Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Nothing

Hi,

Today we had clear sky and temps in the high 80s.  This is my kind of weather.  If the nights were a little warmer things would be perfect.  Those warm nights chill the pool.  

The 'Easy Monday' song was "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by The Righteous Brothers.  It's time to get crazy with the 'Zany Day' song.  Some of you may even remember when this came out.  It was the first hit for the artist.
"Wop bop a loo bop, a lop bam boom!  (Chorus) __ __, oh rutti, __ __, oh rutti, (repeat 3 more times).  Wop bop a loo bop, a lop bam boom!  I got a gal, named Sue, she knows just what to do.  I got a gal, named Sue, she knows just what to do.  She rocks to the East, she rocks to the West, she is the gal that I love best.  (Chorus)."  Clue:  The two word title is also the name of a flavor.  Singer was a pioneer of Rock & Roll. 

This morning I had a chance to drive into town during part of the rush hour.  When we first moved into our house, there was almost nothing on the main road to the bridge.  Now there is the coffee guy on the corner, a breakfast/lunch diner across the road, and next to them is an 'everything store' that specializes in tools for farming and building.  At the base of the bridge there is the chicken guy with the cabbage patch doll that turns the BBQ spit, the lady with the pile of meat on a grill, and a tiny coffee shop.  Across the bridge the temporary roadside breakfast business is still happening.  It has been said that all you need to go into business is a table and something to sell.  Hmm, we got some bananas and coconuts...

We have discovered the magic hour to visit the immigration office: 2pm.  We went back to get our re-entry permits and the place was empty.  It's never really very crowded there, but it was great.  Even though we have a visa that allows us to stay in the Kingdom for 1 year, when we leave the country and return we need the permit to keep the visa 'alive'.  Otherwise they let us return, but as tourists and that means starting the visa all over again.  Oh, so complicated.  

Imagine living on the 12th floor of a building and being able to look out and see a little jungle in your backyard.  Today's photo is from the Condotel.  Way off, in the distance, you can see the Giant Buddha.  


Being an illiterate expat is not an unusual thing.  The Thai language has it's own set of characters with a very involved method of exacting specific vowel sounds.  I'm beginning to realize that there are a lot of Thai people who never learned to read.  We have met adults who are in business, or work in a shop, and cannot read Thai.  I guess there is someone who handles that for them.  There are many people in the city who came from farms, or the mountains where there wasn't even a school.  It makes for a fascinating cultural mix, and explains a lot of things.  Some of what we observe happens in any society, but in this smallish town, with all it's diversity, you begin to see how people band together for comfort and protection.  I understand why some folks don't go to the mall, and why others will only shop there.  Amazing.

In local news, we found out that the water purification unit will be replaced on Friday.  Apparently there is something wrong with the one they delivered and that's why the water won't come out.  Oh really.  

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

               Peace,
                         Danny

"Nothing ever goes away
until it has taught us 
what we need to know."
~Pema Chodron

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