Beren

Early Sunday morning. It has been raining for days without end and it is welcome, though I have acquired a slight chest infection, I don't think it serious. The drumming of the rain on the roof.

This last week Oi and I have been watching The Lord of the Rings. I can't believe what a good job Peter Jackson did. Oi loved it. It is almost indescribable. This morning I read all about JRR Tolkien, keen to know of his life.

Gamewise, I am heavily engrossed in King's Bounty, which my dear friend, Peter would love. I have been batling orcs, goblins and pirates, and searching for hidden treasure.

Bombs and chaos shrouds Thailand, but strangely, I never feel unsafe. Although now I claim to be an anarchist (there seems little choice), this is not the anarchy I wanted for this country. It would appear to me that Thais, as a whole, are quite immature and the smiling faces of the mob seem full of stupidity and ignorance at the expense of their country. Anarchy in UK or USA yes, but for these poor souls, not yet. I have often described Thai business conduct to that of standing behind someone cooking a meal, but they are cooking it wrong and you are unable to intervene. This is why at Smart English, I have taken the position of strictly being only a teacher. They take offense when you offer advise and will do things their own way anyway. Fair enough, but don't expect anything from me other than what you pay for. Oi has witnessed this too at the school she has just left. The hell-bent banker/owner is driving teachers and students away from the place with his sadistic tendencies. Or maybe, as I suggested, he is purposely running the school into the ground in order to sell that land later on.

Thais are amazing to watch. So kind and yet fatally flawed. Too simple for the new world and close to nature, though they would sell it all for a new car. A funny one I noticed years ago was that they will trick you and lie to you almost daily, but if you do it to them, they never see it coming.

I know so well with Oi that I have found someone I truly admire. She is way ahead of me. Maybe like Tony, there is not a bad bone in her body. She is like an elf in the movie, always good, always calm. What makes her different from other Thai girls I have known is her intelligence, keen sense of interest and fair play. I bought her Call of the Wild book on our 2 day honeymoon in Songkhla. Since then, she has been an avid reader and is amassing a veritable library. I am mightily chuffed and we have a brief read every night before falling asleep, or rather she falls asleep and I lay there wondering about crap. I knew of the lesson, that when choosing a wife, you have to look at the qualities that you know to be true, the qualities that will mean you will make it through together. And every time I ponder this I know she is near perfect, and beyond what I should have got. I, for one, could so easily have married a lesser soul, drawn by the promise of the women in the lace. Somehow, I listened to a voice and did something really, really right for a change. Again , this comes from living in the absolute present, being totally pure and aware of what is happening to you and flowing with the river.

...but of course, one must never relax or become complacent, which is why I keep myself at the coalface, on the battlefield of human existance, among the salt and best people in the world, who will always be the poorest and the selfless. It is with these people that I must stay and do what I can to help. One doesn't have to climb far to see the corruption of power.