Breakfast x 4 days: check
Lunch x 4 days: check
Dinner x 4 days: check
Snacks x 4 days: check
Alpo, dog meats, dog treats x 4 days: check
Internet topped up: check
Phone topped up: check
Toiletries and paper products: check
6 jugs of drinking water: check

Goodbye, outside world! I will re-emerge Wednesday, after you have exorcised your demons.

[Sound of heavy doors closing and bolted]

So, I have just celebrated one full year away from Thailand -- back on the 9th of April of course -- and I'm still missing being there.


Let me explain this: the reason I left was because:


• immigrations is an a••hole to foreigners
• politics is BS in the country
• people are smiley but fake
• there is rampant disregard for human life
• education sucks (and I have two kids)
• salary was crap, hardly enough to save up for anything


So I thought going "back" to the USA would solve things. After all I'm American (though not domiciled American) right?


Well guess what I found out?


• still have to deal with immigrations -- for my wife and kids (although it is a world smoother dealing w immigrations here)
• politics is BS here in America as well -- just that you're too insignificant to even make a difference, when congresspeople get paid a million a year to sit on their ass and the government shuts down... says it all
• people are smiley and fake but polite and will work against you behind your back -- I traded bottled up emotions for passive-agressiveness by moving to America
• there is rampant disregard for emotional wellbeing of individuals and Americans wonder why people shoot the f•ck out of everything and bomb stuff -- yet everyone is offended and it's not OK to be 'offended'
• education sucks but because of the amount of individual 'freedom' it leads to more independent thinking -- and arrogance.
• Americans don't like smart people -- they are offended by... [Read More]

So what are the nice beaches in Pattaya I keep reading about? My gf says Koh Lan is nice, but it looks suspiciously boring and crowded to me.

I'll be staying on Soi 9 for 2 days, but I want to sink myself into salt water a bit.

I have been to Patters twice. I used to be in how gross crowd, but it ain't really that bad.... and it's close.

Hua hin is out since I got hit by Jelly.


So.... nice beach and accommodation nearby would be nice.

So it seems very basic. 30k baht to be paid on last day of the month. 5k baht accommodation allowance (they said it's included in monthly pay). 10 days of business/holiday leave. 15 sick days, doctor note required if it's more than 5 consecutive days. Have to give 3 months notice to terminate contract. I forfeit final month salary to "cover all fees" if contract is terminated.

One of my first hesitations is that it doesn't say anything about a work visa and who covers those costs. I emailed asked about that yesterday and am waiting on a response. I also mean to ask about HOW I will be paid (i.e. direct deposit). Are there any other big red flags to be looking for?

I just chatted with my Indo gf and it seems that a young mixed boy got gang-raped at a very well known international school in Jakarta.

This is just a friendly reminder to watch your own kids, and if you are a teacher and don't have good policies in place at your school...for kids attending the bathrooms in at least pairs...try to push for them.

What a terrible thing to happen to the little kid, and his father especially will suffer every day for the rest of his life I imagine; caught between wanting to kill some of these people, but knowing he will go to jail of he ever does...

Quote:

---

Six-year-old allegedly

abused at int’l school

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Tue, April 15 2014, 9:20 AM
http://www.thejakartapost.com/livefyre/notify_pageview



An alleged sexual abuse case was revealed on Monday in an international school in South Jakarta involving the alleged gang rape of a six-year-old student by cleaning service staff.

The victim was reportedly subjected to rape by several members of the school’s outsourced cleaning staff on two

... [Read More]

Am in the middle of one. Have been questioning anything and everything, past and present.

Wonder who am I? what do I really want in life? Wanting to buy a big motorcycle, have affairs, walk on the wild side of life.

Reckless shopping spree on Ebay? Yep! Wanting a sic-pack? Affirmative.


How was your own crisis? How did you snap out of it - if ever?

Mel

Who makes them?
Why are they only in Europe?
Did you ever see one?
What's the big idea?

Simple really, what won't you eat under any circumstances?

For me it's dog, snake and rat. i have watched them all butchered and prepared many times
but eating it never occurred to me as a sensible option.

Except for the French ones, of course.

I figure if we have threads about Australia and America we ought to have one about Canadia. So, why are Canadians so polite?

It might be a year from now, it might be 30 years from now, but this is what is going to kill me if I stay here.

Red Ruby cigarettes. Taste about the same as L&M Daeng. 750 Kyats (25 Baht).

http://www.tttt.ru/40728.jpg

Mandalay rum. Rum! Imagine that. There ain't no rum in Thailand. I often talked about my enjoyment of Hong Thong. It was a sweet whiskey, a la Southern Comfort. Great blended with an ice cold M-150. Mandalay rum is, like rums are, sweet. Goes with mixers outstandingly. Hong Thong was 70 proof. Mandalay is 86 proof. At 1400 Kyat (47 Baht) a fifth, it's as easy on the wallet as it is on the pallet (not saying how easy it is on the liver).

http://www.victorymyanmar.com/sites/...de-image-2.jpg

Since 1886!

Finally, the fried potato.

Oh, how delicious you are.

http://render.fineartamerica.com/ima...edergerber.jpg

I just had a call from a Thai uni stating that they want to interview me tomorrow afternoon. I visited them yesterday and handed in copies of my CV and qualifications.

The contact just called me to advise they want to see me tomorrow for an informal interview and then discuss a time for me to do an exam.

What sort of questions do you think that they will ask me at the informal interview? If they ask me what sort of teaching techniques would I use, what is an appropriate answer to this? I have limited teaching experience to be honest...

I suppose that I will find out tomorrow but why would I have to sit an exam / test?

Any opinions are appreciated- especially the types of questions that they might ask.

thanks

I hate living with others and resent not having my own space. Market prices of the big smoke back in Blight mean I have to share.
Anyone enjoy living with others?
I like having friends over, I'd just rather they don't stay

If I book a first class special express sleeper train will I be sharing the carriage with a stranger or are they private?

For me it was Jean Michel Jarre live in Docklands, London. Would have been about 3 years old . I had a cool childhood all in all; plenty of new age/ liberal/ hippy festivals

I just watched Caddyshack for the first time. Took me about 32-3 years to get to it.

Lot of people have said this is a good flick.

I thought it was not only well done but captured a lot of good things quickly. Witty movie.

Does Caddyshack deserves "Classic" status?

Whoever it was that recently mentioned here how to make toast without a toaster using a skillet and a little olive oil, thanks! I can't remember or locate the thread at the moment, but I just enjoyed two pieces of toast made that way.

I have sullenly avoided buying a toaster all my life (never owned one myself), just because it's another thing to clean, another thing to take up space and haul around when moving, and in Thailand I would think the inevitable crumbs would attract ants.

And the skillet thing should be sort of a no-brainer. I mean people toast sandwiches in a pan all the time. But it never occurred to me. Just like it never occurred to me to steam my morning egg in the rice cooker until I had gone through three of those specialty egg steamers over the years. Duh! :- )

Anyway, thank you! Was it Gungchang maybe? Don't remember. The toast is tasty!

The cheapest flights from Bangkok to LAX I've found are from China Air and China Southern and they include short layovers in China.

Why do you think that is?