Pictures!

Joe and I have now moved into the house in downtown KK, which means one very important thing...I can post pictures!


This first one is just so everyone can see us in our speedraceresque helmets (don't worry mine is always fastened when we're actually out on the road). The wat in the background is Wat Nong Wang which Joe wrote about here.






This is just me outside the wat.



















Here's a tuk tuk driver sleeping in the back of his cab outside the wat.



As soon as I have pictures of the new house, I'll post 'em.

I only read blogs for the photos

Sorry for the delay in posting pictures. If you want the boring explination, read on, if not, just know I'm trying and there will be photos soon.

So...

I do most of my computer work in one of two places, neither of which is ideal for blogging. Joe's office is somewhat convenient and free, but his computer is ancient (think back when beige desktops were in) and the internet connection is slower than dial up. Yes, he posts photos from there, but it takes him hours and usually the computer crashes halfway through and he has to start over--I am not that patient. When I need a speedier connection (like for my schoolwork) I head on down to CSK, my favorite 'net café. CSK, however, does not support blogger (but it oddly supports other google applications) so I can't post from there. What this means is that I usually end up writing my posts at CSK, saving them using Writely, and then posting them whenever I get to Joe's office again (where I can't post photos). There are other 'net cafés, but these have a tendency to be, ummm, less than desirable.

There's actually a 'net café in the very building where I reside, but entering at certain times of day is potentially fatal. I've never been a fan of public computers, having mucho previous experience with them at the library, but I would rather lick a random keyboard at good old KCPL then just sit in the chairs at some of these cafés. The gross-out factor is usually due to a combination of the following:

1. Most of the cafés are open 24 hours (when can they be properly cleaned?)

2. Most sell greasy food which can be eaten while using the computers (which no one is cleaning)

3. Some don't have bathrooms, and even if they do no one wants to leave the computer they're paying for to use them (guess what happens)

4. Most are poorly lit and badly ventilated (no where for the smell to go)

Now, take yucky teenage boys, put them in a café at, say 7:00pm, where they play computer games with their friends until 7:00am eating nothing but soda and greasy food, refusing to leave their game if they need to use the restroom (if there is a restroom), in a small, dark, stuffy room and you get an indescribable funk that once forced Joe to flee the café in our building fearing that he would toss his cookies before he even got a chance to log on.

Therefore...

Since I know all of you love me and value my health I will continue to only use CSK which does not meet any of the above conditions that are met by 90% of the 'net cafés here. What this means is that I'm still working on the photos, but next month I move into a real house with a high-speed internet connection, so if you only read blogs for the photos, check back in a few weeks and (*hopefully*) you won't be disappointed.

International Business

It's not hard for a native English speaker with any college degree to find work here in Thailand. Joe had already set up a few contacts for me before I even arrived, and within my first week I had two jobs and had started working. I liked to think of myself as a freelance English speaker: I taught a few small classes at the university where Joe works, on the weekends I taught kids at a local private English school, and in my free time I edited theses for grad students. This was all fine and good, but I still found myself with plenty of free time, and when the opportunity for more stable work presented itself, I couldn't resist.

I learned of a position opening up with an Australian company from a friend who is just finishing her contract, she passed on my resume, and poof I got a phone call from one of the directors of the program wanting to interview me that same day. Ironically, we could not meet in person for the interview as I was leaving town to participate in a "camp" for the graduating English majors at the university to help them revise their resumes and practice mock interviews. Needless to say I got the job (but not until I passed a brief spelling and grammar test), and I had great fun torturing the students with difficult questions during their interviews (they were quite lucky spelling and grammar didn't count).

After returning to KK on Sunday afternoon, I had to leave again on Monday for Lao since my visa was expiring. Now all I needed to do to renew my visa for 30 days was leave the country, so we drove two hours up to Lao, I crossed the border (paid my 30 US dollars), went to the bathroom, and turned around and came right back to Thailand. Legal again!

Tuesday night I again left KK, this time for Bangkok where I needed to complete two days of training before I would be "qualified" for my new job. Of course all expenses were taken care of by the company, including the nice one-hour flight each direction (instead of the steamy eight-hour bus) and a hotel/apartment that was much more elegant than my current abode. Training was about what I expected it would be (although I've signed a very serious privacy statement-so no details!!). I also let it slip that Wednesday was my birthday, and my new bosses were nice enough to take me and a few other company members out to dinner at a nice bar/restaurant where I was serenaded (in very good English) by the live band. Although it would have been much sweeter had Joe (or anyone I had known longer than 24 hours) been there, I can't complain too much.

Thursday night I returned to KK, and hopefully I'll be staying put for a while. Although with my new salary and paid vacation time, you can bet there will be more international traveling in the future.