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...

Parts of Bangkok has been flooded for over three weeks. If you're lucky, and in the minority then you are still dry.  This, however, depends largely on the power of the pumps.  Yes, inner Bangkok is dry for the moment because the water pumps are working full time to keep the water level at bay.  Lets hope the pumps do not break down.  Anyways, I've been asked by some readers as to where they can volunteer their help and their time to doing something for the flood victims?  A lot of you may already be helping, but here is a short compilation for those who have just arrived in town or just want to help. 1. Thai Red Cross : http://www.redcross.or.th/   Here you can donate your money, goods, time and even your blood to help flood victims.  You can even donate online.  It's located on Henri Dunant Road not too far from Siam and I think the nearest MRT (underground station) is Lumpini. (Please check)  They are open from early morning un...

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....

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 ...

It's official, Bangkok will flood.  Bangkok Post this morning tells us to "Brace" ourselves for it.   This evening some of my relatives have evacuated and others are looking after their houses.  Colleagues rush home to safeguard their homes against water while others wait in anticipation of the coming flood.  We get real time updatest through facebook and twitter.  I feel like I'm in a war where I know not about the enemy.  I feel blind.  The enemy is large and furious, yet we are like mice running around looking for a way to survive. Experts say that the flood will last over a month. Everyone is worried we will run out of clean water and food.  The supermarket by my house has run out of local water, eggs and bread.  It's been like this for over a week now.  The only water on the shelves are imported Evians and Perrier that cost more than double our average drinking water. Even then, they are finally being snatched up....

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...

This past week, one event after another, the world seems in turmoil in Asia.  Japan is still suffering from the Tsunami and nuclear disaster and now Thailand has its own problems.  Last week, torrential rain caused mudslides, high waves and flooded many parts of the south.    Everything was disrupted.  It wasn't just the usual flooding that usually accompanies the rain.  This time it rained so hard that water gushed down from the mountains with such a force that it tore down houses and buried villages in mud.   Villages and families have been left homeless and there are still many missing.  Houses were flooded to the second level and people were left waiting on the roof for help.    The navy had to send down large ships to help people evacuate but even then the waves seemed too deadly to pass.  Not all could be evacuated.  Helicopters too transported people to areas of safety.   Homes and vi...

Earlier this morning rain poured down in Bangkok as if the Gods were angry at us.  Sounds of thunder roared all over Bangkok alternating with flashes of lightning.  Wind gushed against the window, flowing through trees and reorganizing the branches;  making them look as if they had just got out of bed.   It rained so hard that it could literally be raining cats and dogs.  Temperatures dropped from the mid 30's (celsius) to the mid 20's. Last week, temperatures in Bangkok dropped down to 18 degrees celsius and lasted for roughly two days.  It was the coldest two days I've ever experienced in Bangkok (since I've been here on a regular basis since the year 2000).  It was strange.  I could sleep in my room without opening windows nor turning on the air conditioning and snuggle under my blankets.  Even then I was slightly cold.  I had gotten used to Bangkok's sizzling temperatures.  Others wore jacket...