What is in your cup?

[ProfCrash]

That type of age difference is something I will never understand. Dude, use a freaking condom or have a vasectomy so that you do not get the young woman pregnant. But part of the blame falls on the young woman as well. I am sure that the older Ex Pats are attractive as fathers because they have money and the woman see them as someone stable and well off so that their kids will be fine. There is fault on both sides of the equation.

Rooibos Capetown in my pot and cup. Last week of work and calm.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Water, water and more water. My thirst is never ending. It is getting ridiculously hot here. I'm going to have to start going for an afternoon swim and take a nap in the afternoon, I'm much more likely to get work done at night when it is a bit cooler.

We are suppose to hit 100 degrees with humidity this week. Thank god for air conditioning and giving birth in June and not August or September.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

Water, water and more water. My thirst is never ending. It is getting ridiculously hot here. I'm going to have to start going for an afternoon swim and take a nap in the afternoon, I'm much more likely to get work done at night when it is a bit cooler.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
...

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

We are suppose to hit 100 degrees with humidity this week. Thank god for air conditioning and giving birth in June and not August or September.

Shudder. Last time I was in Virginia (DC area) visiting friends, it was an entire week of "90/90". Overnight lows never got below 80, and every day was near or above 100, with humidity so think you could cut it with a knife. I am _so_ not used to that!

Today is a break from the wet spring we've had, and the sun is out, the sky is clear, and it's already a beautiful day.

Peet's Anniversary Breakfast Blend in my cup.

[CRussel]

Puttabong Estate First Flush Darjeeling. Light, brisk, complex and delicious. It's not an Oolong, but it has many of the characteristics of a really good Oolong. Makes for a delightful afternoon tea.

[SandyHarper]

It's coffee time. So that's what is in my cup.

[Stitchawl]

Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life,
I'm a lot like you were.

Old man look at my life,
Twenty four
and there's so much more
Live alone in a paradise
That makes me think of two.

Love lost, such a cost,
Give me things
that don't get lost.
Like a coin that won't get tossed
Rolling home to you.

Old man take a look at my life
I'm a lot like you
I need someone to love me
the whole day through
Ah, one look in my eyes
and you can tell that's true.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An2a1...eature=related )

Good morning, everyone. Big mug of unbranded keemun tea and a plate of scones to get me ready for today's big storm. I have feeling it's going to be nothing more than some heavy rain.... (Famous last words....)

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

That type of age difference is something I will never understand. Dude, use a freaking condom or have a vasectomy so that you do not get the young woman pregnant. But part of the blame falls on the young woman as well.

As I said, Thais love babies. One of the first questions they will ask a farang (foreigner) is 'how many children do you have?' Thai kids tend to be well behaved because of all the attention and love they receive from family, friends, and neighbors while growing up. The first thing a married Thai woman does is get pregnant. ASAP.

I am sure that the older Ex Pats are attractive as fathers because they have money and the woman see them as someone stable and well off so that their kids will be fine.

It's the single most common reason for a Thai to marry a farang. ANY foreigner who can afford to move away from their home country and live abroad MUST be rich (to their way of thinking) and if they are rich, they can afford to buy food for all. And I really mean ALL. A foreigner doesn't just marry the wife. He marries (financially) her parents, her brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, and in the case of Hilltribe women, he marries the whole village financially. A guy who is receiving $750 a month pension is still getting 3-4 times as much money as the average working Thai... and the rule in Thailand is; whoever has the most money pays...

When we moved to Thailand the first time, we had a full time housekeeper/cook. She was really good so after a couple of months we gave her a raise. Three months later she asked if we would be so kind as to reduce her salary back to what it had been... It turns out that after her raise, she was earning more than her circle of friends, so it became her responsibility to pay when they went out together, to give money to friends who didn't have enough to buy food or pay their electric bill. The result was that she actually had LESS money to spend herself than before she got the raise.

There is fault on both sides of the equation.

I can't call it 'fault' on the part of the Thais. They live under 'survival conditions.' There is an unwritten set of rules; the men provide the money, and the women treat the men like kings... I mean even going so far as to wipe their mouths while eating for them... I mean really treat them like kings. And they do! The men will be drop dead certain that the woman loves him completely. No question about it. That's part of her 'job.' And it's part of her job to have several kids who can help to bring income into the home in later years. Not really so different from the farm families of the US 100 years ago. You need a lot of kids for the free labor around the house. In Thailand, you need a lot of kids to go out and work to bring in enough money to buy rice... School is only free until age 16, so most go to work full time then.

If the husband's pension runs out, or for some reason he becomes broke, the wife will leave immediately and will latch on to the first available guy who will support them, regardless of age. She WILL treat HIM like a king. If he's a foreigner, he will think that she is madly in love with him. He will be ABSOLUTELY certain of this... as long as the money hold out. It's survival. Obviously, many do really fall in love. But love is secondary to survival. It's a jungle out there!


Stitchawl

[CRussel]

Good morning, all. Finishing up a breakfast of eggs from my chickens, scrambled with some wild BC salmon I smoked, and a big glass of fresh squeezed OJ. Yum!

Brewing now: Peet's Lion Mountain Keemun.

[Gorgonseyes]

Water! Its boiling in Cyprus right now

[ProfCrash]

Sprite

[CRussel]

First, Jun Lin Mei Souchong. Then, some Lion Mountain Keemun. And this afternoon, Golden Dragon Oolong.

[orlok]

Just water.

[Billi]

Originally Posted by orlok

Just water.

Really? Thought the English have something to celebrate tonight!

Water here too.

[ProfCrash]

Fruit smoothie. I halved the amount of yogurt and milk to make it a manageable size.

[Stitchawl]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee."
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,
that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
when the "Gales of November" came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
with a crew and good captain well seasoned,
concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
when they left fully loaded for Cleveland.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang,
could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U219P_zs7w )

We got lucky last night... just some wind and rain....

Good morning, everyone! Happy Humpday! I made a big mug of Ceylon Dimbulla tea to go along with a bowl of miso soup, rice, and tsukemono to get me started today. Chores to do that I pass on yesterday.

Originally Posted by Billi

Really? Thought the English have something to celebrate tonight!

Billi, the Brits usually celebrate on July 4th. That's the day they no longer had to deal with us Colonials.


Stitchawl