etc.

One of the things I love about being in this country is that everyday activities have an odd and irregular charge to them. I’ll be going through the same motions of normal life but I’ll find that it’s tweaked and distorted in odd ways.

Par example: So just last night I went to go see a movie with my friends Sarah and D.J. We planned on seeing this Thai flick called Hello Stranger. It’s about a quirky Thai couple who fall in love and hate with each other on a trip to Korea - all the while dressed in plaid, wearing thick rimmed glasses, and listening to indie music - essentially it’s the Thai 500 Days of Summer.
Sadly however the movie wasn’t playing that night. So of course we went with our second choice: Resident Evil in 3D. I’ll hold out on a review, but let’s just say that even with the extra D this flick is pretty painful to watch. They really should have thrown in a few extra D’s to make up for this steaming pile of elephant shirt. Anywho, what makes going to the movies worth it, regardless of the feature attraction, are the trailers in a Thai cinema. There are quite literally about 45 minutes of trailers and commercials before the show, advertising products ranging from Coca Cola, to Instant Tom Yum soup, to 711 brand collagen (yes that’s right you can actually buy collagen from a 711 and apply it directly to your glistening plastic face - and yes 711 has it’s very own brand - and no I haven’t tried it yet - and yes I will soon!).
Another interesting aspect of silver screening it is to see the trailers for Thai movies. Mostly they’re facsimiles of American style action thrillers - nothing too special. But what is a little disarming is too see a release date as “coming soon in 2556”. Now, yes, Thai people are generally a bit slower: they generally take longer to serve food, or at the check out counter, or in traffic, or just about anytime I need anything; but to slate a movie for release for the next 546 years is just a little off putting - to think that I would have to wait several centuries to see a masked vigilante take on organized crime using only his physical prowess and cunning is devastating! So, putting my investigative skills to task, I asked around. What I found was that the Thai are on a calendar that does not begin with the birth or death of Christ(understandably), but begins with the death of the Buddha - a whopping 556 years before Christ. It’s kind of nice to know I’m in a bit of a time capsule here. And I thought it was cool to just be 14 hours in the future, now I know that I’m 546 years and 14 hours into the future. You guys are way behind.

I have 10 minutes devoted to a quick update: GO!

So in the last week a sense of routine has revealed itself to me. Wake up(possible with a mild hangover) - attend an early class for three arduous hours - an hour break for lunch and perspiration - another three dismal hours - more lunch and perspiration - miscellanious hanging out with a good people which more than not feeds into drinking - getting to bed late - waking up early(possibly with a hangover).
It might not be a sacred revelation, but it's more or less my life and it's interesting to see the dust settle.

Now, to stir up that dust is a must. In about 5 minutes I'll be closing my laptop and heading to koasan road with a man by the name of J.P, wherein we will catch a bus for Chiang Mai, a quiter, less expansive and frenetic town than Bangkok. I'm told that if Bangkok is New York than Chiang Mai is San Francisco. Let's see if that proves to be true.
Thanks all.