Wednesday and a much needed beer stop from working life.
It's quite tough at school. Not really, but for teaching it is. There's quite an art to getting in the frame of mind where nothing fazes you. Most students are very pleasant, but the wild bands of boys who roam free, due to non confrontational Thai culture, allow them to reach havoc wherever they choice.
Thailand seems to be really in the thick of it right now. The ruling classes lock themselves away in mind blowing palaces with infinite riches while the rest them fight over bananas etc. Every week buses packed full of peasants die dreadfully in bus crashes. There is never any suggestion of improvement. They just allow the poor to wipe themselves out, as there are plenty more where they came from.
This dreadful need to assert power over lesser beings trickles down the pecking order, where headmasters attempt to prevent foreign teachers from leaving the school during hours. Sometimes I really feel like I am in a BBC sit com, this crazy bunch of whiteys I share a room with as we discuss escape plans and how to deal with living in a country full of primal beings who react like primal beings to any action.
I read on Thai Visa forum today, how a Thai guy that used to sit in an outside bar every day, hence the farang knew and saw him every day, gets visited by some unknown heavies who empty 10-30 rounds into the guys head before leaving.
Horrendous crimes here every day.
One has to close ones mind to it, yet I fear its happening all over the world. The hatred is fuelled by money and the way we live.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
School
Back to the old school house and actually I have kept my head above water this first week. With my Year 3's, whose favourite subject is masterbation, I went in with frank warnings of, "Any shit and you're out." I think they got the message and things went quite smoothly. I spoke a lot about masterbation actually, making questions like, "Did you masturbate last night?" We played a good game of Back to the Board and the memory game in the second class. It's quite advanced techniques really, a lot on memory recall and they quite like it.
The school director is trying to screw us by making us stay in the school when we have free periods, I have two days with a 4 hour break. Yes, they fuck us too by putting one lesson at the start of the day and one lesson at the end of the day with huge gaps of nothing in between. They really are fuckers and need to sort out their fucking hatred of us and the crazed desire to treat us like slaves or prisoners. Fortunately, the chaps there are all over 40 and won't put up with any shit. Makes for an interesting time.
I have started hanging out with a lovely guy from Stoke on Trent named Les. He's in his late 50s I'd say and generous, engaging and fun. I went to his house last night and we hung out. He's a bit of a wizz at sniffing out a bargain and presented us (there was an Aussie there too named Tim) with bottles of cider, which was such a treat. He told me of a tiny shop in town which stock imported beers, not many and never the same, but fine at that. He also plays World of Tanks online so we hook up on the battlefield and make quite a good duo.
I'm really liking Steam on the PC and have bought several games of late. They always have sales and this week I picked up Mass Effect 2 for $7. Definitely worthy of a replay sporting a great combat system. I am waiting for a turn-based combat game called Xcom to go on sale. These sales are like 75% off, so are great value. I also picked up some very retro arcade type games which are a hoot, especially Valgorr the Viking, though so incredibly hard I only survive a few seconds. Still.
Music, listening to Chili Peppers a lot and The Cure. Les said I should get (and I have) The Division Bell by Pink Floyd and do the old headphones in the dark trick. I have since acquired it and will probably give it a go tonight with the help of some coffee. He was chuffed I was familar with Umma Gumma and we spoke about that mad track, "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Mine Grooving with a Pict". He then told the story of how he had played the track to various Scotsman trying to identify the madmans ranting in the song, and yea, it is Pict language, ancient Scottish.
We got duped into going to a English thing for Grace this morning. Turns out it was a bunch of Filipinos, albeit very nice Filipinos, teaching everything about Jesus. I knew one of them who I had told I was a Pagan, so they sort of understood the fact I was a bit weirded out by it. I must say though, they were such a happy and positive bunch I felt the warmth of their glow.
So, I am back in full on work mode and snatching my "me time" on my bike as I ride into work. I have also been doing stretching exercises in my classroom in free periods and will take in some TV shows as I have a projector and PC to mess about with, might be good for Breaking Bad.
Evening all.
The school director is trying to screw us by making us stay in the school when we have free periods, I have two days with a 4 hour break. Yes, they fuck us too by putting one lesson at the start of the day and one lesson at the end of the day with huge gaps of nothing in between. They really are fuckers and need to sort out their fucking hatred of us and the crazed desire to treat us like slaves or prisoners. Fortunately, the chaps there are all over 40 and won't put up with any shit. Makes for an interesting time.
I have started hanging out with a lovely guy from Stoke on Trent named Les. He's in his late 50s I'd say and generous, engaging and fun. I went to his house last night and we hung out. He's a bit of a wizz at sniffing out a bargain and presented us (there was an Aussie there too named Tim) with bottles of cider, which was such a treat. He told me of a tiny shop in town which stock imported beers, not many and never the same, but fine at that. He also plays World of Tanks online so we hook up on the battlefield and make quite a good duo.
I'm really liking Steam on the PC and have bought several games of late. They always have sales and this week I picked up Mass Effect 2 for $7. Definitely worthy of a replay sporting a great combat system. I am waiting for a turn-based combat game called Xcom to go on sale. These sales are like 75% off, so are great value. I also picked up some very retro arcade type games which are a hoot, especially Valgorr the Viking, though so incredibly hard I only survive a few seconds. Still.
Music, listening to Chili Peppers a lot and The Cure. Les said I should get (and I have) The Division Bell by Pink Floyd and do the old headphones in the dark trick. I have since acquired it and will probably give it a go tonight with the help of some coffee. He was chuffed I was familar with Umma Gumma and we spoke about that mad track, "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Mine Grooving with a Pict". He then told the story of how he had played the track to various Scotsman trying to identify the madmans ranting in the song, and yea, it is Pict language, ancient Scottish.
We got duped into going to a English thing for Grace this morning. Turns out it was a bunch of Filipinos, albeit very nice Filipinos, teaching everything about Jesus. I knew one of them who I had told I was a Pagan, so they sort of understood the fact I was a bit weirded out by it. I must say though, they were such a happy and positive bunch I felt the warmth of their glow.
So, I am back in full on work mode and snatching my "me time" on my bike as I ride into work. I have also been doing stretching exercises in my classroom in free periods and will take in some TV shows as I have a projector and PC to mess about with, might be good for Breaking Bad.
Evening all.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
For Gamers...
This holiday I have had a massive run on World of Tanks. Having lost the details of my previous account, on which I had invested some hard cash and had some beautifully camouflaged KV and Hetzer models. Beginning again I used my experience and have diversified to try out some new tanks, namely the M4 Sherman, Hellcat, and the German Tiger and Panther tank lines. It's been fun.
By and by I have been quietly enjoying Terraria, a wonderful 2D plaformer that has you building cabins in the woods and digging mines down to Hell as you carefully craft an array of handy gizmos and create a castle to live in.
Also, I have just treated myself to two new ones on Steam, both simple, small games through wickedly injecting state of the art ideas in an 80's style game. These are Volka the Viking and Spelunky. They look fun.
On the ipad, I have been completely hooked on, "Rat on a Skateboard". Madness.
By and by I have been quietly enjoying Terraria, a wonderful 2D plaformer that has you building cabins in the woods and digging mines down to Hell as you carefully craft an array of handy gizmos and create a castle to live in.
Also, I have just treated myself to two new ones on Steam, both simple, small games through wickedly injecting state of the art ideas in an 80's style game. These are Volka the Viking and Spelunky. They look fun.
On the ipad, I have been completely hooked on, "Rat on a Skateboard". Madness.
Night
Sunday and I taught four hours today. I have been taking it quite easy lately and had prepared early and only slightly buzzed the night before. I'm back in full command of kindergarten kids these days, having experienced a "weird" lesson when I misjudged their level and was forced to abandon the simple writing exercise and come up with an imprompto "er...Let's do this!", whilst scrabbling for an idea for the next two hours. These days, its straight into an uber-marathon of ABC, 123, colours, animal and food review, Peppa Pig ABC cartoon, singing, "ABC", I can sing a rainbow,"Incy Wincey Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus." After this they are whist away to a compelling reading and colouring exercised, before being ushered out the door with a, "See you next week." It's a highly efficient treadmill of sorts. What I like about it is its cash in hand. Do the hours and get paid. No waiting around and a very convenient way to get a cash injection mid-month when my pittance of a main salary dries up, like a shrivelled-up raison under the parched desert sun.
So, back at home and Pee Gip staying another night, which means Grace has a friend to play with. A night of uninterrupted rocking out to Chili Peppers, G and T's, some "coffee" and a game of WOT's or two.
So, back at home and Pee Gip staying another night, which means Grace has a friend to play with. A night of uninterrupted rocking out to Chili Peppers, G and T's, some "coffee" and a game of WOT's or two.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Rest
Privates were cancelled allowing me to kick back and relax. Grace has been entertained by the family who came over for the day. Pee Gip, a lovely young girl of about 8, has come to stay with Grace. You have never seen such a well-behaved child; very calm and quiet and not exposed to too much. Ipads and painting activities really make her eyes open, with all this wondrous stuff Grace commands. Yes, Grace is quite savvy with a lot of things. We have spent a good week with each other. It's fun to see her so delighted with stuff. She loved the King's Project and walking around the town, in all the shops. I am keeping her well supplied with paints and drawing pads, dutifully replacing them as soon as they run out (they're only 15 Baht each, so you can get the whole set for about 120 Baht or so.
Next week Oi and Grace and I are all off work, so we are planning to do some day trips from home, though I believe we may spend a couple of nights up at Cabana beach and eat some yummy pizza and English food. Actually, there is an English girl who runs this food and bar on the beach and not only does she cook wicked food, but she is a kind of indie chick like Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays. The sort of indie girl you would run into in a club in Brighton or some pub in Portsmouth.
Last night I went to Ekie's bar in the town by the train station. It's a fun place and not only are there the local teachers at the watering stop, by there are always young, white people with backpacks on their way to or from the islands for their holidays. Makes for a lively place. I know the lads here quite well now and can have some fun. Everyone seems very stable and not about to hate me for using the word, "intelligent" or something.
So, trying to enjoy some time to myself and sit back in my comfy chair and listen to some music.
Incidentally, suffering with my lower back pain was becoming unbearable. I resorted to Utube vids of stretching exercises which I started to do. I know most of them from years of dabbling in these things. Anyway, by Jingo! it's working and my pain has noticeably reduced, which is wonderful. Thanks God, I was beginning to worry it was irreversible. I will keep at it, with most vigour.
Riding my cool bike with my new, gel bum-bag, super comfy shorts, I got bitten by a bloody dog. Just a nip but it drew blood and required jabs and numerous trips to the hospital in the coming months. I hate dogs in this country. I want to go back and shoot it. Ad, of course, you can't do anything. Along with the crazy driving and weekly 20+ die in van accidents, dog are the other major piece of idiocy here. Why? Why? Why? Dogs hobbling around with 3 legs, people happily ignoring it with absolutely no thought for it whatsoever. They won't kill it, but they won't do anything with it, except occasionally put down a bowl of rice for it, as its scabs and pustules bleed and sweat in the blazing sun.
I digress..
Next week Oi and Grace and I are all off work, so we are planning to do some day trips from home, though I believe we may spend a couple of nights up at Cabana beach and eat some yummy pizza and English food. Actually, there is an English girl who runs this food and bar on the beach and not only does she cook wicked food, but she is a kind of indie chick like Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays. The sort of indie girl you would run into in a club in Brighton or some pub in Portsmouth.
Last night I went to Ekie's bar in the town by the train station. It's a fun place and not only are there the local teachers at the watering stop, by there are always young, white people with backpacks on their way to or from the islands for their holidays. Makes for a lively place. I know the lads here quite well now and can have some fun. Everyone seems very stable and not about to hate me for using the word, "intelligent" or something.
So, trying to enjoy some time to myself and sit back in my comfy chair and listen to some music.
Incidentally, suffering with my lower back pain was becoming unbearable. I resorted to Utube vids of stretching exercises which I started to do. I know most of them from years of dabbling in these things. Anyway, by Jingo! it's working and my pain has noticeably reduced, which is wonderful. Thanks God, I was beginning to worry it was irreversible. I will keep at it, with most vigour.
Riding my cool bike with my new, gel bum-bag, super comfy shorts, I got bitten by a bloody dog. Just a nip but it drew blood and required jabs and numerous trips to the hospital in the coming months. I hate dogs in this country. I want to go back and shoot it. Ad, of course, you can't do anything. Along with the crazy driving and weekly 20+ die in van accidents, dog are the other major piece of idiocy here. Why? Why? Why? Dogs hobbling around with 3 legs, people happily ignoring it with absolutely no thought for it whatsoever. They won't kill it, but they won't do anything with it, except occasionally put down a bowl of rice for it, as its scabs and pustules bleed and sweat in the blazing sun.
I digress..
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
King's Project
Today, I went with Grace to the King's Project. A series of dams and waterways his nibs engineered to save the town from flooding. It's quite impressive and there is a model farm there that Grace loved. They had frogs, and chickens and ducks and lots of fish, and a very sweet jungle village with walkways between the different structures. It was all free and good fun riding along the side of the endless canals.
Earlier, Grace spent a couple of hours at some kiddies friend's house in Sunnyview. I was aimlessly riding around outside on my mountain bike until Dominic appeared and invited me in for some orange pop as he put it. Actually, Dominic is a bit of a treasure. From Newcastle and pretty much a Commie. He showed me a photo of him in Moscow meeting the curator of the museum and we spoke at length about Russian history and the like. I had just the night before been listening to a particularly interesting In Our Time episode about the peasant-come agriculturalist scientist that Stalin adopted, though his science was fatally flawed and millions starved, so I could talk about that, and everything that Mr. O'Brien, my brilliant History teacher, had embelished upon me. Dominic is rather fun and quite unique in this part of the world.
I bought some special padded cycling shorts today at great expense and am dying to try them out just to see if I do actually get a sore arse. Later I hope to acquire shoes and helmet.
Earlier, Grace spent a couple of hours at some kiddies friend's house in Sunnyview. I was aimlessly riding around outside on my mountain bike until Dominic appeared and invited me in for some orange pop as he put it. Actually, Dominic is a bit of a treasure. From Newcastle and pretty much a Commie. He showed me a photo of him in Moscow meeting the curator of the museum and we spoke at length about Russian history and the like. I had just the night before been listening to a particularly interesting In Our Time episode about the peasant-come agriculturalist scientist that Stalin adopted, though his science was fatally flawed and millions starved, so I could talk about that, and everything that Mr. O'Brien, my brilliant History teacher, had embelished upon me. Dominic is rather fun and quite unique in this part of the world.
I bought some special padded cycling shorts today at great expense and am dying to try them out just to see if I do actually get a sore arse. Later I hope to acquire shoes and helmet.
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