Thailand III

(not sure why this was never published...  continuation of my visit to Thailand in April 2009.  click on the "Thailand" category to the left for the first two entries.)

Wildlife is abundant. Not only do geckos, ginkos and ants make an appearance, there is a peacock family complete with five little babies, a few geese, and a very hungry orange cat.

The sun beats down as the beach and the pool beckon. Annie and I strike out for the open water and end up walking quite a ways on the shallow reef. Ended up with a cool picture of the two of us far from shore, but standing on the reef in such a way we look like we're walking on water. We may have passed some interesting underwater flora and fauna, but we didn't want to look too closely seeing as we were wading right through it. The water is like the wind. Patches of cooler water appear out of nowhere. The sand is coarse and new on the water's edge, with softer sand further up.

One day we rent motorbikes. It's a long way around the island and at one point we're caught in driving rain. The rain drops sting as they hit my arms and face at 40 km/hr, but the cool breeze is welcome. It pours and we're soaked. Then the hot sun comes back out to bake us dry. A very long side road takes us to Treetop Resort on Long Beach. The road alternates between a strip of pavement, dirt, and gravel, and rises and falls sharply. The Treetop has a lovely restaurant area overlooking the beach with hammocks and guests reading in the afternoon breeze. The rooms are only 100-300 baht per night (~$3-10), but the lack of airconditioning makes me tired just thinking about it.

Back on the bike, stopping to take pictures this time. Made the mistake of pulling into a ditch to make sure I was out of the way of traffic and couldn't get the bike back out. It was heavier than I expected and the sides of the ditch were steep. I tried giving it some gas but it just sputtered in the leaves. I cranked the gas some more and the bike shot up the side in an alarming burst of power I didn't feel capable of reigning in. I let go and tumbled to my left. My fall was surprisingly graceful and left me with only a few cuts and bruises. The bike's left mirror was knocked loose, but it seemed fine too. A kind passerby helped me right the bike and continue on my way. It wasn't until I caught up with my mom and Annie that I realized the camera had fallen out during my tumble. Thankfully the dry, weedchoked ditch provided a good cover and I was able to recover a hot, but otherwise unharmed camera.

The problem with cuts and abrasions is they don't mix well with salt water or chlorine. The next day being our last at the beach, I tried out the pool and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't sting. Swimming in the ocean awakened a cut on my shin, but wasn't too bad either. All of this leads me back to our disappointingly lengthened van ride home. You see, getting back at 5 am wouldn't have been such a big deal if not for the fact that we were leaving at 8 am that morning for Khun Tan (in the mountains)...

...to be continued...

Melancholy

I just read My Personality Tree, about the 4 humors (personality types).  I'm a strong Melancholy with a belief in a "right way" of doing things.  Which is fine, except for when it comes to things where there is no one right way, like choosing a job or how to relate to people.  I inevitably feel there's a "right way" to be doing those things and that my bumbling along is wrong more often than not.

But I'm starting to feel like life is going to pass me by as I sit fretting over what people will think and obsessing over finding that perfect path.  My 10 year high school reunion is this summer (...insert jokes about being old and rebuttals from those who are older here...).  And I'm more focused on what I haven't accomplished and whether I can face up to that than I am on seeing friends from high school.

Currently on hiatus...

...in California.  Cruising around visiting friends and family.  Enjoying the 60+ degree weather. :)

Plan to resume sometime after Monday, November 16th...

*sigh*

It's been one of those days. 

Discovered my work voicemail has been hoarding messages and only triggered the light once it hit the dubious magical number of 13.  Not a great feeling to realize you have unanswered messages from July.  And that a supervisor-type called back in September (twice) and must now think you're either a flake or ignoring her on purpose.

Completed my rental car reservation for my time down in California, after several hours, a wrong number, and two calls to disgruntled customer service employees.  ...I thought I was suppose to be the disgruntled one.

Sent a Facebook message out to some of the individuals I'll be visiting, after one blank message and a failed send attempt that was only discovered a few hours later and required a total rewrite.

Tomorrow's a new day - I think I may need to use the free Top Pot doughnut coupon my roommate handed me.  Thank goodness for the flexibility of working from home!

The Mr. in my apartment

...being cute.

Where the Wild Things Are

A review on IMDB claims

"You will never see boyhood captured as truthfully on film as it is in the film's first 20 minutes."

  Maybe this is the idea that disturbed me most about the film.  Max is all over the place!  I've often said I don't think I'd be up for the challenge of raising boys.  I can think of a handful of my friends who all have little boys (who of course are all doing a wonderful job), so I think it's fair for me to plan for girls to help even out the ratio...  Genetics seem to be in my favor - there are only 2 boys among my 13 cousins.  I'll take gossip and pouting over fights and destruction any day.

The actor who plays Max is adorable and I think they did a decent job of making the monsters.  It was the desctruction and violence and angst they added that I didn't like.  It's no longer a fanciful journey to a place where it's always party time, now it's a story about an angry young boy surrounded by unpredictable, immature, emotionally volatile creatures who will hug you one minute and rip another's arm off the next.  I didn't leave the theater wanting to frolic and play, I left disturbed by the many ways people can hurt each other (physically and emotionally).  Reading articles about the film you come across the statement that this isn't a children's film, it's a film about children.  As another review on IMDB explains,

"These beasts are the manifestations of our sorrow, our frustration, and our demons; they are the voices living within us, kept down by self-control and overcome by happiness and love. However, when those emotions are brought to life, unchecked, the end result can be nothing short of war, retribution, and malice."

  How is this a recipe for anything but a rather dark movie?

In short, I'd have to agree with the following reviewer:

"It's an interesting concept, turning a children's book into Freud 101, but is seems dark and oppressive. I realize Sendak's book was visually dark, but emotionally is was vibrant and happy, much like the melody to "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire that was used in the trailer. Unfortunately, this film desperately fails to be vibrant and happy, and for a movie based on a children's book that many parents will take their children to see, it's a major flaw. "

Bit of wisdom

"The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease." - Voltaire

I read about people reaching a point in adolescence when they realize their parents are not infallible.  And the shock that comes with this.  While I don't recall having such a moment myself, I do remember my shock at discovering physicians are not infallible.

"It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions but hard to get one single remedy." - Chinese Proverb

It's tempting to think if you can just explain things the right way, or if they could just feel it for themselves, the diagnosis and appropriate treatment would be obvious.

"Despite all our toil and progress, the art of medicine still falls somewhere between trout casting and spook writing." - Ben Hecht, Miracle of the Fifteen Murderers

Alas, we are all limited by our own senses and experiences.  And the body still manages to hide its secrets and evade the simple answer, no matter how much technology we throw at it.  And so it goes.

"Doctors think a lot of patients are cured who have simply quit in disgust." - Don Herold

Fall is here!

Just in the last two weeks or so the temperature has dropped along with a healthy dose of leaves, confirming that it is indeed officially fall.  I've pulled out my down comforter and have been eying the thermostat, stubbornly refusing to start turning on the heat quite yet.  Sweaters are now useful outside of my office, as well as in it, and the rains have returned.

As a warm-up for Thanksgiving, here are a couple of things I'm thankful for not having:

• Classes starting
• Lawn maintenance
• A job outside