Lunch Money

Things continue to be tricky at best here, but today I thought I would just have a little fun with it. Number one because it doesn't do any good to be angry about it, and number two I haven't posted any updates for a while.

I'd like to introduce you to my favorite restaurant. It's actually an entire street, but more like an alley that runs behind my apartment building. The whole thing is full of Arabic and Muslim stores, street food and restaurants. Everything is dirt cheap and pretty decent once you get used to the burkas and Muslim prayer caps. The food for the most part can be a bit odd, but I can't argue with the price. For a full meal, you can get "mystery meat on a stick" served with cabbage and a cucumber in a plastic bag. At around 5 Baht ($0.15 USD) it's hard to beat. My favorite however is the fried bread. They are almost exactly like scones, and at 2 Baht each ($0.06 USD) they can make a quick meal. Problem is they are kind of small so sometimes it takes two. Good stuff though.

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF THE ARAB MARKETS

Lunch money continues to be tight, but thanks to a few good local friends I do get a good big meal once in a while. Just in case anybody back home ever wants to buy me lunch, I have placed a Paypal link on the left panel labeled "Lunch Money". I'm an incredibly cheap date. $2.00 will get me something interesting and maybe exotic. I'll even send you a snapshot. I may consider doing requests at some point and time, but I don't want it to turn into a "fear factor" kind of thing.

Riding the Razor's edge

The future is still up in the air here, but at least the evening went well. I played three gigs with the reggae band, made a few Baht, and made it home safe on the back of my buddy's motorbike. The only thing I can imagine scarier than being a passenger on a motorcycle in this place is actually driving one! I usually just close me eyes, and wait for it to be over. Accidents happen, and it's usually the single mother packing 3 kids on a scooter and trying to talk on her cell phone at the same time. I've given up hope on the Chonburi job and have focused on my contacts at the schools here in Chiang Mai. I have enough experience and a few papers to get a decent position if I play my cards right. In hindsight, I should have taken this route a month ago instead of chasing something that was too good to be true. I'm riding the razor's edge when it comes to money at the moment, but the landlady is happy for another day or two. Day to day turns into minute by minute around here sometimes. Thankfully, I have a bed to sleep in tonight and enough money for breakfast in the morning. I'll take the rest from there.

Random Thoughts

Things are still a little crazy and in chaos, but here are my random thoughts for the day. It's been a weird week and not quite sure where I'm headed from here.

1. The Brits think that their jokes are hilarious, but it's polite to laugh anyway
2. The Aussies are quite funny when you can understand them
3. Even the best of people can have bad intentions
4. On the flipside, even the worst of people can have good intentions
5. Trying to tell the difference can be really tricky
   
6. Fireworks are really annoying at 3:00 AM (RamaV festival)
7. Too much Benadryl as a sleep aid can cause hallucinations (especially during above fireworks)
8. The USA has the 4th of July and it only lasts one day.
   
9. Here they have "RamaV" and it lasts a week
10. Once again, fireworks are really annoying at 3:00 AM
11. The best laid plans can go astray
12. The virtues of patience, tolerance, and forgiveness are priceless
13. Friends and good advice will be found in the most unexpected places
14. Never give away something you would ever want back
15. The Discovery Channel is great even in Thailand
16. Hunting for worms on the side of the "city moat" can be fun
17. Fishing with friends is even more fun
18. Last but not least, the fireworks are still REALLY annoying
    

I hope that's random enough for you, but it's about how the last few days have been. Absolute chaos with a little bit of fun peppered in it.

A turn for the worse

Things here have gone wrong. Terribly wrong. I'll try to make another update, but it's anyone's guess at this point. I suppose we all get what we deserve, and this is no exception. I was a really big dummy this week, and now have to pay the price. A month of hard work and tribulations, and now I find myself starting all over again here in Thailand. I'm irritated at best. I wasted a whole month and too much travel money on a job that didn't pan out. Thankfully, I still have a little work here in Chiang Mai, but time is running out. The big lesson learned this week is that you have to listen to your friends, and pay attention when they say "be carefull". They will be the first ones to laugh at you when things don't work out. I wouldn't trade the last month for the world, but I'm still sitting here kicking myself in the butt.