So this morning I posted this, & in the afternoon went to class where the 4 US veterans were the only students who showed up, & the Marine had bought us guardian bells for our motorbikes. 🥺

She has always been amazing at languages. She was the valedictorian of our DLI class. 🏆 I, meanwhile, failed the final & got held back for 3 months of remedial classes. 😅

I'm actually considering this one.

Waiting for the monk to leave so we can burn one, lol.

Our individual settlement has been finalized & we're just waiting for the lawyers to transfer the money. I just wanted to illustrate how long it can take. That fire was almost 5 years ago & some folks still haven't been paid.

We had friends who lost their homes in Paradise, moved to Chester and lost their homes again. It's so messed up. And the lawyer for the county settled with PG&E for $7 million. When I heard that I was speechless.

Forreal, tho: we all got pittances in the PG&E settlement after the Dixie Fire (we still haven't been paid yet), this admin fired all the Park & Forest Service employees, & then most of the town got their insurance cancelled last fall. We were told we were on the cancellation list but got renewed.

The temp(le) service apparently includes supervision, because the monk is back. I am sure that the monk is helping out the gardener at least as much as he's helping us. This seems like a good system.

The folks who are having their fire insurance dropped need to pay their fair share! /s

We have been told that the place to inquire for laborers, housekeepers, etc. is the temple, so that's what we did and hence why the gardener was escorted by a monk.

"Chai, chan ao garneneur, kaa."

The gardener arrived a few minutes early and we were still getting dressed. Mrs. Peacock got her pants on faster so she opened the door to a MONK! The monk just wanted to make sure it was the right house & we still wanted the hedge trimmed. She was able to answer in Thai. We are both very proud. ☸️

I don't think a day has gone by since I've been in this country where I didn't say, "gooddamn I love this place!."

I had breakfast with the VFW folks this morning & Thai language class in the afternoon, & now I'm headed to a Rotary potluck for dinner. Retirement is exhausting sometimes.

I left behind in California a Zojirushi induction rice cooker. The Hello Kitty rice cooker from the Big C does not make rice as perfectly, and it sticks to the cooking bowl, but it works fine. The rice is hot and edible. 👍

I ordered dinner delivered from a place that didn't have rice by itself on the menu, so I am finally putting my Hello Kitty rice cooker to use for the first time.

As a lad of 11 or 12 I once lost my boarding pass somewhere in LAX between x-ray & gate. Missed the flight. We could NOT afford a rebooking fee, but they waived it on account of I was a child. It was not a nightmare.

A sign in an alley in Chiang Mai Thailand. The sign is black with white chalk paint with a drawing of a cat and text, "CATTO! HOME STAY INSIDE DAILY WEEKLY START 350

I can't speak to the quality of this homestay, but the proprietor just came out and gave us a mango for no reason while we were getting on our scooters. She seems nice! And it's right across the street from a very reasonably priced weed shop. For the budget conscious lover of cats & cannabis.

Central Thai food is very good. Northern Thai food is phenomenal and I could eat it every day. What do I actually eat while living in Northern Thailand? Mostly Isan and Burmese food. When I get a craving for "western" comfort food I get katsu or karaage.

I am way too familiar with this phenomenon. Most of the people I grew up around think that being cynical all the time makes them smarter than everyone else. It doesn't. It just makes them assholes.

You can replace "gullible" & "cynical" with stupid & asshole for a more apt description of the situation. America has a stupid asshole epidemic.

A white cardboard box with white text over a green stripe: "SAMODRA®️ Button Bidet "Uncover surprises, embrace the joy, and realize that the pursuit of a better life never stops!"

I hope this inspirational message will lift you up as it has me.

At 50 you are eligible for a retirement visa in Thailand.

I was a single father doing all the childcare and chores. That part I would do again without hesitation. But if I knew then what I know now about the world we're leaving to our children I would not have had any.

I was watching season one a few weeks ago, and I don't want to spoil it, but the fictional Nixon on the teevee was calling for the thing that the IRL president was calling for at the time and it was surreal.

Okay, maybe (you're some kind of weird alien creature and) you don't like tacos. But there is literally a Hamburger Habit IN THE AIRPORT!

When friends & relatives land in California and the first place they want to go is In-N-Out. 🤦🏻

Just look at a tanker and realize that they were also a toddler once. Then it's very easy to imagine.

I'm not going to say that dropping everything and moving to another country is easy, because it's not. But it is way easier than you probably think it is. Let me know if you have any questions about SEAsia or living abroad as a US veteran. I'm happy to share what I know.