Can't seem to drink enough coffee. Maybe it's the end of winter and rise of temperatures, maybe it's going off of my norepinephrine anti-depressant, (Couldn't be happier though. On a lighter note - google search on going cold-turkey led to a social anxiety forum. Think about it), or just a phase, I'm pretty much always tired these last 3 4 days.
My solution so far has been to not set an alarm for the morning (8am wake up anyway) and napping. I'm drinking coffee, even tried chugging some energy drinks, but come 9pm and I'm fighting off sleep until I finish my work day and stumble one meter into a very comfortable bed.
Haven't had too many adventures either. Tried ordering dinner in Thai tonight and managed to get close-ish. The way I'm speaking Thai right now is a lot like the live band at the restaurant next door performing Beatles, Bee-Gees, and other classic hits without really knowing the words. It's close-ish, but Puff the Magic Dragon didn't really do half the stuff they sang about.
I am planning the next adventure and I'm now categorizing by neighborhood, price, time, day of the week, and out-of-town. I've memorized the Nancy Chandler map and accompanying pamphlet as well as the Chiang Mai travel guide, occasionally they have similar information. When you're living in a tourism-funded and fueled area, it's damn difficult to avoid tourist traps (Tiger Kingdom - pay more to play with the babies and don't get caught drug-testing the amazingly docile adults). I am a tourist and the kind with Portland-like ideals of respecting culture, wanting to dive into the real experience without affecting anything, and wanting to listen to banging tunes as I motor-scooter my way there. Yeah.
Chinese New Year was largely unattended by yours truly. It was a street shopping bonanza by the time I got out of bed and where the remains of what looked to be an awesome parade had joined the piles of food waste and commerce as Thai/Chinese families cruised around for deals (and there were some great deals) while their kids dressed in adorable little red silk Chinese outfits got away with whatever they wanted. They were that cute.
Naturally I got lost, found myself in a maze of alleys spanning tiny canals and ended up at a real hilltribes craft "store". Tables of handicrafts, the kind that looked like they'd been stolen from Karen and Hmong clotheslines. With my Portland ethical quandaries firmly in place, I hesitated on buying Uncle Porn (popular name here people, get your mind out of the gutter) discarded colorful and beaded belt and instead purchased two handbags that looked like they'd been created for sale, not stolen while the owners dozed in the sun.
Tiger Army
5 Baht tobacco
Geek Flops!
Flower Truck
Lanna Architecture in Mini
minivan - more evidence coming
dollar bins
Paper Cutter
Pre Holy String
Spirit Appeasement Packs
Thai Graffiti
More Thai Graffiti
Thai Paste Up
And, I practiced my first full Thai phrase, after a conversation of broken English and gestures, I popped out, Can you make discount? The shopkeeper gave me a so-you-only-speak-THAT-Thai look and knocked 20 baht off of the price. I didn't trust my grasp of the language to ask for more, forked over the requested baht, and lost my way finally back to a semi-familiar street that led to where my motorbike was waiting for me.
Deep thoughts in the past few days? Sure, but always happy, always leading to the same conclusion - everything is perfect and the more I realize that, the less I get upset that it isn't happening MY way, that it may not happen my way in the future, and that timing is always perfect, I just sometimes forget. Then I had my ass pinched by a cute Thai guy as I was getting on the bike and it all goes out the window!
A day passed....
It's finally happening, my work status is changing to one more reflective of my current living location. And I can't brag about how awesome my life is on Facebook, or at least let co-workers see it...so shhhhhhh everyone!
Other than that, the day included an extra learning session with the teacher (kruu) one-on-one to work on tones and the vowel sounds that don't exist in English. Conclusion: this language will take me years to get down.