Thailand Thread

[daboyz 36]

All I want is to see you guys love one another.

if we wanted katoey, we would have expressed that side of ourselves by now....

I don't have any problems with anyone. Everyone has their own opinions and if someone reacts that's their choice. People react and act for themselves for unknown reasons (in a forum like this, there is no "everyone" "we" "they" when one alone speaks). Typically one who lashes out is the one with issue and they'll have to solve their issues.

...take what ya want, leave the rest (I'm leaving that video) UGH! LOL

I cant believe they put that on TV (or is that net only)?

I was actually a little shocked by that video as well. I'm sure they put it on TV. Top Charoen Optical is everywhere in Bangkok.

Get the "F" outta here....you were a little shocked by that....

hmmmpf.

you gargle like that every mornin'

Nice.

[*Robert* 2]

All I want is to see you guys love one another.

if we wanted katoey, we would have expressed that side of ourselves by now....

I was actually a little shocked by that video as well. I'm sure they put it on TV. Top Charoen Optical is everywhere in Bangkok.

Get the "F" outta here....you were a little shocked by that....

hmmmpf.

you gargle like that every mornin'

Nice.

dayum! daboyz totally PWNED by Birch-Beer!

[*Robert* 2]

I don't have any problems with anyone. Everyone has their own opinions and if someone reacts that's their choice. People react and act for themselves for unknown reasons (in a forum like this, there is no "everyone" "we" "they" when one alone speaks). Typically one who lashes out is the one with issue and they'll have to solve their issues.

Yeah, that's it... I've got issues. Why couldn't I see that for myself?

Trust me... you haven't seen me "lash out"!

[scandal 951]

Yeah, that's it... I've got issues. Why couldn't I see that for myself?

Robert, I don't know what other issues you may have but you really should do something about that pink monkey's a$$ your avatar is sporting

[*Robert* 2]

Yeah, that's it... I've got issues. Why couldn't I see that for myself?

Robert, I don't know what other issues you may have but you really should do something about that pink monkey's a$$ your avatar is sporting

Hey, that's a pink heart!!!

Chutima included that in one of her e-mails to me waaaaaaaay back when we were applying for a K-1. Once I saw it, I knew it had to be my avitar, since I always call her my Ling Lek (little monkey! ), but then she calls me King Kong (no transliteration necessary! )

[BishopMnA 0]

TGIF to the Thai Thread!!!

I don't know about the rest of you, but this week at worked kinda was a real drag...I'm glad its nearing an end! I do IT work (SAP Configuration) for a company that builds cranes. Normally, its a great job...but I guess I just wasn't into it much this week.

No big plans for the weekend. Except, I do plan on completing the 'next step' of paperwork for my step-daughter's (May) visa. I planned on doing that after work one of the days this past week...but I guess I got lazy. Now, I'm ready to knock that out. So...if I have any big questions I'll be asking you guys for answers.

Lets see...AAm is working until 9 tonight (helping out at a local Thai food restaurant...she is an AMAZING chef!)...so that means I can probably relax and have myself a bottle of wine before she gets home....sounds good.

I don't know about your Thai wives, but if AAm and I split a bottle of wine, that means that I'll drink 95% of it as opposed to her 5%. She's a cheap date! Once in a while she'll ask for a sip of my beer...but I don't think she's ever drank a full bottle/can of beer since I've known her...yet...amazingly enough, even though I limber myself up quite well (with beer) before she and I play pool...she still kicks my as**! <Haha>

Peace to you Brothers/Sisters...

Brother MarkNAAm

[scandal 951]

TGIF to the Thai Thread!!!

Hi Mark and everyone,

Happy weekend to all of us.

I can relate about the TGIF mood. I enjoy my job and am thankful to have it (also IT - I'm a Project Manager at a trading firm in the Chicago Loop). But of course it's always nice when the weekend rolls around. I sure do miss my honey, and I sure do envy you having your wife right there by your side. I would give a LOT to just get this process over with and get Thanti here with me right now.

Anyway, tonight we had a drinks-mixer at a Goose Island, a local Chicago microbrewery. Our CTO got about 20 folks from the office together to get to know each other better. Since I'm still relatively new, that was fun for me to chat with people on a social basis that till now has been strictly business.

I also partook in all of the draught brews that were on offer: The 312 wheat beer, Honkers Ale, IPA, Nut Brown, and Summertime were all on offer. I'm particularly fond of heavily hopped IPAs but really all were tasty.

http://www.gooseisland.com/pages/our_beers/3.php

I just got home an hour ago, and am still feeling the effects of the evening. Thanti is working a pair of back to back double shifts (16 hour shifts) at the hospital this weekend. When she does that she only has an 8 hour sleep stretch between the shifts so she doesn't go home, she sleeps at the dorm at the hospital (Bumrungrad). So no Skype with her this weekend .

I'm hoping that maybe just maybe my kids might decide it's important to speak to their old man and crank up the Skype this weekend. Wish me luck!

Well, what's everyone else got on plan for the weekend?

[BishopMnA 0]

Hey USCandual / all,

Sounds like a pretty good evening for you. Good to get out and have a 'non-work' related evening/night. You're right though, it will be more fun once Thanti is here...which in your case doesn't sound like it will be very long from now...thought it probably will seem like eternity to you. While I was working in Asia (I lived in India for a 1.5 yeard and then in South Korea for a 2.5 years) AAm used to come stay with me a lot, and I also made at least 20 trips to Thailand as well...so we were together for quite a bit of our time. However, from the time I filed our K1 until the time she moved to the United States (about 8 months of the sheer boredom of waiting), I only saw here once, because I was working out of Mexico City at that time...so that was incredibly difficult. AAm actually took it better than me because she had all her family with her (AAm has 2 kids...but her family is HUGE! I have two kids too...but both are at A&M now...). So, she was always busy. I was living alone though so it drug out...but I was used to it...but it still took its toll. I'm glad that you're nearing the finish line on your visa journey!

My evening was rather calm...I just had a few glasses of Port while I waited for AAm to come home about 9pm. I also watched 'The Bridge over the River Kwai'. I'm sure you have all heard of that movie. It about the Japanese's attempt to build a bridge running from Bangkok to Rangoon through British labor (war captives). I'd seen the movie a long time ago. However, a few years ago AAm and I took a vacation on the River Kwai...so, that brought more meaning to it and since she wasn't home...I watched it again. Great Flick! I highly recommend it!

I just returned two weeks ago from doing a technology deployment in Portugal. Out of the last 6 months, I spent 4 of them in Portugal, actually in the city of Porto...home of all Port wines...so I became a fan. So...I still don't have all weekends with my wife...but I do have to admit that it is very cool to see that she can 'make it on her own' here in the USA while I'm overseas working. That is very impressive! AAm sounds alot like Thanti...a real 'go-getter'...

I had some good news this week. My boss told me that I'll be home for the summer! Nothing could be better than a summer with AAm! Plus, due to the economy, our SAP Project (the technology I work) is being 'slowed down'...so quite a few of my cohorts are being 'let go'. That sucks! However, as I was leaving work yesterday, my boss called me into his office and spent 30 minutes with me giving me the 'dont worry, we are keeping you, you don't need to job shop!' speech. So, that was a good end to a stressful week... We still need to sale some cranes though...so I hope the economy comes back!

My day will consist of preparing the next step of May's visa, with a few more Ports in the evening. I have to admit, after all the forms that I've filled out during AAm's process, and now all the forms that its taken to get this far in May's process (this will be 'packet 3' of forms...should be the last set...except for medical, which your wife will probably fill out for May <haha>) I have become pretty good at filling out these suckers...!!! I should go into the business...

I am going to stereotype AAm now...if you don't mind. As a classic Thai person...she is sleeping, and will continue to sleep, until late today <haha> I've never seen anyone that can sleep so easily/soundly as she does, but I believe that is a Thai trait...Bai Bpen Rai <sp>...

Peace for a good weekend!

MK+JC+AK

[Danno2 0]

I'll third or fourth the TFIG.

For the 2nd week in a row I've been on a bad news / good news roller coaster.

Bad - Big layoff at work this week / %12 percent of the workforce and likely more to come in the future.

Good- I'm an IT PM and we were the only group to not get hit. (Nice to be leading our biggest project and in the strategic delivery side of the business)

Good - Got my daughter a 2009 Honda Civic 3 weeks ago to get her though her senior year of high school and college without any more surprises for car repairs.

Bad - rear ended a car 1 block from our house within 10 feet and the exact situation of where I had warned her about 2 weeks ago.

Good - she was not hurt!

Bad - Since the ex wife lost her "second income" (me) she's just about impossible to work with.

Good - Working through the issues are bringing me, my daughter and Chada closer together.

Good - Chada got packet 3 in the mail and is so excited about the interview.

Good - Chada and my family are having our first web-cam / chat on mothers day.

Whew! I am looking forward to the weekend!!

[BishopMnA 0]

I'll third or fourth the TFIG.

For the 2nd week in a row I've been on a bad news / good news roller coaster.

Bad - Big layoff at work this week / %12 percent of the workforce and likely more to come in the future.

Good- I'm an IT PM and we were the only group to not get hit. (Nice to be leading our biggest project and in the strategic delivery side of the business)

Good - Got my daughter a 2009 Honda Civic 3 weeks ago to get her though her senior year of high school and college without any more surprises for car repairs.

Bad - rear ended a car 1 block from our house within 10 feet and the exact situation of where I had warned her about 2 weeks ago.

Good - she was not hurt!

Bad - Since the ex wife lost her "second income" (me) she's just about impossible to work with.

Good - Working through the issues are bringing me, my daughter and Chada closer together.

Good - Chada got packet 3 in the mail and is so excited about the interview.

Good - Chada and my family are having our first web-cam / chat on mothers day.

Whew! I am looking forward to the weekend!!

Hey Danny,

I took at look at your good and your bad...and you had 3 bad and 6 good...so your good/bad ratio is 2:1. Feel happy! You're ahead of most of us on the 'good' curve!

I was very happy to hear that your daughter was not hurt. My daughter (now 21) also totaled her first car about 2 months after she got her driver's license. I guess that is a 'right of passage' for teenage/female drivers

You and USCandual seem to have similar jobs....

BTW - USCandual - you really need to be explaining to Thanti that it is going to be colder than hell in Chicago! I tried and tried and tried to explain that to AAm before she moved to the USA (we were living down river of Detroit at that time) and she never really 'got it' until she got pneumonia...so keep prepping her for that first winter! Unless she's got some experience with a real winter, which most Thai people don't have, then she's in for a very real and harsh wake-up call...

One interesting thing about AAm, she really enjoyed going to garage sales when she first arrived in the USA. She couldn't believe that people would sell what she considered to be '99.99% new clothes' for $1. She bought about 50 sweaters etc...saved me a ton of money. She still really likes garage sales.

Another thing that amazed AAm was that our gas costs 1.99.9/gallon. She'd say, 'What is that last .9?' Or that all things for sale were always $X.99 She never could figure out why everything would sell for so many dollars, and then followed by .99 cents. She'd always say, "Why do Americans sell this and that for $10.99? Why don't they just sell for $11?" I'd tell her, "I don't know why." She'd say..."This is your country, you should know!" I told her there is no answer, and then I blamed on the convenient scapegoat of 'marketing' (AAm has a bachelors degree in marketing)...and then she dropped it ...but it still baffles her..

Another thing that surprised AAm when she first arrived was how late the sun stays up during the summer months...its sundown at 7pm all 12 months a year in Thailand...

And finally, one of the final first things that shocked AAm was that she had to put her own gas in the car! She'd never done that once in her life...and didn't even know how to do it! It took me about 10 times to train her on how to use our debit card to pay for gas at the pump.

Lots of little things...but...honestly...she really makes all things interesting

I'm 90% done with May's immigration paperwork now...just waiting for her visa photos to come in the mail from her sister back in Chiang Mai. Then we'll mail it all off to the NVC. With kid's visas, the NVC does all the processing...the Embassy only does the interview and thats it.

Peace and God Bless...AAm and I are going out house-shopping

MarkNAAm

[daboyz 36]

TGIF to the Thai Thread!!!

Hi Mark and everyone,

Happy weekend to all of us.

I can relate about the TGIF mood. I enjoy my job and am thankful to have it (also IT - I'm a Project Manager at a trading firm in the Chicago Loop). But of course it's always nice when the weekend rolls around. I sure do miss my honey, and I sure do envy you having your wife right there by your side. I would give a LOT to just get this process over with and get Thanti here with me right now.

Anyway, tonight we had a drinks-mixer at a Goose Island, a local Chicago microbrewery. Our CTO got about 20 folks from the office together to get to know each other better. Since I'm still relatively new, that was fun for me to chat with people on a social basis that till now has been strictly business.

I also partook in all of the draught brews that were on offer: The 312 wheat beer, Honkers Ale, IPA, Nut Brown, and Summertime were all on offer. I'm particularly fond of heavily hopped IPAs but really all were tasty.

http://www.gooseisland.com/pages/our_beers/3.php

I just got home an hour ago, and am still feeling the effects of the evening. Thanti is working a pair of back to back double shifts (16 hour shifts) at the hospital this weekend. When she does that she only has an 8 hour sleep stretch between the shifts so she doesn't go home, she sleeps at the dorm at the hospital (Bumrungrad). So no Skype with her this weekend .

I'm hoping that maybe just maybe my kids might decide it's important to speak to their old man and crank up the Skype this weekend. Wish me luck!

Well, what's everyone else got on plan for the weekend?

Try to get Danny drunk and take him for a motorbike ride.

[*Robert* 2]

Bad - rear ended a car 1 block from our house within 10 feet and the exact situation of where I had warned her about 2 weeks ago.

Good - she was not hurt!

Good - Chada got packet 3 in the mail and is so excited about the interview.

Sorry to hear about your daughter, but glad she wasn't hurt.

Congratulations on Chada getting her Packet 3!

[scandal 951]

BTW - USCandual - you really need to be explaining to Thanti that it is going to be colder than hell in Chicago! I tried and tried and tried to explain that to AAm before she moved to the USA (we were living down river of Detroit at that time) and she never really 'got it' until she got pneumonia...so keep prepping her for that first winter! Unless she's got some experience with a real winter, which most Thai people don't have, then she's in for a very real and harsh wake-up call...

Another thing that amazed AAm was that our gas costs 1.99.9/gallon. She'd say, 'What is that last .9?' Or that all things for sale were always $X.99 She never could figure out why everything would sell for so many dollars, and then followed by .99 cents. She'd always say, "Why do Americans sell this and that for $10.99? Why don't they just sell for $11?" I'd tell her, "I don't know why." She'd say..."This is your country, you should know!" I told her there is no answer, and then I blamed on the convenient scapegoat of 'marketing' (AAm has a bachelors degree in marketing)...and then she dropped it ...but it still baffles her..

MarkNAAm

I've been trying to prep her about winters here ever since we first started discussing her coming to live with me, long before we filed for our visa. She says she's not scared. But she still hasn't experienced it of course. Since she is going to be coming at the nicest part of the year, at least her first impression will be of beautiful weather and long summer evenings. She won't have to get acquainted with Old Man Winter till next Nov.

About .99 cents.... that's a well established marketing trick. They've done plenty of psychological testing. People will actually perceive an item for $4.99 as being a better deal than the same item listed at $4.00. I kid you not. This really works, otherwise they wouldn't do it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing

Try to get Danny drunk and take him for a motorbike ride.

Bad - rear ended a car 1 block from our house within 10 feet and the exact situation of where I had warned her about 2 weeks ago.

Good - she was not hurt!

Good - Chada got packet 3 in the mail and is so excited about the interview.

Sorry to hear about your daughter, but glad she wasn't hurt.

Congratulations on Chada getting her Packet 3!

Congrats on your Packet 3 Danny!! That's one less thing for you to worry about ....

I heard from Thanti that she spoke to Chada... or maybe saw this on usvisa4thai... that Chada also got her police certificate and needed to pay the 200B fee. The fee is clearly a new part of the process now. I think that means you guys should be ready to pop that sucker back in the mail, and get it back to embassy, right?

[*Robert* 2]

Try to get Danny drunk and take him for a motorbike ride.

Yeah... Scott and Danny are out drinking beers in the Big "D" right now. Sure wish I could be back there and joining them!

[BishopMnA 0]

Try to get Danny drunk and take him for a motorbike ride.

Yeah... Scott and Danny are out drinking beers in the Big "D" right now. Sure wish I could be back there and joining them!

Hey Brother Roi_Aggie,

I hear you! Man, I definitely wish I was there with them in Big D now drinkin'/bikin'...that is the life! You know...we could do like they do in Asia, pile 5-10 people on a little 125cc scooter and roll on down the road.

AAm and I are going to make it to Big D this summer though, so we'll try it at that time...

Its beautiful here near DC though...

Peace & God Bless!

MK+JC+AK