Hey Gang!

Got some ideas brewing here! Please tell me what you think.

I’ve been considering making this blog a collaborative work in progress.

This means I (as current administrator / author) authorize all of you authoring rights and anyone can post on this blog at any time about anything.

Kinda like we’re all at a small party, slightly tipsy, and mulling around chatting with one another…

What do you think?

Please either e-mail me your ideas, or leave comments on the site.

Thanks, the Jeeemeister

Hi folks,

The picture above has absolutely no bearing on the subject at hand, but it did come up in a Google Image search for “BUSY.” 

I figured I’d add it since it’s most definitely an attention getter if nothing else…heh, heh, heh...(Hi Bob!)

 

I really haven’t had the time to do much updating on this blog for one particular reason…

I’ve had a difficult time the past few months at school, having to deal with the new classroom assistant the school assigned to me, named Somkid…or as I have nicknamed her, “Somkid the Slug.” No doubt, one of the most lazy, stupid women I’ve ever met in my life.

 

Although I told the school before signing my last contract, “Please, please give me a good assistant. One, who speaks fairly good English, won’t talk on their damned cell phone during class, and who has a fairly good attention to detail.”  What I got was almost the exact opposite.

Without going into too much sordid detail, I began complaining about Somkid several months ago but naturally my complaints fell to deaf ears. Nothing was done other than someone telling her to please try to get along with me. 

The problems got worse and like many things in Thai society, were never dealt with until finally coming to a head, with my giving the school an ultimatum….”Either you get me another assistant or I’m gone.”   Yet another time in my life when I throw all caution to the wind and bet on my own odds.

Now Somkid is gone.  My own odds once again won out...

That, in and of itself, is a good thing.  But, (there’s always a butt) the school told me they could not furnish me with a new assistant, so I’d have to either learn to work with Somkid, or work alone.

I chose to work alone.

I cited that with Somkid in the classroom, she was never an asset of any sort, but yet a burden.

 

So now I’m working alone in my classroom with only the help of the “so-called” Thai English teachers, which is a stretch to say the least in calling them English teachers.   Even the term teacher is a stretch.  Most are excessively lazy or don’t speak even a lick of English…

The Thai educational system….what a farce!

Now my workload is heavy, but not so much I can't handle it.   I’m just very, very busy lately and have to bring my work home with me, something I swore I’d never, ever, do again after working in corrections some seven years ago.

 

But hey, vacation time (approximately one month of a semester break) is fast approaching and already I’m designing a streamlined method for tackling the extra work I have now, and lining things up so I can still deliver quality lessons and easily stay on top of things. 

-Jeeem-

If you're reading this, you're one of the chosen few whom I trust and whose friendship I value.

As most of you know, I've been tossing around the idea of going private with my blog for some time now. It was a tough decision struggling with my ego of getting a bunch of hits on my site and finally breaking the 20,000 hit mark, or deciding to go private and rid myself of some of the stalkers and weirdo's who were following my postings.

Another reason for going private is the rash of arrests and subsequent incarceration of individuals like me who choose to blog the truth. Governments here in Southeast Asia tend to get upset when the general public utilize the media to write about the truth, so they've begun arresting the offenders under the guise of said individuals being a threat to national security or some such bullshit.

Laws in Thailand, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries are often archaic and set up to protect the government, not the people. But from what I've read in the newspapers and online, the general public is no longer taking these injustices in stride. Now they are speaking out against these harsh, antiquated edicts, and in many cases, pressuring the governments to either release those individuals in question or change their passé rulings.

It is said Westerners are more concerned with privacy issues than in other parts of the world.

Perhaps, but I've noticed many Asians simply have a different concept or definition of privacy, than Westerners.

An example is seeing Thai women bathing outside. They sidle up to a communal water barrel wearing a wrap-around sarong and manage to bathe in the thing without exposing any more flesh than is absolutely necessary. Or they hold one's hand up in front of the mouth to hide picking their teeth after a meal. Just a couple of things that immediately pop into my head.

Thai's are pretty universal about these things, but in direct contrast, they don't think anything of walking right onto your land to pick a flower, take a piss, check out something they are interested in, hang their birdcage on your electric line, or drive their motorcycle into your driveway to park it while attending an event nearby, all without ever asking permission.

Gossip is rampant in Thailand. Even more so than what I witnessed while living in China.

A FARANG (the disgusting noun Thai's use in a spiteful manner to indicate a foreigner) like me cannot leave the house, go into town, visit the local pharmacy for some antibiotics, and go back home without the whole village knowing about it within a few hours.

"The farang is sick!" transmitted in Thai through mobile phones, SMS messages, and word-of-mouth within minutes of the event.

Jesus! Get a feaking life why don't cha?

Even though I've had a few run-in's with Thai's due to privacy issues, their lack of appreciation for our culture's version of privacy doesn't hold a candle to the underhanded, evil deeds other nutso foreigner's pull against their own.

So, here we are! All private, snuggly, comfy and forming a nice little friendly community!

So without further ado....I'd like to welcome:

• The Skelchy sisters, Annie and Simone from in and around Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Annie is an accomplished writer, story teller and philosophical thinker, who speaks at least five...seven? languages, while her sister Simone is a truly wonderful, modest, engaging individual with an extremely interesting job that I hope she'll tell us about in a future posting).
• Chris Allen, (a.k.a. Mysterioso) from Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a sensitive, talented musician and one of the most intelligent, talented individuals I know.
• Jenni Kossack from Michigan, USA...crazy, berserk, beautiful, extraordinary, my sexy love muffin! She says it like it is and isn't the least bit afraid to do so. She's bold, brash, and turning over a new leaf in life recently. A cartoonist with an edge, her humor is exactly as I like it....In your face...down and dirty....and RUDE!
• Mr. Robert Watson and his wife Diane from Tilton, New Hampshire...an old, seasoned friend of mine and former fishing buddy. Bob and I used to work together, and we've seen each other go through many different phases of life. His life experiences are such that most people wouldn't want to ever have to experience, but which has no doubt strengthened him in ways I cannot possibly describe. While Diane calls a spade a spade, Bob is the laid back member of the family, chosing to pause and observe, saving his opinions for later, well thought out and often sarcastically accurate.

That's the score for now folks. Possibly more people to be added in the near or distant future.

But, I can promise you this....

I've got a lot of plans up my sleeve, like interviews with my followers, the addition of collaborative works by my blog members, short stories for submission and review, comments, and many links to more exciting blog links.

I hope you all will enjoy this experience and stick with me through the easy and the tough times!

Hail to you all!

-Jeeem-