Happy Birthday Sow & Rick!

Yep, another set of birthday greetings. The very last of the year actually. For Sow my lovely wife and for Rick my lovely, uh well, who, seeing he's in a different time zone, really caps the year to an end.

There's an odd set of events that circle around these two. We always joke about how fertile Rick is. Anyone getting pregnant within 1000 yards of him automatically makes him a suspect. Let's chalk one up for Sow being 8000 miles away! It was actually Rick's son Evan that came up with calling me Ray-Ray. Aaron was just too difficult for him at first. When I met Sow, she had a similar problem with it. She asked if I had a nickname (everyone in Thailand has a nickname). I told her to call me Ray. Flash forward a year and we're kicking around names for UNSUB #1. Let's combine our names, and there you go, a baby was named.

For Sow's Birthday, I got her this knitting / weaving set we'd seen a number of times at the mall. They've had a little workshop setup thru the holidays and I was worried they'd close up by about this time so I gave it to her early. She's been banging out scarves for the last few days. All the threads they have are really cool. Everything she's made looks like something out of an expensive boutique. She's actually knitting herself a new purse as I write this.

Rick has since been fitted with some sort of sneeze guard or other, keeping innocent women from harm. He may have been born on the last day of the 60's, but he'll always be 80's-man to me. Think 80's --> Think Rick. Think Miami Vice --> Think Rick. Think Spandau Ballet... (*you get the idea)

Happy Birthday!!!

Just think. next year we'll be celebrating all these together!

By the time you read this there...

...it'll most likely be Sow's Birthday here. Maybe you can all secretly write her a birthday email to surprise her with. Damn! If she doesn't read this over my shoulder. "Go to bed sweetie!"

Anyhow, you can send them here:

Happy Birthday Sow!

Thanks, see you all New Years Eve!

-Aaron

Flashback Episode:

Happy Days did it. Family Ties too. Facts Of Life. Yep, just about every series out there had a very special flash back episode. Is this it? Is this blog about to jump the shark?

Well here are a few of my favorite posts from the past 4 or so months:

10 - Gonna Need A Bigger Camera...

9 - Floor Farts™

8 - Can You Hear Me?

7 - The Rest Of Our 48 Hours Of Floodom

6 - A Citizen Abroad

5 - There Comes A Day...

4 - Really Bad Ideas

3 - Hungry Ray

2 - Gobble Gobble...

1 - Introducing...

It's Here, It's Here!

Well, my little man got his valid ID today. That's right, and official U.S. passport. Now we can go out drinking together, well in Thailand at least. Anyhow, Ray was ecstatic to say the least...

Exotic Animals On The Menu At Thai Zoo

Yesterday I was searching for a link to the miniature-golf course in Chiang Mai when I stumbled on this article:

Exotic Animals On The Menu At Thai Zoo

Night Safari Menu

I'd just read an article the other day too about the Prime Minister Thaksin going to Kenya to broker a deal for importing wildlife to the new Night Safari Zoo here in Chiang Mai. There was a big uproar about how these animals were going to be treated and what kind of message this gave to poachers. Thailand has a huge campaign against poaching right now. Targetting the poachers and the buyers of these items. They run ads with pics of items you might see for sale and then they show the animal that it came from, maybe the carcass or possibly the animal being put down. Believe me, PETA would be proud.

Anyhow, this got me thinking about a conversation Sow and I once had, and it's funny I should see this article right now because we just went over this again the other day. I'd asked Sow about some of the things she'd eaten before. Kinda half joking...

"Ever eat a dog?"

"Oh yes. When I was little. My uncle, he came back home and said, 'Where's my dog?' His dog was lying on the ground. 'Oh, he died,' we told him. It was his dog, so he took him and cooked him."

"And you ate it?"

"Yes."

"What'd it taste like?"

"Kinda like horse."

Wait, it gets better. The other night, Sow's mom called to wish me a happy birthday and check in on her grandson. Sow told her she'd had a turkey diner for the first time. Her mom said, "Turkey? Can you eat that!?"

The Temple Of Putt-Putt

Today was the first sunny day in about a week. Maybe it had something to do with Colin & Daniel getting on a plane this morning and heading back stateside?



On our way back home today, I finally spotted Chiang Mai's miniature-golf course. It wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped, but I only saw it for a brief moment. In fact it may have actually not been it at all. But that's not the point. It got me thinking putt-putt. Sow's never been to miniature-golf, so I started describing it to her when she suddenly remembered something and told the driver to take the next left. There was a chinese temple down the road that she'd been wanting to show me. We headed down a lane and thru a grove, and sure enough there it was.



It looked like a miniature golf course made for a ball the size of a tire. There were a number of cool looking shrines. And though it was a buddhist temple, there were a lot of things not represented in it's Thai counterparts. The center attractions were a huge dragon and tiger that were not quite unlike the Monstro whale mouth entrance to Storybook Land.

You could walk right up and into the gaping mouth, stepping on the tongue and walking back into the gullet. The inside even represented something out of Storybook Land. The inside walls were painted with the history of the Buddha.

The path leads thru the dragon to a set of stairs that poke up thru the top to another shrine above.

Back down leads thru the back of the dragon to the rear entrance of the tiger. More paintings, and eventually emerging from the tiger's mouth.

This is by far my favorite temple. If we ever buy some hillside land here, I'd love to build something like that dragon to snake up the hillside to our house.

I noticed most of the sculptures had light bulbs in their eyes. I'm so going back for a late night round of 18 holes.

Happy Birthday Chris & Sophia!

All last week, I kept thinking, "Dec. 20th. This means something!?" I thought, I think that's Chris Horton's birthday? I checked thru my datebook. And found that I was wrong. I had his birthday down as the 28th. Then over the weekend it hit me. It must be Sophia's birthday. Doh! Then I found that I'd been wrong in thinking I was wrong. Chris's birthday is the 20th, and was almost on the money for Sophia's birthday too, just a day off.

Anyhow, I just want to wish you both a happy birthday! Sophia who's walking and dancing now, just turned 1! And Chris who's been walking for years, but I don't think I've ever seen dance, well he's gotten older too.

Happy Birthday!!!

It's My Birthday, It's My Birthday!

Another quiet day. Kinda nice actually. It finally started raining here last night, so we kept it relaxed. I lied in bed this morning, listened to the rain, and thought about where I wanted to go for my birthday. Hmmm... staying in bed doesn't sound like such a bad idea. I started thinking about where to go for dinner. And I realized I'd much rather get something I enjoy than some crap shoot on my birthday. I'll try one of those other places another night.

Usually we can get Ray smiling and laughing after he eats in the morning. Today he started off by playing coy with me. Like he knew it was my birthday or something!? Why you little...!?

We took him to breakfast, but he wasn't having any of it. Snores-ville. We made it back home, and finally he started to thaw out...

We ended up at Yum Saap after all. They specialize in spicy papaya salad. There's a spicy mango salad with fish that I love. I get it every time we go there.

We'll things are winding down. We played with Ray and watched a scary movie. Ray didn't mind, but Sow had her eyes covered thru half of it. One of the best things about being in Thailand is that my birthday lasts an extra 15 hours. The emails are really starting to roll in right now!

Happy Birthday!!!
To Me!!!

Happy Birthday Lesley!

This is my cousin Lesley. That's her at her wedding this summer. Behind her new husband Kevin, laughing after smearing wedding cake all over the left side of his face. You can see her better if you roll over the image.

She also shares my birthday, only she's a good deal younger than me. Just before my ninth birthday, my brother and I drove down to San Luis Obispo with our grandparents to spend Christmas with my uncle Larry, Janice & Boomer. I didn't realize janice was pregnant at the time. I remember waking up in the morning. All excited because it was my birthday. Let the presents begin! But what I found was that they'd left in the night to have a baby. Later I asked my uncle where my birthday present was and he pointed at Lesley. I was quite disappointed. But with time she's turned out to be one of my better gifts. She's grown up to be one of Rayluk's biggest fans.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Gina!

My good friend Gina Cafasso shares something special with me today. We both have the same birthday. The same day that is. She's like 400 years older than me. But she looks about 10 years younger. Dang her!?

I met Gina years ago in Los Angeles. She was a good friend of another friend of mine who talked about her all the time. It was till almost a year later when I finally met her that we discovered she lived right across the street from me!? She's since moved far, far, away. San-Di-e-go. Oh wait, that's me that's so, far, far, away.

I haven't talked to Gina in quite a while. We email a bit. But I try to follow her tuesday night webcast The Movie Mavens.

Anyhow Gina, I just wanted to take this chance to wish you a Happy Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!!!

Tsunami Day

Merry Christmas!

We didn't take that many pictures today!? Maybe it's because of Ray throwing up all the candy canes we gave him into a steamy pink mess. Or possibly because I never got around to getting a tree. Hmmm... that must be it. I thought I could just roll on out to the corner, pick out an 8-footer, and strap it to the back of my bike. No Luck. Couldn't find a tree lot. Go figure!?

All we got Ray was this pair of glasses. Oh, and a bunch of clothes. Uh, and a new blanket. New hat with rollie eyes (pictured yesterday), and new stuffed animal. And of course all the gifts you nice people got Ray.

After burping his Christmas brunch out of him, Ray spent a bit of the morning catatonic. I like to think of it as contemplative. Which ended with him on the bed giggling and smiling. (*not pictured)

I did get a little bit of him on tape, but you'll have to hold out until tomorrow or the next day. I will say that he did come up with some new vocalizations (*not on tape) tonight when we got home. Kind of that stereotypical cute baby voice, only not typical, and uh, much much cuter. We're pretty sure he made the beginning of "hello" and believe it or not said "Aaron"!? Repeatedly! Actually much better than Sow's ever pronounced it. I know none of you believe it so I'll just have to get it on tape. Check back this week. Ray kinda clams up in front of the camera because he gets distracted by the lens.

Oh, and let's not forget to give a big thumbs up to Daniel who went out and found the chairs I was looking for in Laos! Oh, and Colin for buying dinner.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A Christmas Story

I really wanted to show Sow A Christmas Story today. I looked around at a few rental places and couldn't find it, or my back up, Planes Trains & Automobiles. I figured it must be playing on cable so I poked thru the book. We have one dedicated movie channel that plays movies in english. Here's a few of the classic holiday hits they had lined up:

Analyze That
Italian Job
Dare Devil
Terminator 3
The Matrix Reloaded
X-Men 2
The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King
The Rundown
Copy Cat
Boys Don't Cry
Dodgeball

Mmmm... mmm... Quality holiday cinema right there.

Turkey Dinner

Sow's never had a turkey dinner before. She's eaten a lot of things, but never actually turkey. Not, that is, until tonight.

Colin and Daniel got back the other day from their side trips thru Laos & Hanoi. We all stumbled down to Mad Dog Pizza for their holiday turkey dinner special. Turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, pumpkin, annd what appeared to be some form of stuffing. Well, you can't expect them to get it all right.

Daniel got a lot of attention from the ladies for carrying Ray down the street to Black Canyon Coffee. What a chick magnet!

Don't know if it was all the tryptophan or not, but I'm way to tired to write very much tonight. Nothing left to do but lay down and listen for Jolly St. Nick to fly and down snack on some of the pineapple cookies we've left out for him. Ok, maybe I'll have just one...

Beginning To Look A Little Like Christmas

There's a little cafe that we like to go to for breakfast sometimes. They make a good boiled rice soup and a mean omelet. We time the whole thing to go right after we've fed Ray in the morning. Then he naps while we eat. If he wakes, one of us holds him and walks around or bounces on a knee.

He's taken to this white plastic xmas tree they have there. He loves to stare at it. I think the blue ornaments against the white is easy for him to see. They look like the old glass ornaments we had as kids that always seemed to be smashed from hitting the floor or being poorly packed away between seasons. There was a Japanese family in there one morning and the kids kept playing with the ornaments. The father took it from him, trying to see if it was glass. He decided to test by dropping it on the floor. KLUNK! It didn't break. He shrugged and let them go about dismantling the tree.

Lucky for Ray, they've since put all the ornaments back on and added a few strands of lights.

Separated At Birth

I spotted my little boy in this tired yet contemplative pose today. Sorry, Sow's corrected me and said sleepy. It reminded me of something. Then I remembered this picture I took about 3 years ago...

...of a monkey at Uluwatu, Bali, contemplating the sunset.

You can see him thinking about the invention of the wheel, creating fire, filling a diaper. All that stuff that makes a baby's day important.

A Year Without Christmas

Thanks for all your holiday emails. A lot of you have asked about getting Christmas gifts for Ray. We'd planned on waiting until we got back to the states, but it is the season and this is his first Christmas. So I've gone and setup an Amazon wishlist for him. I also made one for Sow, but I she hasn't added anything to it yet. Anyhow, if you really can't wait until we're back stateside, you can find Ray's Amazon list here. It's mostly stuff to fill his future library of books and DVD's. Some favorites we know he'll want. The link takes you to my wishlist, just click on the Rayluk link on the left column. So if you feel like keeping a small boy from being sad on Christmas...

But seriously, we'll be hitting you all up again when we get back, so don't feel like you have to buy things now. My dad's housesitting so he can sign for things, but they'll really just be waiting for us to return so Ray can enjoy them. He's going to love that XBox 360!!!

Man About Town

Rayluk's got a new way to get around town. We finally decided he was big enough to fit in a baby sling type contraption. We looked thru a bunch of them, and the one that seemed to work the best only came in pink. So now everyone stops us and asks how old our little girl is. Doh!

It's been a real godsend though. It allows us to take the tuk-tuk instead of having to wait for a red car to come along if we want to go somewhere. The stroller's nice, but it's a little hassle to fold up after flagging down a tuk-tuk to go to the mall. Also since Ray's getting bigger, carrying him any other way gets real tiring pretty quickly these days.

Saturday walking street, in front of Chiang Mai zoo.

Flip-Down Baby Seat!

What do I want for Christmas, what do I want for Christmas? Well, you might remember me talking about the flip down baby seat they make for the scooters out here? Just a little reminder. Couldn't find it on Amazon.com, but I'll find that place and then you can all pitch in for me and Rayluk! There's actually a nicer model out there we're looking for, but I just happened to spot this one this morning.

Root Canal Treatment

Ok, that's not my mouth, but I have a cracked tooth I've been traveling around with for a while. Not completely sure why I haven't had this taken care of, but here are a few of my rationalizations: HMO's suck, too far to drive, don't have the time, and even though cracked, it doesn't hurt yet. Well those days are over. It's kept me awake two nights running now and I have an appointment to see a specialist on tuesday.

I woke up this morning and called over there to see if they could prescribe something better than Tylenol. He did better. Within 10 minutes he medicated and filled my tooth. Never get that kinda service in the states, let alone someone to even answer the phone on a sunday morning. He tells me, "It's just a temporary filling so go easy on it." I finally get a decent nap, wake up and immediately proceeded to eat half of the licorice flavor filling down with a saltine cracker. Doh!

Anyhow, this place came recommended. They have 4 branches in Chiang Mai, one right by our place too. You gotta check out these rates. I've paid as much in the states for an aspirin as I will for an x-ray here!?

Paint The Town Red

Chiang Mai has this thing where they paint all the side walks red. Kind of a brick red once it gets a little too much sun and fades a bit. They hit every sidewalk at least once every 6 months to a year. I guess with all that real-estate you can't spare the time to watch what you're painting. Funny thing is, they don't use a sprayer, so someone had to go out of their way to work this lock into the scenery.

Smile

Recently had a baby? Want to see how much you can see him grow? Try leaving for a few days. Four days I was gone. Wow, what a difference. He must be about a foot taller and like 5 lbs heavier! Crazy huh?

On top of that Sow discovered something while I was away. She had a lot of time by herself with Ray, and had to find ways to amuse herself. She's found that Ray's past a few milestones. Now he was working up to it, but while I was gone, Sow unlocked his smile-on-demand capabilities. I should get her to unlock some levels on Burnout3. She found that there's a half hour in the morning where he'll just laugh and laugh if you tickle him and talk in silly voices.

With a little work, we've been able to spread it throughout the whole day.

Happy Birthday Wylie!

Ok, this is gonna sound a whole lot like yesterday's post, but I can't seem to dig out a decent photo again from what I have on hand, so I'll just have to go with Happy Birthday! Hope you're having a great time in Hawaii!

For those of you who don't know Monday was also Mom & Wylie's anniversary. Yep, three big days in a row. Their anniversary strategically placed for them both to enjoy as a year younger for it.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Well, I can't seem to dig out a decent photo of you from what I have on hand, so I'll just have to go with Happy Birthday! Hope you're having a great time in Hawaii!

Happy Birthday!!!

Laos - Last Day

This morning I woke early, headed out alone for a walk, and for the third time, immediately ran into Daniel while walking thru town. We grabbed a quick cup of coffee then started up Phousi Mountain (Not to be confused with the island that Steve camps out on when we play Halo). Yes, that is the name!? And as I'm writing this have just realized that I forgot to get a picture of the nearby spa, Phousi Massage.

We made it halfway up steepest set of stairs I've ever climbed. Second maybe only to those of Angkor Wat. Right there was a booth charging for the rest of the climb to the top. Wow, what a bad idea. Anyone coming up those stair is just looking for a reason to turn around. We stopped there and looked out over the city, then walked back down to get ready to leave. Colin & Daniel by motorcycle to Vien Thiene by way of Vien Veng where they'll hook up with Olivia again. While they're on the road, the trekking company is taking care of their visas for Vietnam which will be waiting in Vien Thiene for them.

I'm flying out of Laos right now. Looking down I can see the Mekong and the road we biked along on sunday. The bridges we crossed. The port on the Mekong we saw. The route we doubled back to, up and into the villages. Past the piles of dried bones at the old slaughter house. Past the kids sticking out their hands for us to hi-five. To the end of the path where we stopped at the woods. The plane bursts thru the cloud layer and it's all gone. Everything is bright and white and I think of seeing my wife and baby and how much I miss them. And it's never felt so clear that I've made the right decision in taking all this time off and coming here for us to be together. No matter how long...

The Night Life

Colin with our friend Olivia.

Last night after dinner we went to a karaoke bar someone had spotted. It was by far (1/2 hour) the place open latest. Even the two discos in town only went from 9:00-11:30pm.

I'd never actually karaoke'd before, so singing such hits as Rionel Ritchie's - Herro (yes, I know sp!? that's they way they had it printed on the screen!?), Live & Let Die, and Hotel California outside the solitude of my shower was something new to me. At the end of each song, the colored bar would wipe thru the name of the DJ - Nick Karaoke - Professional, which we'd also belt out.

It was all fun and games until some drunk asshole with a bad voice spilled beer all over me. Granted, that drunk asshole was me, but that's not the point, they should never have let the guy in the place.

You Don't Rent What!?

We'd planned on renting a couple scooters to tool around on while we were here. The travel guide said they were available everywhere. Apparently scooters aren't available for rent anymore. Or wait, not on weekends. No, just not in Luang Prabang. Everyone in town had a different story. It all boils down to there were too many accidents by foreigners over the last year. Too many for a country without a proper hospital. The last one being a guy who broke both legs in a head on.

So we found a place to rent us some mountain bikes and we took a tour of the province by foot pedal.

We meandered around a bit and came across San Pedro of the Mekong.

We back tracked and found our way out thru a village. Past an old slaughterhouse with piles of old dried bones. A random cow here and there. Roaming the country side doing good deeds. We rode until we hit woods, took a breather, and turned back.

On the way back we had kids running out to say hi, "Sabaidee!", slap us a hi-five, or run along with us. Daniel kicked up a few wheelies to their cheers. Eventually we were followed by a small group of kids on bikes. Older bikes missing a few things. Things like brakes. One kid would slip his leg back and drag his rubber flip-flop along the wheel to slow down instead.

All in all it was a fun ride. A lot of hard work and sweat. Eventually, all I had to leave behind was this final imprint. It's got me thinking about getting a bike to ride in the morning around Chaing Mai for exercise.

Pak Ou Cave

The owner of our hotel has a brother you see. A brother with a long boat. One made for riding up and down the Mekong River. Perfect for let's say, a boat trip to see Pak Ou Cave and a handful of villages along the way.

The brother brought his son along.



Who had a job to do, making sure we didn't sink!



And of course, stopping for gas.









Every village had at least three temples.



Daniel dubbed this one the temple of "Go Get A Job".



Each village also had something specific to sell.
This one specializes in Lao-Lao. The Lao whiskey.



Also known for the various animals they use for the worm.
Scorpions. Snakes. Centipedes. Geckos. Some up to a foot long.



Father and son.





And finally there it is. Pak Ou.



Pak Ou Cave.

The cave really doesn't go that far back. They said a cave cramped with buddha images. Statues. But it implied it was cramped because there were so many. Not because the cave was so small and cramped itself.

And the upper cave.

Finally A Chair For Me!

I love this chair! It's by far the smallest chair I've thus far tempted fate with. The seat is only 8-12 inches high and the back feels so good when you lean on it. I'm going to try and get a couple of these back to Chiang Mai (if I haven't broken one by the end of the trip!).

Arrival

We arrived in Luang Prabang without having picked a place to stay (as is customary when traveling with Colin & Daniel). This is the same way I met Sow last year, so I try not to knock it. It's like a small game of mix-em-up to get things started. What this usually means is you come tumbling out of the airport, travel book in hand, into a mass of people being harassed by a bunch of taxi drivers trying to under bid each other, but at the same time getting you to over pay on the deal.

Here there was no haggling. It was 10,000 kip. 40 baht. 1 dollar. So we teamed up with a couple of other people waiting out front and we all shared a taxi. A lot of the guest houses appeared to be within walking distance. We decided to start low and work our way up. Let's see, what can we get for $4-8?

The driver dropped us at the Chilany guest house. A rustic place that I hoped had seen better days. Tile floors downstairs. Wood walls. Creaky wood floors upstairs. Not much too look at, but the owner and his wife were really nice and spoke great English. Also they had available rooms for $6 with an upgrade to a private bathroom the following day. "Private bathroom. I can hold it for 24 hrs if you can!" There was a lot of talk about just spending one night, but when it came to acting on it, getting 3-4 hungry people to stick on the subject was not going to happen and we just ended up upgrading bathrooms the next day.

The view across from our guest house.
The Mekong River.
That middle boat is the owner's brother's boat.

Loas - Luang Prabang

Well, there may be a few interruptions in service on Chimp Notes for the next few days. I've come to Loas. Luang Prabang to be precise. I honestly didn't know what to expect, but I'm thuroughly enamered by it.

My friends Colin & Daniel who've been in Chiang Mai for the last few days. And seeing that they had an overabundance of malaria pills and that I was due for a new visa stamp in the next week & 1/2 or so... I decided to tag along.

Sow's talked about wanting to go to Laos for a long as I've known her and I'm sure even longer than that. It's the same structure asThai, but with a few key works that are different. Unfortunaltey two thigs have stood in the way of that. First of all being pregant, secondly our U.S. visa application strongly discourages any internantional travel while waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for the applcation process to ripen.

The dialect in the part of Thailand that she's from is actully the Laos language. Everything I see and hear here makes me think of her. Walkig around today I could hear some women talkng and it sounded exactly like Sow's mom when she's laughing and having a good time. We'll make it here some day. We'll have to wait till next year or longer, but I know she'll just love it.

The next flight out is tuesday, so I'll be back then and I'll post some pics, but it'll be just my witty diatrbe till then.

Application Accepted

We just got back from the US Consulate General in Chiang Mai. They accepted all of Ray's paperwork, so he's well on his way to being a fully documented American. We took care of his passport, social security number, and declaration of a birth of a U.S. citizen abroad. We should be getting the real things by the end of the month. Not too bad.

I was really worried about the passport photo, cause they're still bound to the same rules. You try getting a baby over a white background, looking straight ahead, eyes open with one ear showing. Man, that was some work! But the guy at the consulate actually complimented us on the pic. I guess it was better than what they usually get. Phew!

Ray was really good thru the whole thing. He only cried a little and actually smiled a lot. I'm pretty sure he even said hew, which means hungry in Thai. Sow says I'm delusional. But I know it, my boy's so smart!

Anyhow, that's one bit of bureaucracy behind us! Ray will actually be ready to travel stateside before Sow!?

A Little Randomness

Would I lie? Here we are, Chiang Mai Speedway. Five hairpins of the roughest asphalt you've ever spun out on.

Here's just a random little bit of todays events.



The guy in front of us allowed us to cut ahead since he hadn't quite finished drinking his beer!

Glad I picked up some extra balloon lanterns during Loi Kratong.




We tried going to Roof Top Bar, but after ascending 4 flights
of the craziest stair ways (*read, unsafe), we turned
around and headed somewhere else.


We went instead to see some old friends here in Chiang Mai.
Turns out Nat opened her own bar recently. Pool table and all.

First...

...of, hopefully, a long line of visitors from the states.

Colin & Daniel are here in Chiang Mai for few days. I got an email yesterday saying they were in Bangkok and headed this way. They took the overnight train and got here this morning. Same one we took last year on a whim for our first trip to Chiang Mai.

We got dinner ten went out to see some friends we made last year. Colin's setting up a screening of our film. You're all invited. So if you happen to be in Chiang Mai this week stop on by and check it out. Of course there'll probably be some damned parade of washed up actors to ruin things again and we'll have to cancel, so get your rsvp's in early!

Tomorrow, checking out some of the tailors around here, then off to the Chiang Mai Speedway. Yep, kart racing! As long as the weather holds. Otherwise how is Daniel going to show me the proper way to do a wheelie!?

Thai National Father's Day

Today Rayluk turns two months. Coincidentally, this is also Thai National Father's Day here in Thailand. Not so coincidentally it's the King's birthday. Fifty-some years ago when they held their first Father's day here, they decided to do it on his birthday since the Thais consider the king to be the father of all Thai people. I wonder if I can get him to lend me some cash? Hmmm... maybe Ray will have to ask for me.

And heres an update on his stats. Ray got four more vaccine shots today, weighs 5.4 kilos and has now reached 58 cm. Woo-hoo, you go boy! He's currently passed out on the floor.



In case you're wondering, this is King Rama IX. He turns 78 today, and is the world's longest reigning monarch. Making Thai people happy since 1946! The people here love the royal family. And as nice as most Thais are you'd probably want to keep from saying anything bad about the king and his family. I heard about a guy who was jailed and fined for stepping on a 100 baht note he'd dropped. Gesturing with your feet is considered extremely rude, much less to step on something, and especially if it has a picture of the king on it. Can't wait to get back to the states for some good old flag burnin'!

King Rama IX photo courtesy of Bangkokpost.com ©2005

A Little L.A. In Chiang Mai

A lot of people tell me not to travel. That when I do, bad things happen. Acts of God kinda things. Terrorist kinds of things. Bad things. Then I hear about these things and have to call and write everyone and say I'm alright. That I hadn't heard about whatever it was that happened till just then. Well this time it looks like I've brought a bit of L.A. to northern Thailand. No not mudslides or fires. I'm talking earthquakes baby!

Chiang Mai hit by quake, no injuries
Published on Dec 04 , 2005

Chiang Mai and Lamphun provinces were yesterday struck by an earthquake that measured 4.1 on the Richter scale, the Meteorological Department said.

The quake's epicentre was between Chiang Mai's Hang Dong and Muang districts, about 40km west of the city's downtown area, the department's director-general Suparerk Tansrirattanawong said in a statement.

Boonruang Srikanta, head of the provincial quake-detecting station, said that tremors occurring at 4.34pm could be felt in taller buildings in the two provinces. Aftershocks followed at 4.58pm.

Many residents of high-rise buildings ran in fear from their homes, but there were no reports of damage or injury.

The quake was caused by movement along a fault line that exists in the North of the country, Boonruang said. It has caused tremors in the past.

He warned of possible aftershocks, but their severity could not be predicted.

Funny thing is that Sow and I'd been talking about them just a few days ago. She said that was the only thing that had worried her about moving to L.A..

My New Favorite Movies

I've finally gotten around to watching Infernal Affairs. A Hong Kong film I've heard a lot about and actually had a chance to see on a plane last year, but passed it up because I couldn't get the images of Andy Garcia & Richard Gere out of my head.

This is one of the best films I've seen in a while. It's about an undercover cop and a mole in the police department who are trying to find out each others identities from opposite ends. If you have even a remote chance to see this film, check it out. Hell, just buy it!!!

Funny thing is that no sooner do I see this film and start to sing it's praises, do I find out Martin Scorsese is remaking it with Leonardo DiCaprio & Matt Damon. There's a pretty funny interview with Chris Doyle talking about running into Scorsese and asking if he'd like to know what lenses he used to shoot the original.

I did find another movie by this same writer-director team. It's based on a Japanese Manga comic. Initial-D. It's not supposed to be as good, but I'm going to try and watch that one tonight.

INFERNAL AFFAIRS OFFICIAL SITE:
Infernal Affairs
Infernal Affairs 2
Infernal Affairs 3

Happy Birthday Scott

Hey man, just wanted to take moment and wish you a happy birthday old man. Almost slipped by, but it's still the 3rd in California. It's late and I'd love to make up something witty, but I'm just too damn tired. Have a blast tonight and try not to brake a hip or anything.

Happy Birthday!!!

Thanks Grandma

So Sow's mom went home yesterday evening. She got back home around 8:00am this morning and immediately ran out to their land to see how her fruit & vegetables were growing. She got a few good days in with Rayluk and managed to give us a bit of a rest. But her veggies were-a-callin' I guess.

She practically forced us out of the house. What had started out as a joke about a movie marathon at Central Plaza, quickly took shape into the reality of four movies in two days. I wish it could have been King Kong and The Chronicles Of Narnia, but we did get to catch a variety of top-notch quality films. Aeon Flux. Chicken Little (...I know...). And two Thai films which both claimed to sport english subtitles, but neither actually had. The first was actually a pretty good Thai horror film that didn't really need subtitles. The second was one I've been looking forward to. It's a send up of Lord Of The Rings and has a lot of really good Thai comedians in it. Unfortunately it was a really jumbled movie with a lot of good Thai comedians in it, and no subtitles.

I did see a poster for a new Thai zombie-ghost film, Pee Chalui / Ghost Variety. The poster looks like it borrows from Shaun Of The Dead. It stars Mum Jokmok from Onk Bak. I'll be there for it. Comes out the same day as Narnia. Looks like that'll be my next double feature day!

I crashed out early last night. 11:30!!! Whew! I know, so early. Got a good long night sleep. Got up before Sow & Ray even. And promptly set out to recover from a long week of baby duties. Granted, Sow's mom did do most of the heavy lifting, but it was, you know, mentally challenging. ...By watching some more movies we got on DVD. Hmmm... I'm seeing a pattern here.

Happy Holidays From November Fire

Well those guys over at NovemberFire.com are keeping it nice and classy for the holidays once again. In an attempt to offend, well, everyone, they've come up with this fine graphic to kick off black friday & the xmas season.

I'm sure Santa will remember this as he flies past this 25th. These guys work pretty diligently the other 11 months of the year, so make sure they get something for Xmas too, and buy a shirt for someone on your list. You know you want to!

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