Oh Christ, Kristine!! LOOK what you've done!! Are you reading this!!? I went back to read the beginning of my last two posts, and just imagining your narration, I sound no better than that BITCH "JustJanine" who took my insanely original alliterated blog name and just burned it to shambles with that tumble weed writing of hers.
;)
I loaaathe you Kristine. I'll forever (until next week when I'll have forgotten) loathe you for the self doubt you've instilled in me for all the terrible blog cliches I thought I was extempt from. But you know what!? I'm convinced it's unavoidable. It's a damn blog. And well... I really do write this for three great people back home. And... At least I don't... Do that Thing we talked about or that other Thing we laughed about.
Gotta be careful what I write here, ne?
Haha ok that's done. That's all Kristine. The rest doesn't concern you.
to the three people back home whom I cherish =)
(Yes. Yes. I just admitted three. And used the word "cherish")
to expand a bit on the last post. Nope, I'm definitely coming home for good in august or sept this year. Well... For good, as in, my contract ends here and I'll move back to LA until... Unknown.
I'm gonna come home next month just to bring back a lot of excess luggage I've got (ie: the rock band I brought last July), see Dylan --I really miss him!! =( -- see you guys! and maybe scope out jobs a bit?? Maybe check out school schedules??
I'm so bummed I'm missing coachella! But hopefully that means some good bands will still be passing through town afterwards that I can check out. Sigh, I'm ACHING for a good live show!!
Do you guys have any ideas? I might be home for 2 weeks now... Schedule keeps changing, but those are the generalized dates. And I'll be home for sure. Maybe try the trip to grand canyon? Rosarito? Is that too ambituous? (but the weekend in San Diego last summer was so fun!!) If you guys have the time off, let's do it!! =) rooad trip pleease!!
Nancy, are u still at murad? Tracy? You working right now? What's the future of Sarah looking like?
Miss you guys!
End note: after two weeks of rain and slush, it snowed a beautiful double digits of powder overnight! And so it's once again a beautiful soft white wonderland. yay! The days are couting down... =(
=)
j9
(I tried to sign it "just j9" but it hurts my soul too much)
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hey wow! Look! I can blog from my phone!
Ok, so it's definitely not the most ideal or convenient or pleasant way to update, but I've become weary of blogging at school now, in displeasant aggitation that my teachers read it. I'm sure they don't. I'm just experiencing a momentary "they're all out to get me!!!" phase that I'm sure will pass in due time. Anyway, first i wanna say, what a bummer I didn't get even one blog in for February. But in my defense, it was a whole month of elementary school visits and it was brutal. Well, less brutal than last may, because my Japanese has improved and that alone definitely makes the job and work environment more friendly and accessible, per se. so although February was exhausting, it had its own endearing charm as well.
That aside, most important note to share and the rest can come later--
I'm returning home again! For a visit. April 22- may 2. So... Start making plans around me, for me, and with me please! ;)
why you ask? When my contract ends in august? Well... Well no need to get into why's, but they're justifiable for sure. And I'm so excited. So let's be sure to meet and hang out!!
And this time they'll be no long pit stops in Taipei that cut my real vacation short, ne?!!
Final thought before I go...
Drinking margaritas before a Monday night Japanese lesson is a truely TERRIBLE idea. =p
but really... Not a smart move.
=)
<3
j9
That aside, most important note to share and the rest can come later--
I'm returning home again! For a visit. April 22- may 2. So... Start making plans around me, for me, and with me please! ;)
why you ask? When my contract ends in august? Well... Well no need to get into why's, but they're justifiable for sure. And I'm so excited. So let's be sure to meet and hang out!!
And this time they'll be no long pit stops in Taipei that cut my real vacation short, ne?!!
Final thought before I go...
Drinking margaritas before a Monday night Japanese lesson is a truely TERRIBLE idea. =p
but really... Not a smart move.
=)
<3
j9
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Blog Blog Blog
Yikes guys! I hadn't realized my last post was from New Years Day. I thought I'd at least gotten in a post about Cambodia.
So sorry!
Well quick recap...oh my. I dont think I can make it quick. I mean...I don't want to make it quick. I thought I wasnt gonna have anything to blog about but perhaps I was mistaken.
So Cambodia had me tooooooootally charmed. LOVED it! I think it reinvigorated my thrill for South East Asia.
Ok, that's not true. It just sparked an interest to go to Laos...but I think i'm still done with the rest of the region. Don't get me wrong, if I get a chance to see Malaysia or Singapore or Indonesia...I'd have no complaints. But there's too many other (different) places on the list that need to be seen first. But Lao can sort of sneak into the top 5 if it wants.
Anyway, most of the week we spent in Cambodia revolved around the Khmer Rouge. SOOOO many movies and museums and monuments and stories and exhibits and books everywhere. Which was great. Sadly, I admit, I'd never heard of the Khmer Rouge before this year. Never heard of the genocide. Never heard of the atrocities. I'd heard of the name "Pol Pot". But I probably couldn't have even told you he was the Cambodian Communist leader. or Khmer Rouge leader. or whatever. =/
My defense - don't know about you guys (well...Sarah, I know you know cuz it was your area of expertise uni study, but other readers...) dont't know about you, but we NEVER touched based on anything related to Cambodia. OK, maybe a little bit sprinkled in when we grazed over the Vietnam War. But that's it. Never heard about it in JHS, HS, or uni.
Suuure, Andy could (would) say "well pick up a book you idiot". but hey now, there are only so many books and films that I can fit in at any given amount of time. there are so many other issues and events and stories and legends i need to educate myself on...if I've got noone to point me in any direction like "hey, you should read about the Khmer Rouge and what they did. Don't bother me with questions. just type in Khmer Rouge into your google bar". then so be it...the quest for knowledge can begin.
Well anyhow, so excuses aside, this is one huge reason why i like to travel. People have been asking me a lot lately why I do. Most people don't understand the passion I have for it. The thrive. The total exhilaration and excitement to always be exploring new cultures and trying new foods, and experiencing bowel movements most of the world will never be fortunate enough to take part in. This trip helped me realize that one large reason why I love to travel is because it allows me to learn about history and culture and people and psychology and social behaviors that I would otherwise never know existed outside my surbaban middle class bubble. i'm so thankful for the ableness to travel, and the people around me who share the same curiosity and wonderment about it.
Basically, in short, the day the civil war in Cambodia ended, Pol Pot and authorities sent in teenagers dressed in black to evacauate the ENTIRE capital city of Phnom Penh. Everyone was ordered out of the city, within 3 days, into the countryside, without any possessions - being told that the US was going to bomb any moment, and that the speediness was for their safety. Well, everyone turns up in the countryside, and for the next 3 years and 9 months, are forced into hard labor. Class is wiped out. Money is wiped out. Free exchange and free will, wiped out. It's Pol Pot's agenda to achieve what Mao failed in China. Well...so people are forced to work day and night, plowing and harvesting rice. The rice goes to China. Cambodians starve. The solution? Well...rather than let the people who harvest the rice, eat the rice...let's just kill people. Old, young, educated (especially), children. Why children? Because they cannot help the group now and will only exact revenge later. They serve no purpose, so they must die too.
So this high school (among many others around the country) in Phenom Pehn was turned into a prison. Prison S-21. 20,000 men, women, and children were brought in, only 7 survived. All were tortued and interrogated. All were taking to the nearby Killing Fields, a few km outside the city. Babies' heads were thrown against trees. Men had crowbars taken to the back of their necks while blindfolded, then their throats slashed. All were buried here. The largest grave contained 450 bodies. Everyone who came in and out was recorded in detail. All documentation still exists. At the killing fields, there's a momenument with 8,000 real human skulls, dug out from the graves, to give a reminder of the atrocities that happened. Still, not all graves have been dug up yet. (This all happened from 1974-1978). At the accompanying exhibit, there was a caption that claimed the Khmer Rouge was the worst atrocity ever committed by man, worst than the Holocaust. At first I thought this was a pretty bold statement. But I can sort of see the reasoning. I mean..."reasoning" isnt the right word. nor is it a contest among genocides who's more atrocious, etc. But in the Khmer Rouge, of the 2 million who died (25% of the population at the time), ALL 2 million were killed by the hands of another Cambodian. At least, (one could say), that the Holocaust wasn't AS atrocious in that one man sent 200 bodies into a room and another man pressed a button that released gas and then another man burned them and so on. So you could "reason" that the officers didn't reeeeally know what they were doing. being brainwashed and all. societal pressures. etc.
None of the regime leaders were taken to trial except for one (his trial started last year in May 09). Well, Pol Pot was charged with killing his family, so he was sent to house arrest in the countryside until he died in the 90s. Or he fled to Thailand...and then later found and tried. Seems a pretty lax judgement if you ask me.
So that's the congested history lesson. Just about.
So in Phenom Pehn, you get a chance to visit the prison, and you see the photos of everyone who was admitted and later killed. And you see the beds where people were tortued. The cells people were kept in. Nothing has been altered or removed. It's quite incredibly. And there's this amazing exhibit of a Sweedish news team who were the only foreigners during the Khmer Rouge regime allowed to enter and take photos inside the country. So the lead reporter/photographer has these photos and on the left side, he's got in captions, his thoughts from 1974 (ie: what are people talking about? Clearly not all children are slave workers. Clearly not all school has been banned. Look, here's two children sitting in a classroom). *frown*
Then on the right, is a caption from 2004, where he realizes, in retrospect, that many things he saw on his 10 day trip were probably staged. and how even a foreigner can be easily persuaded about the ideal of the communist regime and the "good" it hoped to achieve.
Whew. So that's that. So much more to write. But yea, I think that's the jist. And if I've mistaken any details, sorry Sarah! heh...since I know you're the expert on these things. Please, feel free to correct me if I've written anything wrong.
Well ok, so on a lighter note....that aside...Cambodia was charming and beautiful and the people so friendly. Saw Angkor Wat for a day. LOVED the small town of Siem Riep. Great food. Didn't know what Cambodian food was before arriving, but I can tell you now, I love it. A lot of coconut milk. Sort of a mix of Chinese and Thai fusion. Curries and stir-fry stuff.
Fruit Shakes as good as ever - except in Cambodia, they add ice cream and egg. Whereas Thailand, it's just the fruit and ice.
Bought some good counterfeit books. And some good counterfeit movies. Yes yes...I know...I should be ashamed.
Ate some happy herb pizza. ;)
as herby as it was, it wasn't very happy by the end. nonetheless, the pizza itself tasted fantastic.
got a blind massage for $6. it was wonderful.
ate an amazing greek salad. -- miss those!
currently reading Breakfast for Champions by Vonnegut (a book i picked up in Cambodia for $3). I'm about half way through. It's alright. I think it's my least favorite Vonnegut book as of date. The humor isn't has wry or witty i feel, as the others. It's much too obvious. But some of the pictures are quite entertaining. I mean, it's still funny. It obviously has some true Vonnegut moments. But...I think he's done better. Though, I still have 150 more pages to read, so we'll see if my view changes by the end of the book.
alrighty...that was heavy and light all at once, ne? gotta run! hence the quick exit,
hope you enjoyed <3
j9
So sorry!
Well quick recap...oh my. I dont think I can make it quick. I mean...I don't want to make it quick. I thought I wasnt gonna have anything to blog about but perhaps I was mistaken.
So Cambodia had me tooooooootally charmed. LOVED it! I think it reinvigorated my thrill for South East Asia.
Ok, that's not true. It just sparked an interest to go to Laos...but I think i'm still done with the rest of the region. Don't get me wrong, if I get a chance to see Malaysia or Singapore or Indonesia...I'd have no complaints. But there's too many other (different) places on the list that need to be seen first. But Lao can sort of sneak into the top 5 if it wants.
Anyway, most of the week we spent in Cambodia revolved around the Khmer Rouge. SOOOO many movies and museums and monuments and stories and exhibits and books everywhere. Which was great. Sadly, I admit, I'd never heard of the Khmer Rouge before this year. Never heard of the genocide. Never heard of the atrocities. I'd heard of the name "Pol Pot". But I probably couldn't have even told you he was the Cambodian Communist leader. or Khmer Rouge leader. or whatever. =/
My defense - don't know about you guys (well...Sarah, I know you know cuz it was your area of expertise uni study, but other readers...) dont't know about you, but we NEVER touched based on anything related to Cambodia. OK, maybe a little bit sprinkled in when we grazed over the Vietnam War. But that's it. Never heard about it in JHS, HS, or uni.
Suuure, Andy could (would) say "well pick up a book you idiot". but hey now, there are only so many books and films that I can fit in at any given amount of time. there are so many other issues and events and stories and legends i need to educate myself on...if I've got noone to point me in any direction like "hey, you should read about the Khmer Rouge and what they did. Don't bother me with questions. just type in Khmer Rouge into your google bar". then so be it...the quest for knowledge can begin.
Well anyhow, so excuses aside, this is one huge reason why i like to travel. People have been asking me a lot lately why I do. Most people don't understand the passion I have for it. The thrive. The total exhilaration and excitement to always be exploring new cultures and trying new foods, and experiencing bowel movements most of the world will never be fortunate enough to take part in. This trip helped me realize that one large reason why I love to travel is because it allows me to learn about history and culture and people and psychology and social behaviors that I would otherwise never know existed outside my surbaban middle class bubble. i'm so thankful for the ableness to travel, and the people around me who share the same curiosity and wonderment about it.
Basically, in short, the day the civil war in Cambodia ended, Pol Pot and authorities sent in teenagers dressed in black to evacauate the ENTIRE capital city of Phnom Penh. Everyone was ordered out of the city, within 3 days, into the countryside, without any possessions - being told that the US was going to bomb any moment, and that the speediness was for their safety. Well, everyone turns up in the countryside, and for the next 3 years and 9 months, are forced into hard labor. Class is wiped out. Money is wiped out. Free exchange and free will, wiped out. It's Pol Pot's agenda to achieve what Mao failed in China. Well...so people are forced to work day and night, plowing and harvesting rice. The rice goes to China. Cambodians starve. The solution? Well...rather than let the people who harvest the rice, eat the rice...let's just kill people. Old, young, educated (especially), children. Why children? Because they cannot help the group now and will only exact revenge later. They serve no purpose, so they must die too.
So this high school (among many others around the country) in Phenom Pehn was turned into a prison. Prison S-21. 20,000 men, women, and children were brought in, only 7 survived. All were tortued and interrogated. All were taking to the nearby Killing Fields, a few km outside the city. Babies' heads were thrown against trees. Men had crowbars taken to the back of their necks while blindfolded, then their throats slashed. All were buried here. The largest grave contained 450 bodies. Everyone who came in and out was recorded in detail. All documentation still exists. At the killing fields, there's a momenument with 8,000 real human skulls, dug out from the graves, to give a reminder of the atrocities that happened. Still, not all graves have been dug up yet. (This all happened from 1974-1978). At the accompanying exhibit, there was a caption that claimed the Khmer Rouge was the worst atrocity ever committed by man, worst than the Holocaust. At first I thought this was a pretty bold statement. But I can sort of see the reasoning. I mean..."reasoning" isnt the right word. nor is it a contest among genocides who's more atrocious, etc. But in the Khmer Rouge, of the 2 million who died (25% of the population at the time), ALL 2 million were killed by the hands of another Cambodian. At least, (one could say), that the Holocaust wasn't AS atrocious in that one man sent 200 bodies into a room and another man pressed a button that released gas and then another man burned them and so on. So you could "reason" that the officers didn't reeeeally know what they were doing. being brainwashed and all. societal pressures. etc.
None of the regime leaders were taken to trial except for one (his trial started last year in May 09). Well, Pol Pot was charged with killing his family, so he was sent to house arrest in the countryside until he died in the 90s. Or he fled to Thailand...and then later found and tried. Seems a pretty lax judgement if you ask me.
So that's the congested history lesson. Just about.
So in Phenom Pehn, you get a chance to visit the prison, and you see the photos of everyone who was admitted and later killed. And you see the beds where people were tortued. The cells people were kept in. Nothing has been altered or removed. It's quite incredibly. And there's this amazing exhibit of a Sweedish news team who were the only foreigners during the Khmer Rouge regime allowed to enter and take photos inside the country. So the lead reporter/photographer has these photos and on the left side, he's got in captions, his thoughts from 1974 (ie: what are people talking about? Clearly not all children are slave workers. Clearly not all school has been banned. Look, here's two children sitting in a classroom). *frown*
Then on the right, is a caption from 2004, where he realizes, in retrospect, that many things he saw on his 10 day trip were probably staged. and how even a foreigner can be easily persuaded about the ideal of the communist regime and the "good" it hoped to achieve.
Whew. So that's that. So much more to write. But yea, I think that's the jist. And if I've mistaken any details, sorry Sarah! heh...since I know you're the expert on these things. Please, feel free to correct me if I've written anything wrong.
Well ok, so on a lighter note....that aside...Cambodia was charming and beautiful and the people so friendly. Saw Angkor Wat for a day. LOVED the small town of Siem Riep. Great food. Didn't know what Cambodian food was before arriving, but I can tell you now, I love it. A lot of coconut milk. Sort of a mix of Chinese and Thai fusion. Curries and stir-fry stuff.
Fruit Shakes as good as ever - except in Cambodia, they add ice cream and egg. Whereas Thailand, it's just the fruit and ice.
Bought some good counterfeit books. And some good counterfeit movies. Yes yes...I know...I should be ashamed.
Ate some happy herb pizza. ;)
as herby as it was, it wasn't very happy by the end. nonetheless, the pizza itself tasted fantastic.
got a blind massage for $6. it was wonderful.
ate an amazing greek salad. -- miss those!
currently reading Breakfast for Champions by Vonnegut (a book i picked up in Cambodia for $3). I'm about half way through. It's alright. I think it's my least favorite Vonnegut book as of date. The humor isn't has wry or witty i feel, as the others. It's much too obvious. But some of the pictures are quite entertaining. I mean, it's still funny. It obviously has some true Vonnegut moments. But...I think he's done better. Though, I still have 150 more pages to read, so we'll see if my view changes by the end of the book.
alrighty...that was heavy and light all at once, ne? gotta run! hence the quick exit,
hope you enjoyed <3
j9
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Bangkok 2010 New Years
Bringing in the new decade with Bangkok was so much fun.
Got a fish massage in a mall - $3 for 20 minutes.
here's a video on youtube i found, to give you an idea of what it was like.
Fish Massage.
for the first 10 minutes i screamed and cried. like those girls on fear factor. =/
then when i finally had the nerve to look down at my feet - i turned and started crying again.
it's a lot of mind over matter. for me anyway. when i could finally get past it - it was quite an interesting sensation. like your feet are asleep. numb and tingly. it's really gross when they stick on a little longer once you pull your feet out.
it looks like they're gonna eat through your flesh to the bone! but i'm glad i did it. =)
always trying to conquer a fear or two when i can...
=)
and here's a video i found on youtube about the bats at khao yai national park (where we went hiking for a day and half). the video really doesn't do it justice. but it gives you an idea of the massive scope of the number of bats that fly out every night at sundown.
Bats!!
after the fish massage, we watched Avatar, no 3-D though. =( haha
it was entertaining. i liked it. i thought it was gonna be a little more epic. or...i dunno...well yea, it was good.
then we went out into the streets at Central World Plaza. pushed through crowds for like 30 minutes. settled in a corner for an hour. ran off determined to find whiskey with kristine at a 7-eleven. had success with flying colors. 10 minutes to countdown, we went back into the crowd. lost kristine for a bit cuz her and jesse fought FOREVER before the countdown ;)
but in the end, we all were together (jesse, kristine, maggie, dan, and krista) and it was loads of fun. similar to vegas. much better than times squares. confetti and fireworks. countdown in thai numbers. haha...that was a little confusing. but you get the hang of what number you're at when everyone around you gets louder and more frantic.
then we danced in the streets with thai lady boys for like 2 hours, which of course only felt like 10 minutes. =)
then back to the hotel.
then to a club at RCA street. where the $6 cover charge bought us a free $6 drink. and the admission allowed us into like 6 different indoor and outdoor clubs. but by the time we got there (3am ish) everything was dying down to when they shut us out at 4.
went to bed a little past 530am i think.
tis was a good night. =)
oh yea! and that creepy indian dude in the hotel lobby! haha, still....sooo inappropriate. ;) but a good laugh.
i'm really excited for 2010.
and i've got no regrets about 09. =)
thanks everyone again for making it another wonderful year.
cheeeeeeeeezy =P
off to siem riep tomorrow. sigh. more buses. more corrupt cops. more haggling. more mosquito bites. more heat. and sweat. caaaaan't wait!!
<3
janine
Got a fish massage in a mall - $3 for 20 minutes.
here's a video on youtube i found, to give you an idea of what it was like.
Fish Massage.
for the first 10 minutes i screamed and cried. like those girls on fear factor. =/
then when i finally had the nerve to look down at my feet - i turned and started crying again.
it's a lot of mind over matter. for me anyway. when i could finally get past it - it was quite an interesting sensation. like your feet are asleep. numb and tingly. it's really gross when they stick on a little longer once you pull your feet out.
it looks like they're gonna eat through your flesh to the bone! but i'm glad i did it. =)
always trying to conquer a fear or two when i can...
=)
and here's a video i found on youtube about the bats at khao yai national park (where we went hiking for a day and half). the video really doesn't do it justice. but it gives you an idea of the massive scope of the number of bats that fly out every night at sundown.
Bats!!
after the fish massage, we watched Avatar, no 3-D though. =( haha
it was entertaining. i liked it. i thought it was gonna be a little more epic. or...i dunno...well yea, it was good.
then we went out into the streets at Central World Plaza. pushed through crowds for like 30 minutes. settled in a corner for an hour. ran off determined to find whiskey with kristine at a 7-eleven. had success with flying colors. 10 minutes to countdown, we went back into the crowd. lost kristine for a bit cuz her and jesse fought FOREVER before the countdown ;)
but in the end, we all were together (jesse, kristine, maggie, dan, and krista) and it was loads of fun. similar to vegas. much better than times squares. confetti and fireworks. countdown in thai numbers. haha...that was a little confusing. but you get the hang of what number you're at when everyone around you gets louder and more frantic.
then we danced in the streets with thai lady boys for like 2 hours, which of course only felt like 10 minutes. =)
then back to the hotel.
then to a club at RCA street. where the $6 cover charge bought us a free $6 drink. and the admission allowed us into like 6 different indoor and outdoor clubs. but by the time we got there (3am ish) everything was dying down to when they shut us out at 4.
went to bed a little past 530am i think.
tis was a good night. =)
oh yea! and that creepy indian dude in the hotel lobby! haha, still....sooo inappropriate. ;) but a good laugh.
i'm really excited for 2010.
and i've got no regrets about 09. =)
thanks everyone again for making it another wonderful year.
cheeeeeeeeezy =P
off to siem riep tomorrow. sigh. more buses. more corrupt cops. more haggling. more mosquito bites. more heat. and sweat. caaaaan't wait!!
<3
janine
Friday, December 25, 2009
Bats and Spiders
2 million bats leaving a cave at the top of a mountain at dawn...is HANDS DOWN in my "top 5 things I've ever seen in my life" list.
Beautiful. I'll upload a video in a few days.
And spiders. Oh boy.
I don't have time to update and proper post...but just wanted to say hey.
and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I'm thankful for all the...greatness I experienced and the people I met this year. And the friendships I've formed and the friendships I've kept. Thank you! <3<3<3
Soooo cheesy. I know.
I'm just in a happy good mood.
We're waiting in a cafe on khao san road drinking whiskey and cokes out of BUCKETS...waiting for our overnight bus to ko-samui beaches down south.
Full moon party!!
ok maybe not. we'll miss it. but...I'm still expecting some fun relaxing crazy times on the beach.
as for the past few days...
rainforests. and gibbons and elephants chasing our pick up truck-- less than 10 feet behind with me nearly falling off the back in terror.
bats.
yellow hornbills
"A1" karaoke.
2 canadians.
spiders.
caves
scorpian spiders
dirty toilets
LOOOOOTS of amazing thai food. and shakes.
Archa and Chang Beer.
=)
<3
janine
Beautiful. I'll upload a video in a few days.
And spiders. Oh boy.
I don't have time to update and proper post...but just wanted to say hey.
and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I'm thankful for all the...greatness I experienced and the people I met this year. And the friendships I've formed and the friendships I've kept. Thank you! <3<3<3
Soooo cheesy. I know.
I'm just in a happy good mood.
We're waiting in a cafe on khao san road drinking whiskey and cokes out of BUCKETS...waiting for our overnight bus to ko-samui beaches down south.
Full moon party!!
ok maybe not. we'll miss it. but...I'm still expecting some fun relaxing crazy times on the beach.
as for the past few days...
rainforests. and gibbons and elephants chasing our pick up truck-- less than 10 feet behind with me nearly falling off the back in terror.
bats.
yellow hornbills
"A1" karaoke.
2 canadians.
spiders.
caves
scorpian spiders
dirty toilets
LOOOOOTS of amazing thai food. and shakes.
Archa and Chang Beer.
=)
<3
janine
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Flight of the Gibbons
haha...that last post was weird. i know. i was just....having one of those days. ;)
anyhoo, we're in thailand!
Khao San Road, Bangkok to be exact. This is our third day here.
So far we've...(I've) seen the World's Largest Reclining Buddha (again). It's (still just as) impressive as ever. Failed attempts to go to the floating market. eating a LOT of pad thai and banana pancakes and coconut shakes made only with real coconut.
saw a real muay thai boxing match where a 90 lb 16 year old knocked out another 90 lb 16 year old. that was really wild. got it on tape too. the kid actually blacked out for like...30 seconds.
walked around the city a lot.
went zip lining today!!! what a rush! and not scary at all! to soar across the rainforest like that! It's so safe and easy -- anyone afraid of heights can do it. =)
tomorrow we head off to another rainforest to for 2 days/1 night. gonna go hiking. see some bats. i'm really scared for all the bugs. I've already got 3 pretty nasty bites on my ankles =(
then after that, we're off to ko-samui!! gonna miss the full moon party, but i still expect lots of fun times and relaxation to be had.
after that...phuket.
then bangkok for new years.
then...off to siem riep in cambodia! and then phenom penh.
that's our tentative itinerary for the next 2 weeks.
how about you guys? whatcha doing this holiday season?
happy christmas and merry new year btw! if i don't manage to log back on before then!!!!
<3
j9
anyhoo, we're in thailand!
Khao San Road, Bangkok to be exact. This is our third day here.
So far we've...(I've) seen the World's Largest Reclining Buddha (again). It's (still just as) impressive as ever. Failed attempts to go to the floating market. eating a LOT of pad thai and banana pancakes and coconut shakes made only with real coconut.
saw a real muay thai boxing match where a 90 lb 16 year old knocked out another 90 lb 16 year old. that was really wild. got it on tape too. the kid actually blacked out for like...30 seconds.
walked around the city a lot.
went zip lining today!!! what a rush! and not scary at all! to soar across the rainforest like that! It's so safe and easy -- anyone afraid of heights can do it. =)
tomorrow we head off to another rainforest to for 2 days/1 night. gonna go hiking. see some bats. i'm really scared for all the bugs. I've already got 3 pretty nasty bites on my ankles =(
then after that, we're off to ko-samui!! gonna miss the full moon party, but i still expect lots of fun times and relaxation to be had.
after that...phuket.
then bangkok for new years.
then...off to siem riep in cambodia! and then phenom penh.
that's our tentative itinerary for the next 2 weeks.
how about you guys? whatcha doing this holiday season?
happy christmas and merry new year btw! if i don't manage to log back on before then!!!!
<3
j9
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Something's Coming Over Me...
I don't like it when I absentmindedly stare off into space and realize by the change in your expression or the movement of your eyes, ahead of me, like how a cat's full attention can be peaked just by the slight silly shimmer of something shiny in the distance, that I've actually been staring straight through you. for god knows how long. But you think I've been staring at you.
So then there's that split second of awkward.
...
So I advert my eyes but then when I advert back to make sure no social treaty has been breached, I see you're (now) still staring at me.
with that look.
...
That look.
sigh.
I find myself staring off into nothing a lot lately.
Dr, is this something to be concerned about? Will my eyes permanently glaze over without ever my knowledge of it? I feel like I'm close.
so close...
to the top of the wooooorld. looking down on creeeeation. and the only explanation I caaaan find. Is...
The Carpenters.
Brought to you by 40 adorable 12 year old Japanese kids.
sigh again
This is the doing of boredom. And not just plain old boredom. But the own boredom of too many thoughts. But then again...these thoughts. Aren't really boredom. Are they? They're for safety. and entertainment. and reassurance. A way for your brain to unrealistically cope with the realities around you, in no sensible manner to anyone but yourself. all so you don't pull out your hair...or...wiggle your arms in the air...or commit something else that's equally as brash.
well then.
that's out of the bag.
the cat. that cat. and the bag. and that. and that bag. all out.
there you have it.
So I got my recontract earlier this week. WHEW! Omg, that would have been the shame of the decade, if I didn't get it. But now that the "investigation" is over, I swear, it was like my supervisor was on *weed*, he was as high as a fly on a kite, handing me my recontract papers. When just 3 weeks ago, sitting at the same desk, in the same chairs, he was berating me like a 5 year old kid, while I'm in tears, threatening me that the board of education probably won't offer me a recontract cuz they can't trust me. Cuz I lost a $100 transportation card...that I, a week later, compensated for.
Sigh.
Japanese people.
Never know with them.
Also, I saw Up! and The Informant. LOVED the Informant. There were a few scenes in the middle where you felt like...ok...you were almost a superb movie, and then you had to go on and drag for 10 minutes too long. But other than that, loved it.
Up...some scenes were epically good. I cried AT LEAST 12 times in that movie. Yes I know, I cry at everything. It's not hard to make me cry. But...that just means...you pulled the right strings, I'm your demographic, you did a great job! Loved it! I felt the movie as a whole, lacked cohesiveness. So I wont say it's the best movie of the year. But there were definitely moments where it could redeem itself in the .... top 5 slot.
I leave for Thailand and Cambodia tomorrow. Scary. 3 weeks.
Scary cuz there are peanuts there!!
=P
And the few people who would get that reference...don't read my blog...
well...yup.
I'll miss you.
But I'll try to keep an update once a week.
<3
j9
So then there's that split second of awkward.
...
So I advert my eyes but then when I advert back to make sure no social treaty has been breached, I see you're (now) still staring at me.
with that look.
...
That look.
sigh.
I find myself staring off into nothing a lot lately.
Dr, is this something to be concerned about? Will my eyes permanently glaze over without ever my knowledge of it? I feel like I'm close.
so close...
to the top of the wooooorld. looking down on creeeeation. and the only explanation I caaaan find. Is...
The Carpenters.
Brought to you by 40 adorable 12 year old Japanese kids.
sigh again
This is the doing of boredom. And not just plain old boredom. But the own boredom of too many thoughts. But then again...these thoughts. Aren't really boredom. Are they? They're for safety. and entertainment. and reassurance. A way for your brain to unrealistically cope with the realities around you, in no sensible manner to anyone but yourself. all so you don't pull out your hair...or...wiggle your arms in the air...or commit something else that's equally as brash.
well then.
that's out of the bag.
the cat. that cat. and the bag. and that. and that bag. all out.
there you have it.
So I got my recontract earlier this week. WHEW! Omg, that would have been the shame of the decade, if I didn't get it. But now that the "investigation" is over, I swear, it was like my supervisor was on *weed*, he was as high as a fly on a kite, handing me my recontract papers. When just 3 weeks ago, sitting at the same desk, in the same chairs, he was berating me like a 5 year old kid, while I'm in tears, threatening me that the board of education probably won't offer me a recontract cuz they can't trust me. Cuz I lost a $100 transportation card...that I, a week later, compensated for.
Sigh.
Japanese people.
Never know with them.
Also, I saw Up! and The Informant. LOVED the Informant. There were a few scenes in the middle where you felt like...ok...you were almost a superb movie, and then you had to go on and drag for 10 minutes too long. But other than that, loved it.
Up...some scenes were epically good. I cried AT LEAST 12 times in that movie. Yes I know, I cry at everything. It's not hard to make me cry. But...that just means...you pulled the right strings, I'm your demographic, you did a great job! Loved it! I felt the movie as a whole, lacked cohesiveness. So I wont say it's the best movie of the year. But there were definitely moments where it could redeem itself in the .... top 5 slot.
I leave for Thailand and Cambodia tomorrow. Scary. 3 weeks.
Scary cuz there are peanuts there!!
=P
And the few people who would get that reference...don't read my blog...
well...yup.
I'll miss you.
But I'll try to keep an update once a week.
<3
j9
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