The winding down post
Had a blast at Ayutthaya. I really only knew that it was the first capital of Thailand, but didn’t know just how old it was. Also, I had seen the movies with my wife of the Burmese repeatedly sweeping down to sack and loot the city, but since the movies were in Thai I didn’t catch a lot of the nuance. Well, just being in amongst the ruins, and being able to see the destruction and decapitated Buddha statues made the history really come alive. Not to turn this into a Thai history lesson or anything, but the last time the Burmese stole all the gold from the capital and busted up the place good, the King just up and moved the capital down and across the river to what is present day Bangkok figuring that having to cross a big old river ought to slow down the slobbering hordes at least a little bit. Seems to have worked. Thailand is a regional power and Burma (Mynamar) a backwater.
We took a lot of pictures which I think turned out pretty good. Unfortunately, they also serve to remind me that I am always fatter than I perceive myself to be. That is unless, hopefully, the camera adds 70 pounds. Anyway over the next post or two I will try to get the better ones posted. Not sure about how frequent the posts will be as we may head out to Rayong to spend 3 days at the family’s beach condo. If that is the case it will be laid back, quiet, and relaxing. If that is the case it will also be without the internet or 7-11s. So we’ll just play it by ear.
I bought a shrimp roll-up yesterday at KFC and threw it away because I don’t eat seafood. So why did I buy it then, you may be asking. Because I asked the girl at the counter if it was chicken and she said yes. But it wasn’t, so I threw it away. I thought about taking it back, but I’m American, so I didn’t. Just what does being American have to do with not taking back a shrimp roll-up that is not chicken? Because I live in the “If you want to be in America you should learn English” and “I don’t want to press 1 for English” U.S.A. So I would think turnabout is fair play. I was in Thailand speaking, and expecting to be understood, in English. Therefore, it was not her problem, right? What’s worse, the Thai word for chicken is pronounced “Koo-guy”. I knew how to say it her language, but just assumed she understood mine.
In a slight twist I was introduced to, and partied with, the first Cambodian lesbian I’ve ever met. She was interesting. Runs a school to teach Westerner’s how to speak Thai. I got her to teach me something I’ve wanted to know for a while. I know how to say “you’re welcome”, but wanted to be able to say “my pleasure” in its stead. Now I know, and it was a pretty easy one. I just say, “Yin dee, kob. She said she found me to be pretty easy going and I agreed. I told her, “Basically I like everybody and everybody likes me. Some say they don’t, but I don’t believe them.” How can you argue, that’s so true.
I was looking at a book called Blue Like Jazz: Non-religious thoughts on Christian Spirituality and found it interesting. I didn’t buy it outright as I don’t read very much anymore so I don’t want to waste the money unless there’s a good chance I will finish it. The dust cover and the guest testimonials all looked interesting enough. Interesting as in, “It seems you have the exact same opinion as I do and that is interesting to me. Tell me some more about how right we are.” The snippet that most resounded with me was, “The typical judgmental… more people knew what we were against than what we were for mentality…” The guy is a Christian writer, so it was by no means an attack on values, but rather he asks the question why does the word “Christianity nowadays conjure up images of conservative politics, suburban consumerism, and an insensitivity to people who aren’t like us?” I think it’s a pretty fair question, too.
Not sure how many more times I will post before heading home. Getting home is kind of misleading anyway since I’ll be doing a real Tulsa turnaround. I will fly in, pick up the dogs, dump the old clothes out of the suitcase and fill it with clean clothes. Then shower, go to bed, wake up and fly out to work at LAX for a week. Yee-Haw!
Enjoy these lotsa big pics. The one of my wife and her mother walking in the ruins of the old city with their umbrellas is my favorite. You’d have to know how far apart they started to know how close that shows them. To me, helping them towards that walk has been my biggest accomplishment in this marriage.
Yin dee, kob, out
Ramblin’ Ed
We took a lot of pictures which I think turned out pretty good. Unfortunately, they also serve to remind me that I am always fatter than I perceive myself to be. That is unless, hopefully, the camera adds 70 pounds. Anyway over the next post or two I will try to get the better ones posted. Not sure about how frequent the posts will be as we may head out to Rayong to spend 3 days at the family’s beach condo. If that is the case it will be laid back, quiet, and relaxing. If that is the case it will also be without the internet or 7-11s. So we’ll just play it by ear.
I bought a shrimp roll-up yesterday at KFC and threw it away because I don’t eat seafood. So why did I buy it then, you may be asking. Because I asked the girl at the counter if it was chicken and she said yes. But it wasn’t, so I threw it away. I thought about taking it back, but I’m American, so I didn’t. Just what does being American have to do with not taking back a shrimp roll-up that is not chicken? Because I live in the “If you want to be in America you should learn English” and “I don’t want to press 1 for English” U.S.A. So I would think turnabout is fair play. I was in Thailand speaking, and expecting to be understood, in English. Therefore, it was not her problem, right? What’s worse, the Thai word for chicken is pronounced “Koo-guy”. I knew how to say it her language, but just assumed she understood mine.
In a slight twist I was introduced to, and partied with, the first Cambodian lesbian I’ve ever met. She was interesting. Runs a school to teach Westerner’s how to speak Thai. I got her to teach me something I’ve wanted to know for a while. I know how to say “you’re welcome”, but wanted to be able to say “my pleasure” in its stead. Now I know, and it was a pretty easy one. I just say, “Yin dee, kob. She said she found me to be pretty easy going and I agreed. I told her, “Basically I like everybody and everybody likes me. Some say they don’t, but I don’t believe them.” How can you argue, that’s so true.
I was looking at a book called Blue Like Jazz: Non-religious thoughts on Christian Spirituality and found it interesting. I didn’t buy it outright as I don’t read very much anymore so I don’t want to waste the money unless there’s a good chance I will finish it. The dust cover and the guest testimonials all looked interesting enough. Interesting as in, “It seems you have the exact same opinion as I do and that is interesting to me. Tell me some more about how right we are.” The snippet that most resounded with me was, “The typical judgmental… more people knew what we were against than what we were for mentality…” The guy is a Christian writer, so it was by no means an attack on values, but rather he asks the question why does the word “Christianity nowadays conjure up images of conservative politics, suburban consumerism, and an insensitivity to people who aren’t like us?” I think it’s a pretty fair question, too.
Not sure how many more times I will post before heading home. Getting home is kind of misleading anyway since I’ll be doing a real Tulsa turnaround. I will fly in, pick up the dogs, dump the old clothes out of the suitcase and fill it with clean clothes. Then shower, go to bed, wake up and fly out to work at LAX for a week. Yee-Haw!
Enjoy these lotsa big pics. The one of my wife and her mother walking in the ruins of the old city with their umbrellas is my favorite. You’d have to know how far apart they started to know how close that shows them. To me, helping them towards that walk has been my biggest accomplishment in this marriage.
Yin dee, kob, out
Ramblin’ Ed
That's what I'm about. Ramblin' Ed at 10:41 PM
2 comments:
Read a coupla chapters of that book when I was at a friends house. If I ever get a job again I will buy it and read it. I like the style which which he writes as much as what he writes. By the way, the online mag I have up on my site is affiliated with him.
Hmmm. What a coincidence. Aboout the book, I mean. I am always afraid I will offend when I speak about religion because I believe in God but not church. I tend to give God credit for allowing us all (Bhuddist, Muslim, Hindu, Christian) to see him as we see are comfortable with, as long as we follow a few basic rules about getting along. And also because I refuse to believe that only Southern Baptists picked the right diety.
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