Bibimbap 비빔밥

NaBloPoMo#12

It was a day when nothing turned out as well as planned. The German Bakery was closed and the Chinese Festival starts the next day.

The trip back and forth was fine and this time I didn't get lost looking for the bus station. I did take some pictures and sent one to Eugene. I looked for her in her usual spot even though I knew she wouldn't be there. She arrives November 30th.

It was a very hot day. Vientiane across the river set a November record. I find the heat exhausting even though I've acclimated.

I'm glad I went because Pannya was in Khon Kaen and then decided to go visit his mother... We kept in touch but I fear he may be having a manic attack and what follows isn't easy to deal with.

To summarize what I commented on... The weather here is crappy. Winter is arriving late and that has affected tourism. Thailand lives on tourism. The north is hot; the central and south are rainy, windy with floods.

People cope by avoiding the heat of day but that's hard for tourists and travelers. I 'live' here but I was playing 'tourist'. In Udon Thani we have many places for massages. I avoid the massage plus ___ parlors with 'young' women; the ones with glass partitions you can look in are much safer and the old men and ladies are professional. They are also air-conditioned as is the Central Mall.

I did get to chat in Nong Khai but it wasn't as relaxed as sharing tea or coffee with Eugene. I can visit P'Nan at Surada Guesthouse Tuesday-Saturday and have met interesting foreign visitors there.

For conversational Thai I watch sub-titled TV series. I can play them back. Many of the young actors are great at conversing naturally with body and facial language. Interjections are common in speech and it's a pleasure
to see them used. Also swear words. Knowing that they exist is important; knowing that you CANNOT use them is very very very important.

We are mostly pacifists in my immediate family. Even those in the military aren't overly macho Rambo types (maybe a little). My father rarely talked about his experience.

I grew up during the Viet Nam War. Coming from a factory town with my draft number #49 I was slated to be cannon fodder. Women were exempt; something I resented at that time... and still. Middle-aged Mothers (and m*therf**kers) spewing hatred on-line encouraging others to kill is common on social media. The "smash their babies against the rocks" (Psalm 137:9) is playing out regarding Israel-Gaza.

To describe my mother in a nutshell... think Hyacinth on "Keeping Up Appearances". At least she didn't want me to be sacrificed on foreign soils. Being sacrificed at home though... she mostly ignored my situation (stiff upper lip, secrets, and all).

I was the shy one hiding behind others. Invisibility was my super-power until I opened my mouth. I was proud of what I knew (looking back... too proud).

MG and YA are great for writing and reading. MG is better when learning a foreign language. Anything with conversational speech helps more than academic essays or dictionary descriptions. I know less than a 5 year old here. And yes, that bothers me.

Fire is a touchy subject for me as someone burned down my house 20 years ago and I had a friend Sandy in Oklahoma who lost everything including family members in a fire.

To WakeUpAndLive in "NaNoWriMo conversations" : Europe has had some nasty rainy windy weather recently. Thailand has had thunderstorms and flooding but not here; it's hot and dry in Udon Thani. 33 degrees today... very warm. A/C is on; it's still warm after midnight.

I'd love to sit at a kitchen table with coffee to have a chat. I truly miss doing that.

We have message places everywhere here. Very popular.

Conversations... sit in a cafe and eavesdrop. Worked for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon when they wrote "Good Will Hunting".

To AnotherDreamer in "Nov 11" : 1. My father served in the Army in North Africa in WW2. We watched war movies and westerns but toy guns were not allowed in our house and there was no way that I would've joined the military. I'm opposed to war as a solution to petty grievances. I do however understand fury over injustices.

I do not celebrate 11/11. America has lots of veterans because America loves violence and war.

2. I went to university in Kansas and lived in small-town Kansas and Nebraska. Years later I moved to the backwoods of Northern Cherokee County Oklahoma. I liked the people.

I was raised with 'proper' English. These days? I just don't care. How people talk is not my concern."

To stevengepp in "20231112 NaNo XIV"  I definitely think of YA as younger, 12-18 (max). I like YA in the US because it's more accessible and the writers seem to be of a higher quality.

Some kids always want to do something stupid; others are just too afraid (like I was).

Burning down the whole town? From 1983:



844 words

365 views