In case you haven't seen me in a while...

To the left, me and friend denise on khao san a few weeks ago - the look of ennui on my face is priceless ;) i like going to khao san because it's not so pretentious (you don't have to doll up or anything), and relatively cheap. Travellers usually are more willing to talk about where they've been, where they're from... and voila! easy, entertaining conversation... (usually i head with friend lannie in tow, and this time with denise, the newest addition to my favored Pinoy crew! i like to describe them as the Latinos of Asia...i feel the kinship, hehehe!) 

  

 below, about 2 months ago (really? sheesh!) at the heart of silom, about 3 blocks from where i live... some will notice that i chopped my hair... it was a rash thing to do, and i still can't decide if i love or hate it - sometimes it's cute, other times (like, when i wake up in the morning!) not so much...! As  for that bear/squirrel/'munk-ish thing - nah, i have no idea what it is, but it's big, fuzzy and cute, right?

coming back to life...

i'll do my best to be brief in catch-up...

exams were what they always are - miserable, hehehe! but survived, i think (not sure what the final scores were yet) ... my brain is definitely getting more stubborn in its "ripening" age - i don't like to memorize things for the sake of memorizing - and yes, by the end of the term, there were things i just plain never quite figured out how to do, despite multiple attempts. like, calculating thermal comfort and drawing the shaded area of a window overhang based on the solar angle... just too many vectors for this brain... some things need to be accepted, at least until they come up again... and perhaps by then i'll have a better method at my disposal...

so, i suppose the big news is, I'M DONE WITH CLASSES!!!

the anti-climax to that is... i'm really not sure what's coming up next.

confident in my knowledge, not so much in my skills - i was hoping by now i'd have a better handle on exactly how much energy gets saved/produced using different technologies, particularly solar pv... but a systematic approach still eludes me... so i'm hoping whatever comes next will change that...

on a sidenote, i'm teaching english at the university :) after taking more than 70 college classes in my lifetime, i learned a thing or two about teaching, i think - and it's a refreshing change to be ON THE OTHER SIDE of things! i've been given free reign, which is also kind of nice - i get to develop my own stuff, so i'd say there's a fair amount of history involved...and trying to explain concepts like perspective, art vs. design (vs. engineering), expression, imagination, conflict/social change, rock & roll, satire, jazz, the media...hehehe! bits and pieces that have stuck from assorted lectures over the years...

speaking of which, time to finish off today's lecture/exercises...

school, school, school. exams start mid-february. seems like i just finished the last ones... yes, i've had a few breaks in between, but pretty much will spend the next month scrambling from one subject to the next, and somehow make it all come together. i'm thinking, blogging will be pretty limited for february, maybe post up a few fotos... keeping my eye on the prize tho - i'm thinking a week in krabi/koh phi phi...

Welcome, 2010: Kilroy was Here...

2010 - it sounds so sci fi... i could very well just be part of some insomniac-slotted, slightly apocalyptic 80s sci fi sitcom, hopelessly lost in the information overload of 800 tv channels - cheaper to let it run, rather than try to fill the time slot again...

it might explain my ability to survive for several days at a time on fried seaweed, coca cola gummies, wheat crackers, tuna, dark chocolate hershey kisses, pineapple yoghurt, glass noodles, and green tea... or my periodically sustainable ability to sleep for 2 hours a night - until it just slows down the network and needs a 10-hour re-boot...

All attempts to function during re-boot are subject to sudden crashes at any time...

BKK nightvision

Pattaya...

I took a taxi to Pattaya on friday, but having taken the bus back for only 113 Baht (from Pattaya to Ekkamai bus stations) - from here on in, that will be my preferred method of transport. Actually, my dad and family moved from the sattahip flat (about a half our south of pattaya, give or take) to an apartment in north pattaya.

Wong Amat beach is north of the crowded and crazy jomtien beach, and it really is pretty and clean... removed, yet a mere motorbike-ride away from all the "pattaya action". This flat isn't quite as pretty, but it has space and it is on right the beach, and has a lovely pool. And has a fantastic view (from the 15th floor)...

The building has several little girls that go to school with my sister (who just turned 9), so now she has playmates (a highly imaginative north irish girl who wants to be called Isadora and the cutest little dutch sisters...), and it's safe enough around there that they get to run around a bit on their own...

My filipina friend came down saturday (as well as two russian girls who were staying in town). We spent a few hours on the beach - vendors come around with food - you can get a 1/2 dozen giant shrimp for 100 Baht ($3)...fried chicken, corn, fruit, and ice cream are also choices...

After a few hours on the beach, we had german food for dinner and headed to Walking Street. I'd actually never been into Pattaya to hang out (the other apartment was a bit far). If "street walkers" is the next phrase that popped into your head, you wouldn't be so far off. It's not that there aren't plenty of nice people walking around - this street has dozens of bars with fun music, pool tables, dance floors, etc. It's just that you gotta be okay with the loads of men trolling for prostitutes (or near-prostitutes) - and vice versa.

Hey, everyone's entitled to a good time, after all, it's a Saturday night... but while we waited for our russian friends to arrive, i was propositioned three times - in 15 minutes! Like, how much... i admit, it was actually more amusing than anything... they were all middle eastern men - but they were, aside from the obvious insult, rather polite about it - and took my refusal very well (especially considering that i joked with all of them, instead of outright telling them i wasn't a prostitute) They all asked if i was russian (which has its own implications)... what was really strange, though, was that 10 feet away from me, there really were a couple of blondies in see-through bloomers, stilettos, and baby-dolls... a far cry from my jeans (not even tight!) and tank top (okay, a litte tight there).  So, is it actually a compliment that they picked me... I mean, look, that's what they (and scores of others) went to Pattaya for, so really, it comes with the territory, and at least they ASKED (not just take) - which is why i went easy on them. But really, their inability to even tell the difference, let alone grasp the concept that women can converse and socialize intelligently puts them light-years behind the times.

However, the rest of the night was fun - the lot of us even met some nice australians, and we had a grand ol' time of it.

But ask me if i prefer pattaya or khao san road (which many locals see as dirty and drug-ridden)... i'd take the open-eyed, nomadic youth of khao san over the single-minded whore-seekers (and its share of nasty drunks) of pattaya any day.

King's birthday

I had planned to go down to pattaya for my sis' 9th birthday, which also coincides (give a day or two) with the King's birthday - which makes for a three-day weekend here. The King turned 82, i think, and was pictured in reasonable health - a palpable boost to national morale.

There were long lines to visit the palace, and the main road to Constitution monument was not only strung up with thousands of lights, but also had installed water fountains the length of the median (with spotlights that were getting drenched, but that didn't seem to worry anyone!). The monument was itself surrounded by hundreds of color-coordinated flower pots... Fireworks were set off after dark on thursday - a fantastic surprise from my unsuspecting vantage point on khao san road.

The next day, i was off to pattaya...

Must-Have Thai Snacks :)

okay, i'm still addicted to the sparkling lime-ade (soda manao) ... but fried seaweed and strawberry-cream-covered pretzel/"buiscuit" sticks (with "strawberry flakes") have now made the list.

As a extra plus, they're readily available at any seven eleven, taking care of any salty or sweet craving, 24 hours a day... perfect study food - they join the box of cornflakes as the most ubiquitous food on TOP of my refrigerator...

for those curious about the "tempura seaweed" -  http://www.taokaenoi.co.th/

A Merry Drifter Thanksgiving

Cranberry sauce is my specialty (my mother's recipe, which has also gone through a few tweaks over the years!) - and green bean casserole. i make mean mashed pototoes, too, yummy yams - never stuffing or turkey, though! This year, i miss cooking with Chris in the kitchen - or, home with my aunt diane (this year, with cousin julie and kids - what fun!) or home with my mum in DC (her favorite holiday too!) - or with Chris' family in Mass. (i miss being Auntie V!) - i guess i just enjoyed getting swept up in the holiday swing, no matter where i landed!

So my first holiday on this side of the world - i miss it, and have been a little drifty, not knowing what to do with myself today (other than normal thursday things).

However, Thanksgiving did not go uncelebrated, as my Kiwi friend and her American fiance ("... he MAKES PIE!") stepped up with their roommate to toss up a truly delicious spread for about 15 other drifters. It was amazing that their little oven turned out that whole spread! Carina's at KMUTT with me, but Isaac goes to Chulalongkorn, which is right in the middle of bangkok. More of his classmates showed up, an assorted mix of world citizens including americans, swedes, brit, canadians, norwegians, lao, and thais...  an interesting bunch!  i thought it was genuinely cute seeing the lao and the thai taste stuffing and pumpkin pie for the first time :)

So, a hearty thanks to the hosts of a Drifter Thanksgiving! it takes a special kind of energy to do that -making a holiday for strangers - for which this year, i'm both lucky and grateful to have found. Now, time for a little (much anticipated!) holiday skyping...

just a saturday

another day wondering why i haven't done more. today. this week. this  month... i've had gym clothes on for hours, but instead been reading internet stories and painting my nails. okay, not a complete loss - i watched clips from Jeff Corwin's 100 Heartbeats documentary, reminding me of the inspiration behind my studies. Save nature from the unconscionable rivers of trash and CO2 that are literally choking our planet to death. But exactly where i fit in, and what exactly i'm going to do about it, continues to elude me.

Corwin, of course, focuses on the animal rescue and conservation side. I think there are plenty more qualified than me to care for the animals (cute as i think they are!) - but doing something to protect forests...carbon trading is exciting, in this regard, because for the first time, conservation can actually be treated as a commodity in a market-driven system. This does not negate the need for government involvement, just that it presents a new tool for financing conservation as well as mitigating its success. It may also be tied with some ecologically sustainable market opportunities for local citizens - both as stewards of the land as well as sustainable businesses (one example i love is the mushroom harvesting from protected reforestation land here in thailand). Ecolodges, bee farms, and orchid farms are other examples i've come across.

then there's the trash bit... gathering what's out there, and turning it into something useful. This aspect is partly inspired by the e-waste project i did in florida a year ago. Not to get into specifics, but the recycling alone could save millions in cold hard cash as well as environmental impact/emission by avoiding new extraction, processing, and transport, let alone the volume NOT added to landfills, etc. I look at the trash in the rivers (there is one riverway a block from me that gets clogged up constantly - Jeff Corwin is not kidding about the foul smell that comes off that stuff!) and beaches... and i wonder how hard it would be to gather all that stuff up and turn it into something useful? Waste-to-energy, seems to be a sound idea, but there are reasons it does not entirely take off... but what if it could be turned into something else? I wonder about that...

Then there's the new tech thing. There should be a way to get the new technologies up and running faster, particularly to countries that benefit from small, community-specific growth - it might be a "test site" but it would still change people's lives... and maybe that's where i'm at... but do we focus on solar, or wave converters? wind? we'll see, i guess...

where to love jazz in bkk...

Okay, i'm a little spoiled when it comes to my love for music. it's like having a fantastic lover, you come to "expect" things. Bottom line, i crave to hear creativity, layers, playfulness, inspiration, and emotion along with technical skill - any combination, really - but i still drive a hard bargain - ironically, one which i can only scratch the surface of achieving myself. (another story, though!)

Now, bangkok is a really fun place to go out. Fun clubs, good DJs that'll shake you up. A couple of places can rock out classics, and punk (even Thai-grown!). Jazz, though, gets tougher. Sure, lounges abound with the usual standards, played the usual way. Any actual brilliance would undoubtedly dissipate in those insufferably stuffy places - and that's if i last long enough in all that oppressiveness. Talk about killing jazz...!

 If you're looking for hip places where the music will really blow your mind - well, i'm still looking...however, i have recently had the luck of stumbling into Niu (silom 19). Okay, the faux bookcases have GOT to go - they're totally pretentious, which actually contradicts with the music they deliver - yes, they do standards, but they mix it up with offbeat and inventive stuff... this place offers up music worth getting lost into...

Notable drummer Ari Hoenig played last weekend. Incidentally, used to play with the Jazz Mandolin Project... yeah, that's what i was looking for. Tunes that made the very matter in the room rattle and shake! I know it's not new england, but i do hope i'll find a little more of this in bangkok over the next few months...

November Adventures... (I)

Mostly re-adjusting to my surroundings. For a week or so, i had my clothes literally all across the floor - then all my notes from last semester and papers (and yes, i got my grades, and passed everything)... managed to throw out a bagful - always nice when you whittle down the Load...hoping i didn't pitch anything that indispensible...I've got less classes, though i imagine the work will pile up - but at least there's a bit more flexibility...

i've promised myself that this semester, i WILL get more exercise. I played badminton yesterday with a few classmates at a school gym. It was so hot, didn't take much to work up a sweat! but i actually like the game very much, and it's nice to find something to do communally...

A "Larb" Lesson

Followed by food and  beer, of course. Lots of "larb" (pronounced "Lahp") dishes - one of my absolute favorite thai dishes - i could live off the stuff. usually made with ground or sliced chicken, pork, or beef - contains roasted rice powder along with fresh lime, shallots, basil, mint, and chili - served with sticky rice.

(Recipe, for those interested, this one seems about right: http://www.recipezaar.com/Larb-Gai-Spicy-Thai-Chicken-Salad-88611 )

Incidentally, though - i tried a new version of the dish - apparently, in the Issan province, it's actually made with raw beef and blood. If you're cringing about now, you're right. it's absolutely horrid! it's one thing to have thin, clean slices of raw beef (Japanese style) - but in chunks, soaked in a deep red "sauc"e - uh-uh,  not even the larb spices could make that work for me...

 A Sidenote on Sticky Rice

In thailand, sticky rice is generally served  in a dense little clump about the size of a fist, from which you pull off bits as you eat the other dishes. This more glutenous rice is actually very functional in that not only can you eat it with your hands, but generally keeps very well - for up to 2 days - without extra heat or refrigeration, whereas regular rice would start to spoil after a day. Plain (fluffy) rice only became more common with increasing rice trade (from the West, ie, to accompany Indian dishes). The sticky rice is a bit more caloric, so i try to stick to the plain one - although it's absolutely un-exchangeable when it comes to mangoes and sticky rice (where the rice is actually generously "drizzled" sweet coconut milk)...

Cool November

october was a whirlwind! i did pass my classes - even energy technology, painful as it was... and then whisked away to the States, with 2.5 weeks to see friends and find ways to streamline my life - like sell my car and pack up my stuff (for easier mobility). Then i came back and went to Singapore for the Carbon Forum Asia (http://www.carbonforumasia.com/) - which was quite inspiring - i've several new ideas - an urban wind energy tunnel (with a twist, of course) - and i've come across a plastics recycling project (using pyrolysis) that might serve as a precedent for a similar idea i'd had (but with different end-products)... still like the wave converters... that's going to hit the big time one of these days ;) Mostly, i've been gravitating to the totally clean energy lately, rather than the biofuels - though i believe there's a definite and necessary role for biofuels to replace existing fuel sources, particularly while other infrastructures are built. the problem is, biofuels needs it's own infrastructure too... it should still be developed as a source for electricity via waste-to-energy (ie, biogas) in a closed system, or back to a grid. In terms of vehicles/transport, it seems to me the most versatile solution would be an electric (fuel cell) car.

If that's the case though, scientists and engineers must find a way to replace rare earth metals with synthetic or polymeric alternatives - look at mining now - every country with gold or any other metal worth something is more likely to be experiencing significantly more violence and civil wars, often a territorial fight over mines, which are notoriously undocumented.

so, as you can see, i'm raring to go for semester two. It is nice to be in bangkok - not sure if it's "home" exactly, but it's something...

Hello, Yellow...

as i squeeze the last bit of white-&-milk-chocolate-frosting-in-a-tube - my latest 7-11 discovery! - into my mouth, i contemplate my last week of the semester. of course, it was all supposed to be wrapped up by the 18th, maybe the 25th, latest, but what's a few extra weeks amongst friends?

I rode on a new yellow bus yesterday. My beloved little green buses are currently being phased out in favor of natural gas powered buses. As a student of renewables, i feel it is my duty to support the new buses. but truly, they're not nearly as much . Despite the rather cramped seating, which often pinned my knees to the seat in front - or that seat in the back row, next to the door fom which you could go flying out of should one turn be too violent - if it were not for the low, arguably not so effective, metal bars... and the bus drivers, dashboard littered with m-150's and buddha amulets, weaving traffic like they're in formula 1 - there's no doubt, the green buses are purely FUN! The new ones are awfully pretty and clean, and quiet and nicely air conditioned - but you can't open the windows (no breeze, even if it is exhaust-heavy!), and if you're not sitting next to someone, you're sitting sideways. And it costs 12 baht, instead of 6.5. Much more boring. But the windows are nice and big, and they are actually slightly bigger, so they truly fit more people... i know it's the RIGHT thing, but i'll be sad when i can't get a little green bus ride anymore...

But, the change is good, so bye-bye, green (i'll miss ya)... and hello, yellow!

Cake

it's that time of year again. the one where you're s'posed to be wiser, or satisfied with yourself in some way - and i guess this year has brought some true change to my life, for which i am both grateful and proud - but it's hard not to wince over the scuffs and mistakes along the way.

it's okay, though - there's a bunch of golden moments - Plus, i got sunshine, a chocolate cake, and new shoes... what else could a girl want on her birthday?

my birthday always marks the last season of the year - the one you pull out all the stops, figure out what you're gonna do to really finish it off with a kick...

well, the season will start with a final exam. okay, a little rough, but we'll make it. then 4 more exams... okay, i can do that. see, progress: not nearly as stressed out as i was for midterms... like jumping into cold water... i'm good now ;)

A short trip home will be quite welcome - it actually feels like the first vacation i've truly earned since i quit my job 1.5 years ago. Then singapore on my way back. Carbon Forum Asia. very excited about that, and more about it when it comes around...

so there it is... Save the celebration 'til the weekend :)

Skip August...

sheesh, i feel like i just stepped out of the spin cycle. i can't believe a "little" paper on solar PV and a couple of exams tripped me up as much as they have... i stressed too much, too early in the game - which got me sick, twice - and had my mum in town - and i totally went about that paper wrong, so i think i did 6 times the work that was necessary, and of course the END became a Wonderland pursuit of meaningless proportions... until Today! Phew, just in time to get a hold of myself for finals, but i still feel ten times LIGHTER.

I've been in bangkok for over 4 months now - and i can't decide if i feel at home here or not. i like living on my own, except when i'm procrastinating, there's no one to step in and catch me in the act - and down the rabbit hole i go. and when i start having conversations with myself - path A or path B... or is there a C - oh, it's definitely not so sane when no one else is actually there! And once in a while, it's a bit spooky.

Watched Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds" this weekend - loved it - i did leave with an odd sense of satisfaction - and loved the fact that this film openly ridiculed the Bully, questioned its sanity, and stood up to it. What kind of justice could even begin to level out the level of injustice carried out by the nazis?

More soon...

study music

aside from my new love for the Dead Weather, and indulgence in blues foundation's Eyes on Fire song (featured in Twilight - yeah, i know - i SAID it was an indulgence!)...

Currently listening to www.npr.org/music - new Cowboy Junkies, the Eels look for what must be one of Pete Seger's last performances at the Newport Jazz Festival, Aug. 3 - worried man blues ...

shhh, it's friday! plus, raging phoenix...

Double Take: Thai Movies...
they've been airing this moving trailer on the train - and it looks amazing... Raging Phoenix - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejM7ZCEzs5A&feature=related - apparently, it follows (but not related to) a 2008 film called Chocolate - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGjUyu9c8Ng&feature=related - this one was actually released in the US, criminally dubbed, i think... but seems quite worthwhile to hunt down... from what i can gather, stunning choreography and visual effects coupled with a pretty twisted storyline (autistic girl = genius fighter)... Fascinating!

routines + steam release

another week sped by, with me trying to keep up...i suppose it was better than last week - but i'm still trying to recover from an unbelievably terrible performance in my energy tech class. On top of everything else, it's going to take some serious extra effort to pull through... not impossible, but certainly not what i wanted. Ya, my days are long...so it's marked by little things...

Grinding Halt - RCA Relief
Last saturday, felt like i needed a little mood boost, so headed to RCA with a few friends. Royal City Avenue is a govt designated "entertainment zone" - lots of bars/clubs - i like Route 66 - good dj's (Ono is apparently worth an express visit) packed with people also having a good time...drinks aren't too expensive, either... the dance floor actually has carts lined up in the middle of it, so you can put your drinks down when you dance - so CLEVER!

Routine Stuff
transport still provides cheap thrills on a daily basis - i take motorbikes more often these days, in the morning - not just because it shaves off some time in my AM commute (can make it to school in 1 hour), but because i actually enjoy it... and the bus ride after dark is also always entertaining, though i've been prone to nod off (a result of routine sleep deprivation)... last week, i ended up 22 blocks past my stop... which i ended up walking - i swear, i was still half asleep!

most days, i have lunch at the girls dormitory - it's cheap (20-30 baht), and the noodle lady knows my name, knows how spicy i like it...My kiwi pal has turned me onto Walls' "Top Ten" chocolate ice cream bar - coated in chocolate with nut bits... not too sweet, not too rich, but still creamy - and must be eaten quickly before meltdown.

Pop quick-fix...
I've now downloaded bittorrent - it works well for music (dead weather and blue foundation are mine now!), but hard to get episodes.... i was itching to get a couple of episodes of True Blood...and not only is it taking forever, but it totally stops up the rest of my internet... so maybe i'll just keep an eye out for it from the dealers... i enjoyed the 4th season of Weeds, know there's a 5th out there for me... fluffy entertainment provided by youtube - my share of "So You Think You Can Dance" and "America's Got Talent" skits...

How much has being in Asia for 3 months changed me?
Well, i'm a soymilk addict (chocolate or plain, depending on the mood...like right now, it's chocolate. This is further compounded by my inability to tolerate milk here... so i drink my iced coffee black (with sugar) now...

i've also become a menthol huffer - hey, those little sniffers (and there are dozens of kinds) not only clear the sinuses (a little relief from the damage incurred by pollution), but they also wake you up a little, AND they're useful when passing by stinky places, like the fish market...

i've become a baby powder afficionada - preferably, the one with UV filters + "whitening" (i think because of the UV filters - i hope...smells . See, moisturizers work okay at night, indoors - but with the heat and humidity, you sweat out that moisturizer and it becomes a slicky mess. POWDER, keeps you matte, at least for longer... did i mention the softiness? Arguably, maybe it's not so good to soak up microparticles on a daily basis, but it contains titanium dioxide, which actually helps break down pollutants... actually, my friend dani, a virtual Miami native, taught me the trick of using a little powder to help balance out slightly greasy/sweaty hair... you get the point - i love the powder.

A few other staples... when i have the time, my fridge is stocked with "rocket salad" (arrugula variety) and tomatoes; local yoghurt (w/ mango at the bottom)... ooh, and i love those jalapeno-stuffed spanish olives... i also eat lots of watermelon out here, and pomelo, when available...

anyway, it's pretty much time for bed now... happy weekend!!!