140115 Thaikarl - Time compresses when the flight is near

friends,

only a few more days in paradise.  one month in thailand is far too short. but i am grateful to be here at all.  and already sad to have to be leaving.

our internet was up/down/up/down for the last couple weeks.  then i decided that i'd had it with this slow assed computer and took it to the shop for more memory.  why i didn't upgrade it when i got here, i don't know. so between that, and trying to get all my jobs done, i've been busy.

we've done a lot of things around the house - took down the tamarind stand and brought all the materials into the yard.  swept and raked almost the whole property.  re-routed a water line that was installed thru an iron frame - you couldn't move the frame without breaking the pipe.  bought another cabinet to store my guitars and such where it will be out of the way till my next trip home, shopping and more shopping - gifts, goodies for the boat.  We spend three days down south of Petchabun at a Tam Bun party.  Yesterday we had to drive to Pitsanolok (two hour drive up into the mountains) to get an extension of my visa, i only needed 4 days and they gave me until march... can't use it. wah.  we went to the meeting markets, the fairs.  today we went to the beautiful temple up on the mountain, where they are building another temple, with buddas sitting in each others laps. very beautiful up there.  the mosaic and tile work is amazing.

but now it's time to start packing it all into two 21kg bags and a carry-on.  the last days home are always so compressed.  there's a sense of "this might be your last look at this for a while".  i begin to feel the anxiety of departure.  i morn the things i didn't get to do, didn't get to see.  i feel such a strong connection to the women i sleep next to here, and i know i have to stretch the cord across thousands of miles of ocean again.  i will miss the food, the warmth of the sun and the people, the mountains and the countryside.  i'll even miss my eternal bafflement over what people are saying and what the signs say.  even still, seattle is good.  i have some good friends there, and very supportive people.  there's a boat waiting for me, and there's still a lot to do on the Grey Ghost (Jeffs boat).  seattle is where i am able to work and support my thai country life, and all that i means to me.  it's like the saying: "no matter where you go, there you are"

i've made a few posts to the tumblr:  http://thaicountrylife.tumblr.com/  that's where i'm post pix and bits that don't make it into these posts.

onward!

Nu