090226 Thaikarl - visited by the shaman

friends,

the "longsan" or spirit women (i probably have the word unclear) came this morning. it is so interesting to watch the ceremony. the women has a whole ritual she does to get ready, then appears to go into 'trance' or open state, and can answer questions, help with illness diagnosis and treatment and i'm not sure what else. i video'd about 15 minutes on my casio camera, but the quality is pretty low, i'll post it later non-the-less. to be present at such things is a treat, a joy, a rarity, and one of the marvelous things i have access to being married to a thai women from the country. i'm going to figure out a better video camera for the next time i come home so i can get these things recorded properly. i still have my mini-dv video camera, but video tapes are so.... so... analog, and requires too much stuff to lug around. casio is coming out with a new model of camera that takes HD video, so when i upgrade to that camera, i may have a solution. my single battery died after 15 minutes of video. casio batteries last for hundreds of photos, but video sucks electrons highly.

the couple of bits i gleaned - meaning they were translated to me -were that i will be living in thailand in a couple of years, in bangkok, working there. and that Tok and i are indeed, soul mates. imagine that!

it's a bit warm up here in the bedroom house where the computer is, so i'm going outside to varnish the underside of this house. more...

Nu

090224 Thaikarl - where am i? it rained today.

friends,

it is so wonderful to be home.  sitting at the keyboard and typing just hasn't been one my my things to do so far.

we  had a good few days in bangkok.  i had composed a long post relating the details, then i crashed firefox and lost it.  oh well.  most important task after shopping was to get my visa for vietnam.  had to leave my passport at the consulate over the weekend, but it was all ready to go on monday.  i brought my steinberger guitar with me in my carry-on.  it had an electrical problem when i bought it off ebay, so i got it for a good price.  took it to a shop in ratcatewei and the fixed it and set up the strings for 15.00.  would have cost me a hundred dollars or more in the states.  no luck finding strings for it tho, went to 6 different shops.  almost no luck finding a 7.5 volt power supply for the clock/radio i brought.  some things in thailand are just impossible to find.  in the states i'd just goto radio shack.  finally found an adapter that would work at a street vendor in china town, for 1.25 USD.  after all that, it was off to the Mo chit bus station to go home.

wonderful doesn't cover the feeling to come down our driveway...  been some improvements around the place.  more will be revealed...

cares, NU

--
Read my Thailand adventure ::: http://www.thaicountrylife.com

090214 Thaikarl Happy Valentines Day from Bangkok!

friends,

arrived.  re-assimilation takes a couple of days. recalling all the little and not so that being home is about... foot high curbs, sidewalks and ways with holes and chunks in them, look right when crossing the street, roaches the size of your thumb dashing for cover in the alleys at night, thai women of impossible cuteness, the musical language, the fresh exhaust air of Bangkok, foods of all kinds available everywhere at all hours, automatically spicy food, sticky rice, hard beds, incomprehensible television, the difficulty of finding a specific item- like a 7.5 volt, 1800 mA powersupply, or double ball strings for a steinberger guitar,-  the sun shine, the temperature reversal- it's cool INSIDE buildings, warm when you step outside, kids fill the internet shops playing fantasy role games... so so many things that get refreshed and familiar and loved and grokked.

tok was waiting for me at the airport, i was so happy to see her, she is just as beautiful to me as ever, more so.  this valentines day is the one year anniversary of our civil union, so we slept in late this morning, had breakfast from room service, something we've never done before, and only left the hotel because the staff really wanted to get in to clean the room.  and of course, we went shopping.  er, well, Tok went shopping, i pretty much just follow her around the pratunam clothing market and occasionally give my opinion on which color or style is nicer.  and i carry the bags.  like her 'body guard' she just said.  tee hee.

i tell her:  "there's no place else i'd rather be, than here with you, and you with me."

onward!   NU
--
Read my Thailand adventure ::: http://www.thaicountrylife.com

090210 Thaikarl - Fixing to go home.

friends,

this time tomorrow i'll be way out over the pacific in a cozy sleep inside a giant aluminum tube.  and as you might imagine, i'm very happy about that.  it's been snowing the last two days in seattle.  not much, but it's sticking on the grass.  it's in the hight 80's in thailand.  and sunny.

it always seems like such a long journey just to get to the fly-away point.  fixing stuff, painting, drywall, repairs, digging holes, patching, drilling, building stuff for my clients... pays the few bills i have, takes care of the family back home, and when some consistant jobs show up i suddenly have enough for a plane ticket and life away from the state.  i want to thank those clients who keep me busy, it's your contribution that makes it possible.  you know who you are!  THANKS!!!

i actually got everything put away, bags packed and i'm nearly ready to go.  somehow i had it in my head that i was flying out on TUESDAY.  but tuesday was the 10th, my ticket is for the 11th.  so i was like nearly a day ahead of myself!

i'll keep the emails/blogposts coming.  

cares, NU