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Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

Think you can make the best mix-tape of all time? Now’s your chance to prove it!

Entries will be judged on a purely subjective basis. There is no deadline except me sitting in my house drumming my fingers on my desk, waiting impatiently for something new to listen to. Cassette tapes only; no CDs please.

Send entries asap to:

Sandy O.
c/o Mut Mee Guesthouse
1111/4 Kaeworawut Road
Nong Khai 43000
Thailand

“I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine”

Sunday, December 3rd, 2006

There comes a time in your life – if you have remained single past a certain age – when it becomes clear you have gone on being single for so long that there is no turning back. That you have officially become too weird to couple.

That time came for me at 3:15pm on Sunday December 3, 2006, when I thought this in all seriousness to myself: “I sure hope the monks enjoy my sing-a-long version of ‘Like a Virgin.'”

I stopped at that and really saw my life for the first time in a while. I saw my beautiful house that I am growing to love, with the silky yellow-green curtains billowing and fine threads of sandlewood incense burning and fairy lights strung up around all the doorways and flowers in various states of decay in jars. I saw the temple complex out my living room window, across a dusty concrete street.

I saw my new prized possession – a radio/cassette boombox that lights up with flashing red and yellow stars. And the small pile of tapes I’ve acquired: Britney Spears, ‘N Sync, and an 80s pop comp.

Just then there was a knock at the door. I switched off the music and opened the door to find Lee – who used to live in the house – stopping by to pick up some odds and ends he’d left in the back room. “Wow,” he laughed, “and then I heard the click and realized it was a tape. That’s something.” Yeah, something indeed. He walked in and looked around. “The house looks great,” he said. I thanked him, simultaneously noting how gracious it was of him not to mention the half-empty 40 sitting by the couch in the middle of the day.

When he left I pressed play again and flopped myself back down on the ‘couch’ (which is the Thai version of a couch, meaning a long flat cushion on the floor terminating in a triangular backrest) and wondered what the hell I’ve been doing the past 20 years because obviously none of it has had much of an impact on me. I mean, I drink a lot more than I did in 6th grade but otherwise…

To put it another way, am I going to be 55 and then possibly 75, and still be living in my own weird little world and dancing alone in my room to a Madonna cassette tape?

To be honest, all signs point to ‘yes.’

ps: 20 Baht cash prize to anyone who can place the above 80s song lyric without looking it up.

Exit stage left

Thursday, November 30th, 2006
My friend Jacques called me out on something that I've been hoping no one would notice - that I keep introducing characters and then never mentioning them again. There is a good reason for that, I swear. Basically, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Things I miss

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006
Mostly I don't notice this stuff because I'm just used to how things are now, but today I'm thinking about it for some reason so here goes. These are the top 10 things that I miss living in Thailand... 1. hot ... [Continue reading this entry]

Une blog vague

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006
"Go, yellow man!" said Simeon, as we sat watching Chinese opera at an outdoor theater. I - being the eminantly mature creature I am - giggled at the double entendre. What he meant, of course, was the character ... [Continue reading this entry]

The happy house

Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006
My eating rampage ended tragically, as these things so often do. Stomach troubles. All things considered though, I feel like I got off pretty lightly, with only a few hours of bathroom time Wednesday morning. I was ... [Continue reading this entry]

Short letter to an easily confused deity

Sunday, November 19th, 2006
Dear God, Thank you for all the cool job opportunities you've been shooting my way of late. They are very appreciated. First there was the weekday after-school tutoring of Julian's sons Johnny and Benny (ages 8 and 11). ... [Continue reading this entry]

Is there an adaptor for gaydar?

Saturday, November 18th, 2006
There are some things I am not good at, such as speaking Italian on command and running long distances. There are other things I am very good at indeed, and one of these is making snap judgements about other ... [Continue reading this entry]

Identity crisis solved

Saturday, November 11th, 2006
I recently decided that I was having an identity crisis. I wasn't about to let a little detail like not knowing what an identity crisis is stop me from the pleasure of self-diagnosis. But that left me ... [Continue reading this entry]

This is how I keep myself in curry and beer

Saturday, November 11th, 2006
I have a sweet employment situation here in Nong Khai. For instance, my second job is to spend one hour a day on weekends hanging out with 19-month-old Jeddar, ostensibly to give him an early childhood educational foundation in ... [Continue reading this entry]