an expedition. Not only did we get signed up and get a modem and stuff, we shopped for those things we didn't have. khomauey knows the store like the back of her hand, and she led Lisa around finding things we should have, Thai style. We all had a lot of fun and I think we bonded on a different level. I forgot to mention that before we set out, we spent time signing and discussing the contract on the house. It's a good thing Blue was there to interpret and stir things in the right direction. At one point, Soom asked Blue his age (Thais like to ask personal questions). Blue explained that we were the same age. Boon Serm in 63, so I playfully called him 'Nong', which is a term used for those younger. He really liked that and said we were 'buddies'.
After the shopping trip, Boon Serm came into the back patio with one of his Sueng's. He started playing, then went and got another one and gave it to Blue, as a gift. After singing a Lana song and looking at pics of Bangkok Blue, he went and got another Sueng and gave it to me. I played for a little, then made up a little blues line about 'goin' up to Chiang Rai....' then bent a string and he and his wife cracked up. I'm sure we'll be having many jam sessions in the future.
We also got our first delivery of drinking water. We got big bottles (things are metric, so it's in litres) and smaller bottles that can put in the fridge. I'll also be posting pictures of our new trash can for the curb. They make these big cans out of recycled rubber, that look just like a witches caldron. The trash truck comes every morning and it cost about 10 Baht per month. Roughly about 40 cents.
Waking up in our 'new house' was a trip. It felt like we were in a rain forest. Tropical bird calls filled the morning air, along with the distant rooster. The night before was also full of sounds. The most prominent was the crickets. They showed off all night. One guy sounded like a police whistle on speed. It went on for about 25 seconds, the a shorts break the back on. At first I thought it was a bad bearing in the air/con. I'm guessing we'll get used to it.
As soon as I have access to the web, I'll post a bunch of new pics. (pitiful attempt to make up for Monday) Have a Great Week.

Peace,
Danny


"The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow
but the rainbow won't wait while you do the work."
~Unknown


Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

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