El Apartamento, finalmente.

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My excuse for this post being 3 months after we moved into our apartment is a simple one. I am a perfectionist. I still don’t feel our apartment is “perfect” but I guess that’s life so enjoy a picture tour of our space provided below.

Also, family and friends this means I am working on posting wedding pictures (I know, I know so very late but in my defense there are over 1,500 to go through) and most importantly I am working on “Thank you” virtual/cards. Yes, I am a very bad respondent forgive me for as much as I want to be perfect I am most flawed.

Enjoy the apartment in the mean time!

Hotel de Carlin.

Through the front door you are deposited into our entry/dining room/kitchen and into our living room/office. WELCOME!

Above the windows you will notice our air con. Each room has an individual air con and all the lights are built out of the ceiling/wall which I assume is for easy access when there are problems. Your guess is as good as mine though. The couch, chairs and kitchen table came with the place. I am not a red couch in this structure kind of girl but that’s a first world problem. [SHOUT OUT to Brandi Hyde for the Korea pillow that helps personalize our space. I love this pillow so very much, THANK YOU!]

BOOM! You are in our living room and well look at that you are also simultaneously in our office.

With your back to our patio you can see our kitchen stocked with a slightly larger dorm size fridge, one induction burner, a microwave, sink and a drying rack IN the sink. Ta-dah! Compact to say the least.

[SHOUT OUT to the Parkers and my Madre’s side of the family back in Texas for the funds to stock our fridge and pantry (the small shelf above our entire kitchen) when we first made it to Thailand. We can stock our fridge/pantry for a week on $50 or less so we were good for a few weeks. You guys are so sweet and I am throwing many thanks your way. Also thank you to G-ma for the hand stitched dish towels. You know my style well!]

One day we will get an oven that will bake cookies, cakes, muffins, cupcakes and all that nutritional stuff we seem to be missing. The front door is BOOM right there and if we turn left now we can go to the guest room and bath. If we turn right we can go to the master bedroom and adjoining bath. We are going right first.

I would like to say this is awkward BUT being that our master bedroom is right off the living room/office/entry/dining room/kitchen the awkward has worn off.

The striped black and white goodness that graces our walls came with the place along with the bed and duvet. I haven’t quite decided if I am for or against the stripes. They are permanent so I am working with them, deals-isy.

[SHOUT OUT to my sweet sister Am for the help in buying sheets and mama Debbie for the pillow that seems to go with me  everywhere. Jay is pretty laid pack about the floral as long as I promise to incorporate more manly patterns. Yay, compromise!]

BOOM the master bathroom.

If you look by the toilet you will see a hose hanging on the wall. In Thailand it is not as common to use tissue paper but rather water. I have not adapted to this Thai style yet hence the t.p. on the back of the comode because tissue paper holders are also not a normal installment. If you look to the far right in the shower each shower has it’s own water heater. I believe this is also true in many parts of Europe and it makes so much more sense in my mind then one large one as we have back in the States. Fun times getting clean in the BKK.

[SHOUT OUT to the Mickelson’s back in Texas for the money for towels. We found IKEA to our best friend in this department. Also to the Beavers back in Texas also who provided for my hair dryer needs. The shorter hair let me wait on this purchase but it is nice to have. THANK YOU ALL!]

On a side note…

Level change!

From the bathroom to the master bedroom level change!

What you did not notice when you entered our apartment is the slight step up. Who can blame you though?! It is hard to see when I am the one forcing you to see a certain way. Well, as you step into either of our bathrooms you are transported back to the hallway level. THEN as you step into the shower you are transported to a level slightly below the hallway. This leveling is due in part to how Thai style cleaning goes…water-ful. A restroom and a bathroom are translated to “water room” in Thai which makes bathing and cleaning water-ful activities. Hence, the leveling so you don’t spill out into your apartment and flood the place. So, that water being splashed out of the tub by kiddos is not such a big deal Mom and Dad, geez. Be more Thai parentals!

As we exit the master bedroom and bath area (Watch your step!)  here is another view of our “airy” living space.

Can you tell who’s side is who’s in the desk space? The guest bath is straight onward and our Thai broom acts as a functional piece of art. As much as I make fun of how all our living spaces are in fact one living space I do love how the area is designed. I love the combination of wood and tile. I do not mind the monochromatic color scheme so much as I can be brighter in other ways. It’s a fun first space for Jay and I. The best part of all is that it is BANGKOK so I shouldn’t really complain.

Another view of the combo space. If you read my getting crafty blog post then this map looks familiar. It really has helped make this space more personal.

Now, as we turn right we will enter the guest room/Jay’s studio space. Jay being the laid back gentleman he is lets me give the space a thorough cleaning before guests arrive and rearrange the space. So, if you are a future guest viewing this picture the room will be a surprise when you come…a good surprise I promise.

The guest room/studio space.

So, it is not in a bad shape but it is setup for daily usage. It serves it’s studio function well as far as I understand. It gives Jay his creative space and us a guest space. Hotel de Carlin is open and taking reservations so feel free to make them.

For those who are curious, this is how we do our laundry.

Laundry day.

We are so green or made to be, wasteful Amurricans. On the main floor of our building is a laundry area with four washers and one dryer. I rather like this setup and find that in the Thailand heat (I move the drying rack to our patio once it’s all done up) all the clothes dry in about 2 hours or less. The ones already on hangers can go immediately into the closets and the ones on the rack are simply folded and put away. I do put our sheets and towels in the dryer though. I like the fluff the dryer provides the Amurrican that I am.

Well, now you are caught up on our living space here in the BKK. Feel free to creep and scroll back up and look again. They are here for your viewing pleasure and to give me more time to get all the wedding photos together along with “Thank you” cards : / I do not count my “SHOUT OUT” as a proper “Thank You” so don’t worry peeps. Proper thanks will be sent out accordingly. It is just a matter of time.

 

 

Monsoon’s big, small, furry and gone

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In recent news, Monsoon became a temple cat and technology continues to fail us here at the Big Tree.

 

Rewind…now to explain the vague complex sentence.

The Friday leading into our fall break a small kitten came in with the rains. (Hence the name Monsoon for the rains here in the BKK aren’t gentle afternoon showers). She was/is a scrawny little thing with dirty ears and she curled around my heart instantly. It’s the cat lady in me and I couldn’t resist (not like I would try).

A Small Monsoon.

I wasn’t the only one who found myself in love with the scrawny patchwork printed ball of purr. The Big Tree guards and our sweet housekeeping staff were wrapped around Monsoon’s little paw too. Monsoon took up residence in one of the guard chairs just outside the Big Tree front door and once she got more comfortable she was prowling the grounds in between down pours. I learned quickly how to ask for “meow” meaning cat in Thai as soon as I approached the entrance. I found any excuse to go downstairs and sit with the sweet kitten.

I was once a jungle gym for my niece and nephews and now small kittens. Oh, how life goes full circle.

My kitten excuse led me to interact with our guards and housekeeping a bit more in my barely legal Thai and their passionate efforts at English. I learned that to say mosquito in Thai escapes me until one lands on me, which makes me say it more as an accusation. I learned that the drivers who drop off the rich benefactors of the Big Tree construction company think of the United States as “Amary-ca Eagle.” I learned that to sleep like Monsoon in a guard chair is called “noon” and can be said very easily in a coo-ing voice. I learned that Thai people are even more wonderful than I thought. My heart grew 3 sizes that day and each day that followed as I interacted more with Big Tree personnel as Monsoon slept away in my lap.

How can a heart grow? How can you feel it swell and melt at the sweet smiles from guards and staff as they help you learn bits of Thai that are easy to swallow and the meows of an innocent creature entice you to keep going back for more? How can this be?

Lord, I am awed by you.

 

Then as soon as she came she was gone.

As the more aggressive downpours left so did Monsoon to a Wat in our neighborhood. She is now a temple cat, living with monks and meditating over milk. As much as I want to make this sound cool my heart kinda hurts. Yeah, I ever so slightly made Monsoon a replacement for my sweet Ru who is back in the states. Yeah, I shouldn’t have done that but I did and the pain still wouldn’t make me change what I did if I could go back. The fact is animals are the best way to bond if I may say so myself and I thank Monsoon to infinity and beyond for the ability to now be able to say “Sa-wah-dee-ka” to the workers of Big Tree with a knowing smile. We have a bond that is sacred and Monsoon gave us that. Where ever you are thank you dear little Monsoon. You are a monk cat now but you are missed here at Big Tree.

As for technology fails I feel our troubles here at the Big Tree aren’t really worth a blog post but alas I need to vent a bit. I am learning a bit of patience as our internet continues to lag, drag, cut-off and die-off entirely. A word to the wise, when you pray to God for patience he gives it and perhaps you should think twice about praying for patience. Funny, funny jokes on me!

It helps when you get completely frustrated with the internet situation that you turn to books (imagine that for an English major), crafting, cleaning, adventuring with your husband and just getting out of the apartment to avoid ripping the router out of the wall. Fun times in the Carlin household.

Thailand you are teaching me so much and I don’t know if I can really contain it all but I promise I will try. I will try with all my might.

 

 

 

Could you fight this feeling…any longer?

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I am fighting the urge to sleep. About 3 different medicines are coursing through my veins telling my eyes to close, heart to drop to a slow rhythmic pace and my body to feel mmm, mmm good. I have an ear infection.

In memory, this is the first ear infection I have ever had (am I right Dad and Mom?). As an adult I know it is definitely the first, as the body crippling pain is hard to forget. “So, this is why babies scream at the top of their lungs!” is the message the resounding pain that forced my body to convulse and tears to stream delivers to my brain.

I am not one to want to voluntarily go to a doctor. My parents had to drag me and now my sweet Husband has to drag me. Today was different though. As soon as my amazing husband walked through the door after work I was begging to go the doctors. The gentleman that he is he obliged without a word of the horrible, no good, very bad day that he had (until I winkled it out of him later). My Jay takes good care of me.

There were no taxi’s when we got down to our soi so we started walking to the next major street. My ear throbbing and of little use I didn’t hear the Sung Tao approach but luckily we were on it right behind the frail looking old Thai man who had hailed it (notice I say “frail looking” because the old are tough here in Thailand).

Sixteen baht later Jay and I were crossing the busy street to the hospital where I was checked in without a problem, weighed and found wanting…of aid. This whole process was SO SIMPLE compared to the paper work you have to fill out in the States. They asked for my passport (done!), they wanted my address (done!) and they wanted my phone number (done!). Amurrica we have some problems. At any rate, the doctor called me in. He asked if I spoke Thai and I said, “nit-noy” meaning “a little.” He responded by telling me he spoke a little English and I told him “Well, then this will be fun.” Some pantomimes of body crippling pain and pointing to my ear allowed him to get the jist enough to grab his handy-dandy ear looker thingy and take a gander. I didn’t need to speak Thai to understand that this man saw the festering hollows of my ear canal and he went to work (in accent-less English) to prescribe antibiotics, eardrops, pain medicine for my ear, cough and the decongestant I had been found wanting. Oh, glory hallelujah! Jay and I cashed out ($40 TOTAL as in med.’s, doctor visit and nurse all in an ER setting…Amurrica we definitely have some problems) and headed home being passed by two cabs and finally catching the third.

Once home I created my medicine time sheet (my Mama’s taught me well) and began the journey to feel better land where the grass is greener, of course.

Ear drops (done!), cough no more drug (done! Coughing with an ear infection SUCKS!), nose clearing goodness (done!), pain reliever that is medically prescribe (Oh yeah, DONE!) and last but not least my antibiotic to kill off the ear infections gods (because ear infections are pagans, duh).

 

Please allow me introduce you to my antibiotic.

Antibiotic meet People. People meet Antibiotic. Mr. Pen is here to show the good People how big you really are Antibiotic. Please, don’t mind him.

That is a normal size writing utensil good People. This guy is HUGE! One whole gram of fighting ear infection power! BAM!

My husband hates taking pills but I on the other hand would rather a pill over a shot, liquid medicine or even chewable. Pills are my forte and I swallowed Mr. Antibiotic without a problem until I looked at his weight again.

One gram even for a pill lover seemed like a lot. I questioned him and did a quick google search of what was written on his outer wrapping. I did all this after swallowing him, of course. Well, for future notice to all a “dispersible tablet” means you are supposed to dissolve it in water and then engulf it. Oops, did I do that? No, I did not. I chugged two glasses of water, started burping some bubbles, heard a grumbling in my tumbly but was/am fine.

So, a bit was lost in translation but overall I made it through my first go round with the Thai doctors and feel like the Carlin’s in Bangkok are a bit more self-sufficient for it. YAY us! YAY med.’s! YAY bed that is calling my name! I can’t fight this feeling any longer (good ol’ 80’s jams). Take this blog peeps and use it for the next time a baby cries with an ear infection to understand that you should cry with them because it is a miserable state to be in. Poor babies with ear infections they deserve our empathy.

 

Getting Crafty in Bangkok

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Since I haven’t found a “craft store” I like to think it adds to my creativity but in reality it only adds to my efforts to procrastinate crafts. Bwahaha!

I have finally run out of excuses though. I have found the necessary supplies to hang our world map tapestry and the urge to nest has overruled any ounce of procrastination left.

I found the thread, pins and needle at a mom and pop shop on our soi one evening while walking around with Jay. I literally said, “Ah-Ha!” when I found them. I pricked my fingers numerous times with the ultra-flexible needle (needles do not need to be THAT flexible) but I survived. Our tapestry survived as well and the pictures below catalogue the tapestries journey from throw blanket to wall mountable glory.

Our journey began with measurements, division and marking.

Luckily, I brought some fabric from home. It’s 50 states fabric so I felt cutting a strip of it to make fabric hooks for the back of the tapestry was appropriate. Got to keep with the geography theme.

I am pinning and it’s not just on Pinterest! Little Thai Ru was there for moral support as the real Ru would have of course laid on any work I was doing on the floor as well. The joy of having a cat :]

These are the “fancy pins” that I bought from the mom and pop shop on our soi. They are “Woman Brand” which I thought would be hard to manage but they were pretty docile.

Once pinning was done at the appropriate measurements it was time to sew. Sewing by hand is a lot less glamorous than the period films would have you think. Another way life is not like the movies.

3M hooks have become my best friends since we have concrete walls. I pressed each of these little suckers as close as I could to the wall for 30 seconds because I follow packaging instructions like a good little nerd.

BEFORE the wall was clothed. So naked (pronounced “neck-ed” in the Texan dialect).

AFTER with Angels singing. Wall you got some nice swag!

Running off the fumes of the tapestry project I took on making our desk area more presentable and less dorm-room-esque. I do not want to invest in any kinds of frames as we plan to make our teaching abroad a career. Frames = glass which glass = breakable so, I had a small challenge in looking into alternative ways to “frame” pictures.

The wall above our work station is half glass and half magnetic board. It was good thinking by the contractor and thus I felt it was a good idea to take advantage of the pro’s of our desk space. Project Drawn on Frames Initiate!

“Wyteboard Marker.” I would have bought this brand even if it wasn’t the best brand all for the grandeur of it’s spelling.

BEFORE the “wyteboard” marker met the “whiteboard.”

AFTER the “wyteboard” marker drew frames around the photos.

Up close and personal look at the squiggly lines. I very obviously did not use a ruler but I quite prefer the imperfection.

 

After such a crafting streak I can now officially proclaim the start of a craft drawer!

Bum bum buuuuuuum! T’is a start to something magical! I even stowed away my clippings of sewing machines :] Got to keep the dream alive!

Since taking the show on the road I have learned that you can not assumed you can find anything just anywhere in Bangkok. I have managed to find basic crafting supplies but it will take time to accumulate. I can’t rush around looking because I have no idea where to begin. It will be a search that will ride shotgun as Jay and I wonder around different parts of Bangkok. Hopefully, I will have many more “Ah-Ha!” moments as I stumble across better needles, a better selection of thread and *fingers crossed* fabric.

 

**UPDATE**In the major department stores I have found sewing machines (Ah-Ha!) and large selections of yarn (aww, poo). Knitting is the thing to do in Thailand but it is kind of like making flip flops in Siberia in my mind. I don’t knit so I shouldn’t criticize but really….knitting in this humidity and heat?! THERE IS NO WINTER IN BANGKOK!

 

^_^

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Asian Beth…not…but really.

Hello, my name is Beth Carlin and I have an Asian infatuation.This infatuation consists of an enduring love that focuses on Far East Asia but is not limited to it as Bollywood is Broadway made better by the “wicked” rhythm and dance moves.

Get it girls!

When I married my amazing husband and we planned to move abroad to Thailand I felt like I was getting the better end of the deal. We had both been planning to move abroad to teach but I was the one who had focused on Asia while his love of Brazilian music called him down South. So, we put Brazil on hold and set off for the East.

Going the Thai way.

My love of Asian culture was awakened when I discovered the channel AZN in 8th grade. AZN provided Asian news, soaps and entertainment shows with English subtitles and inevitably provided me with an earthly heaven. I watched my first Korean soap opera, “Phoenix”,  with dedicated viewing pleasure every Wednesday afternoon following track practice. I then continued to consume more Asian dramas once I found online streaming videos.

My love for Asian culture was thus born with a wink and simultaneous peace sign. As my free time was consumed by perpetual viewing of dramas and movies.

The peace sign is apparent but the wink is M.I.A.

This love is re-born at least once a year with some new Asian obsession. My current obsession involves PSY’s “Gangnam Style” and about this time last year it was T-ara’s (pronounced “tiara”) “Bo-Peep”. It may appear to be seasonal but it always comes back fierce with a series of repeated plays and research sessions of the most popular trends in Asia. I am a strange Amurrican.

Word.

One may ask why I have this strange love when there is plenty of American pop culture to go around. Well, to be honest I didn’t understand it myself at first. The dramas can be very cheesy, include very predictable plots that incorporate some strange love triangle, a hospital visit and then a fairy tale ending. The Japanese movies always have someone dying or cured of cancer but hiding it to save face. While, the Taiwanese dramas tend to be absurdly long. They don’t sound appealing when stripped bare like that and the roughly translated lyrics from the Asian pop songs don’t strengthen my argument.

This drama is called “Wonderful Life.” It contains a love triangle, a contract marriage and of course cancer. Cheese fest and I have only read reviews of this one as too much cheese is bad for you just like anything in excess.

BUT…Asian dramas are max 26 episodes long not 10 years like some American TV series (Silly FRIENDS. How long did the infinite Seinfeld run for again?). So, they act more like extended movies. (Hi, my name is Beth Carlin and I also am a cinema fanatic.) If you’re lucky a second season may be born out of the popularity of the first set of episodes. These are rare occasions and should be cherished.  The rare moments mean that the drama was worth watching. This was not true for many Taiwanese dramas I watched. There is also the chance that another Far East Asian country may make a cover. For example:

A Japanese manga (graphic novel) told the tale of four wealthy pretty boys called F4 who ruled their high school. A plain looking girl caught the leaders eye and a chain of events ensues that tests their love and love triangle (I bet you didn’t see that coming!).

Manga.

The Taiwanese (C-drama) were first to turn this manga into a live action drama called, “Meteor Garden”. This series had two seasons and was absurdly long. It was not bad but took some major self-discipline to complete.

Taiwan. Two seasons that could have equalled four. It was too much of a good thing.

The Japanese (J-drama) were next and produced “Hana Yori Dango” which received rave reviews. Many girls went swooning after the Japanese members of F4. They were ranked as heartthrobs beyond heartthrob measure. The acting provided by the leads was believable and the chemistry was great.

Japan. Two seasons and a final movie.

The Koreans gave it a go next but in my humble opinion “Boys Over Flowers” (which means “pretty boys”) couldn’t meet the level that Hana Yori Dango had set acting and chemistry wise. This is hard for me to admit, as I am usually the strongest supporter of Korean dramas (a.k.a. K-dramas). Yes, I thought the boys were better looking but looks don’t override acting skills, sorry!

Korea. Two seasons.

The cherry on top of all the Asian movies and dramas is their tendency to be part of the Romantic-Comedy genre. I am a huge fan of a good Rom-Com. So, my Asian fascination continues on strong with my love of comedic, well, love.

The popular Asian songs also tend to be happy pop mixes that you can’t help but dance around to in a giddy way (view links above located in 4th paragraph.)

I know that if these were American actors or pop stars I would be repulsed but the Asian factor gets me every time. I LOVE ASIAN CULTURE! Some how the sweet swagger of the stars, the language barrier and the dance moves make it all better. I can look past all the silliness because I love the cultures that they are derived from. I learn some of the basic greetings, manners, history and cultural trends from the movies and dramas. I develop a slight better rhythm with each play of a trendy Asian song and learn a bit more about the language as I translate the lyrics. Yeah, some of my first Korean words may have been curses but I learned something. Which is more than I can say for the show FRIENDS. All I learned from that show was the song “Smelly Cat,” that they are yelling at you by spelling out FRIENDS in all caps and that Joey’s character is stupid, poor Joey.

Learn some quick Korean.

So, when I say jokingly that I got the better deal when Jay and I moved to Thailand I am not exaggerating. I really did get the better deal. He loves it here but his heart is devoted to Brazilian culture. I guess when it’s time to move to Brazil I will have to re-awaken my South American culture craze phase. Yes, I did have one of those phases too.    ^_^

[To set the record straight, people do NOT speak Spanish in Brazil. People in Brazil speak Portuguese. I thought I should get that out there before the assumption was made that I plan on using the intermediate level of Spanish I know in Brazil. New language learning here I come!]

 

Potty Drama

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This past weekend Jay and I went to the beautiful island of Koh Samet off the eastern coast of Thailand. My rough draft of this blog consisted of me listing each detail of our weekend. I found this quite boring and it lacked luster until I got to the part about toilets. I began to write avidly about the toilets we met along the roadway to and from Koh Samet so, I kept that bit and flushed the rest. (GET IT?!? Oh, how I love potty humour.)

When I think of a toilet I think of this:

He is so happy that he is giving you the thumbs up. Aggies do that when they are happy, too.

I always took the porcelain throne for granted but I no longer do.

At our first of many roadway pit stops I nonchalantly walked towards the restrooms. The gas station was a newly constructed western style looking gas station that would of course have western style restroom facilities, of course. Silly farang thoughts.

I was instead met with this sign:

A bit of foreshadowing with signs demonstrating proper toilet usage.

“Whatever did they mean not to stand on regular toilets?” I thought innocently.

A longer line was forming at one set of stalls so I took the shorter line (because why would you not in the ladies restroom?!?). I looked around for a minute at the other ladies I was in line with wondering if they took note of the strange sign. No one seemed phased so, I waited with my personal package of toilet paper (many rest stops along Thai motorways did not provide you with any). I was thinking ahead with my personal toilet tissues and I was proud of myself.

Finally, a stall was made available and I ventured in. I was met with this:

Of course I took a photo. No need to use your foot to flush girls! Instead use the little bucket to the left to scoop up water and manually flush. Now, imagine how many other hands touch that little scoops handle. BWAHAHAHAHAHA etc. etc. etc!

I laughed and looked around my stall for another way. I had prepared for bringing my own toilet paper but I wasn’t prepared for this. WHY?!? Silly farang thoughts again.

I was left with two choices: exit stall, wait in the long line for what I can only assume now are “regular” toilets or just go for it.

So, I went for it and I was oddly proud of myself.

I left my stall cursing Eve and using all my hand sanitizer since soap is also not provided at rest stops along Thai motorways. My clean freak self was quietly having a melt down and wishing for even more hand sanitizer to shower in.

I could not have said it better myself.

Looking back, I feel like I broke down a small barrier between westerner and Thai culture. It’s not the language barrier but at least it’s something we all do.

Now, I also have a rad conversation starter when I want to illustrate how utterly worldly I am.

Example of said conversation starter by backpacker Beth:

“Dude, in Thailand there are toilets that are built into the ground with grooves on each side of the hole for your feet. When you get down to business you have to pray the entire time that you don’t accidently hit your shoes. HA! Isn’t that rad? It’s super interesting and I felt really Thai, yeah man, super Thai. I mean, like, I was using the restroom Thai style. You even have to bring your own tissues and soap. Yeah, man it’s super earthy. I felt like I was one with the earth.”

….not really but you see how it could be an interesting conversation from there on out. Squatting is also supposedly better for you.

Almost too much information. What is that pink rubberband thing?!?

I guess I am for the “chokes the rectum” position.

The potty drama made the trip to and from Koh Samet that much more educational and interesting. I can’t wait to bring any visitors we have down to the beautiful island and allow you to experience first hand the call of nature Thai style along the way. Well, except for men.

Curse you Eve.

I couldn’t have said it better myself, Eve. BUY THIS SHIRT: http://www.randomshirts.com/products/my-bad-eve

Vertigo

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We ventured out to a roof top bar called, Vertigo, in what could be referred to as the middle of Bangkok if Bangkok had a center. It was a fun little adventure that I look forward to doing again. Drinks were higher in price but the view made it worth a few.

Onward, to the 59th floor! (It wasn’t fun thinking about the size of the elevator shaft going up.)

The view from Vertigo and the impending storm.

It may not be that Bangkok doesn’t have a center but more so that you need to retreat to a high spot on the far reaches of the Bangkok sprawl to get an idea of Bangkok’s center and skyline. Then you may see some landmarks but in the midst of old and new, wealth and poverty you lose all sense of relative direction.

Don’t mind the nice condo’s in back.

A landmark tried but not true is the river that twists and turns through the west portion of the city. This ribbon that runs past Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and the hospital that now houses the King himself does little to help one’s sense of direction but more to help disorientate you further.

Where you going river? For all who are curious, we live in the Bangna Trad area. Woo! Rural/suburbia!

So, far the only thing that has helped us is GPS via smart phones. Thank you Android and Apple. Till I get better acquainted with Bangkok I will shamelessly be gazing at maps, pointing about myself and feigning I understand direction anywhere other than within a mall (oops, my suburbia is showing).

 

Le Ru & Silver Linings

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When I had hair and Ru had shorter whiskers.

If you have known me for more than an hour you know I have a cat. His name is Rufus and he has a plethora of nicknames to allow for proper cooing. (Ru, Rufacus Spartacus Maximus, Rufakisses, Little Ru, Cat-Dog, Ru-poo-poo-pee-doo-woo, Rufie, Ru-fers etc. etc. etc…I have no shame.)

Rufacus Spartacus Maximus

The fierce roar of Ru.

Jay has adopted him as his own and helped me seek out a little Thai Ru that would not replace Rufus but act as a tangible comfort until we got the true Ru to Bangkok.

Little Thai Ru the Tangible.

In the meantime, my sweet Momma (who has graciously been caring for him state side) has been consistently uploading photos of Rufus to facebook for me in his own special album named appropriately and simply, “Rufus.” This album has made my day as much as it has made me miss the little fur ball. It has acted as a motivator more than anything else (sad but true) for me to get a job so, that money can be saved up to bring Ru to Bangkok.

Whiskered Glory.

Now, this is not to say that if Ru did not exist I would have no motivation to get a job. HA! I am itching to get a job. I have had my mini-meltdowns as my life at the moment is marked by washing machine cycles, cleaning our apartment and re-reading while I await my teacher certification to arrive in the mail.

I loathe snail mail. Haven’t we ventured beyond this? Why do I romanticize postcards and vintage stamps…they literally suck…the life out of me. I have no patience for such things that could be done within five minutes on the Internet. Ridiculous.

Though not as ridiculous as this. Future Christmas card prepare yourself Jay!

I am stir crazy yet all I can do is wait. I am in a waiting place and it is not quite what I thought it would be. I feel unfulfilled and I feel useless.

The lone sock.

When I worked (seems so long ago yet it’s only been 2 months) and took vacations it was a comfort to know that once I was done relaxing I would have a place to go to for eight hours a day once more. Not having that place after a two-month break means there is no comfort to the monotonous joblessness I find myself in. I find no purpose. I have held some kind of job since I was 10 years old be it babysitting or working in customer service. The lack of productivity in my day-to-day life at the moment is eating away at my brain and it’s starting to eat at my heart.

When you can feel yourself sinking into a slump and/or a depression of sorts you know it’s a good thing. To feel yourself sinking means you can still feel and that you are not numb.

I still care enough to try to get out of this slump/depression. I still want to fight the urge to curl up in a mass (I cannot curl up into a ball) and mentally die from lack of productivity. I was not made to be still except for small intervals (meaning a day). Even my vacations were punctuated with activities that kept me busy but here I am in my waiting place. All I can do is wait and trust that God (thank God) has a plan. He knows my heart that longs for work beyond the confines of the apartment. He knows this and so, I wait. My hands seemly tied because I have submitted every form needed thus far and made every contact that I could, thus far.

Now, I wait.

I wait…

…and I wait…

…and I wait some more.

It is not a lovely experience and it is not an enjoyable experience.

It is an experience that has made me understand unemployment to be hell on earth. (I could be more dramatic. Tis possible I promise.)

I do believe unemployment is right there with traitors beyond the Giant’s Well in the very depths of the inferno.

So, my motivation to get a job (outside of pining for Ru) is to get out of hell. A hell that is made mentally and thus begins to consume you wholly. (Proven…even more dramatic.)

So, I wait and I fight and I pray.

There goes another day. (HA! I am a poet and I didn’t even know it!)

ON A BRIGHTER NOTE (I did just yell at you via caps lock)…here is another adorable picture of Ru my sweet orange tabby.

First day home. First photo at home. Le bebe Ru.

Wat Arun and ‘arry

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I have been a slacker in the sense of blogging. In the sense of living though I have been mildly productive if you don’t count not having a job.

Jay and I visited Wat Arun in the heart of Bangkok. We used eight modes of transportation (Sung Towah, bus, BTS air train, Ferry, Water Taxi, Tuk Tuk, walking and then a Taxi) to see it and then journey back home. It was a fun little adventure as we climbed the steep steps that symbolized human suffering (woe to us beings) and then climbed back down them (going down was far scarier). The temple itself is made up of porcelain plates that were incorporated whole or in bits to form flowers or act as jewels. Recycling at it’s finest. It is a gorgeous sight.

The first of many steps equally human suffering. (Photo credit to Therese)

Porcelain whole and in pieces.

Backing that thing down some steps of human suffering.

On the way back Jay, Keeley (a lovely fellow TCIS teacher) and I decided to take a Tuk Tuk to China town that was near by. We spent the next few hours walking through China town and towards the nearest BTS stop to take us home. We made a pit stop at Sunrise Tacos which has become a Sunday tradition of sorts. The neatest Mexican food you may find ever.

Working our way through the allies of China town.

Jay and his very neat burrito.

I found that Bangkok’s China town simply means there will be more street vendors that will be selling Chinese things (as for the difference between Chinese and Thai things I have not found a difference other than writing). Bangkok is supposedly the number one place in the world for street vendors. I believe it even more each night as our soi somehow expands to fit more street vendors than it had previously held during the day. How it happens I do not know. Tis magic I suppose.

After out trek it Wat Arun Jay had his first full week of school. The past few weeks had been four days long with the beginning of school being a short week and then the Queen’s birthday giving everyone a three day weekend the following week (thanks Queenie).

So, he ventured off on Monday to school and I stayed home as usual. I have been itching to find another good read (along with a job) after I finished The Sparrow (thank you Brandi Hyde…it was an amazing read that I will have to read it again as so much seems to be connected). I found our shared Nook and tried reading Freakonomics. It wasn’t hitting the spot. So, I searched through it once more and came across the Harry Potter series. Long time no see, ‘arry.

Excited children. We are pretty much one and the same.

So, my journey with Harry Potter has once again commenced. I have devoted a days reading each to the first four books but the fifth book contains over 600 pages thus a second day just may be in store for it.

I never went to any mid-night release nights for any of the books within the Harry Potter series but I seemly grew up with him as each book was released.

This is what mid-night release partys are supposedly like. You can not find me in this picture because I was never there.

I never did this. The kid on the left is by far scarier even though they have no wand. I SEE THROUGH YOU FAKER!

 

I never did this either. People are so creepy.

When Harry entered Hogwarts at age eleven my eleven-year-old self was reading about him doing so. When twelve-year-old Harry was figuring out his way through the chamber of secrets twelve year old Beth was reading about him doing so. Thirteen year old Beth was so happy to find that Harry had a godfather and fourteen year old Beth felt the gut wrenching sting of death as JK Rowling killed off a character for the first time in The Goblet of Fire. Not to be the last either as the three later novels became darker. A more mature audience was reading Harry Potter at this point. Fifteen, sixteen and seventeen year-olds who grew up with Harry were now able to pair the novels with film and compare the two media’s along with the awaited following books.

I remember all this and am re-reading the books for memories sake. I still remember my Dad showing up with the second Harry Potter book after he had come off a night shift (Thanks Dad). I immediately ran off to my room with the book. I didn’t emerge till I had finished it (I believe there is a photo of me camped out on my bed reading with an expression of, “why are you here” being given to the camera). I left my room in the after glow of finishing a wonderful tale. It’s feelings like that at the age of twelve which bring me back to the series ten years later.

Judge me as you will for reading what some Christians would call a heathen text but it is a wonderful story. It capitalizes on the magic but not in teaching children how to use it. Rather on the bravery it still takes to face life each day with a higher power in the trenches with you.  If you read it as such you will see it. If you read it as evil I am sure you will see it as so.

So, I am once again caught up in the tale of Harry Potter. I still got excited when Harry had the sorting hat placed upon his head. I still got excited when I discovered he was a parselmouth. I still got excited when Harry met his godfather for the first time and a new hope was still able to rise (even though I knew the outcome) that Harry would finally be free of the Dursleys. I still got even more excited with each of the Triwizard Tournament tasks. Now I find I am dreading the end of the series…yet again. The idea of it ending once more makes my heartache. I hate how attached I get to mere characters but it is an epic journey nonetheless.

 

Onward, to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!

 

Dumbledore’s words for thought (followed by Beth’s swoon):

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to become.”

Oh, Dumbledore how insightful you are.

Dumbledore.

 

 

Get yo’ knees flexin’ and yo’ arms t-rexin’…Do the Creep

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What I am trying not to channel.

I am a creeper. I watch without an ounce of shame the family across the khlong (English: canal) from our apartment building.

Behind our building there runs a khlong with a little sidewalk along one side that mopeds fly down and pedestrians walk along. This activity alone is fascinating.

Like neighborhoods in the states the sidewalks are in front of little houses and buildings surrounded by lush vegetation (what is lush vegetation Americans might ask…think SUPER green not from sprinklers). The major differences from the states are the level of activity in the front yards and the trash in the water below the khlong sidewalks. (Neighborhood committees in the states would have heads on spikes for the trash in the water.)

Take that neighborhood committee!

While, in the states most activity is in the backyard behind high fences this family carries out most of their daily living in the front yard. They wash dishes, clothes, eat and lounge about in their front yard.

Jay and I have an apartment on the fourth floor of our building. So, our apartment provides a birds eye view into the front yard of this family’s home. This is how I get to observe their daily comings and goings.

(Initiate Beth’s creeper mode)

Haaaaaaaw.

The monks come early in the morning for offerings, the little girl goes off to school in her uniform, the grandmother comes out to wash dishes in their water barrel, the little girl returns home from school with a gaggle of girls and the father returns home on his moped which he pulls directly into the house. The father then comes back outside with the baby that he walks along the khlong sidewalk with sweetly kissing and caressing all the while.

Meanwhile, I am in awe four floors up watching them. Beth, thy name is Creeper.

Derp.

I love watching this family.  It’s creepy and kind of rude of me but they are just so sweet. I am comforting myself with the idea that I am learning more about Thai culture just by observing their daily life in the front yard of their small house. I am not simply creeping. I am learning.

I tried not watching one day but my desk is so perfectly situated by the window and so perfectly situated to observe them I couldn’t help it. It also didn’t help that this particular day the grandmother decided to put on a kind of fashion show. At one point she was wearing a skirt and a blouse. She then went inside and came out wearing the long skirt as a full-length dress. She brought clothes to a little basin where she allowed them to soak, scrubbed them and then took the wrung out clothes back into the house. Each time she came back outside in a new outfit. Fascinating and she has a really nice sense of fashion if I do say so myself. You go, Grandma!

All in all, I am sure by Thai standards this family is doing nothing unusal but by my Texan (no use saying, American…see previous blog) standards they are better than television. In respect, to the family I am not going to post a picture of their front yard as tempting as it may be. No need to make you all creepers, too. Tis for your own sake. You’re welcome.

So, this post proves how much I need a job. I never thought I’d say it but I miss Starbucks. WAIT, I TAKE THAT BACK! I miss my friends from Starbucks, of course. What I miss is not Starbucks though. I miss having a job to go to every day. Without a job I become a creep. How unflattering.