Peace (Thurday Feb. 14, '08)

Hi,
So far, the forecasts for rain have all been wrong. We're having warm weather with some high clouds, but no rain. This evening there were some gusts of wind that felt like it does when it's about to rain, but they were just false alarms.
"Now I understand, what you tried to say to me, and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free..." Hint: He once fed us some American Pie, but this is an ode to an artist. Had a few of you who knew this one, so it's not impossible to get.
We had another of those frustrating 'tile days'. I'm confident that we will eventually find what we want, in the quantity we need. As with all 'plans', things change. For instance, the driveway will now be concrete instead of paving blocks. The nice part about it is that it can be colored the same tone as the roof tiles. (Dark brown) Nice.
This afternoon we went into town to run errands. When doing such a thing, you start to realize what a small town this really is. We're learning the strategic places to park that allow walking to certain destinations. When all else fails, we park at the Wancome Hotel (our home for the first month), pay 20 Baht and hit most of the shops. While we were out, we picked up a Valentine's gift for Boot. We don't know her reaction yet because gifts are usually not opened in front of the giver.
Speaking of V day, it's a big deal here. Don't know how it evolved, but there's lots of flowers sold, and all of the spots where lovers go are closely monitored to make sure that under aged teens are where they 'should' be. Good luck on that one. I noticed guys standing by motorbikes, holding flowers, waiting for their sweethearts, and a couple of guys riding towards a school carrying giant teddy bears. Ahh, youth.
One thing that's really changed for us is our new interest in football (soccer). It's our late-night entertainment, as long as we tune in before midnight. That's the hour for all the 'round-up' shows. We get a lot of English soccer and we're fans of Liverpool (C-Bass' fav), and Manchester United. We also see Spanish, Dutch and German league football. It's to the point where we know some of the players and we're getting a handle on some of the rules. That eluded us all the years we followed youth soccer in the States. How things change. There was a time when you couldn't get us to watch such a 'boring' game. Now, we look forward to it. Hmm.
Mark your calendars, because the F1 season is about to start. On March 14, it all begins again in Australia. The nice thing is, they show it here, with lots of repeats. Which brings me to another development. Our TV provider now has what amounts to a local version of TiVo. It's a DVR (they call it a PVR, ??) and it works pretty much the same. As soon as I can find out more in English, I'll start drooling.
Last but not least, it's still tourist season and tonight I got stuck in traffic behind a long procession of Samlors hauling a big group around town. Imagine a parade of about 20 three-wheelers, peddling their way in and out of traffic. It was quite a spectacle. I tried not to be jaded about the incident, but to imagine what a thrill it must have been for the passengers. Probably a little scary too.
Have a Nice Thursday where you are.

Peace,
Danny

"Let us dedicate ourselves to peace within ourselves, that wherever we go,
we bring peace and we learn to find peace in all things."
~John Morton

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style

www.flickr.com/photos/gratidudepics