Having "Me" Time

Sometimes your inner voice tells you not to do something, but you do it anyway.   Then later you end up thinking to yourself "Damn, why didn't I listen to my inner voice?"   This happened to me exactly this past Monday. Here's a funny story. This past weekend, Alex and I have been discussing when best it would be to bring my Baby back home.   Yes, my little White Baby Jazz (if you are wondering, it's my car :))   has been in safekeeping for roughly a month now away from the flood, away from the water that could cause it to choke, suffocate and eventually die.   It has only just reached it's second birthday.   Too young to die.   Monitoring water levels, canal drainage, potential flooding estimates, we decided that by this week, I should be able to take my Baby out for a spin. It should be safe enough as the chance of her drowning in water seems quite minimal.   She's restless and needs to get out of her little rectangle high up on the 7th floor....

Where there are people, there you find politics.  Yes, the needs and wants of people differ and how to govern them all is indeed a difficult task.  In good times, things are easy.  Everyone is happy and the people are too busy being happy or going out their own business.  In times of crisis, you really see the true inner side of human nature.   Will the crisis reveal the "innately selfish" side of human behaviour as mentioned by Hobbes or will it reveal a good, compassionate, loving and caring side of human behaviour? What do you think? This crisis that Thailand is undergoing has revealed both.  On one side, you find people, friends and organizations arranging groups, flood relief missions and volunteering their time to help those in need.  Yes, you see people helping each other, helping elders, helping children, helping dogs and cats.  Every living thing deserves a chance to live and survive.  It's wond...

In life, in dealing with problems and losses we go through five stages of emotions:   denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance .  Most commonly we experience this from heartbreak, losing a loved one, going through a crisis, business problems, etc..  The list is endless.. We humans have a lot of problems and we deal with them through our emotions. Sometimes we do not acknowledge that these are our emotions.  Yes, we feel hurt, feel sad, feel angry, feel serious, feel resentment.  We try to act "civilized" and push these emotions aside.  We ignore them. After all, we are all grown ups and grown ups do not succumb to their emotions.  It's dangerous.  Psychologists mention that it is not good to ignore these emotions for it can cause "emotional indigestion." It can cause us to be tense, stressed and ready for a fight. Our heart beats faster and our natural instinct sets in.  We want to survive. We are ready fo...

I've been back for a few days now from my evacuation. I missed home too much and needed to get some things done at work.  Now that I'm back, I once again feel the psychological stress and intensity with which this flooding is affecting Bangkok citizens.  It's like a race against time.  A race against the impending flood.  A race against water that seeps in through every crack and nook. Humans race to be the winner in this losing battle.  Everyone is applying new ways of protection against the flood.  The shops on my road and businesses were busy reinforcing their protection.  As time goes by, the form of flood protection changes and evolves with experience.  Everyone is building a bunker or living in one (like I am).  I've been observing the flood protection over the past month and it seems to evolve over time.  Here is a list of how bunkers have evolved over the past month in Bangkok. First, sandbags....

It's Friday and what a flooded one it is in Bangkok.  Yes, I am back in town to recieve the flood and it is somewhat stressing me out. It inches closer every hour.  I'm sure it is stressful for many others also so tonight let's change topic and instead continue on with our myths.  Myth 5: Drink 8 glasses of water a day.  Clean water, not the ones that come with Bangkok floods. I have to admit this is a myth that I also believe in and one that is seen everywhere.  It is a myth if you believe it is a miracle cure all that will cure illnesses and give you wonderful health.  If, however, you see it as a recommendation on how to keep yourself hydrated then it is fine. According to nuitritionist Alannah DiBona, we don't really need 8 glasses.  This was an easy way to tell people to avoid sugary sodas and other drinks.  She says that one should take one's body weight in ounces of water and divide it in half. Th...

I'm ready to go home.  I miss my home.  I miss my life and yes, I have to admit, I do miss going to work as well.  I miss the certainty of it all.  I like adventures, but this flooding is not an adventure I like nor enjoy.   I suppose this is what people feel like in wars where they are forced to evacuate their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.  Almost four hundred people have already died. Some die from tripping and drowning, others from electrocution, or some from health problems.  I suspect too that all this stress from watching flood related news in order to find out if our house will be flooded or not is causing significant psychological distress.   Now all I want is to get flooded and get it over with. Dear water, just flood and begone. This flood has also reinforced something I've thought about before and that is to just live your life before it's too late.  You never know when you are going to...

It's my second day after evacuation and I feel somewhat lost in limbo.  I do not know what lies ahead.  I miss my home and I miss normal day life.  Forced evacuations are no fun even if you get to go out of town. Your mind is always wondering about what next.  What happens next?  No answer.  Now the dilemma is deciding when would be the appropriate time to go back?  If I go back too early, I may have to end up evacuating again.  If I wait, I do not know how long the wait will have to be. Will it be one week, two weeks or more? I need to go back to go on with my life.  Now nothing can be planned and there is no timeframe. I realize now how important it is to have certain basic certainty in one's life.  A safe home, clean tap water, electricity and a safe environment in which to live.  Most importantly though is to be surrounded by family and loved ones.  What good is having all the world's goods...

An eerie silence has befallen Bangkok once again.  It's as if the whole city is holding it's breath.  Breathe too loudly and you just might trip over.  Last time this happened was last year during the political unrest.  Only this time,  the eerie silence is spread much further out.  Not only inner Bangkok but now the suburbs too are subject to this eerie silence. Cars are not wanted now.  They are all parked on bridges, expressways, parking lots and anywhere that is above ground level.  It's too expensive to just let them drown in water.  With car taxes over two hundred percent, most cannot afford to lose the only car they have.  I cannot.  I'm still paying the monthly installments.  Even the taxi companies are saving their cars and few now roam the streets.  It's difficult to go anywhere.  Walking becomes the mode of transport. While walking, I sometimes wonder if I am living in a deserted town lik...

For over a week, Bangkok has been in a state of panic.  Everyone is packing up their houses, sealing doors and windows with silicone, buying sand from other provinces, finding ways to block their pipes and other points of weakness where water may enter.  Plastic bags large enough to seal entire cars are in hot demand and sold out in a matter of hours.  Plastic gallons for filling up both tap water and drinking water are snatched up like this season's "must haves."  In supermarkets, many shelves are empty.  Only imported mineral water remains and bread are out of stock.  Eggs vanish the minute they are restocked.  Now in order to ensure fairness, supplies have to be limited. Two packs per household. We stock up on water and drinking water, yet I wonder if we will really stay once the water arrives. The biggest problem seems to be getting elders to evacuate.  We love our homes, but we must also cherish our lives.  Being isolated in an island ...

For once I do not want to hear the sound of raindrops on my window pane.  Rather than relax and remind me of childhood days, it now makes me restless, fearing the flood situation will worsen.  The flood situation in Thailand is not getting any better and in fact seems to be worsening day by day.  Over three hundred lives have been lost, industrial parks inundated, and hundreds of thousands of people misplaced.  Homes are rendered inhabitable and roads unusable.  The outskirts of Bangkok are flooding and each morning, Bangkokians awaken to hear more news of ever closer floods. Nature is strong and powerful.  It will be hard to withstand her.  I personally believe Bangkok will inundated.  It's just a matter of time.  We have a massive body of water towards the north of Bangkok heading out to sea and only a miracle can part the water into two to save Bangkok.  We need Moses to do that. Sandbags and man m...

Tonight many Bangkokians are afraid of the flood.  Every night it has been raining. Panic is somewhat in the air and in the supermarkets many shelves of water and instand noodles are empty.  (I think it's also because the warehouses are flooded and food cannot be brought in to restock.)  Outside my main road, the banks and other businesses have walls of sand.  Some smaller mom and pop stores have had cement barriers created.  This is the sentiment now in Bangkok.   I, myself, am skeptical that it will flood to such an extent that I will be camped out, but still I could not help myself stocking buying a little water and canned food just in case.  ( Hey, it's better safe than never!) My choice of canned food?  Baked Beans. Yes, after looking at the shelves, I decided that it would be perhaps the most practical and simplest food to have in times of safety. It's also what I eat regularly so I don't have to worry about it expiring be...

It's raining cats and dogs again tonight.  The street in front of my house is flooded. It's nothing compared to elsewhere in the country where houses are flooded up to the second story.  Residents have no where left to sleep but on the roof.   Workers were stranded in a factory after flash floods closed their exit.  Villagers trying to help others themselves drown.  Dogs and cats are eaten by crocodiles.  With no bathrooms, the waters are starting to stink and rot. Those were the headline news this morning.  It is depressing to wake up to such news. 237 people are now dead. 3 are missing. 28 provinces hit by floods. Somehow the thought of deforestation jumps to mind.  Environmental factors have never been much of an issue in Thailand.  It has always been an issue to a few group of select people.  Others looked on and went on with their life. The environmentalists protested on. In a d...