You have your definition of heaven, I have mine

School has started.
Some schools started last week, others this week, yet others wont start till the first or second week of June.  It's a Thai thing 'WHENEVER.'

Did receive a phone call asking if I could attend the new student welcome and introduction.
Of course I declined the invitation when I was told 'right now.'
Sooner or later they will recognize that I should get some advance notice.  I know I'm dreaming.

Received a dinner invitation the following evening from the same folks.
They were waiting for me at the restaurant.  Again I declined.  I had just finished my dinner.
Sooner or later they will recognize that I should get some advance notice.  I know I'm dreaming.

Before the super stores arrived in Sakon, if you wanted western foods, you had to drive to Udon Thani, or even fly to Bangkok.  I made plenty of runs like that returning with suitcases of assorted breads, cheeses, avocados  and other western foods.

Those trips are not necessary anymore.  Many of these foods are now available locally.
One of my favorites lately has been wheat bread with seeds and oats.  I have six loaves in the freezer.

Hadn't tasted a jelly bean in over eight years.
When I recently spotted them at a local super market I thought I was in heaven.
Everyone has their own definition of heaven.

My Favorite Song

Scorpio: prefer the astrological symbol, not live.

A locally generated Tropical downpour hit the area four days ago.  
It wasn't the type of storm you could plot on a map in advance.
Advance precursor to such storms is a drastic increase in the humidity.

Anton reported fish crossing his driveway on his facebook page 

After the storms it was like an episode of Wild Kingdom.

Ants on the move everywhere.  They showed me where I needed to prune bushes and trees.

Bats considering my raters for tenancy.

Obviously we where able to change it's mind, it flew away.
A scorpion (the first at my house) didn't fare as well.
I prefer that animal as my astrological sign, not live.

Sakon FC - Not their finest Hour

Doubt if it was just my imagination, but Surin FC fans seemed to outnumber local Sakon FC fans.
Surin obviously seems to be financially better off, bringing busloads of fans along.

Sakon scored first, twenty five minutes into the game.
After that things went downhill like a luge race.
Mistakes and missed opportunities. The team just wasn't at their best.

You can't blame it all just on the players, refereeing wasn't all that superb either.
I wasn't the only one who saw the ball go over the line before being kicked out.
The score should have been 2 - 2.

The game has a yellow and red card.  I'd say they should also have green cards, indicating that the referee should emigrate to a different profession.

After this weekend's game Surin advanced from 6th to 5th place in the league, while Sakon dropped from 7th to 9th.
Sakon FC next faces Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat)on Wednesday.
It's obvious who will win this game.  Just hope Sakon puts on a better show

Facebook Phishing Alert

A number of Facebook accounts have been hacked, mine included.
I've changed passwords, then spent considerable time removing the phishing post from facebook friends walls, which were generated by my account.


Similar posts generated by other accounts, I could not remove but flagged them as SPAM.





If you see the above post on your wall delete it.  Do not click on the link. 
If you already clicked on the link CHANGE YOUR FACEBOOK PASSWORD AND ANY ACCOUNTS AUTOMATICALLY LINKED.

Busy host... Sakon F.C. is

Sunday, May 15, Sakon FC hosts Surin FC.

Sakon FC  is in seventh place in the division, Surin FC is in sixth place in the division.

Wednesday, May 18, Sakon Nakhon hosts Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) 
in the  Regional Qualifying round of the 2011 Thai League Cup, sponsored by Toyota

The following weekend is also a home game for Sakon F.C.

Sakon Nakhon's extreme minimum temperatures

Just cane across an interesting on-line pdf file furnished by the Thai Meteorological Department.
It lists the coldest temperatures experienced over the past 59 years in Thailand.
Sakon Nakhon's coldest years were 1955, 1956, 1974, and 1975
The coldest day on record was 0.5C (32.9F) in 1955

Sakon Nakhon Cowboy

Why he bought a shiny red tractor is anybodies guess.  It wasn't for farming.
Cowboy has had the tractor for a number of years, but there isn't a dent or scratch to be seen.
Some four or five years ago Cowboy brought the tractor to town to have a drink at the former Ned's Bar.
It's a drive of 20something miles.  Top speed, I'm guessing you can walk alongside.
A police road check along the way didn't stop him, no license for tractors required. 
He did get some strange looks though. 

A picture at his wife's facebook photo album explains the uses of his tractor 

Missed this event last weekend

Sakon Municipal Buildings Dedication Ceremonies slideshow at sakoncity

Death by bedbug spray

Mystery Deaths plague Thai (Chiang Mai) hotel  San Francisco Chronicle Hot Topics

U.S. Government spending (also applies to Europe)

The real battlefield  Miami Herald editorial cartoon
The U.S. government now borrows 40% of each dollar spent.

Very Emotional (tearjerker) Superb!!

 

V.I.P. treatment

Consumers must brace for more price hikes The Nation


Toxin 'likely' cause of a series of illnesses and deaths in Chiang Mai The Dominion Post
The article refers to a report done by CBS 60 Minutes.
The CBS website has no reference to the news story at this time

Football Thai Division 2 League North Eastern Region

Nakhon Phanom defeated number two in the league Loei last Saturday. 
It's noteworthy since Nakhon Phanom acquired 5 Sakon Nakhon players at the start of this football season.  Most likely a major reason why the local team isn't performing as well as last year.


Sakon FC probably would  have come out ahead in last weekend 2-2 game against Yasothon, had it not been for the absence of Ken.  At the time of the game, Ken was in Bangkok awaiting a flight home, where his father had recently passed away. 
Ken moved out of his local apartment before departing, causing me to wonder if he will return.  Ken had a number of offers from other Division teams. 


I'm always a bit weary when having to use the restrooms at football games.  Lacks privacy.  
If you have to use one of the stalls, the stalls marked V.I.P. have western style sit down toilets,  while other stalls have squat toilets.

Drought still ongoing

On my recent round trip to Yasothon I had many hours of local scenery pass me by.  
Most obvious was that just about everywhere rice fields where parched.  
The occasional thunderstorms so far have done little to alleviate the drought ongoing since October 2010.  Rice farmers will remain idle and without income till their fields are under water.

Plenty of storms to the west (Yangon), but they will most likely dissipate over land before they reach us.  To the East Manila is also being pounded by heavy rains.  But that system is not headed in our direction.  Some of the heaviest rains in this area come from the east.

Noon, May 8                                                      5:40 AM, May 9

Thai Tourism Explained

Met this Thai teenager a short while ago. Was told that his mother and Western stepfather where visiting from Europe I was invited over for a visit last night
Apparently other family members in the area also visited... the kitchen was abuzz with people preparing a feast on new appliances.

New furniture all over the place. I didn't ask, but the visiting mother mentioned that they will slow down their spending 'tomorrow', they had spent Bt 60,000 on furniture and appliances.
I suspect a grocery supply run is in the makings.