A typical taxi ride

I don't have much experience taking taxis back in the States, but here in Thailand, taking a job -- ie passengers -- is entirely optional.


So it should come as no surprise to me that three taxis passed me up before one stopped beside me as I stood on the sidewalk and picked me up. I've heard a number of excuses from taxi drivers -- too much traffic, they're not going that way, the destination's too far, too many of us trying to cram into one taxi, they don't understand where I want to go; and of course the ever present pay-a-flat-rate-of-anything-from-200-500-baht-or-I'm-not-taking-you-anywhere.

But this time, without saying anything, these taxi drivers' message was loud and uniquely clear: your bag is too big and I don't want to load it in my car.

Quick background: I had beanbag chairs custom made for my classroom. The students think the chairs are for them. Silly children. They're for me. I need a power-nap chair after lunch every once in a while. The second day I had the chair, some girls sat down and ripped a hole in the seam. Thus I had the arduous task of taking out much of the beanbag bubbles, hauling it down to the curb, shoving it in a taxi, carrying it through the night market, and leaving it there for a week while they repaired it.

And so there I stood on the sidewalk, waiting for a taxi to take me the 60 baht ride back to my apartment. Two taxis pulled up then quickly sped by when they saw the enormous beanbag chair in an even bigger plastic bag next to me. The third one only glanced at me then moved on. At that point, the motorcycle taxi driver motioned that he'd get me one, so 3 seconds later there was a bright pink taxi right next to me. (How do they do it? Is it a secret hand signal they're giving each other?)

After a few shoves, the beanbag was in and I slid into the front seat next to my wonderful old driver (the passenger seat is on the left side, by the way). He made dreadful small-talk that consisted of him repeating the same Thai phrase over and over again until I simply agreed with him i the hopes it would shut him up. I kept telling him I didn't know what he was saying, so he finally used his very broken English to ask me how long I've lived in Bangkok and to tell me I was beautiful.

I always get stressed when the taxi drivers try making conversation in Thai since my comprehension skills are embarrassing at best. I've memorized a few set answers, but when their questions go off book, I begin floundering. And this was one of those many moments. The ten minute taxi ride was quickly becoming more than the 60 baht I was going to pay him -- he actually expected me to make conversation the whole time!

Thankfully, he dropped me off at the front of the school so I could cart it up to my classroom. I gave him a 10 baht tip for helping me get it out of the backseat, directed him out of the parking lot, and practically ran up the front steps with a gigantic green plastic bag hoisted over my shoulder like Santa's bag of gifts.

Unusual experience? Not really. With the exception of the beanbag, taxi rides run the gauntlet of strangeness. I'm just glad they haven't kidnapped me and carted me off to Cambodia yet.

What to do?

Not exactly a grand entrance back into blogger's world, but after such a long hiatus, better to come back with the familiar: my famous lists.


Things I'm thinking about doing tonight as I walk down my hallway to my apartment:

1. Make something light for dinner
2. Go on a hunt for a Christmas tree/extra decorations
3. Contact a few friends via FB before I forget what I wanted to tell them
4. Write Christmas letters home
5. Clean my kitchen
6. Check if fridge food is still fresh
7. Start organizing Christmas gifts for multiple exchanges
8. Change my sheets
9. Grade papers
   
10. Weed out what stuff to get rid of for an eventual 'yard' sale
11. Should I sweep the floor?
12. Post this list on my blog
    

13. Or forget it all and just go to bed with a good book.


So many choices......

Soccer is my dream. Literally.

I've been terrible at posting consistently, and I apologize.

Now, through very droopy eyes, I have something worth writing about. I took the position as head soccer coach for varsity/JV girls this season. I haven't felt like I belonged as a head coach this entire time and it has caused me no little amount of stress. It has gotten to the point where I've been dreaming that my soccer girls have been coming into my bedroom while I'm sleeping and we have continuous conversations about soccer. I know they aren't there. I know I am dreaming them up. But no matter how much I try to ignore these phantoms, I end up talking out loud to them. It's quite unsettling to say the least.

Thankfully, I haven't dreamt about them in well over a week, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about them all the time. It's like when I was in high school and all I could think about was my crush. It drove me to absolute distraction and I hated it. While I may not be crushing on 20 girls (let's not be perverse now), I can't help but think about everything we need to work on, whether the girls are in shape, and if I'm showing them drills that are helpful in game scenarios. Needless to say, it's a lot to think about.

So far we've had two games: the first game was against BPS and we lost 8-4, the second game against NIST we lost 5-4. NIST had previously beat BPS 10-1. I don't know how we did so much better against NIST (who is supposedly the best in the league), but the girls are persistent to say the least.

The problem is, every single day I'm battling one petty problem after another with my girls. Someone can't make practice because of this conflict, others can't make the game because of another reason. Girls are getting "injured" left and right. Girls are quitting the teams; I am left without experienced goalies on both varsity and JV squads. Students are missing equipment and uniforms. Half the time, I don't know who's coming and who's going. I'm bound to have a hernia at any moment. And this is what brings phantom soccer players into my bedroom at all hours of the night.

And then the other day I met one of the many professional soccer players here in Thailand, (honestly they are in abundance since I've met 4 already--without tracking them down). He offered to help me with my team since he's off-season at the moment. Skill-wise, I'm sure I can learn a lot from him, but in terms of motivating the team to work as a team and be self-disciplined and whatnot....sadly, I don't know what he can do for them. Fingers crossed though.

My apologies for venting about my girls. I adore them more than I can say. But sometimes they are high-maintenance and some of them don't use common sense; or shall I say, 'soccer sense'....yes, I'm laughing at my own joke.

I'm hoping after these next three games this week, my dreams will be filled with congratulatory high-fives as they come prancing through my room at 2am.

Sometimes falling asleep is harder than it looks

It's always interesting the things I think about as I'm drifting off to sleep. Most of the time it's worth writing down, but the point of drifting off to sleep is that one eventually end up in La-La Land.

But here's a few things I remember thinking about as I fell asleep last night in the flat cot in our lovely hotel in Hua Hin:

• What I wanted to do before leaving Hua Hin
• How much money I spent (more than I wanted to, but still within reason)
• What my plan for Monday's classes are, and realizing I didn't do an important icebreaker with my homeroom class OR talk about what they did over the summer. Very important for bonding purposes!
• How I'm going to pull off being a head soccer coach. I'm not exactly creative when it comes to new drills and such...
• Racking my brain for said new drills to try
• Checking with the basketball coaches to see if they are using the outdoor basketball courts so I can use them for control exercises
• Not wanting to leave Thailand, but considering other ministry options God might have for me while I'm here
• Deciding how long I might actually live here -- just how long term is 'long term'?
• Thinking about all the other places God could send me and use me, and a potential hubby I could find there
• Deciding that marriage may not be in my future after all and being surprisingly okay with it

Somewhere in the middle of all that I stuck in my headphones and watched How I Met Your Mother to help me eventually drift off to sleep. Unfortunately, it didn't last for more than two hours, and then I began the cycle anew; albeit with different things on my mind.

It is both a blessing and a curse to constantly make lists in my head -- especially when I'd rather be falling asleep.

I'm a Thai superstar

My name is Lissa Scott and I just starred in a 3-minute Thai home video.

Around 4:30pm I walked home from my 2nd day of school. You have to understand, I live about 3 minutes, a parking garage and parking lot away from school, so getting home takes little effort or time. But along the way, as I was walking beside the open parking garage, I passed a cackle of teenage Thai students from a local Thai school. They had stopped to get ice-cream from a local vendor that I had gotten ice-cream from during lunch.

I was nearly to my building's main entrance when these kids come running after me -- "Excuse me, Miss! Pii kah! Excuse me!" -- a young girl in a typical white, button-down blouse and navy blue, pleated skirt was ten yards behind me. "Do you mind if I ask you some...do you have a couple minutes....if we ask you some questions?" She stumbled over her uncertain English.

I turned to her as three more students came hurrying after her, panting for breath. She asked for my time again and spit out rapid-fire Thai in a high-pitch whine. Two more girls ran across the parking lot like their life depended on it, a digital camera swinging from one girl's wrist. A boy looked at me hesitantly, then asked if I lived in Parkland.

"Yes I do." I was tempted to answer in Thai, but refrained.
"Are you a teacher?"
"Yes, at the international school right there," I pointed in the direction of the school.
"My name is ....., and I am a student at -some Thai school- and we would like to ask a few questions."

The students kept turning to one another, rapidly speaking complete gibberish. Another camera appeared -- this one of the video persuasion -- and all six teens gathered in a circle to quickly play a round of "Rock-Paper-Scissors" to decide who would do the actual interviewing. Apparently the boy who first asked if I live in Parkland lost (or won, depending on how you look at it), because he pulled out his notes and began instructing the others on where to go and what to do.

Both cameras came out and a girl tried to figure out where she should stand with the cue notes so her partner could see them. With the girl hovering right beside me, my interviewer asked 4 questions in halting English about Parkland.

I smiled, answered in simple sentences, and used my best Thai accent. And just like that I was made into a Thai superstar featured in a school project.

It reminded me of assignments I've given out before, and will give out again this year. Ah, to be a student forced to interview strangers in a foreign language about meaningless things....the good ole days.

Round 2 at ICS begins tomorrow

Tomorrow is the first day of my second year teaching at ICS. It's my second year teaching, period. I don't know how last year could be topped -- I loved my schedule, I loved my content area, and most of all, I loved my students. The trouble with teaching 8th grade English is that there's no possibility of teaching them a second time around -- that is, unless I move up to high school with them. At least with the lower grades at my small school (6th and 7th), there's a chance at repeat customers -- not so for me.

But there is always this year....I can begin the cycle again with a whole new set of students. Some of these kids are following in their older siblings' footsteps. Some of them are twins. Some of them are new and my latest target for recruiting fresh soccer players.



This year is going to be epic. I can't help but believe that. I'm bound and determined to see it happen.

I'm on a new mission

I few weeks ago -- when I was still in Oregon -- I made a costly impulse buy. I spent $144 on workout DVDs. I've been drawn in by infomercials on countless occasions -- everything from food choppers to the latest workout regime. But this time, with my dad's surprising encouragement, when they did the 14-minute countdown from the infomercial, I dialed in (via website) and made a commitment to my body.

So now we're about 2 weeks in and I sadly have noticed no change to my body. I've worked out consistently five days a week, and have been more conscious of my eating habits, and yet my clothes still haven't felt any looser. My brother (an avid runner), would tell me that it takes longer than 2 weeks to notice changes; however, the stinkin DVDs said that I'd see a change after just one week. All those testimonials are so encouraging -- of course they're made by people who fit into a size 2 and have a ton of energy, but still I expected some kind of result that would motivate me to keep working out. With the kind of money I put into these DVDs I am bound and determined to stick with it for at least 3 months. If I don't see results by then...well, I don't want to think about it.

But for now I am choosing a more optimistic conclusion: exercising is as much a state of mind as it is of body. I "feel" healthier because I exercise. I tell myself it's okay to snack every once in a while if I'm consistent with my diet every other time. I can't quite tell if my mind is more alert, but I can always tell myself that.

But then I look in the mirror, and I am brought sharply back to reality: my arms and torso are still just as chunky and under-toned as ever.

One day. One day I'll be in the single digits again. One day I'll look a little more like the girls in these silly workout DVDs. One day I'll actually be content with my body when I've assured myself that I've done all I can to be healthy.



Oh, and if you're wondering, I have killer calf muscles. Of that I can be quite proud.

My last Hurrah! in the States

So I guess I should preface this by saying I am simply going to ramble in this post. I don't have an outline, I don't have set points to make, I am just sharing some observations I've made in these last few days. With that said, you may continue...

I've come to realize that as much as I crave adventure, and seeing new places, and trying new things, I love being able to come home to my own comfortable surroundings and winding down. I just got back from the Portland area after spending 4.5 days seeking adventure, seeing new places (and many old ones!), and trying new things. Now that I'm back in Hermiston and it's after midnight, I don't feel the least bit tired; unlike these last 5 days of being absolutely exhausted by 11pm. Adventure sure takes a lot out of a person! I'm sure after flying home to Bangkok, I'll want to sleep an entire day away, but once I get that out of my system, trying to get to bed before midnight is going to be a challenge.

I had three -- maybe four -- definite plans while on the west side: Timbers game on Wednesday, Yang's/Lincoln City on Thursday, Portland Saturday Market/evening wedding on Saturday. During and in between each set of activities I had a variety of people to meet up with -- basically my extended effort to see people in the States since I'm leaving in 36 hours for another year in Thailand. I've made this comment before, and I'm going to now put it in writing: I came from around the world (a 30 hour plane ride and $1200 later) to make it back in the same time zone, the least people could do is make some effort to drive a few hours to see me. I mean, IF I'm truly a priority. It just grates on my nerves when people hear I'm back they have the audacity to ask me when I'm coming over to visit them. So my typical response is, "If you really want to see me, then come to Hermiston and see me!" Sure it'd be nice to see a bunch of people, but if it's simply a convenience for you, then why should I bother? Some friendships are meant to remain solely electronic, and some require personal contact. If you don't really care to see me one way or another, don't make a big deal out of it, and then expect me to go the distance (literally and figuratively). Trust me, I've heard all the excuses -- from no time to no money; but quite frankly, I have little sympathy.

There are other people with whom I want to make the effort to see, and I certainly did make every effort to connect with people on the west side, who didn't make it out to Hermiston, that I wanted to catch before leaving again. Most people I was able to see, and some I didn't; but at least I tried. I guess it really comes down to priorities. It'd be presumptuous of me to tell people to make me a priority, but I do ask for people to take a couple hours out of their day to see me (yes, unfortunately for some, it had to be on my time schedule since I drove to the west side to begin with). If someone is important to me, I'll see them. I only ask for the same regard. If I'm not a priority, then I take no offense -- I just
don't want to be misled otherwise. Okay, that guilt-ridden rant is through. All that is to say, I appreciate from the bottom of my heart those dear people I was able to visit with, for however short the time was. They were what made my Portland adventure well worth it! I have much to reflect on -- thank you!


This mini vacation almost changed my mind about my trip back to Bangkok. For the last few weeks I've actually been anticipating going back to what has become familiar with a certain amount of relief; however, after visiting with friends, I am more than tempted towards feelings of sadness and despondency over going back to my new home.


Adventure highlights:

*Going to my very first national sports event with Karissa (Portland Timbers vs. West Bromwich)
*Getting my Yang's fix in Monmouth, then watching Russell fall in the ocean and Diana get smashed with a giant wave at Lincoln City
*Shopping with my sis at Lloyd Center and reminiscing with the girls at McMenamins
*Standing in an outrageous line for Voodoo Doughnuts and realizing we could theoretically make more money begging on the streets than working a regular job if we could scrape by with people donating at least $9 an hour

*Exploring the Portland Saturday Market with Karissa, Aisha, Zach, and Omar
*Getting my tragus pierced!
*Having Joelle as my impromptu date to an old friend's wedding in Junction City -- the location and decorations were amazing!
*Realizing it's a small world after all when an old college friend came to the wedding as a guest's date
*Visiting with Jeff and talking shop about teaching, living/moving outside our comfort zone, and our struggles with writing fiction

Top 5 Places

I want to visit this next school year while living in Thailand (in no particular order, mind you):

#1: Hong Kong (4-day weekend)

#2: South Korea (October break maybe?)

#3: Guam (Definitely a Christmas-break thing)

#4: Kanchanaburi (weekend)

#5: Nepal (Spring break?)



Other places I'd like to re-visit:

#1: Chiang Mai
#2: Cambodia -- maybe the beach this time
#3: Koh Chang
#4: Singapore
#5: Hua Hin


Places I'd definitely visit if I stay longer in Thailand:

#1: India
#2: New Zealand
#3: Australia
#4: China
#5: Japan



If you can't tell, I like to travel. A lot. So much so, that I had to get a new passport this year to hold all the stamps these countries give me. My goal as long as I'm living in Thailand is to visit all the Asian/South Pacific countries within reach that even remotely spark my interest. You'll notice some countries not on any of these 3 lists -- that's because they cause this reaction out of me: "Meh." Not saying I'd never go there, but I won't be the first one planning the trip.

American treats #5

Now if you weren't around for #1-4, let me recap:

#1: hot Oregon Chai latte and a Cinnabon

#2: Orange chicken and rice -- American style :)

#3: Pollo a la Crema @ La Palma -- I was craving it for a year!

#4: Crab puffs, broccoli beef, sweet & sour chicken, and fried rice -- need I say more?



#5: Ham & cheese with LETTUCE on toasted multigrain -- I was so excited about lettuce, can you tell? (Oh, and there may have been Munchies, Pomegranate Arizona tea, and a sticky bun on the side of that...) :)


My taste buds are dancing with every renewed experience :)

10 Things

I'll miss about Thailand:

1. $6-$7 massages -- EVERYWHERE
2. 35B Thai food
3. The wai
4. A 24-hour 7/11 on every corner
5. 1 liter Lipton lemon ice tea
6. Cheap, already-cut fruit (especially chompu)
7. Bargaining in markets to bring the price of a dress from 750B to 250B
8. Motorcycle taxis
9. Fancy movie theaters, popcorn, and the king's anthem
10. 25B fruit smoothies and 50B coffee frappes :)

I'm looking forward to in America:

1. Being understood in English
2. Hearing Spanish on a regular basis
3. MEXICAN FOOD
4. America's version of Chinese food
5. A decent Denny's Grand Slam breakfast
6. Good customer service in stores and restaurants
7. Target!
8. Driving again.....and on the proper side of the road!
9. Clear blue skies and shining stars
10. My lovely friends and family

Things I still don't understand about Thailand

1. Why this has to be the land of the disposable. Thai people are incredibly resourceful, so why can't they figure out a way to stop making crappy things that break down or short circuit in a week? Seriously, the quality of items is substantially lower than most places I've lived; yet they have an abundance of these crappy things, so they simply buy another, and another, and another until the landfills are overflowing with discarded, crappy one-use-only things. Thais do remarkable things with recycled paper and plastics, yet instead of having marked bins for plastic and paper recycling for people to sort in the first place, they simply wait for everyone to throw their garbage away and then sift through each and every bag on Saturday. Why go through the extra work?

2. The "no-return" policy in each and every store -- reputable or not. I tried returning the wrong size curtain the very next day after buying it, and they refused to give me a refund or a gift card with the amount of the purchase. This happened the first month I moved here, so I have since learned my lesson, but it still irks me to think about it. If something doesn't work, why won't the store take responsibility for it?

3. Toilet seat lids on public toilets. Come on girls, you know how it is -- for us to be able to flush the toilet, we would have to put the lid down just to reach the flusher handle. What's the point of this useless toilet seat lid if the lid will never be down in any normal setting?? That's just an extra step we need to take to flush the darn thing.












4. While we're on the pot, I might as well mention the absurdity of squatty pottys. I really see no use for these things. I've been forced to use them before, and they are not convenient, are messy, and take longer to get business done. So what's the point??

5. Paying to use the highway when it neither saves time or money to get to the desired destination. Okay, sometimes it does get us there faster (if time is of the essence), but going to church....it takes exactly the same amount of time, but costs us 45 extra baht.

6. Putting a guard at every conceivable entrance to something, yet these 'guards' are little more than traffic directors. They are there to blow their whistle at you, point you in the right direction, and open a gate from time to time (if there even is a gate). It just blows my mind that our school has three gates guarded 24/7, yet the guards are asleep at their post every night. Do they make me feel safe? Well, let me ask you -- would you feel safe with a guard asleep at his post? I rest my case.

7. Taxi drivers that don't want to take you where you want to go. It's not as though I'm asking for a free ride; I am willing and able to pay, but for some reason taxi drivers reserve the right (that they use quite liberally) to refuse to take you someplace if they don't want to go there. 'What do you mean, you aren't headed to Bangna? You're headed to wherever the customer is going, fool.' It still astounds me that people can outright refuse to do their job. I mean, it's their job. In a country full of rich and poor, one would think that they're not in any position to turn down money. But they do. Every weekend. Whenever they don't want to drive my way.

Today in Review

It's funny how they call Wednesday "hump day," implying that by Wednesday the week quickly snowballs into blessed weekend-land. Maybe for some people that's how to week works. Unfortunately not for me.

Fridays are by far my longest and busiest days. Today was no exception. In fact, today was probably the busiest Fridays of all.

Observe:

6:50: Left for school (which happens to be about 20 steps outside my apartment building)
7:00: Started a typical Friday school day with 1st period prep, followed by two classes (short stories and a vocab test....nothing too unusual).
11:15: Lunch time. This is the time I look forward to the most during the school day because I usually skip breakfast and am starving by lunch time. Unfortunately, there is no rest for the wary -- or the overly busy. Instead of lunch, I printed and stapled copies of the first issue of the middle school newspaper, then went straight to middle school worship practice in which I supervise.
11:55: 4th-5th period. More testing. I was so hungry that I asked a student to go down to the cafeteria after he was done with his test and grab me a sandwich.
2:20: School officially ends. Although I wanted to rush out to the seamstress to pick up some alterations, the students came pouring in asking questions.
2:35: I hustled the students out and hurried down the street to pick up my clothes. But she told me to come back later. Wasted trip. Wasted energy.
3:00: Softball game -- women teachers vs. women students. We won. I hit a home run and a grand slam. Now why couldn't I do that when I actually played on a team??
4:20ish: Soccer game against the U13 soccer girls. I was already exhausted from running around bases so much that I contributed very little to the game. We lost. Well sort of. Our player tipped the ball into the net because he was tired of playing. I was relieved to be done.
5:10: Rushed back to the seamstress since I forgot I was supposed to come at 5.
5:25: Got home, and after trying on the clothes, realized that I paid the woman too much since it didn't seem like she altered anything. I showered quickly and rushed to the 7/11 to pick up a nutritious dinner of a banana muffin, Pringles, and a Slurpee.
6:30: Went to Wii Worship (a worship/fellowship time for high school and middle school students).
9:15: Finally came home for the night.

I am so exhausted. So tired of running everywhere. By tomorrow morning, I'll be so sore. Right now I can barely think straight.

While writing this, I have been watching Little Women, and realized I haven't watched this movie since bringing it over with me to Thailand. And now I remember why: the overwhelming feeling of loss and frustration is too strong to go through on a regular basis every time I watch Jo refuse Teddy, and then turn around and marry that old German professor. Trust me, Teddy's accent is way better than the pudgy German fellow's. But of course, let's not forget how Teddy becomes an absolute player and charms his way into Jo's younger sister Amy's life through marriage. Wow, Teddy, great move, the first sister you were in love with turned you down, so you go after her younger sister.
I am too attached to this film. I know. But the happy ending needs to be there, and I'm left completely dissatisfied with how the story turns out.

This movie and I have a love-hate relationship because I'm drawn to Jo's character so much for her passion, tenacity, and spirit; and then of course Teddy (or Laurie as he's also called), is too charming in the boy-next-door kind of way that I have a hard time resisting him. It also helps that he's played by Christian Bale. If I totally spoiled this film for you then I'm not sorry. It's been out for almost 20 years. Watch it. Or read it.


Please forgive my irritability; it's probably because I'm past exhaustion, haven't had a decent meal all day, and wish I were Jo. Married to Teddy of course. I want that happy ending.

Looking forward to Love

In just two days, one of the greatest days of the year will be upon us. I say this without a shred of sarcasm, because unlike other single ladies, I am content with my status. I enjoy being single, and oddly enough, I've learned to rest in God's contentment while living in a place that so acutely points out the fact that I am alone.


God and I have had this discussion many many many times, and I've been on both sides of the fence when it comes to wanting to be in a relationship and wanting God's perfect timing. But the truth of the matter is, there is absolutely no point in waiting around for a man in order to start living. I'm tired of buying into the false lies married couples throw out to singles about how their life is now complete with their spouse in it. Awesome. I refuse to believe that God made me incomplete to begin with. It's like parents who simply expand their love with the addition of another child--their love is never divided between children, it simply grows. I'm not half a person without a husband, but my life will simply grow to include him when the time comes. Although He said it is not right that man live alone, He also did not promise that every man and woman would find someone to spend the rest of their lives with. So why wait around as if He did?
Seriously singletons, live fully in this freedom, because if marriage is ahead, this freedom certainly isn't. Not to say that marriage is like the 'ball and chain' often described, but it is different. You're caring for another person constantly. You're asking their opinion and advice constantly. You're trying to please that other person constantly.

Lord, thank You that You have given me the gift of singleness.


To be honest, I never despised the love-holiday. I think it's rather cute having a day devoted to romantic love. While other single ladies take the path of depression with a side of chocolate, or bitterness with a side of alcohol; I use it as an excuse to take myself out on a date. I've worked the last several Valentines Days, but that doesn't mean I still can't have a little fun. Usually my self-date entails a romantic dinner for one (either homemade or a nice dinner out), getting all dressed up and going out with other single ladies.

This year is no exception, only it's twice as busy. Not only am I teaching all day, but immediately afterwards, I'm playing basketball against the Varsity girls team, rushing off to Thai lessons, working a quick dinner in, and then I'm going to try and find the Siam Museum to watch a movie with the ladies. I don't know how it's all going to work out, but so far this is the plan. It's a shame V-day is on a Monday. So much to do! I won't even be able to sit and dwell on my singleness like most ladies do.

Although I won't need chocolate or alcohol to cheer me up, I wouldn't mind the chocolate...

So instead of celebrating "Singles awareness day," I'm going to embrace Valentines Day for what it truly is: a day to love others and be loved in return.