Porthole

32nd weak... The Year 180 advances with or without me.

(exercise) = Exor. (observations) = obsv. (s***,shave,shower) = ss&s. (read something) = read. (comment blogs) = bogs. (BoyLove series on-line) = ytBL. (Thai TV BL series on GMMTV25) = tv25. (write poetry or prose) = PorP. (take a daily walk) = walk. (buy something) = shop. (take a photo) = foto. (video) = วิดีโอ. (speak Thai/Lao) = pôod. (learn Thai) Thai. (go-into-the-water) = pool. (clothes) = wash. (cook something) = cook. (tidy up) = mess. (travel) = trip. (noon) = เที่ยง. (talking to ex-pats/travelers/strangers in European) = chat. (Thai teaching book) = book. (hand written journal) = jour. (contests) = test. (water) = agua.

29 oktober - 29 ตุลาคม

exor. 200/200/250/300 = 950.
3 young women chatting on a bench; wispy clouds; after-taste of chicken liver; white butterfly; distant noise.
cook. had to use up squid, chicken, daikon, onion, green-papaya.
ss&s.
เที่ยง. 88 degrees. Partly sunny.
bogs. Rhychus/Stik/Hooves/NormaJean
chat.
pôod. P'Noy.
walk. 2 wats... Nong Bua... lots of noisy firecrackers.
foto. wat
วิดีโอ. moon reflected in water; prayers at wat.
PorP. ""With the same sigh" O28 [132 ] 36w 'disposable' " 

Gnus: "‘This Is Not My Time:’ Mike Pence Suspends 2024 Presidential Bid"
Re Speaker Johnson: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-christian-nationalism-of-speaker-mike-john...

28 oktober - 28 ตุลาคม

To Nikola: "A lovely cold front is moving in and a stronger one on the way this weekend! I'm ready to party. This year's theme is "Just Desserts" Sally is carving pumpkins, watermelons and rutabagas. Betty Lou makes a lovely mousse with dead-bird's custard and Buck will be stirring in the stew. Whoever finds an eyeball wins a price! Our neighbors have already entered their dens for the winter, too bad as they are a furball of fun, so they will come for the Spring event. I did make everyone sign a form stating no bullets. Even got them notarized. Notorious Buck used to do that... but alack, he had to be replaced. At least Michelle has better hygiene. A bit mousy but, except for Betty Lou, we all adore her. They'll be 13 of us in all, including Buck, but there will only be 12 at the end! Sally may propose to you-know-who, but my lips are zipped. She's proven to be deadly when crossed. No one is as stupid as Buck was... nevermore."

Pan got very sick... disappeared for 2 hours. Helped him take meds. He was hot and cold all night, barely stirring. I kept checking on him. No sleep for me.

exor. 200/100/250/250 = 800. Overcast. 09:44-10:03. Then napped.
ss&s.
chat. P'Nan.
walk.
shop. Coffee Blue#2 (89 baht for 27), strawberry Fanta (23 baht).
agua. 10 liters.
tv25. "Only Friends"

27 oktober - 27 ตุลาคม

ss&s.
visa. New date... November 28th. Do I go to India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan?
foto. yeller duckies.
bogs. Steven/
chat. Rube and P'Nan.
walk. Yes, Bellinee has croissants from the basic butter for 35 baht to fancier ones for 65 baht.
exor. 300/100/150/300 = 850. After dark due to visa run. 79 degrees 19:42-20:01.
tv31. Watch Dangerous on 25... but "Feel you Linger in the Air" is much more intriguing.

To Steven: #2 "Gatekeeping... class, race, religion... able-ism... Aggravates me to no end. Here at WdC it's the E crowd that refuses to engage anything that offends them. Quite a few... but I mostly ignore them now as they have blocked me in the past."

#1. "Just because some stupid kids at high schools think Bloody Mary is real does not make it a true belief; they also think Justin Beiber is talented. 555 = Ha Ha Ha

Very good answer. 1. you have a book 2. you know you can do another... (fiction/demons/???)

Christianity either wiped out belief systems that didn't accept their exclusionary patriarchy or subsumed them and redefined them (Easter bunnies, Christmas trees, yada yada yada). Modern day Christians still have this belief that it's "Our Way or the Highway (to Hell)".

But that's a different rant. "

26 oktober - 26 ตุลาคม

exor. 300/200/200/300 = 1000. 11:20, very late. 88 degrees. Hot but it was overcast so not miserable.
obsv.
PorP. [143]
chat. Rube and P'Nan. Bee at Lumphini. Rick and Joe.
walk.
rose. Pink-and-white.
shop. day-old.
bogs. Richard/Dragon/Sorji
tv25. Kinda but bored. Will watch something else.

Time is broken up by seasons, festivals, arbitrary segments that vary by region based on religion, customs, history... When moving to another 'world' do we long for the time we have lost or celebrate the time we have found?

To Richard: "We eat rice almost every day. It's a staple in Thailand.
Sri Racha is a beach town south-east of Bangkok. I'll visit some day.
No shortage of hot chilies here. Pan loves suicide spice. I can't get near it.
Oil... I don't use much in neither Montana nor Thailand. Olive oil shortage is real though.
Neither of us drink alcohol.

In Montana it makes sense to buy stuff on sale and have enough on hand for two weeks; but fresh food is cheap and readily available in Udon Thani. Markets everywhere and I go most every day."

To Dragon: "May I assume that it's risky to post anything re students on social media? Americans have been fired over social posts that have nothing to do with work.

12 years old? If so... not as offensive as they can get!"

To Sara (Sorji): "My writing slogs on. I've been stressed over my visa and our rent agreement ending Nov. 30. Made progress on both today.

Pan may start a new job. If so... it impacts my purpose in staying here. I'm so easily overwhelmed. Neither of us own much here as the apartment was furnished.

I have no plans to join NaNoWriMo... again. November is still one of the worst months for me to focus."

"Speaker of a Broken House", "Angriest Otter", "We Never Knew of Darkness"

25 oktober - 25 ตุลาคม

exor. 300/200/300/500 = 1300. 0839-09:12. 81 degrees.
obsv. fragrant freshly cut grass; 3 boys chatting; jet roar; Tom stretching; neighbor walking; two small orchids.
ss&s.
เที่ยง. 88 degrees.
pôod. with Pan.
chat. Rube. Trip to Phnom Penh (fastest, easiest by Air Asia 3.000 baht)
agua. 9 liters.
walk.
shop. chicken, squid, coffee, banana muffins.

Death warmed over in the morning. Had to take a nap.

I'm stressed over my visa renewal.

To... "The rhymes seem forced. The a/a/b/b rhyme scheme doesn't work for me. The subject matter is 'preachy' and abstract.

The rhythm doesn't work for me either. Abstract words like endeavor, necessary, gratefulness... are overly long and although they can be used they don't seem to fit well here. I can't hear how they add anything to the piece poetically.

People will like it because it's a bit like a Hallmark Greeting Card. The "E" crowd here will give it a 5. Me? 2.5. I don't think it says anything new that we haven't heard a hundred times before. The title? Uninspiring.

Can it be fixed? Perhaps not. One thing you can do is take your mind to a particular Thanksgiving or a meal of giving thanks, "Thanksgiving in May". Add specific details and actions that bring us into that space. "The Day After Thanksgiving, 1999"... or any year or place. "Caught in a storm Thanksgiving 2000" I remember that snowstorm where I lived. I wanted to visit my cousins and uncle. He died that Sunday. The Last Thanksgiving Dinner with Grover (the cat, the dog, the parakeet... make them real, not JUST a pet... add quirky details). "Broccoli for a Day of Thanks" or in my case in 1972... crackers (and sardines?). "Thanksgiving in Lonesome Creek" (home or not home or maybe that's the name of the outpost on Mars your great-granddaughter moved to...).

Dream, create, spit it out in free verse. Rhyming forms don't work for everyone nor for every poem and they are NOT a higher art-form. A free verse with some rhythm, rhyme, alliteration and NO tortured verse is far superior.

Good luck, K."

24 oktober - 24 ตุลาคม

exor. 200/100/150/150 = 600. Late... 10:31... too late. 82 degrees but hot when the haze lifted.
obsv. too worn out to care; b/w butterfly (no foto, flew); stiff breeze; haze or thin cloud cover; ennui; hose-watering; distant chatter.
ss&s.
PorP. ""The apple tree" O23 [130] 40w 'offer'"  ""A glass too full" O24 [131] 39w 'crystal' "  Started writing "Swinger" [142]
เที่ยง. 86 degrees.
pôod.
Isan. Continued with yesterday's post
chat. P'Nan. Rube from Israel.
walk.

Well written: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/jerry-zezima-how-do-you-like-them-appl...

To Steven on the Newsfeed: "Friends are helpful for me. Even staying in a shelter helped me with depression when I was homeless; however... the anxiety and how my body handled all that exacerbated my traumas.

We have senior housing in Montana that includes a meal. Forcing people out of their room works for some folks.

I'm very isolated here in Thailand (not as bad as Montana during covid). A cafe culture like in Viet Nam would help. There's a belly-to-the-bar culture among expats here... but I don't drink and find most drinkers tedious at best.

If I am to stay here I better come up with solutions. There's more to life than being unhappy."

On FB on Veronica's post: "Leyla Miler: Well... we respond to what we understand. I stand by my understanding of what was posted. I don't know about individual circumstances. I refuse to argue other people's truths. In many countries, Thailand included, family = family regardless. By definition, orphans have no family. Orphans have a rough time here. I'm in Thailand by-the-way... "Problems" affect the entire family and community. It's not seen as an individual's issue. Families do say "no", but seek solutions first. This Buddhist culture isn't as cold-hearted and me-first as found in many other places."

23 oktober - 23 ตุลาคม

Chulalongkorn Day [Rama V] (Thai: จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) - National holiday.

exor. 200/150/250/500 = 1.100 77-82 degrees. 08:56-09:21. 25 minutes seems to be sustainable.
obsv. Hoot of the Heron. Tom's soft music. Cool hard bench. My butt. Dry mouth. Lower back ache. Soiled scarlet shirt. Yawn. Tired. Calm---ish. Fly.
ss&s.
Isan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teck0d6Z8sw
เที่ยง. 88°F 31°C sunny, pleasant (not too humid).
bogs. Grace/
shop. Pan and I went to market and bought some pig-meat, eggs and vegetables.
agua. 8 liters.
walk.
foto.

To Thomas: "I am fortunate to do daily exercise... even when I really don't have any oomph to get out of bed. Use it or lose it. At my advanced age I cannot afford to lose more. My legs are doing better than last year and I'm maintaining a lower weight. My lungs however..."

To Grace: "Living alone with depression and anxiety created all kind of problems for me over time in Montana. Here in Thailand I share a place. Pannya often cooks and cleans (I do too, but not as a chore). We need to do a deep clean soon. You can imagine what I found under the bed! There be monsters..."

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