Porthole

36 week of the Year 180.

(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. (National Blog Post Month) NBPM. Groan


26 november - 26 พฤศจิกายน

exor.
walk.
chat. Faiz at Color Port. Ate fish satay.
foto. Gtown at night.

25 november - 25 พฤศจิกายน

exor.
walk.
obsv. I didn't write everything down, but puddled green fields, rain, getting wet, limestone butte, green mountains, smooth train/rails.
chat. Zul, Ken, Lim; Tamil, Bop; woman on train; man on ferry 2RM; man at restaurant; man/woman who gave me map.
trip. Train Hat Yai to Pedang Besar; train to Butterworth, ferry to Georgetown; CAT (free bus).

24 november - 24 พฤศจิกายน

Flight at 16:00. UTH - HDY. Will stay at Cat House in Hat Yai tonight.

exor. 300/200/300/300 = 1100.
obsv. flags waving, refracted light, furtive fallen leaves scurry then lie there still in wait.
ss&s.
trip. 2 hour flight. Taxi... At Cat House.
chat. Tamil. Woman from Warsaw. Owner. Sang karaoke.
walk. Night stalls with Tamil. Saw cats.

Sang karaoke. Polish lady, owner, Tamil who is Tamil.

23 november - 23 พฤศจิกายน

exor. 300/300/300/300 = 1200. 64 degrees. 08:17-08:44.
flags, scent of a pink rose, 08:30 alarm, jet, the train already gone south.
ss&s. skipped. I was fragrant before I took a shower to go to bed.
trip. Flights and hostels booked. Computer was ditsy like me and I didn't finish until 3 a.m.

22 november - 22 พฤศจิกายน

exor. 200/200/300/300 = 1000
ss&s.
chat. At Lumphini... may have straightened out rent. P'Nan. Rick, Joe. David is moving.
bogs. JoeyC/Beholden/JohnnyO
walk. Bought banana cupcakes.
trip. Working on traveling.

To huser:stevengepp in "20231122 NaNo XXV"  I concur. When I did a booklet of poems I had 4 readers rate them. They chose the best. I was 'too close'.

A beta reader seems special.

An analogy: because I don't speak Thai I use google translate... a lot. The two languages do not translate well back and forth. Thai to English is especially problematic (no tense, no articles). I'm constantly stating that I don't understand. 3 hours of miscommunication today... exhausting. 30 minutes with someone who is fluent in both languages and cultures cleared it up.

If the reader doesn't understand something then clarification is essential and a good beta reader will point that out.

To huser:neuron in "Remembrance"  "We forget. WW1 is forgotten. WW2 is almost forgotten. Numerous wars in the US lead to a numbness with every death. And once numbed we forget.

We barely embrace our fellow humans. We wage war on all other life-forms. In the end... inhumane humanity will be forgotten. Not all creation-stories have happy endings."

To huser:beholden in "On the Tip of my Tongue"  "If I don't write it down it's gone with the wind.

I just put it out there if I remember and edit if I remember and ________ (if I remember).

If a story doesn't come I might just write a poem. Since story-telling isn't my strength I just accept that. Regardless, those flashes of brilliance are to be cherished."

To huser:iamjoeyc in ""The Question of the Day" was a good one for me"  "I looked forward to Thanksgiving growing up. Unfortunately, I grew up in the Great Lakes with a snow-belt between me and my cousins... and it always snowed in November. I planned to see my uncle Thanksgiving 2000 but a storm hit and he died that Sunday. I got to the funeral.

Usually Aunt Alice would visit on Thanksgiving. We were her only close relatives nearby.

Other holidays like July 4th (my uncle's birthday) were spent with the other side of the family. Good memories if I could just remember.

I served smoked turkey once in Kansas; but, unbeknownst to me, my guests were vegetarians."

To Kevin&Cindy at YCC: I trust that there are climate cycles. But like bi-polar disorder if the cycles are too rapid, too extreme, too frequent... an intervention may be advisable. Not all life forms are flexible and adaptive. Humans can be both but massive movements of humans test the limits of a peaceful society.

21 november - 21 พฤศจิกายน

exor. 400/300/350/500 = 1550 08:46-09:17 68 degrees, pleasant.
obsv. The child running, counting numbers; 3 youth on the playground; sun-sear and shade; jet roar; one yellow trumpet in bloom.
ss&s.
mess. Cleaned and defrosted the refrigerator. Pan and I worked well together.
chat. with Hoon and friends at Mill Place. Popcorn!
bogs. Sesheta/Robert/Sandy

I suggested to Pan that we eat out rather than cook tonight. He didn't complain. Cleaning the kitchen was a bit of work. No TV... still on the fritz.

65 degrees at midnight.

I need to check on flights before going to bed. So tired...

To Sue Clemenger (FB): “All values in this world are more or less questionable, but the most important thing in life is human kindness.” ― Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Thanks for introducing me to this poet.

To sesheta in "Invalid Entry" 

I think I have to thank May, Michigan and Keith. T'was 1999 and I became a poet. My Muse broke out of its chains. Come to think of it... it was a crossroads.

I don't market. Could I? Should I... *shudder*. I'm fortunate to get out of bed everyday. There were times in the past when that wasn't guaranteed.

80k is impressive. I have focused on blogs this November but even that's just 14k.

I think you're right about creating and sharing. Focusing on the process will get results... in time.

To cathartes02 in "Revisited: "On Merit""  No, I'm questioning the idea that people get rewarded in accordance to their contribution to society. Because they obviously don't.

This. But even if they did it still wouldn't reflect their true value. A Math teacher can be both brilliant and a serial killer. A brute of a football player with scrambled brains... can be a great father. Assigning a social credit value sounds a tad like what China has experimented with (we already do that in the USA... as you noted). I'm sure each individual contributes in their own way (even if I don't understand).

My value system has little to do with money. But that's me.

To nannamom in "Almost Winter"  "Growing up I liked November. I was a gloomy kid. However, December was just cold rain. The snows of January/February were much brighter and therefore better.

Here in Thailand... it's 'winter' when the lows go below 23C degrees. It's midnight as I type and 18 and dropping ever-so-slowly.

November here is bright, crisp, breezy and hopeful. The sun doesn't seem to burn and certain trees and orchids begin to flower. It's mostly a lovely time of year. And December and January are nice.

Western holidays are marketed here in Thailand. Thais are good at marketing... but there isn't the food and shopping frenzy I grew up with. Neither seasons nor days-of-the-week are marked here like in Northern Euro-American climes.

20 november - 20 พฤศจิกายน

exor. 300/300/300/300 = 1200. 68-ish
obsv.
foto. I took some but Pan took photos of me after he did a 'make-over'.
tv25. snowy screen...
rent? stay? go? Went to Kangaroo and Aek Udon with Pan. Still no resolution.

To {huser:elusive4lyn in "Nov. 19th toilet fun and quotes" 

I liked the food mentioned. Different foods here. I do add squash, carrots, potatoes and green papaya to my rice.

I like sweets but my go-to is anything chocolate.

I have a couple rubber duckies but no yellow-ducky stories. I grew up using an outhouse every August; but, again, no stories.

Pan just got out of the shower and "attacked" me while I was writing this comment; but, nothing to share (wish I did ).

To {huser:4provinces in "Mini Review of The Crown and Gilded Age (Spoilers)" 

Not all seasons/episodes/chapters/books are equal. I really like Harry Potter Book 4 but the movie was a disaster, imho. I detested Book 5 but the movie was much better. Staunton may have been better cast as Umbridge than Queen Elizabeth.

Casting and writing can make it or break it.

The ghost device in a docudrama would bother me.

I don't have Netflick/HBO/Max/etc. so I probably will never see either.

To {huser:jim-d in "Los Angeles, Sixth Time This Year!"  I know that flexibility is a 'virtue'... I'm trying to practice that but it's hard when I'm on my own dime. Must straighten out lodging for December/January should I decide to stay here in Udon Thani. To renew my visa I may have to go to Cambodia or Malaysia... bad timing. Too bad we can't meet in LA.

Staying put is an option but it may come with a one-year lease... not what I want.

Having a home to come to is nice.

My health is iffy but no surgery in sight. I'd like to keep it that way. Neuropathy, blood pressure and liver need to be checked. I don't want meds either, but may have to face that choice.

Carpal tunnel would limit my writing... some folks would rejoice in that! Of course... there are voice programs.

To Silent Majority (YCC): "These land-canes and hybrid storms and who-knows-what storms need to be tracked and garner serious warnings. Too much focus on hurricanes allows the not-so-sexy storms to get away with murder. Naming them might help because that's what people expect. Plus... the debate on what to call a storm doesn't make it any less lethal."

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