Jody is so far away. I wonder where she is right now? What is she doing? Let me paint a picture...
(Originally written in my notebook.) Its my beloved day off. I am reclining in a beach chair, on the beach, under an umbrella. The sun is setting behind me. My bikini is still dripping from my recent dip in the ocean. I was playing in the waves, doing handstands in the water. Two local Thai girls floated over to me on their inner tubes. We communicated via smiles and body language and they let me come aboard. Moments later we were all pummeled by a wave which dumped us over board and sent us spinning into the rumbling white water. We all burst out laughing and we did it again and again.
I'm sitting here in this beach chair, the local kids are still playing in the waves and my good friend Will (another colleague from home who has been hired!! Now there are 4 of us from med school here all together!...very cool to have familiar faces from home around!) Anyway, as I was saying, Will is about 10 yards ahead of me sculpting a beached dinosaur out of sand. Will and I have been at the beach for I'd guess, about 5 hours. (...who knows really though. When its my day off and I'm at the beach, time doesn't really matter!) We both have the day off together today, a rarity that wont happen again since his training ends tomorrow and his official day off from now on will be Thursdays. ;-(
So I've been sitting in this beach chair for hours watching the waves crashing, all the while reminiscing back to the days when I was a little tot running around on the beach in Maui every spring break with my sister and my grandparents. They would slap on the sunscreen and my white t-shirt, and I'd be off to build sand castles and play in the waves for hours. So as I have been sitting here, the 35 year young woman that I am, in my elegant bikini (as much as a bikini can be elegant, that is. My point is just that its not one of my sporty ones) all I've been thinking about wanting to do is, well, let go of any notion of how a 35 yr old in a bikini is 'supposed' to act, and build a sand castle and play in the waves...and finally, I just had to go do it!
Will traced out the blueprint of a beached dinosaur and I just sat myself down in the sand and started digging. I actually stopped for a moment, wondering how much my nails were getting scratched by the coarse sand, but then realized how '35' that was, and how un-little-tot-ish it was, and quickly let it go and went back to digging. Will's artistic passion came out as he started redirecting the angles of the legs and perfecting the shape of the dinosaur's back and sculpting a spine. I just kept digging and dumping sand for him to sculpt, digging and dumping, digging and dumping... leaving the fine details up to Master Will. In classic Jody form, after about 15 minutes, I was ready for something new, so that's when I jumped into the water and started doing hand stands and then playing in the waves with the local kids.
So back to this moment right now. I'm lounging back in my beach chair. Will is still 10 yards ahead of me, now perfecting the details of the dinosaur's face. There is a small crowd around him: 2 kids whom I'm guessing are Swedish, (lots of Sweds spend the winter here; there is even a small Swedish elementary school in town) plus 4 tourists from who knows where (probably Sweden), and a couple of local kids....all admiring this mass of sand that Will continues to bring to life moment by moment with every improvement in detail. Will is now looking for shells.... Now Will is using the shells to make 2 eyes, a pair of ears, a nose and teeth. (I'm truly giving you the play by play of what is going in my life at this very moment. ;-) Now he is walking up to me with a huge grin, thoroughly satisfied, as are all the other admirers on the beach, with his artistic accomplishment of transforming a flat beach into the home of a beautifully sculpted, very life-like beached dinosaur.
!!!!!!At this very moment, a group of dogs have noticed Will's life-like creature and are madly barking at it!!!! I kid you not! They are about 30 yards from it, all reluctant to come any closer. Now they have stopped for a moment and are all looking around at each other, and I'm quite sure that they're saying in doggy language, "What the ^%$#^! is that?!" Barking again. Staring. Barking. Looking around at each other. Stepping closer. Moving back. Barking. Barking. Barking!!! I've never seen anything so hilarious. Will is next to me about to fall over laughing, and I hope full of pride for the confirmation he has just received for how life-like his creation truly is!!! This is hillarious! I've got to put my pen down and watch all this play out....! ;-) Bye for now!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Beauty and the Beast
Life constantly ebbs and flows...the waves roll in and out, the sun comes up and goes down, the clouds rumble in and float away, we wake up and go to bed, I laugh and I cry, there is beauty and there is pain.... Thailand is an interesting mix of wealth and poverty. As I drive through town (or I should say...as I ride on the back of a motor bike taxi), I pass luxury resorts, built next to makeshift homes made out of metal and wood scraps. There are stunning homes built on cliff tops with spectacular views, built next to shanty towns that house the laborers who are building yet another fancy resort. One of the many beautiful parts of this culture is how kind and gentle the people are. Men and women of all ages always smile at you. I've never seen anyone get upset or angry. The nurses I work with are always laughing. The men at the cafeteria play chess and checkers during lunch.
As I listen to the news in the morning, the most common words I hear are: the economy this and that, the markets are up or down, recession bla bla, financial bla bla, mortgage crisis, money, money, money....and I often think to myself, 'I think something is missing here.' Money does not create life fulfillment, nor guarantee happiness. And isn't that what everybody truly desires? A sense of happiness and fulfillment?
The 'poor' people I see in town are usually smiling and laughing. Compare them to the rich executives who walk into my office, often overweight, stressed out, and hopefully not minutes away from having a heart attack, as I often wonder. So, does this mean I want to be poor? Well no. I still desire enough money for travel and adventure, delectable nutrients for my body, a beautiful home to share with my family, safety, clothes that I feel good in, and a few other luxuries here and there. But it also makes me realize the vast array of possibilities for creating a fulfilling and 'rich' life.
Perfection. There is a part of me that is always striving for a perfect day. Even as I write this I think, "Is this the perfect word to use? The perfect phrase? The perfect way to say what I want to say?" I have realized that one of the main purposes for my life here in Thailand is to let go of that voice...that voice that always second guesses the present moment, only looking for and being satisfied with perfection. When I listen to it, it generally leaves me with an empty sense of frustration that clouds over the ever present beauty in life which is always present. Always. It's a matter of perspective and attitude. Was today a great day or was it not? Seeing the ying and yang in life and being okay with both. That is what I am focusing on here. And here's a great example:
It was the end of the day and the sun was setting. I took a walk on the beach and decided to get a massage. My options were limited because at this time of day, many of the massages huts have already packed up and gone home. But I found a spot still open for business and laid down on one of the tables in the sand. None of the women spoke english but there was no doubt as to what I desired. I looked around to see if the lady was going to wash her hands before she started. She rinsed them in a bucket of water, no soap in sight. Oh well. So her hands hadn't exactly been sanitized, but really, in the big picture of things, what does that mean for my health? Nothing. So I let it go.
And so there I lay on the table, receiving a massage, on the beach, with the sounds of waves crashing, and the sun setting. To my right is a group of local kids playing football (that's soccer to us americans). They're laughing and having a great time. In regards to ying and yang, they would represent the 'yang'....yang is represented by fire, air, wind, movement. 'Ying' energy is heavy, slow, dark. So then I looked down the beach to my left, and I saw a dog. There are lots of dogs on the beach. There are lots of dogs in town. They run around all day long looking for food. Well to my left, is a dog, and the dog is dead. Kids playing soccer to my right and a dog that is dead to my left. It's not exactly just lying there peacefully either. I'll spare you the details and just leave them up to your imagination...
So what kind of day did I have? It was a perfect day, perfectly imperfect. Ying and yang both alive (well, not exactly in the literal sense) and flowing. Learning to embrace the light and the dark side of life, without judging one as good or bad, this is where I believe true peace lies....and is one of the main shifts I believe is happening in my life, here in Thailand.
As I listen to the news in the morning, the most common words I hear are: the economy this and that, the markets are up or down, recession bla bla, financial bla bla, mortgage crisis, money, money, money....and I often think to myself, 'I think something is missing here.' Money does not create life fulfillment, nor guarantee happiness. And isn't that what everybody truly desires? A sense of happiness and fulfillment?
The 'poor' people I see in town are usually smiling and laughing. Compare them to the rich executives who walk into my office, often overweight, stressed out, and hopefully not minutes away from having a heart attack, as I often wonder. So, does this mean I want to be poor? Well no. I still desire enough money for travel and adventure, delectable nutrients for my body, a beautiful home to share with my family, safety, clothes that I feel good in, and a few other luxuries here and there. But it also makes me realize the vast array of possibilities for creating a fulfilling and 'rich' life.
Perfection. There is a part of me that is always striving for a perfect day. Even as I write this I think, "Is this the perfect word to use? The perfect phrase? The perfect way to say what I want to say?" I have realized that one of the main purposes for my life here in Thailand is to let go of that voice...that voice that always second guesses the present moment, only looking for and being satisfied with perfection. When I listen to it, it generally leaves me with an empty sense of frustration that clouds over the ever present beauty in life which is always present. Always. It's a matter of perspective and attitude. Was today a great day or was it not? Seeing the ying and yang in life and being okay with both. That is what I am focusing on here. And here's a great example:
It was the end of the day and the sun was setting. I took a walk on the beach and decided to get a massage. My options were limited because at this time of day, many of the massages huts have already packed up and gone home. But I found a spot still open for business and laid down on one of the tables in the sand. None of the women spoke english but there was no doubt as to what I desired. I looked around to see if the lady was going to wash her hands before she started. She rinsed them in a bucket of water, no soap in sight. Oh well. So her hands hadn't exactly been sanitized, but really, in the big picture of things, what does that mean for my health? Nothing. So I let it go.
And so there I lay on the table, receiving a massage, on the beach, with the sounds of waves crashing, and the sun setting. To my right is a group of local kids playing football (that's soccer to us americans). They're laughing and having a great time. In regards to ying and yang, they would represent the 'yang'....yang is represented by fire, air, wind, movement. 'Ying' energy is heavy, slow, dark. So then I looked down the beach to my left, and I saw a dog. There are lots of dogs on the beach. There are lots of dogs in town. They run around all day long looking for food. Well to my left, is a dog, and the dog is dead. Kids playing soccer to my right and a dog that is dead to my left. It's not exactly just lying there peacefully either. I'll spare you the details and just leave them up to your imagination...
So what kind of day did I have? It was a perfect day, perfectly imperfect. Ying and yang both alive (well, not exactly in the literal sense) and flowing. Learning to embrace the light and the dark side of life, without judging one as good or bad, this is where I believe true peace lies....and is one of the main shifts I believe is happening in my life, here in Thailand.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Who’s That Mysterious Woman In The Dining Room?
written: March 4, 2008
Really settling in now. It feels sooo good to not have 100 new things to learn and adjust to everyday. Work is pretty great, I must say. I laugh a lot. Talk to people from all over the world. Explain what natural medicine is to everyone (whether they’ve asked or not…I can’t help it. I just love spreading the wisdom and when you plant 100 seeds, you’re bound to have at least a handful sprout!) Sitting at a desk all day is nothing I’ve ever done before and is something I’m still adjusting to. Skipped lunch today and went to the gym to give my ass a break from being sat on. My co-workers are all fun. I love having the sun shine in through my window in the morning (even though it gets so hot I sweat…what a treat to just even be able to say that being from Seattle! It’s never too hot for me here! I think I must be de-thawing from the last 30 winters in Seattle.) I work a ton so my day off is always a treat. And speaking of, what do I do on my treasured day off, you might ask? Let me explain…
Imagine: no car, no errands, no friends (well yes, I have some but we all have different days off so they are working on my day off). Just me. And the beach. And the sunshine. So I sleep in….get a good 10 hours usually. When I wake up, I open my blinds and then the sliding glass doors… and stand naked while the morning sun beams in on me…Heavenly. (Hope that’s not too visual for anyone. But come on, if you know me, are you surprised?). If I’m feeling energetic, I’ll get a quick workout in at the gym on the second floor, then have breakfast/lunch, and then head out.
The beach in front of where I live stretches for at least a mile in both directions. Its relatively clean but there is certainly a bit of trash here and there. Some stretches are bare while others have an assembly line of lawn chairs available for $1/day, associated with a little hut that sells food and drink. Then there are the massage tables where I can get an hour long massage on the beach for a whooping $8. And yes, I do! Then there are the beach fronts associated with the Hilton, or the Hyatt, or the Marriott….and if you have white skin, you can get away with lying there all day for free. (Well, that’s just the truth of it, really….and yes, I do indulge in such a luxury and I must admit, I try not to wear anything flashy to get noticed. I mean, if I continue to do this on my day off for the next year, the chances of being recognized…..) I must digress…
It’s actually quite challenging to figure out where to go or what to do. I’m not much for town…its loud and busy and well, I think a bit dirty. And then there is the beach. I can lay out with 100 tourists in the chairs for $1/day and get hounded by locals trying to sell me clothes, bananas, sarongs, silk scarves, dried squid (haven’t had the guts to try yet…its the whole damn thing, eye balls and all)….or I can hang out on the lawn chairs at one of the aforementioned hotels….so that’s what I do. I suppose one of these days if I get homesick, I could take my laptop and work on writing more blogs as I sit in the totally-decorated-exactly-the-same-as-home Starbucks and use their wireless internet as I cozy up to a hot latte. (They don’t have a fireplace but I could still cozy up to a hot latte because the AC is always blasting away.)…and yes, I suppose I’ll probably do that one of these days. But as for now, I never get sick of the beach!
So I find a chair in the shade and chill out. (Speaking of the shade, I’m being very good about protecting my skin! I haven’t laid out in the direct sun yet! I must say, it’s easy to skip doing that when I know the sun will be out everyday all year round. It’s not like I’m on vacation and have 5 days to get a tan. No pressure! And the shade is much cooler anyway!) So, back to me chilling out. It’s amazing really. I’ve never been very good at chilling out…but I’m getting a lot better. My mind still likes to carry around this ‘list of things to do’ wherever I go. But I’m really getting good at letting that go. I had this silly list with me the last few weeks that included items such as blog topics I wanted to write about (I get 10 ideas for every one of these I actually ever get to writing!), websites I wanted to check out, silly little errands to do (like buying a seat cushion for my poor ass who’s sooo not used to sitting all day), music I wanted to download… Seriously, this kind of menial stuff is what makes it hard for me to relax. I’m always thinking of all the stuff I want to do, always. (Let me take a moment to ask, do you people whom are reading this ever even put stuff like this on a list to do? It seems much more go-with-the-flow if I just let go of my damn list obsession and just do this kind of stuff whenever it just seems like a good time to do it, right?!) Anyway, I must say, I’m very proud of myself because I threw away the list last Sunday and headed for the beach. (Truly, this is a huge for me!!)
After I find my comfy lawn chair, I either take a nap or read my fabulous book, “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I love this book! It’s the best book I’ve read in years! It makes me laugh out loud, right there in front of everyone around me. I wont let myself read too many pages at once these days because I’m getting sad that I’ll finish it soon. Anyway, I just keep laying there, watching people, taking a dip in the ocean, dozing off…unwinding from my 5 years of med school…and think deep thoughts like, “Wow, this is really cool.” Occasionally, I get sad and perhaps shed a tear or two when loneliness visits me and I think of how nice it would be if one of you fabulous people were next to me, to laugh and chat with. But I remind myself, that I will love all of you forever and that this life in Thailand will be but just a memory someday, and I will see all of you again.
The beach faces east so the sun is behind me by 4. But I just keep laying there, usually until it gets dark around 7 because, well, why not? Where else would I go?! The only thing that gets me up is hunger. So last week, I headed to one of the swanky tourist restaurants on the beach. (no cheap Thai prices here folks. Might as well be eating at a hip restaurant in downtown anytown, USA.) I walk in and they say, “Two for dinner?” “No, just me.” I am wearing my big straw hat and my loud stripped skirt. They seat me at a large table in the middle of the dining room and bring me some magazines….not sure if this is customary to bring to the table, or if they just didn’t know what else to do given that a woman was eating by herself in the dining room. I order a tropical papaya-pineapple drink, a delicious zucchini and tomato salad, and a uniquely divine seafood entree served in a coconut. I start feeling like I’m in a movie and feel compelled to keep my big straw hat on throughout my entire dinner. In order to see anyone, I have to tilt my head back a bit and look up from underneath my big straw hat. Otherwise, I just sit there enjoying my scrumptious meal, as the mysterious woman hidden under her big straw hat, eating alone in the dining room.
Really settling in now. It feels sooo good to not have 100 new things to learn and adjust to everyday. Work is pretty great, I must say. I laugh a lot. Talk to people from all over the world. Explain what natural medicine is to everyone (whether they’ve asked or not…I can’t help it. I just love spreading the wisdom and when you plant 100 seeds, you’re bound to have at least a handful sprout!) Sitting at a desk all day is nothing I’ve ever done before and is something I’m still adjusting to. Skipped lunch today and went to the gym to give my ass a break from being sat on. My co-workers are all fun. I love having the sun shine in through my window in the morning (even though it gets so hot I sweat…what a treat to just even be able to say that being from Seattle! It’s never too hot for me here! I think I must be de-thawing from the last 30 winters in Seattle.) I work a ton so my day off is always a treat. And speaking of, what do I do on my treasured day off, you might ask? Let me explain…
Imagine: no car, no errands, no friends (well yes, I have some but we all have different days off so they are working on my day off). Just me. And the beach. And the sunshine. So I sleep in….get a good 10 hours usually. When I wake up, I open my blinds and then the sliding glass doors… and stand naked while the morning sun beams in on me…Heavenly. (Hope that’s not too visual for anyone. But come on, if you know me, are you surprised?). If I’m feeling energetic, I’ll get a quick workout in at the gym on the second floor, then have breakfast/lunch, and then head out.
The beach in front of where I live stretches for at least a mile in both directions. Its relatively clean but there is certainly a bit of trash here and there. Some stretches are bare while others have an assembly line of lawn chairs available for $1/day, associated with a little hut that sells food and drink. Then there are the massage tables where I can get an hour long massage on the beach for a whooping $8. And yes, I do! Then there are the beach fronts associated with the Hilton, or the Hyatt, or the Marriott….and if you have white skin, you can get away with lying there all day for free. (Well, that’s just the truth of it, really….and yes, I do indulge in such a luxury and I must admit, I try not to wear anything flashy to get noticed. I mean, if I continue to do this on my day off for the next year, the chances of being recognized…..) I must digress…
It’s actually quite challenging to figure out where to go or what to do. I’m not much for town…its loud and busy and well, I think a bit dirty. And then there is the beach. I can lay out with 100 tourists in the chairs for $1/day and get hounded by locals trying to sell me clothes, bananas, sarongs, silk scarves, dried squid (haven’t had the guts to try yet…its the whole damn thing, eye balls and all)….or I can hang out on the lawn chairs at one of the aforementioned hotels….so that’s what I do. I suppose one of these days if I get homesick, I could take my laptop and work on writing more blogs as I sit in the totally-decorated-exactly-the-same-as-home Starbucks and use their wireless internet as I cozy up to a hot latte. (They don’t have a fireplace but I could still cozy up to a hot latte because the AC is always blasting away.)…and yes, I suppose I’ll probably do that one of these days. But as for now, I never get sick of the beach!
So I find a chair in the shade and chill out. (Speaking of the shade, I’m being very good about protecting my skin! I haven’t laid out in the direct sun yet! I must say, it’s easy to skip doing that when I know the sun will be out everyday all year round. It’s not like I’m on vacation and have 5 days to get a tan. No pressure! And the shade is much cooler anyway!) So, back to me chilling out. It’s amazing really. I’ve never been very good at chilling out…but I’m getting a lot better. My mind still likes to carry around this ‘list of things to do’ wherever I go. But I’m really getting good at letting that go. I had this silly list with me the last few weeks that included items such as blog topics I wanted to write about (I get 10 ideas for every one of these I actually ever get to writing!), websites I wanted to check out, silly little errands to do (like buying a seat cushion for my poor ass who’s sooo not used to sitting all day), music I wanted to download… Seriously, this kind of menial stuff is what makes it hard for me to relax. I’m always thinking of all the stuff I want to do, always. (Let me take a moment to ask, do you people whom are reading this ever even put stuff like this on a list to do? It seems much more go-with-the-flow if I just let go of my damn list obsession and just do this kind of stuff whenever it just seems like a good time to do it, right?!) Anyway, I must say, I’m very proud of myself because I threw away the list last Sunday and headed for the beach. (Truly, this is a huge for me!!)
After I find my comfy lawn chair, I either take a nap or read my fabulous book, “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I love this book! It’s the best book I’ve read in years! It makes me laugh out loud, right there in front of everyone around me. I wont let myself read too many pages at once these days because I’m getting sad that I’ll finish it soon. Anyway, I just keep laying there, watching people, taking a dip in the ocean, dozing off…unwinding from my 5 years of med school…and think deep thoughts like, “Wow, this is really cool.” Occasionally, I get sad and perhaps shed a tear or two when loneliness visits me and I think of how nice it would be if one of you fabulous people were next to me, to laugh and chat with. But I remind myself, that I will love all of you forever and that this life in Thailand will be but just a memory someday, and I will see all of you again.
The beach faces east so the sun is behind me by 4. But I just keep laying there, usually until it gets dark around 7 because, well, why not? Where else would I go?! The only thing that gets me up is hunger. So last week, I headed to one of the swanky tourist restaurants on the beach. (no cheap Thai prices here folks. Might as well be eating at a hip restaurant in downtown anytown, USA.) I walk in and they say, “Two for dinner?” “No, just me.” I am wearing my big straw hat and my loud stripped skirt. They seat me at a large table in the middle of the dining room and bring me some magazines….not sure if this is customary to bring to the table, or if they just didn’t know what else to do given that a woman was eating by herself in the dining room. I order a tropical papaya-pineapple drink, a delicious zucchini and tomato salad, and a uniquely divine seafood entree served in a coconut. I start feeling like I’m in a movie and feel compelled to keep my big straw hat on throughout my entire dinner. In order to see anyone, I have to tilt my head back a bit and look up from underneath my big straw hat. Otherwise, I just sit there enjoying my scrumptious meal, as the mysterious woman hidden under her big straw hat, eating alone in the dining room.
My First Visitor!
written: February 25, 2008
BHS…There is something special about good ole Bellevue High School. There really is. I can’t tell you how many of us from the Class of 1990 are still friends! Its remarkable really. The same group of guys that were all best friends back in the day…well they’re still all best friends. Even the people that I wasn’t good friends with, when I see someone today from BHS, it’s always a good time…
Many BHSers didn’t venture too far from home and went to college across the lake at UW (which yes, I eventually graduated from as well..after UC Boulder, UPS in Tacoma, and studying in Italy). But then there were the rest of us who were eager to venture out and see what other states had to offer. But even visiting other states wasn’t enough for some of us with that ever present hunger for travel and exploration. Enter Russ Bossart.
Many years ago I remember hearing that Russ Bossart had moved to somewhere in China and was running his own company. Years went by and I’d hear news that he was home visiting but would always head back to his hometown, Beijing. Well, being that I too was now going to be living in Asia, I thought I should send him an email. I have no idea how far Beijing is from Hua Hin but hey, we’re both in Asia…so he’s like the only friend I have over here so I wanted to just say ‘hi.’
I sent him an email months ago and heard back from him a few weeks later. I just said, “Hey! I’m living in Asia now too. So, if by chance you ever come over to Thailand, come and visit me!” And no joke, he replied that he had planned a two week vacation in February….in Thailand! So after making a minor change in his departure date, he fit in a night in Hua Hin to visit me! We had a blast!
His taxi dropped him off right in front of my place and then suddenly, there was a familiar face grinning from ear to ear walking up to me that I hadn’t seen in at least 10 years, if not since high school! It was awesome! I took him up to my room and showed him my humble abode and then we headed out for dinner. We walked along the beach in the opposite direction of town, further down then even I had ever ventured. There were a few restaurants spread out along the beach and we eventually just picked one of them. We had a table overlooking the ocean and spent the next few hours filling each other in on what had gone on in our lives since graduating from BHS 18 years ago…we had a lot to say, you could say.
After dinner, we still weren’t caught up yet and the stories just kept coming, so we decided to head to town. We headed to do my favorite thing in town….get a massage. We asked for foot massages in adjacent chairs so we could continue with our lives’ tales…but after about 20 minutes, the words ceased and we both fell into the la-la land of massage induced relaxation. The dreaded words “its finished’ eventually were spoken so we paid a whopping $10 each after our hour of heavenly bliss and caught a taxi home. Back home he went to Beijing the next day and off to work I went. What a treat!! Thanks Russ!!
Who wants to be my next visitor?! Can you hear it….listen….the beach and the warm sunshine are calling your name! Just book your flight and tell me when! I’ll be here (but not forever)! See you soon?!! I hope so! Jody :-)
BHS…There is something special about good ole Bellevue High School. There really is. I can’t tell you how many of us from the Class of 1990 are still friends! Its remarkable really. The same group of guys that were all best friends back in the day…well they’re still all best friends. Even the people that I wasn’t good friends with, when I see someone today from BHS, it’s always a good time…
Many BHSers didn’t venture too far from home and went to college across the lake at UW (which yes, I eventually graduated from as well..after UC Boulder, UPS in Tacoma, and studying in Italy). But then there were the rest of us who were eager to venture out and see what other states had to offer. But even visiting other states wasn’t enough for some of us with that ever present hunger for travel and exploration. Enter Russ Bossart.
Many years ago I remember hearing that Russ Bossart had moved to somewhere in China and was running his own company. Years went by and I’d hear news that he was home visiting but would always head back to his hometown, Beijing. Well, being that I too was now going to be living in Asia, I thought I should send him an email. I have no idea how far Beijing is from Hua Hin but hey, we’re both in Asia…so he’s like the only friend I have over here so I wanted to just say ‘hi.’
I sent him an email months ago and heard back from him a few weeks later. I just said, “Hey! I’m living in Asia now too. So, if by chance you ever come over to Thailand, come and visit me!” And no joke, he replied that he had planned a two week vacation in February….in Thailand! So after making a minor change in his departure date, he fit in a night in Hua Hin to visit me! We had a blast!
His taxi dropped him off right in front of my place and then suddenly, there was a familiar face grinning from ear to ear walking up to me that I hadn’t seen in at least 10 years, if not since high school! It was awesome! I took him up to my room and showed him my humble abode and then we headed out for dinner. We walked along the beach in the opposite direction of town, further down then even I had ever ventured. There were a few restaurants spread out along the beach and we eventually just picked one of them. We had a table overlooking the ocean and spent the next few hours filling each other in on what had gone on in our lives since graduating from BHS 18 years ago…we had a lot to say, you could say.
After dinner, we still weren’t caught up yet and the stories just kept coming, so we decided to head to town. We headed to do my favorite thing in town….get a massage. We asked for foot massages in adjacent chairs so we could continue with our lives’ tales…but after about 20 minutes, the words ceased and we both fell into the la-la land of massage induced relaxation. The dreaded words “its finished’ eventually were spoken so we paid a whopping $10 each after our hour of heavenly bliss and caught a taxi home. Back home he went to Beijing the next day and off to work I went. What a treat!! Thanks Russ!!
Who wants to be my next visitor?! Can you hear it….listen….the beach and the warm sunshine are calling your name! Just book your flight and tell me when! I’ll be here (but not forever)! See you soon?!! I hope so! Jody :-)
Exploring The Outskirts Of Town
written: February 24, 2008
Being the environmental lover that I am, I am very proud that I currently do not drive a car. (Nor do I even have a car to drive if I wanted to for that matter.) BUT (and that’s a big ‘BUT’) not having the freedom to just jump in my car and go explore is something I greatly miss. That is where FRIENDS WITH WHEELS come in very handy.
I’ve met this guy from London named Simon who has been taking a break from his acting career and relaxing in Thailand for last 7 months. (Immediately, for those of you with wandering minds, there is no romance between Simon and I…so now you don’t have to email me to ask.) Simon has a motorcycle. Along comes my day off and I’m dying to get out of the loud and busy town to do something different and explore this area that I now call my home. I call up Simon and off we go. I suggested we just drive and see what we find. And that’s exactly what we did.
Instead of taking a right (which is the way to town), we took a left. Within minutes we drive through a quaint little town, kind of like a mini Hua Hin. It had all the same nik-nak shops, restaurants, little hotels…but just less of everything, and on a smaller and less busy street. I liked the energy of it….more mellow and less chaos. Then we kept driving.
On to a big four lane highway. The sea remains on our left for the next two hours (by varying degrees..from being right next to it, to it being out of sight) and to our right (and on our left at times too) is everything from shops, random buildings for who knows what purpose, homes, big wide plots of undeveloped property, little square plots of water with little mechanical things driving around in them to stir up the water which we decided must be shrimp farms, rolling lush hills covered in tropical vegetation (reminded me of the lush hills on the island of Kauai), stagnant pools of water, temples and various Buddhist shrines. We find our way to another, even smaller quaint little town that tourists clearly do not regularly visit. We found a little straw hut on a beach and sat down to enjoy the view. Within seconds, mamma arrives with a menu in English. (Well, my prideful idea that we had ventured beyond the area that most tourists discover was quickly shot down, now wasn’t it?)
We have a delicious lunch of stir-fried veggies and calamari with a fried egg and rice, plus two bottles of water….sitting in our private little hut, the only ones on the beach, with a view of the ocean decorated immediately in front of us with a fleet of about 20 colorful little fishing boats…for $5 total!! Gotta love Thailand!
Back on the bike we go…through a national park with lush hills on both side of us….flat areas of vegetation…..little low cost homes here and there…little random food shops here and there…..We find another quaint town (and this time I think I can really say we’ve ventured outside of touristville) and head to the beach. It runs for miles in both directions and there isn’t a soul on it. We find the only tree and set up camp. It’s not a good beach for swimming because the tide is in and you’d have to walk for who knows how long before the water got any deeper than your ankles. Furthermore, it’s a fishing town and there seems to be hidden nets lurking right under the surface. Bummer, eh? Guess I just have to lay down on my towel and stare at the horizon. Yeah, it was a tough day.
As I laid there, away from the ever present noise of Hua Hin, and my new life as a doctor at a ritzy world-class resort, I had one of those ‘ah ha’ moments. It was like this: I have been dreaming about being a doctor for almost 30 years; I have had my mind set on becoming an ND at Bastyr for the past 10 years; I’ve been studying my #^%$! off for the past 5 years at med school; I spent months wondering what the heck I was going to do after graduation; I spent 3 months selling almost everything I own, gave away my cat (still can’t believe I did this), found a stranger to live in my home, and said more good-byes in a span of a few weeks than I ever would like to do again…all in preparation for moving literally half way around the world to start my new life in Thailand….And here I was, laying on a towel under a palm tree. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. No plans. No ‘have-to’s.’ Nothing I was trying to achieve…except relaxing and letting go…. There isn’t a word that can capture the true essence of what that moment meant to me, so instead of diluting my experience with unsatisfactory words, I will end this entry now.
Being the environmental lover that I am, I am very proud that I currently do not drive a car. (Nor do I even have a car to drive if I wanted to for that matter.) BUT (and that’s a big ‘BUT’) not having the freedom to just jump in my car and go explore is something I greatly miss. That is where FRIENDS WITH WHEELS come in very handy.
I’ve met this guy from London named Simon who has been taking a break from his acting career and relaxing in Thailand for last 7 months. (Immediately, for those of you with wandering minds, there is no romance between Simon and I…so now you don’t have to email me to ask.) Simon has a motorcycle. Along comes my day off and I’m dying to get out of the loud and busy town to do something different and explore this area that I now call my home. I call up Simon and off we go. I suggested we just drive and see what we find. And that’s exactly what we did.
Instead of taking a right (which is the way to town), we took a left. Within minutes we drive through a quaint little town, kind of like a mini Hua Hin. It had all the same nik-nak shops, restaurants, little hotels…but just less of everything, and on a smaller and less busy street. I liked the energy of it….more mellow and less chaos. Then we kept driving.
On to a big four lane highway. The sea remains on our left for the next two hours (by varying degrees..from being right next to it, to it being out of sight) and to our right (and on our left at times too) is everything from shops, random buildings for who knows what purpose, homes, big wide plots of undeveloped property, little square plots of water with little mechanical things driving around in them to stir up the water which we decided must be shrimp farms, rolling lush hills covered in tropical vegetation (reminded me of the lush hills on the island of Kauai), stagnant pools of water, temples and various Buddhist shrines. We find our way to another, even smaller quaint little town that tourists clearly do not regularly visit. We found a little straw hut on a beach and sat down to enjoy the view. Within seconds, mamma arrives with a menu in English. (Well, my prideful idea that we had ventured beyond the area that most tourists discover was quickly shot down, now wasn’t it?)
We have a delicious lunch of stir-fried veggies and calamari with a fried egg and rice, plus two bottles of water….sitting in our private little hut, the only ones on the beach, with a view of the ocean decorated immediately in front of us with a fleet of about 20 colorful little fishing boats…for $5 total!! Gotta love Thailand!
Back on the bike we go…through a national park with lush hills on both side of us….flat areas of vegetation…..little low cost homes here and there…little random food shops here and there…..We find another quaint town (and this time I think I can really say we’ve ventured outside of touristville) and head to the beach. It runs for miles in both directions and there isn’t a soul on it. We find the only tree and set up camp. It’s not a good beach for swimming because the tide is in and you’d have to walk for who knows how long before the water got any deeper than your ankles. Furthermore, it’s a fishing town and there seems to be hidden nets lurking right under the surface. Bummer, eh? Guess I just have to lay down on my towel and stare at the horizon. Yeah, it was a tough day.
As I laid there, away from the ever present noise of Hua Hin, and my new life as a doctor at a ritzy world-class resort, I had one of those ‘ah ha’ moments. It was like this: I have been dreaming about being a doctor for almost 30 years; I have had my mind set on becoming an ND at Bastyr for the past 10 years; I’ve been studying my #^%$! off for the past 5 years at med school; I spent months wondering what the heck I was going to do after graduation; I spent 3 months selling almost everything I own, gave away my cat (still can’t believe I did this), found a stranger to live in my home, and said more good-byes in a span of a few weeks than I ever would like to do again…all in preparation for moving literally half way around the world to start my new life in Thailand….And here I was, laying on a towel under a palm tree. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. No plans. No ‘have-to’s.’ Nothing I was trying to achieve…except relaxing and letting go…. There isn’t a word that can capture the true essence of what that moment meant to me, so instead of diluting my experience with unsatisfactory words, I will end this entry now.
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