Common

Hi,

The local weather has been close to ideal.  Cool evenings and warm days in the mid-80s.  Now all we need is a little rain to wash the sky and water the lawn.

I don’t think anybody remembered Little Richard singing “Send Me Some Lovin’”, but it was and still is a monster ballad.  Never mind, it’s time for ‘Easy Monday’, where we all know all the songs (555).  “When you’re down and troubled, and you need some love and care, and nothing, nothing is going right.  Close your eyes and think of me, and soon I will be there, to brighten up even your darkest night.  You just call out my name…”  Hint: I don’t know if we need hints today.  

Today in Thailand (Feb. 12) is my birthday.  Yesterday we had a party, since Monday really isn’t a party day (555).  There were 28 adults, 3 small children, and 1 very small visiting dog.  Everybody had a good time.  The Wanderer brought over another of their outrageous chocolate cakes, and friends brought orchids and fruit.  The weather was perfect, and nobody in the neighborhood burned any trash, meaning the air was pleasant.  We discovered that some of our friends were actually friends with each other and we didn’t know.  That made for some nice surprises.  Lisa choreographed the event and Natcha and Cat helped make sure everything ran smoothly.  When it was over, there was lots of stuff left over.  Most of it consisting of things we don’t eat, so we gave it away.  It was a good day.

Today’s photos are from the party.  

Since Natcha and Gong worked so hard all day, we went out for dinner.  The closest place was The Wanderer so that’s what we did.  When we returned home we didn’t realize how tired we were.  It actually carried over into today.  We had no shopping to do so we just went to Work@Home for coffee.  

After wearing black for the year of mourning, most of my T-shirts are black.  The weather in the mornings isn’t always warm enough for a loose fitting shirt so T-shirts work best.  Having said all that, we went to Big C so I could get a few shirts with color.  We finished our morning in the street with lunch at Melt In Your Mouth.  Sitting outside with the river in front of us was very relaxing.  

Tomorrow we go to the ‘DMV’ to renew our licenses.  Here’s hoping we don’t have to take a written test or watch the rumored 1 hour movie (555).

Have a Great Week.

                       Peace,

                                 Danny

“Common sense is not so common.”

~Voltaire

Friday Funnies

Hi,

The weather?  You know, cold this morning, hot the rest of the day.  Actually, it also depends on what part of town you’re in because that can change it all.  In our neighborhood, near the river, it’s cooler than down where the earth is covered by concrete and asphalt and the buildings block the breeze.  Weather zones.

The ‘Zany Day’ song was “Hotel California” by The Eagles.  ‘Old School Friday’ jumped into my head and wouldn’t leave.  “__ __ __ __, oh send it I pray.  How can I love you, when you’re so far away?  Send me your picture, send it my dear, so I can hold it, pretend you are here.”  Clue: An R&B ballad hit, by a singer whose first name was ‘Little’ (555).  His second name was also a first name.  Confused?  It has been sung by many artists through the years.  Miss Molly and Lucille might get upset if you don’t know this one.

I guess we must be getting back to our regular state of ‘healthy’, judging from level of ‘busy’ we’ve been up to.  This morning we went to Chivit Tamma Da and sat by the river for our morning coffee.  From there, we went to the big nursery on the highway to get plants for the yard.  That filled the back of the van, but also left us confident that there was still room in the back seat for our next stop.

Big C, late on a Friday morning.  The idea of it sounded horrible, but it really wasn’t that bad, and besides, we were shopping for an event.  Monday is my natal birthday and we’re having a party on Sunday.  When we headed for the check-out, we had a cart full of chips, juices, veggies and fruit.  Fortunately, a new checker was just opening up so we didn’t have to wait.  There was a Big C Bear walking around as part of a promotion.  Little kids were having their picture taken with the bear.  

For the last few days I have been trying to find a way for us to be able to watch the Winter Olympics.  Here we have this major event being held in our part of the world, and it’s not being televised.  The owners of the rights for this region are not broadcasting the games.  The American network is keeping the whole thing close to home and other countries are also wanting subscriptions, etc.  Now I have Google breathing down my neck presumably because I turned off my ‘cookies’ and they can’t follow me around.  I don’t really know, it’s just annoying.  There are aspects of technology that I think are wonderful, but when it starts creeping into my ’stuff’, I have concerns.  Don’t get me started on the ‘Cloud’.  Rant over.  We’ll settle for Youtube presentations of various sports and be happy.

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd.   Time for the ‘Funnies’.

                 Peace,

                           Danny

Open

Hi,

The weather is definitely getting warmer.  We can tell because the evenings are not cooling off as fast and the mornings have lost their ‘bite’.  Short-sleeves in the evening was crazy talk a few weeks ago.

The ‘Zany Day’ song was remembered by a few readers.  The last verse let’s us know that this, as was pointed out, is a cautionary tale.  “Last thing I remember, I was running for the door.  I had to find the passage back to the place I was before.  ‘Relax’, said the night man, ‘We are programmed to receive.  You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave!’  Welcome to the __ __.  Such a lovely place, such a lovely face….”  Hint:  It’s about a place to stay on the west coast of the US.  

This morning we went back to Suzuki for our new battery.  The installation was quick and we were off in search of a new place to have coffee.  We ended up at a little Korean dessert shop off the highway.  The coffee was OK, and the ginger-honey tea that Lisa ordered was a little heavy on the honey.  In a dessert shop, everything is probably a little heavy on sweet.  The menu was very different.  Nothing we would want to eat, but interesting.  The location was a little off the beaten path, so I’m not sure it will last.  The complex where it’s located has had many vendors come and go.  

Today’s photos were taken at the Jazz Festival.  This time, it’s odd vehicles.  The first pic looks like an airplane until the eyes focus and you realize it’s a burger truck.  The second photo is a mobile ATM.  Hmm.

This evening we had dinner at Sawadee Restaurant in the Night Bazaar with four people we had never met before.  They are friends with Bob and Joan, a couple we met years ago, visiting from Northern California.  The plan was to meet in the Night Bazaar and, as luck would have it, we found them at our favorite silver shop.  We all hit it off and had a great time.  

Every week it seems like we learn something new.  Natcha told Lisa about a fruit that can help stop coughs.  It’s called ‘ma cahm bahn’ and it’s very sour.  It’s small and almost looks like a berry.  You chew it slowly, spit out the seed, and when done, drink some water.  The taste in the mouth goes from sour to sweet with the introduction of the water.  It doesn’t zap a cough like medicine, but it helps and it’s a natural remedy.  Cat knew about it too.  She said her village has a tree and you just pick them when you have a cough.

Have a Thrilling Thursday.

               Peace,

                         Danny

“Look at situations from all

angles, and you will become

more open.”

~The Dalai Lama

Hatred

Hi,

Fog was on the morning weather menu, but it didn’t change the rest of the day at all.  I must say, this is great weather for the travelers.  By Sunday it should be 80F.

The ‘Easy Monday’ song was “Biggest Part of Me” by Ambrosia.  I hope you all are utilizing the wonderfulness of Youtube when you don’t know a song.  You might find one you like.  Time for a ‘Zany Day’ tune to bring a smile to your face.  “On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.  Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light.  My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night….Welcome to the __ __.  Such a lovely place, such a lovely face….”  Clue:  The title is a place and there are a couple of them.  This one is zany in a weird kinda way.  Released in 1976 on an album of the same name.

This morning’s coffee was provided by Work@Home.  We got a chance to visit with our friend Katai, who is a very busy woman.  We learned that tractors are now being sold online so she has to change her way of selling in order to compete.  As she said, ‘The world is changing’.  She told us about a tiny restaurant under the new bridge that has two tables, that’s it.  The chef does all of the cooking and the food is good.  This is truly a case of someone doing what makes them happy, regardless of the compensation.  We’ll have to check it out.

We went from coffee to lunch at The Wanderer with Cat and our friend Lisa.  Sitting outside on a beautiful day seemed like a good idea until the attack of the giant moths.  When one came and landed on the table it was cute.  By the end of lunch it felt like a ‘B’ movie.  It didn’t stop us from having a fun time though.  Lisa is fluent in Thai since her mom is Thai and she grew up here.  She and Cat would drift off into little conversations and leave us trying to keep up.  Then, in order to have Cat practice her English, Lisa started using English as much as possible.  One of the Thai conversations that was interesting was hearing her explain to Cat the difference between a burrito and a taco, with appropriate hand gestures.  Good times. 

Today’s photo is one of the moths from lunch.

You may be getting a better look at Chiang Rai in the near future.  This evening on my way home from my meeting, I saw a Google Maps car, complete with the big camera on the roof.  It was all covered up, but there was no question that this little car will be riding around taking clips of our town.  

This could be a Wacky Wednesday.

                  Peace,

                            Danny    

“Hatred does not cease by 

hatred at any time; hatred ceases

by love.  This is an unalterable law.”

~Buddha

Purpose

Hi,

It was another multi-weather day in Chiang Rai.  The difference in the sky between morning and afternoon is quite dramatic.  The air quality is also getting dramatic and has become a topic of conversation around town.

“(Stay the night) Need your lovin’ here beside me.  (Shine the light) Need you close enough to guide me, (For all my life) I’ve been hopin’ you would find me.  You’re the __ __ __ __.  Well, make a wish, baby.  Well, and I will make it come true.  Make a list, baby, of the things I’ll do for you.  Ain’t no risk, now, in lettin’ my love rain down on you.  So we could wash away the past, so that we may start anew…”  Hint: What?  You want a hint?  The parenthesis are sung by the background voices.

Yesterday morning we watched the Super Bowl.  That’s right, Monday morning football.  So weird being on this side of the planet.  Live events often come ‘live’, but without the commercials.  We have to go to Youtube to see the so-called ‘funniest’, etc. commercials of the game.  So far, the most meaningful clip is from T-Mobile.

This morning we went to The Wanderer for our weekly conversation with Joe, in Palo Alto.  We had a good talk, even with some WiFi difficulties.  Sometimes one has to find that ‘sweet spot’ for everything to work.  As we were leaving we spoke with Khun Kwan.  She told us about her butterfly project.  It seems that in the course of getting rid of mosquitos, local butterflies have suffered.  There is a butterfly man who is trying to create different ways of moving the mosquitos and save the butterflies, who are not only pretty to look at, they are important for the pollination of many plants.

Down the road from The Wanderer, we took these photos of a water buffalo and her calf.

Downtown in the flower market, things are gearing up for Valentine’s Day.  I don’t know when it became a ‘thing’ here, but it’s a major selling day for the vendors, not only for flowers, but for the stuffed toy merchants as well.

Maybe I can get some photos this year of the giant toys being delivered on the backs of motorbikes.

Have a Happy Tuesday.

                    Peace,

                              Danny

“The purpose of life

is a life of purpose.”

~Robert Byrne

Drown

Hi,

The weather has been a little confusing lately.  The days begin with ‘almost rain clouds’ followed by warmer mid-day temps, and then cooling off at night.  The ‘Smokey Season’ seems to have started early, with a haze that has arrived a month early.  There is supposed to be a three month ban on burning, but that doesn’t start until the end of next week.  Meanwhile, we take precautions. 

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Earth Angel” by The Penguins.  Here’s an ‘Easy Monday’ song that might be easy:

“(Sunrise) There’s a new sun-a-risin’ (In your eyes) I can see a new horizon, (Realize) That will keep me realizin’ you’re the __ __ __ __.”  Hint:  I’m sure this group wasn’t named for a salad (555).  Subject of the song is a large portion of the singer.

Saturday night I went back to the Jazz Festival.  Lisa stayed at home to avoid the damp night air.  I took a few treats and a camping chair just in case I couldn’t get a table.  I ended up in almost the same spot as Friday night, with two chairs to spare.  I kept an eye out for Brenda and Eric and spotted them before the music started.  We had a great time talking and listening and passing judgment (555) when necessary.  Some of the hits of the evening were Jazz Philharmonic, Infinity, and Joey Alexander.  Philharmonic was smooth jazz with a little bite.  Infinity rocked the house but stayed in the genre.  Sometimes we could hear a Steely Dan vibe, and they also had a strong sense of funk/jazz.  The biggest mindblower of the evening was 13 year-old Joey Alexander on piano.  His trio took us on a journey with each tune.  He improvised on original tunes as well as John Coltrane.  His trio was the only unit that didn’t have any ‘charts’ on stage.  You can hear him on Youtube.  We left a few tunes into Brian McKnight’s set.  The volume was too high and it was more of a rock show.  Kinda missed the jazz aspect, although the younger members of the audience rushed the stage as soon as he started.  Am I getting old or something?  Anyway, I saw lots of friends and got to hear some great players. 

Today’s photos are from the Thailand International Jazz Festival.  You see Joey doing his thing in the first pic.  The second pic is the control center for the big screens.  The guy who pushed the buttons was dancing in his chair, and switching screens with the music when the right shot appeared.  It was a show in itself.

Just as I was about to leave the festival, there was an earthquake, centered in Burma.  Lisa felt it and tried to call me but I didn’t hear a thing.  Everything was fine, just rattling.  There were aftershocks, but not in our area.  

The papaya tree that Gong planted months ago is now bearing fruit.  I had some last week and it was delicious.  Can’t wait until the next one ripens.  So far, the yard has yielded bananas, coconuts, an occasional mango, and now papaya.  Our citrus fruits have been slow to mature.  Maybe it’s time to plant something else.

We got our visas for Australia, so the preparations are complete.  That will be in mid-March.  The next adventure will be the first weekend in March, when we go to Bangkok for the weekend for a Recovery convention.  

Have a Great Week.

                   Peace,

                             Danny

“You drown not by falling into a river,

but by staying submerged in it.”

~Paulo Coelho

Friday Funnies

Hi,

After looking like it was surely going to rain, it didn’t.  I guess this is how it’s going to be.  It was cool this morning and evening.

The ‘Zany Day’ tune was “Poison Ivy” by The Coasters.  That leads us to ‘Old School Friday’ and a classic:

“(Oh-oh-oh-oh, Wah-ah-ah-ah, Oh-oh-oh-oh) __ __, __ __ will you be mine? My darling dear, love you all the time.  I’m just a fool, a fool in love with you.  __ __, __ __ the one I adore.  Love you forever and ever more.  I’m just a fool, a fool in love with you.”  Hint:  The group is named after a bird in a tux, the song about a heavenly creature on the ground. 

This morning we took the van to Suzuki for service.  This was the 4 year check-up and we were told it would take about 2 hours.  We left in search of coffee and whatever else we might see along the way.  We ended up at Connect Cafe, a place we frequented when we first arrived in Chiang Rai.  They used to be very close to The Wangcom Hotel, where we stayed.  Now they are across the street from the Bus Station and their business is good.  We had our coffee/tea and decided to stroll a bit more.

Our tickets have been booked for our trip to Australia in March, but visas are required.  It was suggested on the Australian immigration page, that we could use a travel agent to help with this.  We have a friend who has an agency so we walked up to her office.  She was surprised that we needed a visa for Australia, but quickly started investigating how to get one.  The process was started and we will probably get it finished tomorrow.  While we were waiting in her office, we read about some of the day trips she offers.  There are a few that look pretty cool.  We just might take them ourselves.

We had an early dinner this afternoon so we could leave for the Jazz Festival and beat the traffic.  What we didn’t realize was, it wasn’t going to be as crowded as we thought.  It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Singha Park and there were changes and improvements to the roads leading to the festival area.  There was a crew that made sure all the cars were parked in an orderly fashion, so no one would get blocked.  We had a little wait at the ticket table, but things worked out.  While we were standing around we saw friends as they arrived.  Our friend Edwin arrived by himself so we invited him to sit with us.  As I suspected with events like this, it didn’t start on time.  That was fine for us, it meant we had time to find a good spot.   We were expecting to sit ‘festival style’, on the ground, and we even took some little camping chairs we found at Big C.  It turned out there were whole sections in the ‘yard’ with small tables and chairs.  It was great sitting in a chair for the time we were there. 

Our table was right behind the sound tower with all the controls, but on either side of the stage there were large monitors showing the artists up close.  We could see those just fine.  The stage was so far away that even if the tower wasn’t there, we would have used the monitors.  The first act was from La Salle School of Arts in Singapore.  They were a tight quintet plus a lead singer.  I really enjoyed them.  The next act was a big band that played American music that ranged from Dixieland to New Orleans style.  Some of it was OK, but it went on too long for our tastes.  There was one tune where one of the horn players sang, in Thai, and he really captured the crooner style from the 40s.  Then the air got cold and moist and it was time to leave.  

Today’s photos are from the Thailand Jazz Festival.  The second pic is the view from our table.  I hope we can get the same spot tomorrow.

Have a Wonderful WeekEnd.       Time for the ‘Funnies’.

                 Peace,

                           Danny