Tuesday, February 27, 2007
It's official!
I got my full offer for the Master of Asian Studies today... it means I've graduated! Whoo-hoo!
Also managed to send off my application to NOHA... See how that goes... tried my best, although it was a little last minute... Poor Itt had to watch as I panicked trying to get it all sent off (the whole process of printing documents, photocopying them, getting certified copies of my transcript, sending it all off by DHL ended up costing a total of 5,700 baht! For anyone not conversant in baht, that's about AU$190!). Was a bit of a rushed lunch, so we'll have to do it again properly on Thursday.
I was just telling Itt, and AK (who I saw later) that it seems my only Thai friends are either musicians or ex student politicians...
Whisky, wine, debates on relativism, realism, universalism, and Sing-Star go very well together - except according to the game, I really don't know how to sing at all. Must go for a proper karaoke session and pick some songs I like...
btw... Zelda on Wii rocks! :) Thus, I am still awake at 1:39 a.m.
fon @ 1:29 AM link to post * *
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Things that go bump in Bangkok
There's a new airport in Bkk. I'm not sure if I like it so much. You see, I may have written before that there is a certain smell I'm used to encountering when I get home. When I step off the plane, there's a smell that's a mix of jasmine and pollution, humidity and sewage that combines in such a perfect way as to simply smell like home to me. But Suvanabhumi airport is so sterile. So gray. Nothing convinces me I'm in Thailand. There are some posters on the wall of antique Thai artwork - the kind with the demurely sitting Thai women with impossibly round and firm breasts peeking through some very thin silk fabric. These pictures make me feel like I'm in some sick art collectors home, or at best a badly laid out museum. But a portal for welcoming to Thailand? No.
In fact, the first thing that let me know where I was was the water. In the toilet. I rinsed my mouth and the water tasted Thai. I find my Thailand in the gritty details. It's my home and it's honest to me. I don't recognise it by the costumes it wears.
Of course, the next thing that has to happen is my 'pick-up'. My brother has convinced everyone that there is only one exit from the international terminal. He's wrong - there are two. So I wait for about half an hour for people who are already there. My mother, brother, Indy, Inc and both their nannies wait at the other exit whilst my brother gets angrier and angrier. When we finally DO find each other, my brother walks ahead and refuses at first to say hi because that would be nearly an admission that he was wrong. Oh - and naturally, he has once again updated his car. A white Honda has replaced the Black KIA van. Pretty much the same features (including built-in DVD player and two screens) except now the doors slide open automatically and I get told off for trying to manually open them.
Indy and Inc are very smily and sweet, and I haven't heard them cry since I came. They are also avid TV watchers. I find it funny that before Inc said anything to me, she whacked me on the head for disrupting the line of vision between her and the car-TV.
Conan hasn't stopped barking since I arrived.
Cola was more interested in sniffing my bag to see if he could pee on it.
Alba pissed herself when she saw me, as usual, and was still a bit angry that I had left her in Bkk for so long that she didn't come and spend the night with me yet on my first night.
What would my first day in Bkk be without a platter or fruit in Na Julie's garden? I always seem to feel more at ease hanging around with my Aunties (meaning actual aunties and also my mothers millions of school friends) than with people my own age. Plus, her garden is beautiful. That, followed by some shopping at Central and the customary bumping into ten aunties that I don't remember but all seem to consider me their favourite niece with the way they carry on. Just a reminder, again - I use auntie loosely to mean 'old-lady-acquainted-with-my-mother', and niece here to mean 'acquaintance's-friend'.
My brother doesn't have Xenosaga III in English. Or so I discovered.
I cut my finger peeling a raw mango and trying to get through a battle in Final Fantasy X2.
Alba and I share some similar habits. She settled on my pillow while I was taking a shower. Then, I thought I would compromise and get her another pillow on the corner of my bed. But no. She has to be somewhere central, so she sleeps on the exact middle of my bed and on top of the blanket. I have to curve around her to sleep. Fortunately, she is not big enough to push me off the bed. Apparently I take up the whole bed and don't share the blanket either.
Today I'm off to see P'Plern sing at Emporium and after that, catching up with P'Ant... and going to Na Neaows house for a quiet Chinese New Year after that.
Things should start looking up. Pig year coming up!
fon @ 8:52 AM link to post * *
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Blind study session
I've never been on a blind date in my life before... and I'm not about to start now, but this evening will perhaps be the closest I'll ever come to it.
Here's an excerpt from an e-mail exchange:
D: "we can meet at the provincial hotel at the
intersection of bunswick and johnston streets. If you have any
problems finding the place, give me a ring on [number deleted]. I'll be the
sri lankan guy wearing black pants and a business shirt."
Me: "Ok :)
Hmmm.... I'll be the half/half (thai/finnish - i don't think that's very helpful) looking a bit lost...
I'm sure I'll find you :) I'm sure there aren't that many people around carrying PHL books :P"
Is it just me, or have I irrevocably become a nerd? I'll actually meet up with a perfect stranger to study!
But, last week when some guy approached me on the beach and tried to give me his e-mail address and suggested we go on a coffee, I pretty much snubbed him straight out.
Welcome to Nerdland.
On another note... Sid comes back ... tomorrow night!! I was given the night off work, but I really wish I hadn't been, because then I'll be all fidgety at home!
fon @ 7:11 AM link to post * *
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Today was truly a meditative day... Woke up at seven, went to the gym, exercised, went to yoga class, then lay on the beach reading Edward Said's 'Orientalism' for a couple hours before coming home and making myself some lunch...
Then set off again for a walk... ended up being on my walk for a total of 2.5 hours (with small breaks)... my first stop-over was Lentil as Anything for a cup of Soy Chai Latte and a little bit of study time (I was carrying around my philosophy book)... then I found my way all down at the Marina, where I found myself a quiet little secluded spot, away from everything. I sat there for about half an hour, just staring out at the sea and singing to myself. It's funny what makes one happy, isn't it?
If "enlightenment for a wave in the ocean is the moment the wave realises that it is water", then watching the waves gently kiss the rocks beneath my feet must be analogous to learning from a thousand great teachers. I hope I've been receptive. For sure, it's made me feel a lot more clear and calm.
My quiet spot:
After that, I walked past the boats anchored at the Marina, found myself by the beach again, and walked all the way along the beach until I reached my gym again... from there, another cafe, and another exploration of my philosophy book.
On the way home, I passed what looked like a market, and found that, indeed, it was a night market, and upon arriving at home, convinced Kelvin and Agnes to come back with me to check out the action :)
St Kilda Thursday Night Market:
While I'm at it, I may as well post a couple of pictures from the weekend that passed (no, I didn't only sit at home and study). Cavish has his housewarming bbq, so naturally, we at least had to show our faces for a while)... I ended up getting into a long discussion about the linguistic innateness hypothesis and computer language with a computer scientist at the party though... Why do I always get into a heated discussion about some quasi-intellectual stuff with people at social gatherings??
Cavish's housewarming, Friday night (please don't ask me why they decided to pose hugging...?):
Monday... most eventful day this week... finished my essays and got accepted into Masters... so of course, Monday night had to have a few drinks with a couple friends :) Alex was hanging out with me from the afternoon, and as always, we pretty much spent a few hours happily singing and playing guitar. I guess that's one thing I'll miss about living around Clayton - I won't be hanging around with Alex and his guitar nearly as often as I'd like :(
Celebrating Acceptance to Masters:
A window of opportunity?
fon @ 2:41 PM link to post * *