Category: Exploits

Stuck like a boss

Yes, I got stuck.

I arrived a bit late to the first wedding of two only to get trapped in the parking lot due to idiots who had parked every which way Undeterred, I squeezed through a couple of pickups to a promising dirt field that appeared to be damp, but solid. A couple feet into it, the car bogged down a bit, but not wanting to get stuck, I pushed forward… and got stuck further into the field.

Anyway, lemons into lemonade I say. This is what my car would look like slammed, with brown tires:

 

 

Eventually, a truck came and pulled our trusty Cefiro out of the muck, and I took it to get washed before Nam came home.

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By the way, this is the semi-finished parking lot at the new wedding hall of Marin restaurant in Maha Sarakham.

Online again.

So I’ve been recovering for a month now. Wasn’t hurt too bad in the accident, but it flipped a switch in my head. Didn’t feel like blogging or writing or working at all, really. Of those three things, though, only one was really necessary so I did do a lot of extra work lecturing and speaking here and there.

As I type away on this dirty keyboard, it slowly feels like I’m coming back to a place of comfort. I was angry for a long time. Specifically, I was angry at the shop that almost killed me through negligent automobile repair. When I last wrote, I was waiting to hear back from them for a repair estimate for my car. All I thought about for three weeks was how I was going to get back at them – three weeks is a very long time for a devious mind to concoct intricate schemes. I even dreamed about it a few times, standing on a battlefield under a tattered flag, watching crows pick at the corpses of my slain enemies. Or standing in a courtroom at the moment of winning an all-or-nothing class action lawsuit, showered with applause from others who had shared similar experiences. Like I said, three weeks is a long time.

As it turns out, though, I may end up accepting the shop’s offer to pay for just half the damage, because the estimate ended up being about 10 to 20% of what we thought it would cost. The son at the shop ended up being cool about it and called in some favors at a body shop so we could get it done cheap. It’s still not ideal or just in my mind, but I’m willing to let it go now – it’s not enough money to stress about. Plus, I can leave it up to the shop to make sure shit gets done and not have to deal with details every day. And most importantly of all, karma’s a bitch. Motherfuckers who do bad shit get bad shit in return. That’s just the way it works. Believe that.

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Just before I finished the restoration of my car I had somehow amassed a stable of three 100-150cc scooters. One cruiser, two two-stroke sport(ish) bikes. When I started parking my car in the garage again, I had to move them out and thought about what the hell to do with them. I moved them to temporary spaces around the outside of the house and covered them with tarps, using them about once a week on rotation to keep them maintained. So when I got in this accident, I was lucky enough to have transportation ready. I love old bikes, and two-stroke engines are awesome because they are so powerful and no longer produced. Pics to follow, sometime.

welcome home

Dear keys (that I have written off found),

Well screw you then. Welcome home. Everyone suspected the babies of throwing you away or hiding you somewhere, but it was just me accidentally leaving you somewhere in the house I would not have found you for months (if not for looking for something else today). I’m sorry for having already replaced you (except for you, Mr. Laser Cut), but you are my daily carrying set and those new guys are relegated to backup status now. Just don’t get lost again, k?

P.S. Pass on the “don’t get lost” thing to Mr. Wallet as well.

Your creator,
J

In which OLDER does not necessarily mean WISER…

So far today, I’ve had to break into my own house three times because each time I left I’ve forgotten my own keys inside, and then later, forgotten to ask my wife for hers.

On the plus side, both my morning and afternoon classes at Mahasarakham University (Nam’s uni, where I teach on Mondays part time) were thrilled to have class cancelled due to a blackout caused by a storm that knocked down power lines last night – the ironic thing is that unpowered classrooms are kinda what I’m used to working for a public university and all.

Here’s my proof, in the form of a photo documenting last month’s sweeping upgrades from 19th century technology to 20th century technology at my university:

How to upgrade a blackboard: 1.Tape a melamine sheet over it... Voila!

Yes, our rush to embrace technology hasn’t exactly been, well, rushed. Indeed, I installed the first wireless LAN at Rajabhat Maha Sarakham when I came over in late 2007, which was an ancient Buffalo unit I’d been using for around seven years in Japan already.

Chris Delivery

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being Chris Delivery’s bodyguard (I got the job by looking “ex-yakuza.”) Fortunately, there were no kidnapping or assassination attempts, but he did get jumped by several groups of screaming fans wanting autographs and v sign photos (and, I suspect, a romantic evening under a private mango tree).

The talk he gave at our university was heartfelt and entertaining, and a great success by any measure. Props to my friend, Ajarn Kedsiree Jumpeehom, for setting it up and thanks to Chris for putting on an awesome show.

For a television personality with several shows, books, and other assorted projects known to pretty much everybody in Thailand, Chris is humble and just a generally great guy; he pretty much hates being grouped in with the snobby TV star set and keeps it real. I pretty much flipped when I heard that he personally teaches all of the classes at his English School in Central World (there’s a list of other teachers there so maybe he teaches all of the classes some of the time).

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Here’s some shots showing the venue (the Main Hall at Rajabhat Maha Sarakham) and the turnout (around 1,500 at the start by my count, plus many more walk-ins changing with students leaving for classes part way through)

Pre-show meet & greet:

Pictured: Dean Sunee, Aj. Mayuree, Aj. Teera, Aj. Kedsiree, Chris Delivery

 

Almost go time:

Gauging crowds by counting rows, but sorely needing a wider lens:

Gauging crowds with the motorcycle index:

Gauging crowds with the broken toilet index:

After we reached Khon Kaen Airport, my detail ended by safely escorting the principal to the secure area, and I immediately proceeded to the airport shop to acquire a cold six-pack. All members of the escort team proceeded to the nearest McDonalds and many freshly-constructed McRibs were consumed the way Buddha intended them to be, with a freezing can of Leo. All in all, it was a great day, even if I did crash my goddamn car to start it off.