The New Year's Expectations

There's only a few more hours left of 2017. I don't remember the last time I was at home during New Years Eve. I sit on the sofa, the TV is on with a live broadcast of the Sydney Harbour countdown. Dad is on his laptop and mom is on her iPad. My attention drifts between what's on the TV, what's on my Kindle and this situation. I try to remember the last time I was at home on the 31st of December; it has to be at least 20 years.

Dad is grumbling about Cockatoo Island, I can see mom has tuned out to his rant. I too. I think about the year that passed and my expectations vs what was actually realised. Resolutions vs Expectations; is there a difference? Both, can be measured, both can be managed.

Tim Ferriss uses an exercise to break down the year into the activities and events that accounted for either: 1) peak positive emotional states, or 2) peak negative emotional states. I come up with the following buckets

Positive:

• Work
• Further Education - Masters
• Travel
• Family
• Relationships
• Yoga

Negative:

• Further Education - Masters
• Relationships

Ideally, 2018 should have more yoga/meditation, be more present and a lot more selfish. The next twelve month should have less social media, less over-thinking and less aloofness. Or maybe, just none of the above ...

"Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone; You know there's seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong; and there ain't nothing like the kisses; From a jaded Chinese Princess; I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long" - Cold Chisel

Xmas 2017

Third Christmas that I've now been back for. It's insane that I went through a phase where in the past, I had "better things to do" during this time of the year. Although to be fair, the return trip to Sydney was fairly cost prohibitive in my younger years.

This year's Christmas would be a little different. For years, and I mean years. Christmas has always been held in the Southern Sydney Suburb of Blakehurst. This year, however the aunt that usually hosts the Christmas event had serious operation. Fortunately, another aunt picked up the baton and Christmas Eve festivities would take place in Menai. Christmas Eve always has two fundamental rules: Mountains (seriously) of food and the countdown to midnight, followed by unwrapping of presents.

Currently reading: "Radical Acceptance" - Tara Brach

Careening through the darkness

Hypothetically speaking, if I had this blog in University or high school, what would I have written about? Exams, hanging out in front of arcades, girls, getting my license, underage alcohol consumption, sports tryouts? I fantasize about the content, in my head it doesn't make for good reading. Things felt a lot simpler back then, it was really only one external pressure. Graduate and find a job. At least that's what it felt like back then.

It's the first weekend since the end of the semester. School, has taken over my life and inevitably, taken over this blog. So when school finishes and you have the ability to reclaim your life and go out for a 'big night'.

Big night indeed. I've woken up on my sofa with: a 2K bill, a black eye and my concierge telling me that he found me sleeping outside the apartment building security door.

It's the first time I've not remembered a chunk of the night. It's also the first time I've googled "How to tell if you've been roofied". This is a stark reminder as to why I started a masters.

End of Fall Semester: Student Life

I sit here on my sofa with a relatively clear mind; I feel so liberated and free. It's the first time in over a month. Final exams are done and the fall semester comes to a conclusion. Hopefully, it also means that one of the most intense three month passages in my life follows suit. My brain, feels like it's had a lobotomy, or as if somebody has pulled it out of my skull and tried to wrung out all the knowledge.

It will be interesting to see what happens. One paper was so hard, I wouldn't be surprised if I failed that subject. The other, I'm quietly confident. Although, it will be interesting to see how Hong Kong style grading works. I suspect a 50/100 doesn't necessarily equate to a "Pass" mark.

So, what were the highlights? Well, I actually found the course work interesting, however the volume, variety, velocity and veracity were slight overwhelming (that's a data mining joke). It's fascinating being in a predominantly mainland Chinese class. They work incredibly hard and have a ferocious capacity to study. It's also an adjustment to understand where these kids come from.

One of the 22 year old students, describes his ambition, he would love to get a job that pays even 10K HKD a month and stay in Hong Kong. He talks about excitement about a 300 RMB keyboard prize and how he shares a flat with 4 other students. He describes his living conditions, he sleeps in the living room and uses his suitcase as a desk for the purposes of studying.

Another Korean kid lives in an 3 bedroom apartment, for less than 8000 HKD a month, the catch? He has to house sit 5 cats "They shit and piss everywhere, it's a nightmare during exam time".

Then there's me ...

"Almost anything will work again if you unplug it" - Anne Lamott

Sister in town

Pause. Reset. Refocus.

The class schedule this year has been erratic, last minute changes to assignment deadlines and presentations have made planning for trips extremely challenging. The stipulation is that during the course, students should try to be in Hong Kong for the entirety of the semester. My strategy for this is to book all trips ahead of schedule and ensure that I have travel insurance and a decent cancelation option as not to absorb the costs of a forfeited fare. I have already started to get used to the internal struggle, with the usual questions being tabled: “should I really be traveling around and compromising grades?” which is always countered with “should school really be dictating who I hang out with and how I spend my time as I get older?”

I desperately needed this trip - Psychologically I yearned for some therapy or release valve for all that anxiety. Deep down, I knew that it wasn’t as simple as going on a trip. In any case I managed to get to Bali. The reason for the trip was because my dad’s best friend’s daughter’s was getting married. From a trip perspective, it was therapeutic in the sense that we were in a resort, with not a lot to do. I managed to have some quality family time and even catch up on some sleep. We had a nice group dinner by the beach on the first evening with the wedding on the Sunday.

One of the more enjoyable parts of the trip was witnessing the interaction of my parents with their university friends. It was as expected, a barrage of the same line of questioning “How’s Hong Kong?”, “When are you getting married?” and of course a dad joke. So many dad jokes. As I watch them interact, I see who the instigators of the group are, and try to match up individuals with characters in my circle of friends. For example, there’s the uncle whose smuggled a bottle of whisky to dinner, there’s the other uncle who is always encouraging people to drink, there’s the quiet uncle and then there’s the uncle that doesn’t drink. One of the uncle harasses a twenty something “Hey, f**k you, drink that now!” while I overhear my dad consoling another young adult “You should stick your finder down your throat if you want to throw up”. I guess group dynamics remain constant even through the generations.

With the aunties, I overhear them talking about how the men have gotten “grumpier” and “more forgetful” over the years. There’s idle chit chat about which degenerative disease such-and-such has, or what stage cancer was recently found. All of my parent’s friend’s children are married. My mother is grilled as to why her two children still remain unmarried, she brushes off the questioning with a “my kids have their own lives, they can do what they want”. The conversations bring a smile to my face but also exposes a certain emptiness that I was not expecting. I often forget that as I get older, so does everybody else around me. Parents included. This alone was the grounding experience that I had wanted, but not expected in this manner. I feel already closer to home.

"My kids have their own lives, they can do what they want" - Mom

HKUST

HKUST. Officially known as the Hong Kong University Of Science and Technology, but also jokingly known as the Hong Kong University of Stress and Tension. When a professor makes that joke, you know that there's an element of truth behind the moniker.

The weekend that just passed, I spent a total of 12 hours working on assignments and participating in group project discussions. The way I look at it is, if I weren't studying, I probably would have hung out with friends for 5 hours, slept 2 hours and pissed away the remainder. The grass is always greener I tell myself. I think the biggest thing, is how much time I have had to spend in my head, the internal dialog runs wild. There's been many moments, I've asked myself "Why are you doing this? You have a good job".

I'm physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted - My sleep has been compromised. I tell the doctor that I'm a hot mess and that I haven't been able to sleep properly. She looks at me and writes me a prescription for "stress and anxiety", which equates to sleeping pills and beta blockers.

Before I leave she perfunctorily asks "are you having suicidal thoughts?" - "No, I just want to sleep".

Class contact time

I admit, the part time study is starting to get to me. The after work hours and the commute started off fine, but as we progress into the semester, it nags and claws at me. Even with only two subjects there's a lot going on right now. My mind is constantly busy. Work. School. Socially. It is not an even distribution of my time or my thoughts. 

I usually get to campus early and find somewhere quiet to sit before class. There has been a lot of recent press on the psychological effect of push notifications. It's silly, but I look at my phone waiting for that message. This isn't healthy. Not sure if I can keep this up.

"And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before?" - Bastille

The Trip

A lovely day out on a boat. So grateful to have such great friends here in Hong Kong.

Siem Reap

The final guy on the High school friends group to get married. Everybody is so grown up.

Beautiful wedding. Sometimes it's weird, my memories of these boys are frozen in time. From year 7 to year 12, which is over 17 years ago. It's unusual seeing them doing adult things. Getting married, having families, it feels like I'm a spectator watching a film.

Supposed to come back on Sunday, whole wedding party leaving for Phnom Penh. I've done zero sightseeing this trip. Hotel, pool, read, sleep. One more day of chilling out before another midterm exam ...

Fall Mid Term Exams

It's my first mid-term exam in YEARS. Sure, I've had regulatory papers, and that failed GRE attempt, but for the most part I have not sat a three hour exam in ages. A little bit stressed out as it's after a full day of work. At least it's an open book exam albeit the size of my desk barely fits an A4 sheet of paper!

Mystery cake

Received an ice cream cake from an unknown sender.

It broke the office knife. I hope it's not poisoned, because I shared it around the office.

Los Angeles

I've been looking forward to this trip all year! The reasons for the anticipation have changed over time, but things were firmly fixed on seeing the Bride and the Groom. One thing that has been lingering is the fact that school has started and that I was set to miss lectures and that we had an Project Approval due whilst I was overseas.

Breathe in, breath out

The last few weeks; I've lost count of the number of times a medical professional has asked whether or not I feel heart palpitations, tightness in the chest or feeling light headed. Each time I answered no.

However, all this heart talk and the busy school schedule finally catches up on me. I find myself sitting in a lecture theatre. The lecturer stands behind the podium attempting to explain Principal Component Analysis (PCA), I don't understand what he's describing. I look around the class and think about what I need to pack for my trip tomorrow morning. Dam, I still need to pack. Suddenly, I can't breath. I have to consciously tell myself to inhale and exhale. Breathe in. Breathe out. I pull out my phone and Google what's happening. I'm having my first panic attack.

Cardiologist: The results

Update on my heart situation. I have now been to the hospital six times since the first visit. I've had to go in to return hardware, perform tests and be updated. The tests performed, include: 24-hour ECG/holter, performing and MRI, going back for the MRI scan, doing another 24-hour ECG only to be told everything looks fine.

Had an interesting MRI experience, where I needed to go to the toilet halfway through the screening and the male technician reluctantly attached a bed pan to my junk.

So what's the outcome?

That I have three options:

a. Stop exercising
b. Take Beta blockers
c. Ablation/minor surgery

All three options are not ideal.

Health Check: The Results

Long story short. There are two things that stand out from my health check. 1) Super high total testosterone count and 2). Exercise induced Arrhythmia. Point number #1, I'm not too worried about, I've been mucking around with 3′-Diindolylmethane and Pine Pollen, so I'll cut that down and to a re-test shortly. #2 however, seemed to have caused the GP great consternation. "Do you ever feel tightness in the chest or dizziness?" - I answer no. The GP mentions something about irregular heart beats and urged that I go see a cardiologist for further diagnosis.

Here are my ECG results. Those squiggly lines at the bottom are apparently, ventricular arrhythmia. This is supposedly common in patients, and normally occur in couplets or triplets. Apparently anything under three is normal. Me, I of course clock up four, whilst on the treadmill, which is why I'm seeing the specialist. I manage to take the morning off work and head to Adventist, Google tells me they have a decent cardiology unit specialising in Cardiac electrophysiology. They have me perform the tests again. Geez. More blood. Another treadmill test, this time in my work clothes while the Cardiologist supervises. He looks at me "Now, you have six!", the test stops "when you stop exercising, your heart rate stablises straight away. Do you ever feel tightness in the chest or dizziness?" - again, I answer no.

So what does that mean? I have exercise induced ventricular tachycardia, which could lead to ventricular fibrillation which is the leading cause of Cardiac Arrest. All this heart talk is really freaking me out. The tests that proceed, a heart ultrasound and 24 hour ECGs to monitor daily heart rate. This hospital is super depressing.

The first day of school

What started as a mild curiosity, married with the severe guilt of a hangover has now developed into enrolment and my first day as a part-time student. Here are the list of questions that I had prior to today's class:

1. How long is the commute from work to school?
2. How long is the commute from school to home?
3. Will I cope with being back at school, especially after such a long time?
4. How many attractive females will there be in my programme?
5. Will I last more than a semester?
6. Will that reoccurring dream about not being prepared for exam resurface?

It was the second time I had visited campus; the first was orientation. I must say, I'm pretty excited to be able to experience higher education overseas. The campus isn't huge, a fraction of the size of Sydney University, however it still manages to be pretty confusing, I'm standing in front of a large map trying to find my classroom. I arrive early to familiarise myself with the the lay of the land and to scope out the gym and eateries on campus. The gym, free for all students, smells like a college gym, I'm instantly taken back to HK Ward in first year university. A lot of the eateries are closed for refurbishment, but there's some cool spots, a resident Ebeneezers, a couple of sandwich bars and your typical school cafe; I'll have to explore more.

Butterflies in the stomach, as I look for the classroom. It's a milder version of undergraduate. Again, I don't know anybody. Again, I'm lost. Not again, I feel like the oldest person on campus.  Eventually find the classroom and it's rammed. Students are sitting on the floor. Not what I was expecting. 7:30 pm, class starts - I brace myself for a long evening worth of new material after a long day in the office.

10:20 pm, class finishes.

1. From work to school, door-to-door, by public transport, it takes approximately 40 mins, that includes MTR, with one line switch and a minibus.
2. From school to home, door-to-door, by public transport, it takes approximately 60 mins, that includes the same minibus, the MTR, with one line switch.
3. That was super dense, but also oddly interesting, my brain hasn't warmed to the idea of learning. Yet.
4. Zero. This was expected from a joint Engineering and Science programme.
5. TBC
6. TBC

I get home just before midnight. I'm exhausted. Day 1. Complete.

Are you a Mark?

There's something oddly satisfying about waking up hungover only to discover that there there's a Typhoon Level 8 battering down the city. Not satisfying in the sense that people's lives are at risk, but satisfying that I have no agenda. Two typhoons hitting Hong Kong in one week. Typhoon Hato, a T10 followed by Typhoon Pakhar, a T8 four days later. Given the severity of the previous typhoon it was decided that I would not leave the apartment. Not today.

An evening at Taz. A hen's party. A mission to find somebody called Mark. It's the second last weekend before school starts. About to kiss goodbye to my social life I roll over and message the Australian with the thick accent on Instagram. When did people stop getting phone numbers?

Typhoon #1

That feeling, when you wake up on a weekday and there's an observatory warning to stay indoors. Typhoon Hato was hands down the worse typhoon that I have experienced in Hong Kong. Incessant howling of the wind, the perpetual clattering of debris and an endless stream of social media updates: Fallen trees, flooded walk ways and the window cleaner trolley. The T10 signal lasted for the majority of the day, only to be lowered after 6 pm.

Learnt something about Typhoon naming conventions with all the spare time at home. Boy, need to get out of this apartment, I'm starting to get cabin fever.

Annual Healthcheck

Every year, right before my medical insurance expires, I book an annual health check up. There's always anxiety and curiosity around this time of the year. The curiosity manifests itself from the fact that my body is ageing and that a clean bill of health is something indirectly correlated with age and the Hong Kong lifestyle. That and the fact that I've been aggressively trying to eat more plant-based over the last few months, makes me curious as to whether this has had an impact on my innards.

The anxiety, stems more from the logistics on providing the samples to analyse. This includes, a stool sample (you have the prepare this beforehand), a urine sample (you to drink enough water to pee on demand), a fasted blood sample (don't worry, the nurse helps here), toe nail clippings and a loch of right armpit hair (actually, the last two aren't really required). In addition, they scan your lungs, check the lung capacity, take your height/weight, ultrasound your abdomen, test your eyesight and monitor your cardiovascular capacity on a treadmill. After three hours, the collection process is over.

Tell me a story ...

"I'm going interstate this weekend to visit the grandkids. I've taken in your laundry from the line outside. Your dinner is resting on top of the stove, it should keep warm, just make sure you eat it before seven pm otherwise it will get cold". It was 3 pm on the Thursday, Mr Lee was her neighbour that lived in the apartment opposite her's. She had lived in the same place for the last 20 years. Even after her husband passed away she had decided that this would be her last abode; it was home.

The last few years had been tough, she was no longer able to function independently, once a week a caretaker would come by, every other day Mr Lee would check on her. They had been neighbours for years and his situation of being a widower provided her with solace and comfort that she was not alone. Mr Lee, would always go out of his way to purchase some Cinnabon or her favourite cake and always proclaim with exuberance what he had purchased for her. They had developed a bond and their interactions became the highlight of their days.

Weeks later, she sits in the dining room sobbing. "Are you ok ma'am?" asked the caretaker. "Mr Lee is moving out, he wants to move closer to his grandkids" she replied. "You want him to stay don't you?". Reluctantly she nods, I don't want to come between him and his family, but if only there was a way to tell him subtly that I appreciate his company and want him to stay".

One week before the removals arrive to ship his things away. Mr Lee, pours her a cup of tea. "So, are you going to miss me?". "Who's going to bring in my underwear? This is really selfish of you, you know, Im 80 years old, I can't be going commando". "I tell you what, if you leave me underwear to bring this Thursday I may consider staying, we can't have an old lady flashing her snatch". She smiles, "I expect them to be nicely folded".

It's Thursday morning, she hangs her underwear on the line. Mr Lee comes home later that day, he's anxious and nervous, he's hoping that the underwear is on the line. At 3 pm, he goes outside, the line is empty. There's nothing there. Down the road, two kids are laughing, they have stolen some old lady's underwear and are using it as a parachute. Mr Lee leaves.

Inspired by Murakami

A five year score card: Ho Chi Minh City

Remember that wedding in Australia I went back to at the end of 2012? Well turns out he's over in Vietnam for a few weeks spending time with family, which is as good as an excuse to go visit Saigon. This is an interesting comparison. Since 2012, he has had his honey moon, had his first child, purchased multiple properties in Australia and is now expecting his second child. Me, on the other hand, well you can see my "accomplishments" over the last five years through this blog. It's quite the contrast.

Plenty of eating, plenty of ubers, plenty of catching up and plenty to think about.

Upper Respiratory Tract Infection Season

Definition from Wikipedia: "Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs."

You can add Hong Kong Resident to the above list of AKAs. Hong Kong residents are fiercely scared of germs. If you want to clear a crowd in Hong Kong, all you have to do is cough and sneeze and you'll be met with looks of disgust, hands over mouths and physical avoidance. There's good reason too, Hong Kong was victim to a terrible outbreak of SARS in the early 2000s, which might have fuelled the tactics and habits for self-preservation. On top of that, we breath, at times polluted air and in a high density city. The level of paranoia can be unsettling and entertaining at the same time.

Examples include: using tissue paper to open doors, wiping down train seats before sitting down, wearing masks on the subway are all examples of preventative measures that I see on a daily basis. Most buildings will offer anti-bacterial hand sanitisers in the foyer and it's not uncommon to see signs in public areas with something to the effect of: "The door handles are regularly disinfected every 30 minutes".

The level of over prescription extends to GPs where the common diagnosis is Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, which is commonly prescribed with antibiotics. Despite all the precaution, Hong Kong is almost always in "Flu Season". January through to December, there is always somebody wearing a mask, somebody coughing, somebody taking sick leave, or somebody saying "There's a bad flu going around". There always is.

My colleague that sits next to me has been coughing and abusing the tissue box. Finally he succumbs and takes sick leave, he returns a day later and his doctor says he has an "Upper Respiratory Tract Infection". I haven't taken sick leave in over two years. I look at him and continue to breath the communal air. That glorious air conditioned, recycled air.

A day later I wake with a leaky nose, a fever and a sore throat. I take sick leave and see the doctor. The diagnosis, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection. Great.

HKUST: Fall Term, 2017-18

Congratulations! It is our pleasure to offer you admission to The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as a postgraduate student"

I read over the words again - Excitement. How did I make the cut out of over 1300 applicants? Apprehension. Do I still have the capacity to learn and study?

Currently reading: "Sapiens"

The Catfished Scot

I pause. What does that even mean I wonder? I laugh without conviction; it's quite evident I don't know what that means. There is something about traveling and meeting people that allows for more authentic interaction. Or at least I feel like I'm a more authentic version of myself. There are less filters, less masks, and less bullshit. In addition, there is a sense of euphoria for the person travelling, so from the beginning there is already at least one person who is in a great mood. That is until they think they've been Cat fished. "I thought I got cat fished".

Definition: To lure somebody into a relationship using a fictional online profile. 

Recommendations required

It has been over 6 years and I don't really have anything to show for my time here in HK, other than an impending citizenship and marginal improvement on my Cantonese. It takes one weekend of under indulgence to trigger existential questioning.

I've decided, it's time to make another attempt at continued education. I contact my very first manager and my most recent manager and kindly ask for referrals.  Within 24 hours, I submit my application for a Masters in Science. Science is fun.

Currently reading: "Born Standing Up"

That time I took a really long hard look at myself in the mirror

Friday afternoon, a new employee to the firm tests the waters with: "Hey, my wife is out of town. Anybody want to grab a happy hour drink?". He's a new joiner, making an effort to get to know the team. I pause. I have plans to wake up early and hit the gym before the first junk of the season. Just one drink. A group of six of us head down to a small oyster bar on Queen's Road East, the ambiance is nice, we put back half a dozen wines, and half a dozen oysters.

It's still early, and continue onto another bar. This time it's Old Fashions and Negronis. 10 pm, starting to feel a little woozy, I can still make it home and wake up early. The group disbands, I flag a taxi and as I'm about to hop in, I feel a tug on my arm. My co-worker jumps into the taxi "Come back to mine, I have some nice Japanese Whisky!". Uh, ok. 11 pm, we finish the whisky. "How about one more drink in LKF?". Midnight, I check in my work bag into the cloakroom of the bar. "Hold on, my wife is calling". I bump into another group of friends. The spiral begins. I end up at another bar. 2 am, incoherent. I really need to go home.

Flag a taxi and finally, one drink later, I'm home. Concierge sees I'm clearly inebriated I gift hima perfunctory greeting and take lift up to apartment. Apartment keys aren't in my pocket; I grit my teeth. Frantic thoughts. Who has my spare key? Both spare keys are with people are conveniently overseas this weekend. I go down to concierge and request a locksmith. At this hour, the going rate is at least 500 HKD. Pull out my wallet, I realise I don't have enough cash; I grit my teeth. I go down to the nearest ATM and pull out my wallet. I realise I have lost my bank card; I grit my teeth. What is happening?

Ok, I have a spare key at work. Where's my work building pass? Wait, where's my work bag? I instantly snap back to sobriety and retrace my steps back. I retrieve my work bag and return home. The next morning my concierge is accosting me in Cantonese, I can only imagine what he's saying. Time to make some changes. Adding "lock picking" to my list of skills to learn this year.

It's finally happened

It is the sound of a glass shattering, followed by a raucous mirth. The commotion propagates up from street level and through my eleventh floor windows. I'm stirred and briefly open my eyes, it's still dark, I turn and close my eyes. The disturbance continues. Unintentionally, they have succeeded, I am awake. Like a nosey neighbour I pull aside the curtains and peer out of my window onto the street below. Friday night drinks are in full effect and the procession has moved onto the street. I look at the clock, it's 12:45 am. Yes, I'm at home on a Friday, but that's besides the point. The disturbance continues.

Irate, I decide to take action. What's the emergency number in Hong Kong? It's not 000, or the 911. I have no idea, I pull out my phone and spend the next 5 minutes searching for Hong Kong noise complaint hotlines. The screen bathes me in LCD glow, I cannot find anything. I decide to call the restaurant below and give them a piece of my mind. The dial tone starts ringing, there's no answer. It rings a 4th time, and a polite gentleman answers the phone. "Sorry, there seems to be a lot of noise coming from downstairs, not sure if it's you guys, but do you mind keep it down, else, I'll have to call the police". "Hi, sorry, thank you for not calling the police, we will try to keep it under wraps". Click.

I feel a sense of emancipation. The noise mutes almost instantly. I drift back into slumber, despite being so worked up. I wake up the next morning realising what I have done. I've become the person that calls in noise complaints.

Everything in real time: Thailand

There's a handful of individuals in the Hong Kong troupe (note, troupe, not troop, subtle but poignant difference) that follow the mantra "everything in real time". Essentially it's YOLO, spontaneity, and a lack of planning packaged into one phrase. The tenants of "Everything in real time" include: not making any plans, booking flights last minute and not telling people about your plans until you're standing in front of them somewhere where you're least expected.

This trip was real time - Flights and hotels booked on the Thursday, flight out on the Friday, arrive in Bangkok on the Friday evening. The door opens, she's standing there glistening in sweat with a lopsided bindi on her forehead, oh and she's holding a Phuang Malai. Weird, but not surprising.

This is a continuation of the story-arc with the purveyor Coachella tickets. Not the first meet up, the first meet up was a rather vanilla meal and a massage (oh, and Tagalongs). This was essentially the same thing. Meals and massages. Highlight includes: Food. Evening run around Lumpini Park. Questionable transferable tattoos. Getting my Cinnabon and Krispy Kreme fill. Fun.

"Ooga Chakka Ooga Ooga" - Hooked On This Feeling, Blue Swede