I couldn’t say for sure how long the roach had been dead. It was late in the evening when I discovered it. The ants had just found it and were sending that information home so the others could come to feed. I had been terribly sick for days and the boredom was driving me a bit mad. Normally, in a situation such as this, I would remove the food source so the ants would go away. This time, however, I felt compelled to observe how the ants would go about making use of this monster insect that which was more than 20 times the size of the ants. I suppose it was because I had didn’t have anything else to do, but actually it was quite fascinating.
The first few hours weren’t exactly action packed. Piece by tiny piece, the ants whittled away at the deathly still bug. At times it almost seemed alive as the cloak of ants that enshrouded it went about their grim business.
My sleepless night led me to frequent checks on the ants’ progress. There were four supply lines in the procession. From the center of the bathroom floor they carried their tasty prize in a straight line to the nearest wall. Following this, they would move cautiously along the wall to the doorway and from here around it. Finally, maintaining their safe position along the wall, the relentless marchers disappeared behind my wardrobe to their lair.
I managed to doze for a short time in the morning after having left the ants to their work for sometime. I checked in again and finally saw noticeable dissolution of the corpse. It looked lighter and no longer had any semblance of life. Suddenly, the corpse began to shake. The ants were trying to lift it. After much effort, they were able to raise it slightly and they attempted to move the corpse closer to the wall. However, the spaces between the tiles proved to be an obstacle. The carcass kept dragging in the cracks and slowing their progress, so they went back to dismantling the monstrosity.
I checked in on them frequently during this time. As it had become obvious that they could now lift the corpse, I was curious as to where they would take it once they solved their dilemma. A short time later, I again found myself witnessing some impressive feats of strength from my tiny roommates. They had managed to move the corpse slightly out of the crack so they could move it across the tile.
The roach glided across the floor quickly, yet not entirely ungracefully. It seemed to almost be alive again, soaring across the white tiles until it crashed rather unpleasantly into the wall.
At this point the ants dragged the roach along the wall to the edge of the bathroom door frame. It was here that they finished what they started. It took a number of hours longer before they finished the job, but when it was all over, the once mighty roach was an ashen shadow against the wall.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Birthday Pics
We waited until nobody was looking, then slid the glass off of the table/tub and Jenny jumped in. Funny stuff.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Birthdays and Stuff
I've been extremely busy lately. I think I cracked a rib at the gym so I didn't go to the gym for a couple weeks. I went back today and took it easy. It still hurts, but I imagine it will still heal if I don't agitate it so much.
As for Birthdays. There were far more than I could handle. First up was a Friday night party for a girl who lives outside the city. I went with about 10 people, of which one or two knew this girl. Shortly after arriving, I realized I had been to the house before. It turned out that I am kind of friends with the girls mother and her aunt. I've known them most of the time I've been in Thailand. I see the girl fairly often, but I'm not really friends with her. She is 18 or so I think. I also met her sister, who was in Australia when I went there and her mother had given me her phone # there, but I never called. After I realized who she was I handed her my phone with her number and she looked at it for a minute before freaking out. It was pretty funny. Anyways, the party wasn't terribly exciting so I managed to talk most everyone into moving to Warm Up which turned out to be more fun. Following that, Jeff, Mike and myself went to Easy to eat. We saw a table of 3 girls there so we went to bother them. It was relatively fun.
On Saturday, I had 3 other birthday jams to attend to. First, I went to a party at one of the first bars I went to in Chiang Mai, CM Saloon, 2.5 years ago and I'm close with all of most of the folk who work there. This b-day was for a guy named Zero who I just met a few days ago. He is a friend of a friend I guess. Seems like a nice guy. He rented a suite at a hotel here for the night and we planned to go there to party around 2am. While I was there, I got a call from a girl I met recently who lives in Chiang Rai (about 3 hours North of Chiang Mai). She said she was on her way to Chiang Mai for my birthday and would arrive around 1am. I was kind of surprised as I've only met this girl like 4 times, but I guess we have become pretty friendly.
Anyways, after I hung out at the Saloon for a bit, I had to sneak off to Warm Up, as it was my friends girlfriends birthday and I guess I've gotten kind of close with a friend of hers lately. So I went there and it was awfully boring and I was kind of uncomfortable so I was polite and hung out for one drink before going outside.
Outside I ran into a friend of mine who happens to have the same birthday as me, and he was celebrating so I stayed with him and his friends. That was fun. Afterwards, I should have gone home as I had birthday plans starting at 9am on Sunday.
I didn't go home. I went to meet up with the Chiang Rai girl and the others outside the hotel where we went up and had a rather fun party. I went home around 4:30 and passed out.
My friend Pop called me at 8:45 to let me know she would be picking me at 9:30 to go to the lake. We (Gai and her bf, Pop, myself and some other girl) went there early and spent the day by the lake. They bought me some cake (which I can't eat0 and I was competley exhausted so I slept for a couple hours. It was fun and I picked up a few Thai words I didn't know.
After that, I went back and took a nap in the afternoon and then did some homework before going to eat with Jenny and Randy. Then we went to Warm Up with a few other people and it was ok. Everybody was pretty tired. We sat at a table which consists of an old legged bathtub with a sheet of glass over it. I managed to convince everyone to slide it aside and let Jenny go inside for a bit. We took pictures of Jenny inside the tub which were pretty amusing. I'll post them as soon as I get them.
As for Birthdays. There were far more than I could handle. First up was a Friday night party for a girl who lives outside the city. I went with about 10 people, of which one or two knew this girl. Shortly after arriving, I realized I had been to the house before. It turned out that I am kind of friends with the girls mother and her aunt. I've known them most of the time I've been in Thailand. I see the girl fairly often, but I'm not really friends with her. She is 18 or so I think. I also met her sister, who was in Australia when I went there and her mother had given me her phone # there, but I never called. After I realized who she was I handed her my phone with her number and she looked at it for a minute before freaking out. It was pretty funny. Anyways, the party wasn't terribly exciting so I managed to talk most everyone into moving to Warm Up which turned out to be more fun. Following that, Jeff, Mike and myself went to Easy to eat. We saw a table of 3 girls there so we went to bother them. It was relatively fun.
On Saturday, I had 3 other birthday jams to attend to. First, I went to a party at one of the first bars I went to in Chiang Mai, CM Saloon, 2.5 years ago and I'm close with all of most of the folk who work there. This b-day was for a guy named Zero who I just met a few days ago. He is a friend of a friend I guess. Seems like a nice guy. He rented a suite at a hotel here for the night and we planned to go there to party around 2am. While I was there, I got a call from a girl I met recently who lives in Chiang Rai (about 3 hours North of Chiang Mai). She said she was on her way to Chiang Mai for my birthday and would arrive around 1am. I was kind of surprised as I've only met this girl like 4 times, but I guess we have become pretty friendly.
Anyways, after I hung out at the Saloon for a bit, I had to sneak off to Warm Up, as it was my friends girlfriends birthday and I guess I've gotten kind of close with a friend of hers lately. So I went there and it was awfully boring and I was kind of uncomfortable so I was polite and hung out for one drink before going outside.
Outside I ran into a friend of mine who happens to have the same birthday as me, and he was celebrating so I stayed with him and his friends. That was fun. Afterwards, I should have gone home as I had birthday plans starting at 9am on Sunday.
I didn't go home. I went to meet up with the Chiang Rai girl and the others outside the hotel where we went up and had a rather fun party. I went home around 4:30 and passed out.
My friend Pop called me at 8:45 to let me know she would be picking me at 9:30 to go to the lake. We (Gai and her bf, Pop, myself and some other girl) went there early and spent the day by the lake. They bought me some cake (which I can't eat0 and I was competley exhausted so I slept for a couple hours. It was fun and I picked up a few Thai words I didn't know.
After that, I went back and took a nap in the afternoon and then did some homework before going to eat with Jenny and Randy. Then we went to Warm Up with a few other people and it was ok. Everybody was pretty tired. We sat at a table which consists of an old legged bathtub with a sheet of glass over it. I managed to convince everyone to slide it aside and let Jenny go inside for a bit. We took pictures of Jenny inside the tub which were pretty amusing. I'll post them as soon as I get them.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Nothing to see here...
I had Chinese class today. I was exhausted, but I still managed to absorb a bit of stuff. I think my obscure Thai vocab has increased rather dramatically as of late. I pick up lots of rather uncommon, but rather important words in my classes as I'm the guy that always has to translate the English from the Japanese/Chinese books into Thai. Good stuff I suppose.
Lia and Lana left for Bangkok today. I had assumed (since they told me so) they would stay considerably longer. Ah well.
I think I'm going to China next month for a few days with my Chinese teacher and a few other students. Should be fun.
I have a few open invites with free accomodation to visit Japan this year. Perhaps if I can score a really cheap ticket I can go.
Lia and Lana left for Bangkok today. I had assumed (since they told me so) they would stay considerably longer. Ah well.
I think I'm going to China next month for a few days with my Chinese teacher and a few other students. Should be fun.
I have a few open invites with free accomodation to visit Japan this year. Perhaps if I can score a really cheap ticket I can go.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Sinful and Deadly
Are the Seven Deadly Sins equally bad? Can it be said that perhaps some are more "Deadly" than the others? Throughout history, the Church has often organized and reorganized the ranking of the Sins. While I have certainly encountered them all in my life, perhaps the two most pervasive have been Gluttony and Lust, the two that are usually found to be the least "Deadly".
As a severely messed up kid I gained a lot of weight at the age of eleven. Being relatively independent at this point, I was usually responsible for my own meals. I had no sense of portion size so I would often end up cooking far more than necessary. I could eat entire pizzas or consume ten bowls of soup in a "meal". Prolonging the sensation of taste as long as possible, I would eat until full and then if I had nothing else to do, would wait until later to finish whatever I had cooked/bought as soon as my stomach had room for more.
Growing up in a society where overeating is often encouraged causes me much stress to this day. One of the things that always enrage me about visiting my various extended family in the US is that in meeting with them, I'm expected to participate in these ridiculous rituals of stuffing oneself in the company of family. With me having been a vegan for nearly ten years and my family still not truly understanding what that entails, it is needless to say that I often dread the meals more than the expected family quarrels or their ignorance concerning the world outside their own. By not eating most of what is made and causing a supposedly even greater offence by not being physically capable of gorging myself in their presence for the purpose of being polite, I'm am always made to feel awkward and uncomfortable.
It is a daily battle for me to not eat everything in front of me (as long as its vegan) and hence avoid falling into a pit of gluttony. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that it is a battle against finding myself in situations where there is a lot of food in front of me to begin with. I am able to stay thin in this portion of my life by eating very healthy and exercising regularly. And I suppose from living far away from the US.
It is here, living far from the US that brings us to my next oft-encountered Sin. As a Caucasian male with two arms and two legs living in Thailand, I can easily participate in a rather hedonistic lifestyle with little or no effort. In fact, it often takes a mountain of effort to avoid those self-indulgent cravings.
Whether it's a form of exoticism, or physical attraction or the slew of slightly less pleasant possibilities, for me, finding a girlfriend, lover or otherwise in Thailand is far from difficult. In contrast to my strict veganism, whereas the act of someone attempting to be amusing might shove meat or some other animal-derived product in my face is certainly disgusting, when an attractive girl of my acquaintance attempts something relatively similar which tests my faithfulness to my girlfriend, I'm far from revolted.
Things such as these worry me often. Both involve strong willpower that is tested often. Where as I must fight off urges of Gluttony multiple times per day, I only need deal with the potentially more serious cravings of Lust a few times a week. However you look at it, life is a battle. You can be firm in your mettle and attempt to maintain some semblance of morality, or you can sink into a life of sensuality and gratification. If only I wasn't forced to choose anew each day, it would be much easier.
As a severely messed up kid I gained a lot of weight at the age of eleven. Being relatively independent at this point, I was usually responsible for my own meals. I had no sense of portion size so I would often end up cooking far more than necessary. I could eat entire pizzas or consume ten bowls of soup in a "meal". Prolonging the sensation of taste as long as possible, I would eat until full and then if I had nothing else to do, would wait until later to finish whatever I had cooked/bought as soon as my stomach had room for more.
Growing up in a society where overeating is often encouraged causes me much stress to this day. One of the things that always enrage me about visiting my various extended family in the US is that in meeting with them, I'm expected to participate in these ridiculous rituals of stuffing oneself in the company of family. With me having been a vegan for nearly ten years and my family still not truly understanding what that entails, it is needless to say that I often dread the meals more than the expected family quarrels or their ignorance concerning the world outside their own. By not eating most of what is made and causing a supposedly even greater offence by not being physically capable of gorging myself in their presence for the purpose of being polite, I'm am always made to feel awkward and uncomfortable.
It is a daily battle for me to not eat everything in front of me (as long as its vegan) and hence avoid falling into a pit of gluttony. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that it is a battle against finding myself in situations where there is a lot of food in front of me to begin with. I am able to stay thin in this portion of my life by eating very healthy and exercising regularly. And I suppose from living far away from the US.
It is here, living far from the US that brings us to my next oft-encountered Sin. As a Caucasian male with two arms and two legs living in Thailand, I can easily participate in a rather hedonistic lifestyle with little or no effort. In fact, it often takes a mountain of effort to avoid those self-indulgent cravings.
Whether it's a form of exoticism, or physical attraction or the slew of slightly less pleasant possibilities, for me, finding a girlfriend, lover or otherwise in Thailand is far from difficult. In contrast to my strict veganism, whereas the act of someone attempting to be amusing might shove meat or some other animal-derived product in my face is certainly disgusting, when an attractive girl of my acquaintance attempts something relatively similar which tests my faithfulness to my girlfriend, I'm far from revolted.
Things such as these worry me often. Both involve strong willpower that is tested often. Where as I must fight off urges of Gluttony multiple times per day, I only need deal with the potentially more serious cravings of Lust a few times a week. However you look at it, life is a battle. You can be firm in your mettle and attempt to maintain some semblance of morality, or you can sink into a life of sensuality and gratification. If only I wasn't forced to choose anew each day, it would be much easier.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Tfoloz
As much as I would have liked to be writing lately, I've been drawing blanks. Its not that I don't have anything to say, but I often go through periods where it is almost impossible for me to write anything. So rather than talk about the latest streams of insanity that have been circling through my mind, I will just give a few updates on things in my life.
Firstly, Lia and Lana are arriving tomorrow (today already!) around 6am. Which is unfortunate for me as it is a bit after 2am at the moment. I don't know what form of transportation they are using, so I don't know what to expect.
On top of that, I teach English every Sunday morning for 2 hours now, and I suspect I will have some problems with this. I'm not sure if i can really cancel, as my student paid in advance. In addition, I had a job interview on Friday, and if they offer me a schedule I can handle, I will work 3 days a week for this company.
Today, I am extremely sore. I have stopped being completely antisocial at the gym and now I think i've scored some workout partners. Exercising with weights is considerably more effective if you have a spotter, as you can work with much higher weights and therefore push your body much more. On top of that, I have been researching various forms of body-weight exercises lately and today I tried out one particular leg workout that left me almost incapable of walking. Good stuff! You know you've stumbled upon something effective when you will be sore for 3 or 4 days.
I ran out of Zoloft a couple days ago and I haven't had time to get more. I've noticed signifigant mood changes without it just over 2 days. I'm more hesitant and indecisive than usual, I'm completley incapable of getting started on writing on the paper I need to hand in on Tuesday, and my anger is leading me down the road of giving up on going to Korea, rather than outsmarting the system. This will not do at all.
Firstly, Lia and Lana are arriving tomorrow (today already!) around 6am. Which is unfortunate for me as it is a bit after 2am at the moment. I don't know what form of transportation they are using, so I don't know what to expect.
On top of that, I teach English every Sunday morning for 2 hours now, and I suspect I will have some problems with this. I'm not sure if i can really cancel, as my student paid in advance. In addition, I had a job interview on Friday, and if they offer me a schedule I can handle, I will work 3 days a week for this company.
Today, I am extremely sore. I have stopped being completely antisocial at the gym and now I think i've scored some workout partners. Exercising with weights is considerably more effective if you have a spotter, as you can work with much higher weights and therefore push your body much more. On top of that, I have been researching various forms of body-weight exercises lately and today I tried out one particular leg workout that left me almost incapable of walking. Good stuff! You know you've stumbled upon something effective when you will be sore for 3 or 4 days.
I ran out of Zoloft a couple days ago and I haven't had time to get more. I've noticed signifigant mood changes without it just over 2 days. I'm more hesitant and indecisive than usual, I'm completley incapable of getting started on writing on the paper I need to hand in on Tuesday, and my anger is leading me down the road of giving up on going to Korea, rather than outsmarting the system. This will not do at all.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Song Thaew - New Room - Stuff
I discovered much to my anger today that the song thaews (red trucks that serve as taxis in Chiang Mai) have raised their fare by 50%. This does not bode well for my transportation costs.
I'm about 15% moved into my new room. I sleep here most nights. It is very nice to have ac, but as I am on the top floor, it is very hot and i worry a bit about electricity costs.
The internet isn't terribly fast, but it will suffice.
Lia and Lana are in Bangkok at the moment, and are supposed to be coming here any day now. Or so I'm told. Orginally, they told me they'd be here last Saturday, but I'm fairly certain its Tuesday at the moment.
I have a strong feeling that I'm not going to be able to study in Korea next semester as my 'advisor' is giving me a hard time about it. If it was up to me, I'd go and study intensive Korean for 1 semester and not worry about the credits. But sadly, the powers that be are more interested in me getting credits rather than me getting an actual education.
Its extremely frustrating for me to have to sit through classes where the teachers are picked at random to fill time slots and often have little prior knowledge of the subjects they get roped into teaching. In my environmental class, I usually study Thai environmental words as they come up in class. In the 12 or so hours of this class so far , nothing has come up that I didn't already know. I'd be surprised if I actually gain any knowledge from it. Its pretty boring, and so far there hasn't been any work other than reading or occasionally talking. I try to offer up a nice monologue each class where I attempt to point out that part of the reason the environment is in bad shape is that out of the handful of people that care on some level about it, just sit around and talk nonsense.
My next exciting example is Translation class. To my growing amusement, all exercises outside of our 25-year-old textbook are taken from the bible. The teacher seems nice enough and isn't aggressive about the religion, so I haven't had to challenge her yet, but it could happen if she crosses the imaginary line in my mind which shields me from all forms of religion. Again, this class is easy, but involves a bit more brainwork because it forces me to translate passages into Japanese and/or Thai. But I have this class on a long day and I'm always struggling to not pass out.
Rather than go on endlessly (as I surely could) about what's wrong with every class I've ever had, I just want to say that I wish I could weasel an education out of this degree program. But alas, as usual, luck is not on my side.
I'm about 15% moved into my new room. I sleep here most nights. It is very nice to have ac, but as I am on the top floor, it is very hot and i worry a bit about electricity costs.
The internet isn't terribly fast, but it will suffice.
Lia and Lana are in Bangkok at the moment, and are supposed to be coming here any day now. Or so I'm told. Orginally, they told me they'd be here last Saturday, but I'm fairly certain its Tuesday at the moment.
I have a strong feeling that I'm not going to be able to study in Korea next semester as my 'advisor' is giving me a hard time about it. If it was up to me, I'd go and study intensive Korean for 1 semester and not worry about the credits. But sadly, the powers that be are more interested in me getting credits rather than me getting an actual education.
Its extremely frustrating for me to have to sit through classes where the teachers are picked at random to fill time slots and often have little prior knowledge of the subjects they get roped into teaching. In my environmental class, I usually study Thai environmental words as they come up in class. In the 12 or so hours of this class so far , nothing has come up that I didn't already know. I'd be surprised if I actually gain any knowledge from it. Its pretty boring, and so far there hasn't been any work other than reading or occasionally talking. I try to offer up a nice monologue each class where I attempt to point out that part of the reason the environment is in bad shape is that out of the handful of people that care on some level about it, just sit around and talk nonsense.
My next exciting example is Translation class. To my growing amusement, all exercises outside of our 25-year-old textbook are taken from the bible. The teacher seems nice enough and isn't aggressive about the religion, so I haven't had to challenge her yet, but it could happen if she crosses the imaginary line in my mind which shields me from all forms of religion. Again, this class is easy, but involves a bit more brainwork because it forces me to translate passages into Japanese and/or Thai. But I have this class on a long day and I'm always struggling to not pass out.
Rather than go on endlessly (as I surely could) about what's wrong with every class I've ever had, I just want to say that I wish I could weasel an education out of this degree program. But alas, as usual, luck is not on my side.
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