Thursday, March 31, 2005: Alone & Digitizing

Sandy had to head out of Bangkok yesterday afternoon with her Sisters as her Mother has become ill. I'm not sure if she'll be back this week or not.

I spent last night taking audio off of ancient cassette and digitizing it. I think it is important that future generations are able to be subjected to the stupidity that is Jim Pektoglou singing along with "Long and Winding Road" as well as other gems of my past. I don't think I'll be posting any of it here but I'm sure some of the lucky few will get some surprises in their mix CDs...

Wednesday, March 30, 2005: Back in the City

Well we are back in the Big Chitty and it is HOT. I am certainly missing that island breeze action. Although I felt like crap after the long journey back I must admit that today I actually feel more relaxed than I have in a long time. Could it be that a trip to the beach did me good? Perhaps I should do that more often.

And yes, we missed the big Earth Quake which was big enough to be felt all the way up here. Bonhomme said his apartment building was swaying like a canoe that had just been hit by the wake of a speed boat. Apparently he had to rush out into the street in his Rocket Robin hood pajamas.

Monday, March 28, 2005: Last Day at Beach

No rain today. I’m glad I decided to stay an extra day just for that reason alone. We got up at around 9:30 am and wandered down to a small restaurant on the beach and had breakfast there. One thing I didn’t need to see while eating breakfast was a wizened old man in the tiniest Speedos ever. I don’t understand the reason why those who look the least appealing naked seem to feel obligated to wear as little as possible when at the beach. Is part of the whole EU experience or what?

After breakfast we walked up past where we have been swimming. It becomes quite rocky at various points along that direction. We went past a very nice resort area full of Euros and then went past a new resort that is still under construction. The beach by this point was nothing but rocks and we ended up on top of this cliff that gave us a great view of the little islands across from where we are but was a nightmare to get back down from. I lost my sunglasses on the way back down, but that’s what 120 baht sunglasses are for. We walked back to our bungalow and we were both pretty hot and tired by the time we got back.

We went down the beach almost straight away afterwards and swam. I am burned mostly on my forearms for some weird reason. Stretched out just a stone’s throw from where we were was this scary guy in a thong. When he got up and started parading around that I recognized who he was. The weirdo we spotted in Kow Sahn Road last year who Bonhomme took a photo of. He was soon joined by a mustachioed friend who was also sporting a thong.

Yikes.

That aside swimming was good today. The water was clear and blue and very warm. I stayed for a bit then came back and listened to music while Sandy swam. There were more people around on the beach today so we swam in shifts to keep an eye on our stuff. We moved a few times to try and keep in the shade and at about 4:30 pm we called it a day. We went back to the bungalow and got cleaned up, then went down to the restaurant we’ve been having dinner at and watched the sun go down. Sandy got some amazing shots tonight with my digital camera.

After dinner we walked up to the main drag and looked around. It reminded me of my time in Koh Samui. There were lots of little shops selling t-shirts and swimwear as well as any thing else you might or might not need at the beach. We bought some snacks and stuff at the convenience store and then walked back to our bungalow. We paid up for our nights here as we will be checking out tomorrow before the office is open, then we came back and sat on the porch for a while.

Now it is time to pack up.

Sunday, March 27, 2005: Bug Beach

I was having this weird dream that I was back in Toronto and at one point everyone began coming out of their houses and buildings because there was this alarm going off throughout the city. People were spilling out to see what it might be. When I woke the “alarm” was still going.

Neepneepneepneepneepneepneep….

Some kind of insect which sounded like a cross between a cricket and a car alarm was letting us all know it was ready for some buggly action of some sort.

Neepneepneepneepneepneepneep…

The neep bug was soon joined in by it’s many friends and relatives which sounded like a Steve Reichcomposition written for the kind of plastic whistles they attach on to kid’s cowboy hats. Thankfully it started thundering and raining which drown out the noise of the bugs.

I managed to sleep until 10:00 am. Sandy woke me up and we got ready to go eat. I began to rain heavily again which delayed us for another hour. Eventually we got to the restaurant and had breakfast. I went for the banana pancakes again and Sandy had some Thai dish that looked to spicy to eat before 3:00 pm (I have been corrected, it was only fried vegetables).

The rain started up again then died down by the time we’d finished eating. We headed down along the beach away from our place eventually having to head up onto the pathway as the beach ended. We walked over by a little pier and some new resorts with bungalows. One place had some big peacocks strutting about and preening themselves on the porch of somebody’s bungalow. These bungalows were quite nice, probably to make up for the lack of beach nearby.

This afternoon I fell asleep again as it was still raining off and on. Sandy woke me when the maid showed up. It was clearing so we got our beach kit together and headed down for a swim. I went in first while Sandy read and listened to music. Eventually she joined me. Once the clouds had burned off it was really nice. I think it was hotter than yesterday. The water is still murky due to the run off from the rain though. There was also an abundance of bugs, ants, millipedes and other such creatures which had all come out to play on the sand after the rain had stopped.

We went back to the bungalow at around 5:30 pm and changed then headed to the restaurant. We moved to one of the little Japanese style booths after first sitting at a table. I felt like all of insectdom was parading over my feet so I insisted we move over. The booth we took was the one favored by this cat who seems to have laid claim to it. Sandy has photos from a previous trip here with her Sisters of this same cat, curled up in this same booth on this same cushion. We had some food and took more sunset photos as well as some more of the sleeping cat.

The mosquitoes were out in force tonight, also due to the rain no doubt and we left the restaurant earlier than last night as there was no driving them off. We walked back towards our place and picked up one of those anti-mosquito curly incense things for our porch. We sat outside for awhile, fed some leftover pork to the local stray cats and listened to the neep bugs chirping madly. I was going to go back to the city tomorrow but I’ve changed it to early Tuesday morning instead.

I’m just starting to relax, so why ruin it?

Saturday, March 26, 2005: Buoyancy

The problem with waking up at 6:00 am every day is that you wake up at 6:00 am every day. Including days when you don’t have to, like today. However it was raining in that tropical beach storm kind of way and that sound puts me instantly back to sleep. Sandy was up at around 10:00 am and woke me. It had stopped raining but was still cloudy and threatening. We went for breakfast and walked along the beach to a restaurant she frequents when ever she’s here. I was starving and in need of tea.

For breakfast we both had pancakes with bananas in them and I ordered a pile of bacon. Both items were quite good although honey had to be used since there was obviously no maple syrup. We sat and took our time until about noon then wandered along the beach back to our Hobbit house. It was still threatening to rain, and it actually may have, but I wouldn’t know because as soon as we got back I fell asleep again.

Sandy woke me up at around 1:30 pm and by this point the sun was working its way through the clouds. We walked back down to the beach and grabbed a spot then I went for a swim while Sandy read and listened to her CD player. I stayed in the water for quite a while. It was nice although a bit mucky from the rain and stormy weather but it was certainly warmer than the pool has been as of late. It was strange to have all the extra buoyancy that the salt water provides. I had forgotten how much I prefer that to the chlorinated pool water. Eventually Sandy came in and joined me for a bit. By this point the sun was out in full and various Farang began to immerge from their huts. We swam until 4:30 pm or so then went back up to the Hobbit house to shower and change for dinner.

We walked along the beach again on our way to dinner at the same place we’d eaten breakfast. The sun set was excellent and I took lots of photos and some video. When we got the restaurant we sat at a table then moved to a cushioned booth like zone when one “booth” became available. Dinner went from about 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm. We ate a variety of things including roasted skewers of chicken and vegetables as well as several Thai dishes with rice.

We headed back to the Hobbit house at 9:00 pm. The walk back on the beach was great. There were lots of stars to be seen and the moon was full. Sadly that’s something video can’t capture very well.

Friday, March 25, 2005: Easter Beach Bunnies

I have to admit that Easter was always my least favourite holiday as a kid. The reason I disliked it so much is that for me it spelled a weekend not of free time and play but of suits and church and more church. The chocolate aspect didn't really make up for the time I felt was being stolen from me.

That being said I have since pretty much ignored Easter. But this year the W.E. Easter Bunny (Chris knows who I'm talking about) has brought a truly wonderful gift. Four days at the beach. Yes while PK's in Canada are being forced to go to church and shovel snow I am going to the beach with Sandy.

Why, I'm leaving in an hour.... I'd better go!

10:34 pm

Sandy is asleep. We have arrived on the Island. We got in at around 6:00 pm,
just in time for the sunset. We checked into our hillside Hobbit bungalo, changed then went for some food along the beach.

The ocean breeze is making me sleepy.

Sunday, March 20, 2005: Skewers

I spent today running about and made a stop at Pantip to look at PCs. If you buy a PC loaded with Windows XP it's about 8,000 baht more than without. If you buy it without, you can buy a legal copy and have it installed for 4000 baht. Logical? No. But when has logic ever had a part in the Microsoft Windows equation?

Tonight Sandy, Pet and I met up with The Penguin Lady for some food. We went to this Brazilian restaurant in Asia Hotel. It was pretty good. They brought a variety of meats on skewers which included lamb, salmon, and some outstanding sausages. There was also some amazing beef tenderloin which I enjoyed a lot.

I got an email from Our Lady Nick of Beirut. She's okay but I can't help but worry about her.

Saturday, March 19, 2005: Swimming, KFC, Quake II

My eyes feel like they’ve been sucked out of the sockets after a two hour non-stop Quake II death match with Pet. My years of practiced only gave me an advantage for the first hour. Then as Pet figured out the controls and the weapons he became a formidable fighting force. Sandy had trouble watching us play as the split screen mode and our movements spelled nausea for her.

Today we took Pet for a swim which commenced in the morning and concluded around 3:00 pm. He can’t swim so Sandy initially tried to instruct him but he was more interested in splashing her and flailing around. Some other kids who were regular water-rats showed up and suddenly he was much more interested in the prospect of swimming. I felt certain apathy for his inability. I didn’t really learn to swim until I was 10 despite various enrollments at summer camp swimming lessons and school organized classes. Much of my problem as a kid came from having almost drown in grade one. In the end I learned on my own in a creek in Nova Scotia. Sandy and I made further efforts to get him to swim after the water-rats had left. He made some progress but I think lessons are in order.

Pet wanted KFC for lunch so Sandy made the call. I must say I felt awful for about an hour after I ate. I think kids are like goats in their ability to eat anything kind of garbage with little effect on their guts. I felt like I was going to puke my pants.

Now Sandy and Pet are watching a Thai movie and I am thinking about a cup of tea.

Friday, March 18, 2005: Mousing

Pet's visit continues. Sandy took him to a movie today and I met them afterwards. We picked up some food then headed back to the Redoubt to eat. He seems to spend most of his time with his Gameboy. I suppose at that age I was equally absorbed with my grand collection of Airfix figures.

I continue to try to mix what at this point is called "Mouse" for lack of a better name. The problem with running EVERYTHING through the Sherman is all those extra frequencies smashing into each other when they are funneled through two channels. Its a sonic shit-storm. However... With my plug-ins I can tweak the signals so they are less like traffic on Makati Ave.

I have to re-convert the ER-1 drum tracks I did. When I coverted them originally I converted both the left and right tracks to one stereo track. The problem with that is I had run the ER-1 into the Sherman mono and took the two seperate filters out as left and right. So they aren't actually equally or even similar in volume. Thus the 'stereo tracks' are all lop-sided and screwed up. I think it will be easier to mix it when the ER-1 tracks are all signal entities.

I downloaded some "freeware" to convert the .amr files I can record on my phone to .wav files. Unfortunately the results are less than hi-fi. Which of course is more useful for my evil purposes.

Thursday, March 17, 2005: Pet Visits

The rain ended in the afternoon yesterday. It cleared up and suddenly it was summer again. Although the rain made it feel like August because that is the weather usual to that time of year in these parts. So is summer now? Or is it in the summer? I don't know anymore.

It being "summer" Sandy brought over her nephew Pet to stay with us for a few days. This means my Play Station is occupied with strange Japanese games that involve a great deal of text and drawings of large eyed characters. I did get him playing Quake II though. I was sort of like being in a taxi as I had to keep saying "turn right", "turn left", "go straight" all in Thai. Sandy found that highly amusing for some reason.

I have to get a new PC. Ol' Clunky is really starting to act up. It's been four years so I guess that's a long time in both Dog and PC years. I have transferred a bunch of tracks up to it and have been attempting to mix them into some listenable form.

The Sherman was finally used on the guitar. The results are great, and I have been running the treated signals out of the Sherman into my little Zoom Digital box which makes it even more twisted. Many would insist that running it the other way makes more sense as the Sherman would "warm up" the sound of the Zoom... But I like the weird hybrid results.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005: Wet & Muggy

No swimming today. I woke up this morning to rain. Not the nice cooling fresh rain either. This was rain combined with a brutal heat and mugginess. Through out the morning the rain would turn into a major cloudburst complete with thunder and lightening. I have no problem with any of that on a Sunday when I can stay in bed but...

I got the gym first thing to find there was some kind of power outage throughout the building. I had to wait for the one single elevator that was operating to make it's way up and down then once it had spewed out it's legions of Japanese tourists I had to struggle for a spot on the lift with the legions of other Japanese tourists trying to get on. Fortunately none of them were very big.

The power loss seemed to affect some parts of the gym and not others. The room that contains all the running, rowing, and riding contraptions had power but not air-con. The change rooms had no air-con and only emergency lights but the weight room had lights and air-con. I had to change and shower pretty much in the dark, the upside being with no power to the sound-system I was spared having to listen to this awful locally produced "muzak" called "Green Music" which sounds like the bastard child of Yanni and Enya. My run today was unsatisfying to say the least. The first treadmill would keep shutting itself down after 5 minutes for some unexplained reason. I switched machines but with out any air-con it was simply too sauna-like to run. I may have only gone a lame 1.5 kms. Running in -20 C is a lot easier than running in 35 C with 99 percent humidity. Everything else went well but without the run I felt sort of cheated of something when I came out.

Monday, March 7, 2005: Stuck Dreams

I had two weird dreams last night. In one dream I was back in Toronto and had been living there for a few months. For some reason or other I was unable to leave and come back here. In the second dream Sandy and I went up to Laos for some reason or other. We had forgotten our passports in the dream so we were stuck there as well.

Sunday, March 6, 2005: Gone With My Wind

Yesterday Sandy and I went over to her Sister's to see the new Nephew who's name lays somewhere between "Plink" and "Prink". The problem with trying to translate Thai pronouncations into Farang is that many things just don't. Is it a "V" or a "R"? It's neither. It's both. The same holds true for dear little Plink-Prink. Letting one's Thai girlfriend anywhere near a baby is moderately dangerous. It inspires something rarely found in First World Women.

We took Sandy's other nephew Pet to eat at an outdoor restaurant across the nearby Klhong bridge. It was a nice spot outdoors with lots of little Gilligan-like thatched roofed booths. The weather continues to be cool so Sandy and Pet decided it would be "warmer" to sit out in the sun. The food was excellent. We had rice, prawns and a spicy soup.

Today Sandy and I watched "Gone With The Wind" which she picked up on disc on the basis that it had won various Oscars. I have never actually watched it before. It was okay. I had trouble understanding the weird way they talked at times. None of the accents struck me as remotely "Southern". I also kept wondering if old Rhett Butler was a "Dapper Dan" man, or if he used "Fop". Sandy enjoyed though and was quite sad when The Scarlette Pimpernel's wife dies. She didn't like the end though as it falled to tell her "what happens.

Saturday, March 5, 2005: Too Cold To Swim

It's freezing out.

Well not freezing. But too cold to swim.

It rained both Thursday night and Friday. Today when Sandy and I headed out of the Redoubt at around noon hour it was as cool as it might be at 7:00 am during "cool season"; under 25 degrees for certain. This is odd weather for this time of year. It should be getting warmer, not cooler.

Yesterday was Sandy's last day of University. I think she might have one more exam but then that's it.

Thursday, March 3, 2005: Extreme Dude

Dated!

That first X-Files series I got on discs is DATED. As dated as Mod Squad perhaps.

Sandy and I have watched about 3 episodes so far. One featured a young Seth Green as a teen grunge type who after evading Government helicopters actually says the words, "That was extreme" The youth of today with their hep talk! Sandy seems to really like the show though. Thai's love all that spooky ghost stuff so I guess it's understandable.

Meanwhile I have been sending out packages that contain photos from Christmas to various lucky winners. Perhaps one such envelope is on it's way to you. Or perhaps not.