The Big Date

We've done it! We've actually come up with a date!

Mark you calenders!

* May 15, 2010 *

Location: Somewhere between OR and TX

The Long and Winding and Dusty and Bumpy Road

On the jarring scooter ride to Mae sot from the Wattana resort, I am first hit with the smell of horses, making me nostalgic, then of mangos, which makes me hungry, then of dust, which makes my nose scrunch, and then of Tom Yum Gung, which makes me hungry again. Around that time, I turn onto the main highway and its nothing but exhaust until I hit the market. There’s something to be said about riding on a scooter as opposed to a car. You notice more, like the bumps and potholes on the road, for example. The sounds, the smells, the wind, the amount of bugs in the air, are all acutely in your ears, nose, hair and face. Our resort lies about 20 minutes out of town, making walking and a mountain bike impractical. I rented a motorbike. Unlike the motorbike I rented in Mae Hong Son, this one has seen better days - and none of them were with me. It’s not an automatic but a manual, the brakes are shot, the starter practically comatose, and I spent the 1st 4 days learning how to get the lazy creature to start.

3 tips should you ever find yourself renting a scooter in Mae Sot:

Don’t drive a dusk down unpopulated roads, lest you spoil your appetite on the copious quantities of insects along your way and freckle your face with unbecoming bug carcasses.

While while Bangkok races, Mae Sot shuffles it’s feet. In BKK it’s virtually impossible to move fast enough for the poor schmuck with the misfortune to get stuck behind your pokey moped. In Mae sot, I don’t know know if the dramaticly slower flow of traffic is due to the slower pace of life, or just because these poor 100 cc dinorsaurs just can’t go any faster carrying every household member on board.

After 3 or 4 trips into town and no movement from fuel gauge needle, chances are more likely that it’s broken and not that you’re clunker is getting exceptional gas mileage.

My favorite establishment in Mae Sot: The Borderline Cafe, Shop and Gallery

Happy... Happy....

Happy New Year! I hope 2009 blesses you with good health and peace and ice cream and a puppy.

We had a rather eventful ending to 2008, but then again, when is travel with this dynamic duo not eventful? On Christmas Eve, Brett and I hopped on a bus to Krabi. We bought some yummy Thai snacks at a stop along the way and I dozed off and Brett dozed off and we woke up in Krabi a lot of hours later. We hopped off the bus and Brett went digging in my purse for his wallet and couldn’t find it. I stuck my hand into my purse and noticed my big bulky red monstrosity of a wallet was also missing. We found a table. I dumped the contents of my purse onto it. Everything was there…except our wallets. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this is I KNOW BETTER!!!! My wallet was only ever taken from me by threat in Honduras, I slept atop my purse in China. I KNOW BETTER! To my defense, it was an acrobatic feat that our little thief achieved getting past my feet on the window side to steal them. Then again, considering how heavy Brett and I sleep, maybe not. Little bugger. We were stuck in Krabi with absolutely NADA. No CC. No cash in pocket. NADA. The kind people at the Tourist Info were kind enough to give 50 Baht to a songteaw driver to take us into town to the police station. There, many hours later, and with some help from some of you, we got 2 pieces of paper saying our wallets were stolen. I was able to cancel my cards and have them sent to Krabi. Unfortunately, they were then sent to Texas instead. The situation has since been fixed.



Here's a picture of Brett, hoarding his chicken and mr. donuts, pre-fleecing.




Here's me worrying:




Here's Brett worrying:

Here's Brett after he gave up worrying:

Here's why it was easy to give up worrying:

Thanks to the gracious generosity of our friends, Marcus and Pascale, we were still able to enjoy our vacation. We got a wonderful little bungalow and we climbed and ate and ate and climbed and climbed and ate and laid in the sun and ran (one of us for longer distances than the other) and got bitten by mosquitos (one more than the other) and met people and climbed and ate and ate with people and drank and it was all very lovely. I left my camera in my bag most of this trip and took mental photographs instead.

New Years Eve, on our last full day, it was just Brett and I who headed to the crag. We went to Eagle wall and I started the day doing what I’m always scared to do: lead climb. Nothing too challenging.. I got to the anchors. I did something wrong but caught myself and was able to stem my feet so that my hands were free. I fixed it. I came down. My foot hurt. I though I could just walk it off and it was really just stiff, no intense moment of pain just a sudden lack of full movement. I climbed two other climbs - badly. We headed back and I started limping… and it just kept getting worse. By the end of the dinner, every step was painful and bringing me close to tears. I decided I would forgo the festivities since the thought of walking in the sand was making me sad. I said the words: “I’m not going anywhere without a cane or a crutch”. Brett disappeared and reappeared with a crutch. This man is works miracles. He makes crutches appear from thin air. I hobbled to the beach. We drank, we celebrated, we danced (me on 1 foot and a crutch), the tide ate one of my fugly fake crocs and I celebrated even more, we watched paper lanterns create staircases in the sky, and then I went to bed.

The next day we got to Krabi without incident, showed them the lovely slips of paper issued by the efficient and effective Krabi Police Dept. and boarded a plane back to good ‘ol BKK. That evening, Brett met my Dad and Sue. It was lovely. We had a nice dinner which was serendipitously not to far from our place.

The next day, we took Dad and Sue to Lumpini Park, one of our favorite places in BKK. Lumpini Park: BKK as Central Park: NYC. We sat, we chatted, we reminisced, we observed a water monitor creep around the lake and then we ate at a neat restaurant: Cabbages and Condoms. Brett loved hearing my Dad’s mishaps (it runs in the family) and stories, some of which I had never heard before.

On Sunday, they came over for a lunch and we chatted and reminisced some more. We went to one of my favorite restaurants, Three on Convent, for dinner then said goodbye as Dad and Sue would be taking of for Chiang Mai and I to Kuala Lumpur the next day.

I continue with my month and a half long cough. I’ve gotten a number of different suggestions as to how to get rid of it but not much has worked yet. An expensive Doc took chest x-rays and told me it wasn’t TB (yay!) and that it was acute bronchitis. Acute my *ss. This is chronic.

So here I am, in Kuala Lumpur. I’ve found a lovely yoga studio that I like much more than the gym that I was going to last KL ride. After several yoga sessions of the easy and restorative variety, and a week of work and a still swollen ankle, I have taken the weekend to do nothing other than elevate, ice, and heat my ankle. So here I lay, ankle in the air, scouring the net for entertainment and wedding locations, depressing myself with BBC news, and waiting for next weekend when I am hopefully mobile and Brett arrives.

Thinking About Maya

  So,I was just sitting here, thinking about Maya, when all of the sudden the words to a Magnetic Fields song started playing through my head.  I decided to listen to the song and I thought, "Wow, that's really great."  Then I decided to write the words to the song down here.  

Maya, I think this should go on the playlist.  

The book of love is long and boring

No one can lift the damn thing.

Its full of charts, and facts and figures

and instructions for dancing.

but I, I love it when you read to me

and you, you can read me anything.

The book of love has music in it.

In fact that's where music comes from.

Some of it is just transendental,

Some of it is just really dumb

but I, I love it when you sing to me 

and you, you can sing me anything.

The book of love is long and boring

And written very long ago.

It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes

And things we're all too young to know.

but I, I love it when you give me things.

and you, you oughta give me wedding rings.  

Magnetic Fields, "The Book of Love" from 69 Love Songs

It has been a long time since we posted anything.  Here is my attempt to catch you all up with what is happening in the next couple of months, and what has happened in the past couple of weeks.  

  At the beginning of this month I finally found a job that I thought was worth taking.  I am teaching Science and Math to 7th, 8th, and 9th graders at a very expensive private school in the west of Bangkok.  So far it seems like a good match.  My co-workers are all people who seem truly interested in teaching and I am really enjoying not having to teach English.  

  Maya is a little unhappy that I have found a job.  She has since lost her houseboy.  I just can't get as much laundry done when I am at work for 10 hours a day.  Maya and I have also been adjusting to the fact that she spends a majority of the month away.  To be honest, it was much more difficult when I didn't have a job.  The good news is that she is back in Bangkok until the 5th of January, so we are having some quality time together.

  In fact, on the evening of the 24th, we are jumping on a night bus and heading down to Krabi to rock climb for about six days.  Both of us are extremely excited.  Then, on the 1st, we are coming back to Bangkok to meet with Maya's father.  He is going to be in Bangkok to visit for about a week and I am truly looking forward to meeting the man that brought Maya into the world.  After that, its back to work on the 5th.  School for me, and Maya heads off to Kuala Lumpur for three weeks.  I will be going down in the middle of the month to visit her for the weekend and check out the capital of Maylaysia.  

  The next big event after that is the wedding of two of our best friends, Marcus and Pascale.  They will be getting married on the beach in Railey and it should be one hell of a party.  Pascale is French and, from the sound of it, everyone she has ever met is flying over for the celebration.  Marcus is Canadian and, it seems, most Canadians are pretty lame and not many of them are coming.   We also have some friends from Japan who are tentatively trying to make it.  Our good friend Dan will be flying in from England and, hopefully, my little brother Mike will also be able to make it out for the event.  There is a small rumor that the Tamir might also try to make it but I have absolutely no confirmation on that.   

  I am going to co-officiate the ceremony with one of Pascale's best friends from Japan, Delphine.  She will be in charge of the French translation of the service.  It will be the first time I have a partner in performing a wedding and I think it will be a lot of fun.  

  And that is not the end.  After the wedding, it is back to Bangkok for a couple of weeks and then we get on a plane and fly into Austin, Texas for a couple of days.  I am scheduled to meet Maya's hometown entourage and then we are flying to Tulum, Mexico to attend Maya's sisters's wedding.  Then back to Bangkok and back to the grind.  

  To my folks in Oregon.  The plan right now is that we will be back in Oregon in the fall for a week or two so that Maya can meet my home state entourage and so we can attend Aaron and Katy's wedding.  You will all get a chance to meet Maya then.  In the meantime, anyone who wants to come and check out Thailand, our doors are open and we would love to see any and all of you.  

  That's what I have for now.  You all have our email addresses and we would love to hear from you if you get the chance.    

All my Love and Lickens,

Brett

Yes.

Well, I was suprised! Not that I said yes, of course, but that the proposal even came! As to how he proposed... for now, that's our little secret. A really big thanks to our friends and family for all of the congratulations, well-wishes and open-hearted acceptance about our decision, especially since most of my loved ones have never met Brett and vice-versa.

If you're curious about plans, here's what we've come up with so far:

Date: 2010
Location: USA
Attire: shoes optional.
Food: Lots of it.

If anyone's got any good wedding location suggestions, please throw them at us.

Surprised?

I am.



Maya said 'yes'.