Satyrday Sun

Into the holidays now and the stress is peeling away. Layer by layer.

Having the time to indulge I have become quite engrossed by Settlers 6 com game which is lightly paced and quite absorbing.

I am also looking at the garden and deciding which flower bed to expand next. I went out earlier in the week to find rocks. I did 3 trips and it made a difference, though of course, I need a ton more.

I will be folding private classes with Gee now. I wanted to shut it down as I want time at home and not have to stress about lesson plans and drive back into town 3 times a week. Maybe my communication wasn't so good as it has caused a bit of a rift. I will have to call her and try to set the record straight.

Been finding some cool new tunes, mainly crappy American cooing folky females that no one will like so I won't go into it.

Also, I caught a great docu-movie about a guy who ventured into the Alaskan wilds in 1968. Built himself a home and stayed there. He came out in 1998 when he was 83 as it got too tough in his later years. Awesome home movie and narrative and puts 99% of men to shame with the ease he sorted himself out. It's called "Alone in the Wild" should you feel the urge to find it.

Don's still up in Ranong and most of the boys are still in town. Normally there is a mass exodus in the break but I think everyone is too poor to go anywhere.

It's blazing hot here right now as the Summer approaches and with plenty of time on my hands I am toodling down to the shops to pick up some lunch, fried bananas, milk and bread, listening to cool tunes out the back and spending plenty of time with baby Grace who is getting brighter and brighter with each passing day.

Photos soon....

Holiday

Whispers in the West wind tell of folk attempting to breathe life into decrepit computers and frantic quests for magic games. Rumours of enchanted upgrades and secret forums. But as yet, no word has come of Arcadia or Valhalla. Dispatch riders wait in ready at the fort stables should dark tales be confirmed. The sleeping king as yet has shown little sign of awakening, thus life tends to go on as normal for the servants and parlour maids at the hidden fortress.

When the fire burns in the West and the skies are red like blood, only then, yea, only then will the king arise, don his garb and prepare for battle most foul.

Been busy of late have I. Monday, which seemed more like Sunday, having been denied Saturday as this was reluctantly given up for Camp Crusty No.2, was spent drinking with Tom. Tuesday, which became Monday was spent in recovery and at home communing in the garden. Wednesday, I ventured forth into town to resolve some pressing issues regarding rent, electricity and my steed. Also, a new computer was secured so my loving wife can play hidden object games she loves so much. Yea, she is mighty pleased and indulges in secret, guilty pleasure of video games whilst baby is encouraged to sleep on the mat in the hi-tech playroom we have designed and constructed. Those mini-games have come a long way, especially in appealing to the fairer sex.

Yesterday, I meandered through the valley to Songkhla and paid a visit to friend Tom, who sadly, still has a couple of weeks at school before his Summer break. He snuck out and we ate a truly disgusting burger and fries, at which I could not withhold comment and poor Tom was surely ashamed and aghast. The guilty burgers were served by the lowliest scanky whores or sluts Songkhla has employed in the infamous "Dark Side" locale of town. Aunties Burger Bar has been struck from my list of eateries forever. I suggested Lasange and Guinness at the Post or Swan next time.

We made up for this unfortunate event by indulging in some expensively but delicious ice cream along Songkhla sea front where we met a lovely aging couple who had been here 40 years before. They were Canadian and on the homeward stretch of a trip to the village in Indonesia where the wife had been born. They had been guests of honour at a huge banquet attended by the mayor as she had been the only Causasian in the village at that time. He had worked in oil in Singapore for many years and had some wonderful stories of life here in the 1960's. "But my God, how it has changed." They both remarked.

A little later than planned I sped back along the seafront and back through the valley to home.

So far the holidays are proved relaxing and productive, though today I am to be visited by Phit and Pee Dtoi about an upcoming teachers seminar I am expected to host. Bah!

Monday is Sunday

A day of rest and recovery from a Guinness session with Tom. We had a blast and I managed to make a playlist for the Ipood for the night. As the Ipod has tons of radio shows on it, and some embarassing music on it, the likes I will not go into here, shuffle is not really an option. Especially now I dropped the crappy remote that exploded upon impact on the porch floor a few weeks ago. So I got around to compiling a playlist with plenty of cool tunes on it. It's a good feature and worth using for those who have splashed out on an ipod. Well worth doing. So now doing my best to relax; sitting outside, blasting through Crysis Warhead, currently on the train cruising through the jungle on the way to the alien/military test facility. It's awesome.

Had a great chat with Tom who is much better, having experienced a fairly major "Who am I? What am I doing? What do I want?" breakdown experience. I was glad I was there to be a good buddy and get stoned with him and play him some cool tunes and get loaded out in the garden on the weekends. He opened up eventually about it, not one to disclose personal crisis, and has come out the other end balanced and happy. Good for him.

Tomorrow I must make a trip into town to pay the rent. Lazy bitch won't come and get it. Oi wants to buy a computer which will be fun and I need to get my motorcycle repaired as a major part has failed.

No work! I am free!

Summer Games

Let me whet your appetite with my list of summer games to play;
Crysis
Crysis Warhead
King's Bounty Armoured Princess
Thief Deadly Shadows
Settlers 6
Dragon Age Origins (final battle)
Mass Effect 2
Alien V Predator
Napoleon (if I get around to DL it)
The Movies

If you never played the Crysis games they are indeed a mighty blast and well worth the gametime.

Free at Last

Camp Crusty No. 2 is over. The kids have all gone home. We return to our respective abodes.

I stayed in. Sober. Clean. Early night. Sat through a bit of Changling. Stayed in bed in the morn, instead of early morning news and web surf. Played with Gracie.

Free at last, and the prospect of days full of nothing. It's a good job the garden is outside so I can lure myself away from the technology. It's the disease of the Western world. And an unhealthy one at that. Everything in moderation. Some exercise beckons and restful peace in the garden.

I hope to formulate some new ideas now I have a chance to take a breather.

Just DL'd a bunch of albums to put on the Ipooed for the summer break. Including Ram by Paul McCartney and Nirvana unplugged album.

I suspect the urge to write quite frequently will smatter the holidays.

I will tool up on Company of Heroes, if any Heroes wish to meet on the battlefield at the trumpets of dawn. By infinite chance there is an original copy floating around at Lee Gardens. The probability of this is unfathomable, but yet it exists. Yet, I fear this is deafeningly close compared to the possibility of woeful friends and family acquiring the feeble hardware required to fire up some spark and meet me in the void.

Ah! But it is mere fancy. Couldn't really happen. Could it? Or could it? Or maybe it could. Or could it?

The End

Today was the last day of school.

I was due for an evening class at Gees in the evening, but I had the good sense to cancel as I felt myself going into serious meltdown.

I am pulling the plug on private classes for all but one day a week. It's all been getting very stressful not being able to escape constantly having to think of and prepare a lesson plan. There was not one day in the week when I didn't have to think about it. No Thai person can understand my reasoning and given the opportunity they will work unquestioningly around the clock as long as there is money to be made. And, in fact, the money earnt from these classes is pitiful in any other currency. It just ain't worth it. Gee was in tears when Oi told her I am cutting back but I will not been drawn into a mercy shoot. It's the goose that laid the golden eggs syndrome and I am sure they would see me dead before they thought anything was wrong, and still not "get it" as my lifeless body was put to the fire.

So, I am forced to take things into my own hands and deliver some justice on my own. From now on I am going to be merciless in pursuit of my own needs and wants.

So I have some crap to do tomorrow and some other classes in the next few weeks but nothing too big and plenty of time to recharge and stop my brain from being fried like a banana.

Last night Oi and I watched Avatar which was great. Oi totally loved it as it has all the ingredients to suit the Thai pallette. Forest, injustice, pretty scenes. It must have been great in 3D.

Now looking forward to easy days of nothingness.