that's not something you work on making into a reality, you just make it happen...

Highlight of the week: Erica is HERE!

Seeing us together, you would never know that we haven't seen each other in two years! I felt like it was Christmas when I was waiting for her at the airport! Picture this: me, pacing, looking worried, stressing - would she make it okay? Was she here already; wandering around outside and being accosted by overenthusiastic (that's a nice way to put it) Thai tuk tuk drivers?! Would she like the house?  Would everything go smoothly? Would she even like Thailand? Would my liver ever forgive me!!?

Well, it has been raining nonstop since she got here, but we have been doing a lot of activities regardless - it's just a little more soggy and gloomy than normal. She's a New Mexico girl - she was supposed to bring the sunshine with her. Well it didn't fit in her luggage or something, because it has been a constant downpour. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though and am determined to have some sun on this island before she leaves. I asked my students today - is this weather normal for Phuket this time of year and the resounding response was, "NO!" They are just as sick of it as us, but I'm trying to stay positive. We will get to Phi Phi this weekend and we will get some sun up in hereeee. Oh, lord.

I've been thinking a lot about my future plans and where I'm headed. Seeing Erica here makes me think about everyone from home and with my mom coming out here in October - I know I'm going to cry when I see my mom and it will be a flood of 90% happiness 10% homesickness. The only time I have felt homesick out here was around the time of my birthday in June. Everything seemed to culminate in homesickness - I was wanting, so badly, to be around everyone that I love and miss for my birthday, it had been about 6 months since I had been home, I was overwhelmed with new job stress, and family stress was the cherry on top. It was a little bit tough, but my amazing housemates definitely threw me a birthday celebration to go down in the books. Negative Nancy and Downer Debbie are two folks who can't compete with raging and paragliding!

With my housemates...getting ready to take off - the Thai guides made me grab my motorbike helmet before being airborne - literally the only precaution taken. Directions about steering and landing were yelled to me by this character on the right who was running beside me pushing me towards the edge of the cliff! Safety first!

I am going to be heading back to the United States next May or June and it is scary because of that whole saving thing. Problem 1: I'm not quite sure if I understand what "saving" is, but I hear it is like when you don't spend all of your paycheck every month and instead add more money to this "savings pot" or bank account....? Yeahhhh, I don't know about the sounds of that, but I'm going to give it a try. Second problem: It is overwhelming saving baht to convert into dollars. It is scary to me and I'm really trying to tackle this in increments. I told Charlie I was coming home for a bit and that I needed to save and everything to make it happen and he was pretty straight up about it - "that's not something you work on making into a reality, you just make it happen..."

I sat and thought for a second before I realized that he was absolutely right. There are some things that you just have to make happen. You can't sit there and wonder - oh shoot, I want to be home for my friends wedding...what ever shall I do? You have to get proactive and take control of the situation - like with saving, you just have to make it happen. I want to head back to the United States next year to see my friends, attend Jason's wedding, hike in the mountains of Colorado, and check out some music festies. :) It's not something that is unobtainable, but I have to be serious about saving. I'm making a new year's resolution...I make resolutions a lot, regardless of whether or not it is January 1st....and my new year's resolution right now is get serious about saving.

It is something I have never really been good with, but something I've always needed to improve on. So here we go - a great transcontinental trip followed by a change in stomping grounds from Thailand to South America. You just make it happen...

Fire in the sky, our drinks, and our lives

This last week was out of control. It was great, but holy hell, I need to recap. So, I left for Tonsai with an e-mail from a friend of mine who is living in Singapore saying he and the family were coming to stay that weekend. A little history here: back in April, I went to Singapore on a visa run. My mom, upon hearing of my plans to head out there for the weekend, put me in touch with her friend, Sheenagh - a woman my mom has known since her childhood in Zimbabwe. I got a hold of Sheenagh and the plans were set for me to arrive in Singapore, stay with her and her family, and then cruise back to Thailand. Well, Sheenagh and her family are great! It just so happened that Sheenagh's two twin sons, Alex and Stephen, are both around my age and rad as hell. They love electronic music, drum and bass, are wicked smart, hilarious, and are all around totally fun guys. It was a pity that my trip out there was so short and I left wishing we could have chilled more, but I promised that if they ever made it to Thailand, I would take them out and show them Phuket like it needs to be experienced.

Fast forward. The e-mail said they were going to be sailing in for the weekend that I would be in Tonsai. I was so bummed, but I had plans to go out there for Jill's birthday and I couldn't back out. Turns out that they needed to get work done on the boat so their trip out to Phuket was extended through to the following weekend. I got a text on Monday and was psyched that we weren't going to miss each other after all. We went to a great restaurant in Phuket town, The Natural, complete with lady-boy servers - not planned to my knowledge, television sets that have been turned into fish tanks, and a pushy flower selling child who hustles the entire downtown area. My housemate, Geoff, after being subjected to this 12 year old's pouty and aggressive flower sale, commented "I have no problems hitting children, I work at a school!" (It's hilarious when Geoff gets worked up about anything because he has a sing songy English accent that makes him sound like Mary Poppins.)

So some delicious Thai eats, an inspiring eulogy about Arnold Schwarzenegger, arguments about free trade economics - haha,  and a couple of beers later, we parted for the night with me signing on as official tour guide for the week. Even though I had to work during the day, the evenings were reserved for activities. Tuesday night was just the boys and I in Phuket town, sampling the variety of cheap beer options in awesome outdoor settings. (That's one of the best things about Thailand - my love of summer patio drinking back home is made possible year round out here by the great weather and open air architecture. Everything was relaxed and laid back with mood lighting and mini Thai bar girls pouring drinks all night. Rad.) Wednesday, I met Sheenagh, Alex, and Stephen in Kata and we went out for street noodles and "Big One's" Archa beer. Street noodles are so great and cheap, but I always make the mistake of getting too enthusiastic with the chili powders and sauces that they give you. My noodle soup typically turns orange with spice, I start sweating, my nose starts running, and to top it off, I get pepper parts all up in my teeth by the end of my meal. I can't resist 'em spices! Haha. Not my best look, yet still fantastic. Thursday night we were completely treated by Sheenagh and went for sundowners at this place called Jazztaurant. It is this beautiful restaurant that overlooks Karon and Karon bay and had been glowing up on the hill as we enjoyed our street noodles the night before, so we were eager to drive up there and check it out. Although uber swanky, the drive up the hillside to the restaurant is more like a roller coaster than a road. I was reminded of off roading on broken arrow road in Sedona - no jokes, it was practically vertical! The sunset happened to be spectacular and we enjoyed super expensive drinks on the balcony with Boys II Men and such serenading us in the background. Oh, Thailand. Sundowners turned into dinner and we were spoiled with some decadent feasting. I followed my mussel and pineapple curry with banana flambe while listening to our conversation derail with the topic of cheating athletes - thank you Tiger for giving Alex inspiration to drop a climactic line about old lady sex and buying a new walker for Grandma so she can take it. HAHAHAHA! This is in front of his mother that he drops that truth bomb. It was so hilarious and when Sheenagh left to use the restroom, Stephen and I, proceeded to rip Alex about the how he just took off running with that conversation (probably no thanks to Stephen) and in the future although joking, probably should keep it PG for the parents! I did also open a beer bottle with another beer, explained the correct procedure for taking Sake bombs, and then tried to pass it off as a cultural experience - the Sake bombs, not the beer opening. Between the three of us, we were making a good effort at shattering Sheenagh's reality.

Then things got messy. Friday night, I decided it was time to instigate poor decision making. I invited some Phuket friends over to our balcony for drinks and we had a little kick back. Alex and Stephen arrived a little later and then with my housemates, a "ring of fire" drinking game,  friends with Tequila shots, and my friend, Robin - little miss trouble (actually a very muscular South African man who got the nickname during our trip to Bangkok when we had "Games Night" on Koh San road and Robin won a chugging contest and as the winner - no real logic here - had to squeeze into a miniature 100 baht tank top we bought on the street with a cartoon character and the words "Little Miss Trouble" across the front of it.) and a bottle of port - things got hectic. Around 1:30 we decided to make our way to Laguna - a bar that feels like a miniature Patong - meaning it is filled with top 40 songs, bar girls, and Muay Thai men. After dancing aggressively, falling a lot, losing my glasses - twice, and Alex being chatted up by a lady boy, we are driving up to my house at 5:30 in the morning when Robin shouts - "Let's go to Patong!" I hadn't even blinked and my buddy, Dave, had bailed from the vehicle and bolted for his life - knowing better than all of us what a terrible idea driving to Patong right then would be. Well, we drove to Patong, Robin and Alex passed out, Stephen and I put our feet in the water, and pulled a Dumb & Dumber moment - "Big Gulps, huh? Whelp, see you later." We drove back to Chalong around 7 a.m. What a night.

Round 2: Patong proper. Yes my friend, I went to Patong two nights in a row. That's like doing 1 week in Vegas, because Patong is like Vegas' bastard child that gets its kicks with meth, bargain prices, and nakedness. "Whipping, smacking, spanking!" The Hangover II, though it makes a good honest attempt, doesn't fully capture the utter craziness of Thailand. We made it back by 6 a.m. Oh, and then when I got home, I tried to cook up pasta - I was drunk and lazy and figured that I wanted to add salt, garlic, and pepper to my pasta....so when I pulled out garlic salt from the cabinet - I thought, "two eggs with one spoon". BAHahaha.... I was just listening to my housemates and that's what I accidentally typed. Word. Two eggs with one spoon.

Ended the weekend with a book, the beach, and the sunset as the cherry on top. It was fantastic having Alex and Stephen in town - it really felt like having family around. Now, I've got a week of relaxing and detox before my friend, Erica, gets here from the U.S. I absolutely can not wait and my liver gets further and further from the recovery plan. sigh.

Epic sunset and great end to the weekend.

Beating da "funk"

Every now and then I get in a funk....you know the drill; that Bruno Mars feeling of not wanting to do anything. I still don't quite understand who Bruno Mars is, but I've had my students singing this song to me and so I have come to understand that this character is a popular singer for the poppy teenage generation. Am I an out of touch 75 year old already?? The answer: probably. So, I've reevaluating my 75 year old feeling self and just feeling funk like...and not in the cool way, like Earth, Wind, and Fire. I know, it sounds ridiculous - how can you be feeling "blah" on a tropical island. Well, the sad reality is that it doesn't matter where you are, you can change your location all you want, but you have to deal with the things that get you down eventually. (Harsh little bit of reality)

So, today, I'm working to pull myself up by my bootstraps, or something along those lines, and try to get my smile on. My list of funk-busters easily qualify as "stuff white people like", but it works for me. I hope the list helps you, but if not, go read about TED conferences, roller derbies, and Mad Men on the Stuff White People Like Blog. That might bring a smile to your face while you eat your hummus and jam Bob Marley. Shoot, I like Ray Bans!

The get funky and out of your funk list:

Get physical. If I can't hike out into the mountains of the 4 corners, USA, I have to do something to get my moving. Running is my go to. If I'm bogged down by thoughts, at least I can stew over them while doing something good for my body. I used to go on walks with my friend, Zoey, in college and we would chat about shenanigans while just cruising around our neighborhood. Pre-powerwalking we would laugh at the ways that we would deal with our problems, turning to chocolate, wine binges, and Einstein bagels instead - wondering, "Why don't we go get active when we are down?" "Why don't we get out of the house and get moving instead of wallowing?" - Getting toned while being sad? Now that's hard to complain about! Power walking became our destressor - especially night walks under the star scattered Flagstaff skies. Pretty epic.


Or, if I can't get out and run - stretching is ohhh so good.

Create a playlist. It's a completely random group of songs, but it works for funk-busting. I call it my "feel good" mix on my itunes and it looks something like this:

Top Loader - Dancing in the moonlight
Michael Franti - I got love for you
Miami Horror - Holidays
Natasha Beddingfield - Love like this
My Chemical Romance - Teenagers
Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me
Jem - Save me
Habib Koite and Bamada - I ka barra
Ed Solo & Skool of Thought - We play music
Donovan - There is a mountain
Donovan Frankenreiter - Life, Love, and Laughter
Dave Matthews Band - Satellite
The Cars - Just what I needed
Bombay Bicycle Club - Open House
John Mayer - Slow Dancing in a burning room

Good food. Duh, hummus.Oh, and chips and salsa - because I'm a New Mexican girl and you can't neglect this delicious treat that is mandatory at all game days, southwest dinners, and snack times. Bliss.
 










Lastly, mangosteens are an incredible fruit in this part of the world. You open it by smashing it with your fist, then eating the fruit on the inside. Do not eat the fiber-y purple outside! This is not an apple - and people will laugh at you...plus you'll get purple shell and juice all over your "teef". It is a sweet, slightly tangy fruit that will make people who shun fruit and get their kicks from Lucky Charms mixed with ice cream for breakfast, consider the fabulousness of this food group and maybe even try an orange! (I have known people like this and I'm horrified to report that this person, making "charmed ice cream" in the Northern Arizona University food court, once picked out all of the marshmallow charms from Lucky Charms, made a bowl of just the marshmallows, added milk, and tried to eat the whole bowl. He said it was nasty as shit....years later, he would eat an orange, realize it wasn't that bad, and go on a "healthy...er" eating kick. I can only wonder what would happen if he tried these bad boys).







Blogging. Yeahhh, that's right, working out all of my thoughts through e-mails and blogs has definitely helped me out a lot. I think that writing, even if it is just to say, "I feel so whacked out, inside!", is so helpful. I know it is a little selfish, unloading emotional baggage on the world wide "internets" - as my friend, Bobby, used to say, but it really is therapeutic being able to think about things as you write them down, see your mixed up feelings more or less consolidated,  and then hopefully be able to start moving on.....or at least feel a little better after letting it all out.




And if all else fails: Chromeo. If you aren't mixing up a itunes selection that works for you listen to Chromeo. I swear you can not be angry when you are listening to electro funky beats about "fancy footwork". For added entertainment value (maybe do this on your own and not with your family present): put on neon short-shorts and dance around your living room. Fact.