It is August 4th and summer has arrived in Vancouver since about July 1st. The temperatures started approaching 25 degrees with no sign of drizzle and clouds for 5 days at a time. Apparently summer stays in Vancouver for July, August, September, and October and then we get back to cloudy and drizzle for the rest of the year.
I am currently in Bangkok, visiting my buddy John and the rest of my Thai friends. Lucky me, the rainy season is just arriving so I can expect drizzle and maybe a whole lot more. I am here for about a month ad then I will return to Vancouver. I am here because I love the city and its inhabitants. It is an exciting place to visit with lots of night life and music. I am not working this time around so I will do a lot more travelling of the surrounding areas, other than Bangkok.
I have many more friends in Bangkok than I do in Vancouver. There is also lots more for me to do. My money also goes a lot farther, so I may be spending more time in Bangkok in the future.
TTYL,
Jim
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
As usual, as of late, I have been remiss in posting.
Life in Vancouver is mostly good but I am beginning to understand why my father was not overly fond of Vancouver. Vancouver weather is mostly good, except for the lack of sunshine. When the sun does come out, the streets are flooded with people as they suddenly appear like tulips in the spring sunshine. It also rains very little but does drizzle quite a bit. I am looking forward to their late summer which is July, August, September, and October.
I am looking at moving to a slightly larger and definitely more quiet apartment. You do not want to live beside a fire station, which I don't, but I do live on a street that has has a hospital at the end of it. Guess what, there are more ambulances on the road than fire trucks.
I would like to go back to S.E. Asia in late summer for a visit, not to work. The weather there is very livable in shorts and t-shirts and it is the dry season. I am also planning on a vacation (aren't retired folks always on vacation?) in August. I figure if I am going to change apartments, take a month vacation between apartments and I can apply my $2,500 rent payment to a vacation. Nothing too expensive, maybe some camping in the B.C. interior or perhaps on the east coast.
Apartments in Vancouver are so expensive it makes sense to vacation between moving from one to another.
I also have to visit Ottawa some time in early July as I am writing some software for the public school board and there is always maintenance to be done on my existing programs. I never understood when retired folks said they were just as busy when retired as when they were working. I understand now. Most retired folks I know are still working. Might just have something to do with our economy and the standard of living that we aspire to.
Everyone should really get to S.E. Asia to see how billions of people live compared to us. It is a whole different world out there and I will pass no judgments other than to say our carbon footprint on planet earth is much less in Canada (despite the oil sands controversy) than so called developing countries in Asia and S.E. Asia.
TTYL,
JIm
Life in Vancouver is mostly good but I am beginning to understand why my father was not overly fond of Vancouver. Vancouver weather is mostly good, except for the lack of sunshine. When the sun does come out, the streets are flooded with people as they suddenly appear like tulips in the spring sunshine. It also rains very little but does drizzle quite a bit. I am looking forward to their late summer which is July, August, September, and October.
I am looking at moving to a slightly larger and definitely more quiet apartment. You do not want to live beside a fire station, which I don't, but I do live on a street that has has a hospital at the end of it. Guess what, there are more ambulances on the road than fire trucks.
I would like to go back to S.E. Asia in late summer for a visit, not to work. The weather there is very livable in shorts and t-shirts and it is the dry season. I am also planning on a vacation (aren't retired folks always on vacation?) in August. I figure if I am going to change apartments, take a month vacation between apartments and I can apply my $2,500 rent payment to a vacation. Nothing too expensive, maybe some camping in the B.C. interior or perhaps on the east coast.
Apartments in Vancouver are so expensive it makes sense to vacation between moving from one to another.
I also have to visit Ottawa some time in early July as I am writing some software for the public school board and there is always maintenance to be done on my existing programs. I never understood when retired folks said they were just as busy when retired as when they were working. I understand now. Most retired folks I know are still working. Might just have something to do with our economy and the standard of living that we aspire to.
Everyone should really get to S.E. Asia to see how billions of people live compared to us. It is a whole different world out there and I will pass no judgments other than to say our carbon footprint on planet earth is much less in Canada (despite the oil sands controversy) than so called developing countries in Asia and S.E. Asia.
TTYL,
JIm
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
3rd Last Day in Bangkok
It is hump day in Bangkok and it will be over 100 degrees again today. It has been the hottest month in Bangkok in the last last 12 years, well over 100 degrees each day. I came down with a severe case of dehydration on Sunday night and I am just getting over it. It is recommended that you drink about 8 litres of water a day and I was drinking none. I also went to the gym and sweated out lots. Apparently my liquid intake of beer, red wine, and vodka and red Bull does not count as water. Lesson learned! Dehydration gives you aches and pains everywhere, a fever of about 103F, severe diarrhea, and general lethargy. Not much fun as it really cuts into your social activities.
Two more sleeps and I fly back to Vancouver. I fly out Friday at 1 pm and arrive in Vancouver at 4:30 pm courtesy of the international dateline which gives me back a day. I am really looking forward to some fresh, cool, clean Vancouver air, and not having to shower 3 times a day! I will miss my pool playing buddies, my pub friends, and the staff at ASB.
TTYL,
Jim
Two more sleeps and I fly back to Vancouver. I fly out Friday at 1 pm and arrive in Vancouver at 4:30 pm courtesy of the international dateline which gives me back a day. I am really looking forward to some fresh, cool, clean Vancouver air, and not having to shower 3 times a day! I will miss my pool playing buddies, my pub friends, and the staff at ASB.
TTYL,
Jim
Monday, April 23, 2012
Back in Malaysia
I am back in Malaysia for a week and feel good and back about it. Good, because I have some very fond memories of my time in Malaysia and I look forward to visiting my daughter Jaime who is teaching at Sunway College. Bad because I was only there for a couple of hours and a former spouse dissed me with an ugly eMail to welcome me back.
My time in Malaysia was life changing for me and I am not one to look in a rear view mirror. I was also a person who spent way too much time worrying about the future of the principal of CPU was just telling me a friend of his family just dropped dead of a heart attack at 30 years of age. I now spend much of my time living in the present and treating life as a merry-go-round where you only go around once. This brings me into conflict with many of my Thai friends who believe in reincarnation and therefore not a second chance, but many chances at life. They have a refreshing view of life and pretty well live in the present and are very similar to B.C.'s Potlatch Indians as they would give you there last dollar and would expect the same from you.
Then again we have North Americans, a me kind of culture, replete with 'dinks' (dual income, no kids) and similar 'taker', not 'giver' types. You only go around once, so who ever dies with the most toys wins. Substitute shoes, clothes, phones, cars, biggest house, whatever.
I think I have mentioned before that I have found the happiest people in the poorest countries.
Oops, have to head out for a beer and some eats, the present calls, TTYL,
Jim
My time in Malaysia was life changing for me and I am not one to look in a rear view mirror. I was also a person who spent way too much time worrying about the future of the principal of CPU was just telling me a friend of his family just dropped dead of a heart attack at 30 years of age. I now spend much of my time living in the present and treating life as a merry-go-round where you only go around once. This brings me into conflict with many of my Thai friends who believe in reincarnation and therefore not a second chance, but many chances at life. They have a refreshing view of life and pretty well live in the present and are very similar to B.C.'s Potlatch Indians as they would give you there last dollar and would expect the same from you.
Then again we have North Americans, a me kind of culture, replete with 'dinks' (dual income, no kids) and similar 'taker', not 'giver' types. You only go around once, so who ever dies with the most toys wins. Substitute shoes, clothes, phones, cars, biggest house, whatever.
I think I have mentioned before that I have found the happiest people in the poorest countries.
Oops, have to head out for a beer and some eats, the present calls, TTYL,
Jim
Monday, April 16, 2012
Back in Thailand
It has been awhile since I posted and I am now on the other side of the planet. I flew out of Vancouver to Seoul Korea on my way to Bangkok. Whoa, from an average high of 6 degrees to 36 degrees plus in less than 24 hours. I am still adjusting after one week!
I am at the American School of Bangkok, working with teachers on utilizing technology in the classroom. I have 2 workshops on Kubbu this week. If you have not looked at Kubbu, take a look as it is a nice piece of online software that has a free edition as well as a very inexpensive pro and ultra editions. The company is based out of Poland so kudos to the Pollacks (you can see I am as politically correct as ever).
My drink of choice in beers is now San Miquel Light with a bit of lime for beer and the pub scene, and RedBull and Vodka for the bar and pool hall scene. Bangkok is as much fun as always but the ladies don't seem as beautiful as my last visit. I must be becoming acclimatized or jaundiced.
Next week is a school holiday and John McGrath and I are heading off to Laos to explore part of that country as neither of us has been there before. I have not done the guy thing for a while so I am looking forward to it.
I have a week in Malaysia coming up for April 23rd and then back to Bangkok for a week and then my return to Vancouver. I hope Vancouver will have warmed up by May.
This time around in Bangkok, I have purchased a month gym membership to keep in shape and keep the weight off. I tend to drink and eat more in Asia and John attributes that to the heat but it is more likely the availability of the social life than anything else.
My pool hall buddies welcomed me back with hugs and had wondered where I had disappeared to for the past 4 months. Properly chastised, I promised I would tell them when next I depart and for how long. My pool game suffered somewhat but is steadily improving :-)
TTYL,
Jim
I am at the American School of Bangkok, working with teachers on utilizing technology in the classroom. I have 2 workshops on Kubbu this week. If you have not looked at Kubbu, take a look as it is a nice piece of online software that has a free edition as well as a very inexpensive pro and ultra editions. The company is based out of Poland so kudos to the Pollacks (you can see I am as politically correct as ever).
My drink of choice in beers is now San Miquel Light with a bit of lime for beer and the pub scene, and RedBull and Vodka for the bar and pool hall scene. Bangkok is as much fun as always but the ladies don't seem as beautiful as my last visit. I must be becoming acclimatized or jaundiced.
Next week is a school holiday and John McGrath and I are heading off to Laos to explore part of that country as neither of us has been there before. I have not done the guy thing for a while so I am looking forward to it.
I have a week in Malaysia coming up for April 23rd and then back to Bangkok for a week and then my return to Vancouver. I hope Vancouver will have warmed up by May.
This time around in Bangkok, I have purchased a month gym membership to keep in shape and keep the weight off. I tend to drink and eat more in Asia and John attributes that to the heat but it is more likely the availability of the social life than anything else.
My pool hall buddies welcomed me back with hugs and had wondered where I had disappeared to for the past 4 months. Properly chastised, I promised I would tell them when next I depart and for how long. My pool game suffered somewhat but is steadily improving :-)
TTYL,
Jim
Songkran
The past 4 days has been the Songkran holiday in Bangkok. Basically 12 million people start throwing water at everyone else via pail, bucket, water guns of every sort and size, fire trucks, etc. City officials are hoping that the death toll will be less than last year's 600+. You may wonder why it is so dangerous. The target of choice is anyone riding a motorcycle and there are probably 6 million of them in Bangkok. getting a jet of water across the eyes while moving at speed can be very dangerous, as are the slick wet roads. Of course, not everyone likes to get soaked so sometimes fights break out.
John and I decided to travel to the part of the city that has the most water fights but discretion won out over valour as we witnessed the carnage from the SkyTrain platform and hopped back on the SkyTrain. Imagine half a million people with water flying everywhere!!!
The past week has been a school holiday and John and I headed over to Laos to visit that country. As always, the happiest people live in the poorest countries and John and I had a great time, touring the Mekong by boat, and the countryside by rental motorbikes. Pictures can be viewed at:
https://plus.google.com/
The official beer in Laos is LaoBeer and comes in the 'Prescott' quart size.
After Laos, John and I headed off to Pattaya for a night. Pattaya is probably the number 1 bar scene in all of Thailand. Not much I can share here in print, but next time we head out for a beer, there are stories to be shared :-)
I am back at school now for a week, then a week at Taylors in Malaysia, and then a final week in Bangkok, and then back home to Vancouver.
TTYL,
Jim
John and I decided to travel to the part of the city that has the most water fights but discretion won out over valour as we witnessed the carnage from the SkyTrain platform and hopped back on the SkyTrain. Imagine half a million people with water flying everywhere!!!
The past week has been a school holiday and John and I headed over to Laos to visit that country. As always, the happiest people live in the poorest countries and John and I had a great time, touring the Mekong by boat, and the countryside by rental motorbikes. Pictures can be viewed at:
https://plus.google.com/
The official beer in Laos is LaoBeer and comes in the 'Prescott' quart size.
After Laos, John and I headed off to Pattaya for a night. Pattaya is probably the number 1 bar scene in all of Thailand. Not much I can share here in print, but next time we head out for a beer, there are stories to be shared :-)
I am back at school now for a week, then a week at Taylors in Malaysia, and then a final week in Bangkok, and then back home to Vancouver.
TTYL,
Jim
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Cloudy, drizzle, and dreary
That about sums up Vancouver weather in the Winter.
You do get the odd clear sunny day, about once every 2 weeks. I am off to South East Asia on March 24th so I will miss the first 6 weeks of Spring which is unfortunate. It is about 8 degrees today and Ottawa is scheduled for 20 degrees this weekend. Go figure, Ottawa is supposed to be a much colder city.
I was out looking at motorcycles on Saturday and it brought back the usual spring itch to get back on my motorcycle. I will have to go visit Ottawa when I get back from Bangkok. I don't know if I would use my bike in the winter in Vancouver as I am mostly a fair weather rider. Why punish yourself, riding should be enjoyable. Definitely not the commuter by bike type.
My gym workouts (Steve Nash Gym) are going really well, and I am in even better shape than I was in Malaysia. I am 30 seconds from my building to the gym so I don't even have to change and can wear my workout clothes. The gym is also much larger, so there are more opportunities to people watch and there are lots of strange characters.
Apart form my upcoming travel I have not done much except for walk around the various neighborhoods in Vancouver. It is quite an eclectic city.
That's it for now, ttyl
Jim
You do get the odd clear sunny day, about once every 2 weeks. I am off to South East Asia on March 24th so I will miss the first 6 weeks of Spring which is unfortunate. It is about 8 degrees today and Ottawa is scheduled for 20 degrees this weekend. Go figure, Ottawa is supposed to be a much colder city.
I was out looking at motorcycles on Saturday and it brought back the usual spring itch to get back on my motorcycle. I will have to go visit Ottawa when I get back from Bangkok. I don't know if I would use my bike in the winter in Vancouver as I am mostly a fair weather rider. Why punish yourself, riding should be enjoyable. Definitely not the commuter by bike type.
My gym workouts (Steve Nash Gym) are going really well, and I am in even better shape than I was in Malaysia. I am 30 seconds from my building to the gym so I don't even have to change and can wear my workout clothes. The gym is also much larger, so there are more opportunities to people watch and there are lots of strange characters.
Apart form my upcoming travel I have not done much except for walk around the various neighborhoods in Vancouver. It is quite an eclectic city.
That's it for now, ttyl
Jim
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