Lets Go Kiddo

J and myself will always be a little locked out of Thai culture.  Not only because we’re foreigners and white, but also because we lack an inherent understanding of the language and customs.  Kiddo, however, is learning parts of that and getting a deeper understanding because she is coming at the language and culture in a way that J and I can’t.  She’s learning it.  Not to speak it and communicate for food, goods, or services.  She is learning it to talk and communicate and have fun and play.  Between Sa (the first nanny/tutor) and now Beer, she has a playmate and teacher.  Someone to go places with, do things with, get to the market with, things like that.  Tomorrow, as a matter of fact, they are going to get their nails done together for Chinese New Year.  That’s great, because Ashi can learn and ask and talk about Chinese New Year and ask all her 4 year old questions and Beer is good with answering and helping her understand.  In a mi...

Dad life is happy life.  Dad life is a hard life.  Dad life is just something that you need to roll with and do the best you can, especially when the dad is a 40 year old and the kid is a little girl.  But it’s fun…. And exhausting.  Especially with the feral Tasmanian devil (in the Loony Toons sense) that is the Kiddo! I will pat myself on the back though.  I’m getting much better at hair.  And I’ve had long hair in past (I’ll dig for pics later), but for the better part of 25 years (my adult life, that is) I’ve had receding and balding hair.  I look at my lil bro, The Grub, and I’m glad I accepted my monk spot and receding hair young and just started shaving.  Especially between Dollar Shave Club and then a safety razor where I can get a year of blades for $10ish.  It’s been a learning curve, for sure, but I think that I’m getting not bad.  Maybe one of these days I’ll try my hands at a braid of sorts.  All I know is that I mis...

*** TRIGGER WARNING*** Also, this is personal and I speak only for myself in this posting. New Years, but even in that, it’s a new New Years, since it’s the Lunar (Chinese) New Year.  New Year, new home, new life, new everything.  It almost wasn’t. At least, not for me.  And where and what would J and the Kiddo be doing if that were that the case? On top of my numerous surgeries and the statistics therein, I’ve twice written a suicide letter with the full intention of ending my own life.  Even now, in writing that down and admitting to that outside of a therapist’s office is a hard thing.  It fills me with shame, admitting that.  Shame that I could think that, but also that I could leave Kiddo and J that way.  Or my family. I’ve been in and out of therapy my entire life, starting when I was a teen.  Only, I couldn’t or wouldn’t be honest with the therapist.  You can only get so far in that situation.  There can be no healing with...

The Chinese/Lunar New Year is coming up soon, 01 February, as a matter of fact.  The Kiddo is beyond hyped for this.  We went out yesterday in the late morning/early afternoon to get lunch and be out of the condo so engineering could come in and do maintenance on the AC unit and it’s filters and then housekeeping was going to be in to do the sweep up and then condo cleaning.  It’s a usual Tuesday for me and the Kiddo.   The Mall nearest us, Central Rama 2, has started decorating and prepping for this.  So, as you can see, it was a BIG Deal and Kiddo is just All-In.  She can hardly contain herself and her glee.  J and I were talking about this last night and best we can figure, it’s based on two things. The first (and Hi if she’s reading.  We miss you.  Kiddo Misses you and the Family.) is Miss Mabel.  Easter, Thanksgiving, The 4th, Christmas, Halloween, etc etc.  Mabel did it UP!  Her house and her world with Kiddo and the ...

I have to say, I grew up at an exceptionally good time for music.  Sure, the Beatles, Zep, Disco, folk, anti-war, etc etc.  Throw in Elvis, Chuck Berry, The Rat Pack, and jazz/rock and you can cover 1940s-1979.  That’s a LOT of years.   Let’s take 1983ish-1995.  Instead of 40 years, it’s a decade.  Again, give or take.  Give me some wiggle in this and let’s not get stuck in the minutia.  Rock completely evolved into it’s modern form and branched out.  Hair, Thrash, Punk, Pop, and Heavy Metal all became a thing.  GNR.  Metallica.  Bon Jovi.  Motley Crue.  RHCP.  Van Halen.  AC/DC.  Def Leopard.  Aerosmith.  Iron Maiden.   College rock got its come up.  REM.  The Pixies.  10,000 Maniacs.  The Smiths.  Violent Fems.  Sonic Youth. Electronica/Euro Pop/Euro Synth gave us Depeche.  Erasure.  OMD.  New Order. Moving on from that, the grunge mo...

Being born when I was, growing up where I did, and the fads and trends at the time of my youth means that I am beyond well versed in Mall Life.  Regency, WestGate, Mayfair, Southridge, and let us never forget the Twin/Lone Pines Mall either.  And for those who miss the Twin/Lone Pines reference, I implore you to watch Back to the Future .  ASAP!  We lived the mall.  Walked the mall.  Had entire relationships with people at a mall and it was just in that mall and place.  It was it’s own unique thing, said and held in slight reverence, The MALL! I am a F@&$*ng amateur compared to malls in Bangkok.  We have Central in Rama 2.  Icon Siam.  Siam Paragon.  Centralw0rld.  Those are the ones we’ve seen and experienced.  There are, easily, 20-25 malls that we’ve not even heard about yet.  Malls we pass going to other malls.  Malls on the other side of Bangkok and not worth the time to drive to since it would take an...