In my solitude.....still.....

Happiness is finalizing, more or less, the outline of what I write, re-write, update.  I can finish the first draft by 24 January and have a week of review/draft #2, prior to sending it off for technical review.....

Not so much happiness with the self-abuse I put myself through while doing this.....such, I suppose, is life.....

I'm watching an archive video of the NY Islanders-Winnipeg Jets hockey game.....basket ball in the morning/hockey in the afternoon, on the iPad.  That iPad video diversion makes it far easier to do the other work that has to be done on the computer.

Earlier I took a walk in 24 degree weather........now I am ready to get back to writing.....this is happiness!

And they said it couldn't be done.....

.....Here it is, just about a month that we've been in Bangkok.  Here it is, only 2 times this month have I worn long pants....or, for that matter, socks!

Here it is, just about a month and I haven't boarded a plane to fly someplace - something, frankly, I simply do not remember not doing on a monthly basis - ever, during the past 20 years.

And we have taken long, peaceful afternoon naps, daily.

There's only one problem with it all:  I am now starting to show a backlog of both writing and work that should have already been done but has not been........but I still don't care - life is too nice to let things like that interfere with it.....!

....and on the day after the orthodox Festivus......

Festivus, the holiday for the rest of us.  Season nine of Seinfeld.

Yeah, I am a Festivus celebrant but I am a reconstructionist/reform branch of Festivus - I celebrate it on 27 December.......since 23 December, leading up to Xmas, is practically a holiday......and the 24th, 25th and Boxing Day, the 26th are holidays,  I choose to celebrate Reconstructionist Festivus on the 27th of December, thereby giving an extra holiday to the merriment!

Today, the 24th.  Not quite a holiday in Thailand.  We're off to see computers - searching for a small Windows computer for Katherine.  True, there is some work awaiting.....let it wait.........!

The sun is shining, the grass is green, the mango and palm trees sway......a typical Bangkok day....as an Asian transplant I shall stay.

True, its December the 24th, I'm not yearning to be up north.....oh oh.....

It's freezing in a white Xmas..............

you get the picture:  a modification of Irving Berlin's song......happy holidays, everyone!!!

Normalcy

What is 'normal'?  Good question!  We can be eccentric, we can be very, very odd....but if we do not step on anyone's toes, if we get through day after day after day keeping our cool, doing the reliable routine type of day, then we are at normal.....or so I think.

I think we've reached the point of living a normal life.  For all intents and purposes, things are working!   The internet has its glitches but is faster with far fewer glitches than we had in China.  The telephone works - but not the telephone in our apartment, as we are not even sure what the number is.

Mail Boxes, ETC is conveniently located and will ship EMS as well as UPS, so the mail is taken care of.

The Bangkok Bank debit card, with the Rabbit transportation card combined, does not work correctly - still have to work on that one but that too can wait until we've got to go to the bank with deposits/withdrawals to be done - at that time we can figure out how to do our banking.....

And that leaves us our normal life:  a bit of work each day....reading each day.....walking each day.....photography and music, etc, etc, etc.   Life, after three weeks in Bangkok, is very, very nice, indeed!!

A solution to the Yahoo problem?

Back to basics - I am sick and tired of  daily changes of passwords for Yahoo.   I a tired of the hypocrisy of the system - 'they' want your internet addiction - they want you online all the time.

Yet if you have more machines accessing in more countries faster than the norm, you are viewed as suspicious.  And they have the audacity to list a telephone number that is either busy or no one answers....

Back to basics - email on my computer ONLY;  email using OPERA ONLY;  both systems.....no more telephone or ipad....use those for other things but limit my email time, perhaps more efficiently,  and perhaps also the answer to password problems........

Luxuriating in Bangkok!

It has taken a bit of time - a bit over two weeks to be exact but now we are starting to function on a regular, recurring, 'normal' basis!

Changes:  I'm up at 7 each morning but exercising - doing those arm rolls - the first thing.  Then to the everyday routine of siphoning through the email, getting rid of the junk email, listing the priority emails that I should (but don't, all the time) answer that day.....reviewing the newspapers and accumulating material upon which I can write (but I haven't written, yet) and then doing a day's worth of modified tax work.

By modified, I mean part day......never again for full time tax days!!!!!

By modified, I mean, like yesterday I went out and purchased a smaller keyboard, one with which I hope I can learn the right hand for eventual practice on my key-tar, neatly storaged in Hong Kong.......and taking more pictures, and reading, and going to book signings (like the one for Dean Barrett, last night) and discovering a Sunday afternoon jazz bar where I can practice and jam at.......

I have a goal:    to stay in this area for the full duration of my 90 day visa.....NOT to go back to either GZ or HK during this interval.......can I do it?   Only time will tell!!

Happy Birthday to the King!

Here it is, our 6th day in Bangkok.  I am at an internet cafe.  Hopefully, next week, internet that works will finally be installed in our apartment and we'll be able to start living a far more normal life than the twice a day visits to Zeno Cafe to use their wifi.

The temperature is wonderfully nice - 25 degrees outside - great for a walk.....but for the fact that I'm saddled with morning internet routines.......

While it isn't every day 'normal' , yet,  hopefully it soon will be back to normalcy and then we'll be able to see how adaptable we are to life here.

I was all set to write a long blog, this morning, when I discovered that Yahoo thinks what I am sending out is suspicious.....and for the second time, this week, I was forced to set up another password......I don't even remember all my passwords as it is - access to email is becoming far more difficult because of this.........

Such is life......