“Where the Fair Wind Blows”

Searching for coolness and for a fair wind that is not scorching.  Wish it would rain, but we’re in the middle of the worst drought in over 40 years here.  Dust and heat.  Every day this month of April has been 100*F or higher, with wicked humidity.  Even the Thais are complaining. 

We completed our annual Immigration Office ordeal and extended my stay here through to next April.  I am proud of myself for remaining calm while enduring massive bureaucratic idiocy – some of these “civil servants” were spending their time playing with their phones or standing around chatting and joking while we negligible petitioners sat waiting for hours.  (And people the world over think that governments have the competence and the will to help solve our problems and improve our lives?) 

With our paperwork at Immigration all finished except for one signature, the clock struck noon and then the entire Immigration crew closed shop for lunch hour, so we had to come back later.  (Sounds familiar, like the US Post Offices that close window service at noon – right at the one time when the “customers” might get a chance to visit the window.  Private businesses, if they are smart, have to cater to their customers’ needs, but monopolies like the USPS don’t have to bother.) 

Am I sounding cynical?  One of my favorite Jack Nicholson lines puts it in perspective: 

“Now I’m a fair guy, but this fucking heat is driving me absolutely crazy.” 

The only reason I didn’t lose it completely and go postal at Immigration was that their office was air conditioned. 

A song in the movie Jeremiah Johnson (1972) mentions the quest for “where the fair wind blows.”  Still looking for that place. 

-Zenwind.

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Songkran 2016 CE / 2559 BE

We are celebrating Songkran (year 2559 of the Buddhist Era) in this, one long hot holiday week.  Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year, although the official calendar here marks years from 1 January to keep pace with world calendars. 

Because this is the hottest time of year, the tradition is to sprinkle water on people – or to throw it if you are young and wilting from the blazing heat. 

This year has been the hottest in memory here.  Temperatures have been above 100*F for a week now and are forecast to be above 100 for the next week.  That is raw temperature without factoring in the Heat Index of “felt temperature” due to added humidity.  The last time I checked out the Heat Index it was 124*F, and I haven’t bothered to check it since because it’s too damned hot to think about. 

Tuk has had a lot of time off work for the long holiday, and we have been spending most of the time at home trying to stay cool – without much success.  The fans are turned up to the max day and night; I shower every few hours; but I’m still bathed in sweat.  We are consuming huge amounts of liquids to stay hydrated.  Yesterday we did go to a mall so Tuk could upgrade her SIM card to 4G from the fazed-out 2G she has had forever; she can now use her brand new Samsung smartphone, and she is having a ball playing with her new toy.  We also saw the movie “The Jungle Book”, and we were not used to the extreme air-conditioning at the mall’s theater, which had me shivering before the movie’s end. 

I have given up on all attempts at exercising, since it’s just too damn hot.  The treadmill has given me pulled muscles every time I’ve attempted it for a long time now, and it has crippled me for days at a time so that I can hardly walk; so I’ve given up on that.  And I cannot do weight training since the heat saps all my strength. 

I've been plotting my visit to the States -- first time in 10 years -- and I have my ticket to ride.  I will pack light.  No date of return to Thailand, but I'm sure the first frosts of Autumn will drive me home if I haven't already left.  

Stay cool. 

-Zenwind.

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April Heat

April is the dead center of our Hot Season, more unrelentingly brutal than usual.  So I’m not writing much of anything these days. 

In front of two powerful fans, I have been doing a lot of reading. 

Going out is limited to the bare necessities.  I had to make my annual visit to the US Embassy for a notarized document to satisfy Thai Immigration for my late-April application for Extension of Stay based on Retirement.  Other than that, I only go out to get more ice, tea, milk, and Coke Zero.  Staying hydrated here in Sweat City is a grim ongoing battle. 

-Zenwind.

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