Beltane 2018

It is Beltane in the northern temperate zone, with the full-blooming of May ready to explode into full Spring.  A landmark time of year up north.  I miss its radical changes.  

A few days ago we completed our annual Immigration Bureau Nightmare.  Every late April I must appeal for an Extension of Stay due to Retirement, with extensive bank guarantees of having a bit of money at hand (to prove I’m not a complete bum) as well as new requirements about proof of residence in the Kingdom from the “House Master” (owner of the house, my father-in-law) of the address I live at.  They hit us with new surprises every year (I think they like fucking with us), and it’s always a stressful ordeal.  After a full morning of tension from being at the mercy of these bureaucrats, right up to the last minute, I finally got permission to stay for another year.  Although it’s been several days since this ordeal and its lead-up, I am still feeling effects of its extreme stress and tension, with sleeplessness and now quite debilitating physical pain knocking me out.  Relax – heal, and psych up for next year. 

We’ve had unusual rains for this time of year that have tempered the usual horrible heat a little bit.  It is still humid, but if the sun is clouded over it is somewhat of a relief.  I ventured out for a long walk today, but the clouds parted and the sun boiled me.  I returned drenched in sweat. 

Please take note:  I have made major changes to my personal communication routines, because I’ve been trying to increase the battery life of my phone and tablet, which are my main devices.  (I am sick and tired of always replacing worn-out devices.)  Therefore, I have deleted the social media apps that notoriously devour battery life, even when they are only downloaded to the device and only running in the background and rarely ever used.  The main culprits here are LINE, Facebook and Facebook Messenger.  To me, they are always mainly “chat” apps, and I’ve always hated chat format because I am more of an email or SMS text guy.  (Slow and deliberate with time for delayed thought and response.) 

LINE has long been the premier social media app here in Southeast and East Asia, one that allows all sorts of calls, etc, for free over an internet connection such as WiFi.  All Thais and farangs here that I know use LINE.  Facebook Messenger has copied this exactly and has recently been a big hit in America.  But, since I don’t use them much at all, they are a waste in that they deplete my batteries by running continuously in the background.  And I don’t like their intrusiveness into my privacy. 

Asian friends and family members are pissed at me for deleting LINE from my mobile devices.  I think the same goes for my Western friends that use Facebook and FB Messenger.  But I don’t like these platforms.  (I’m not sure but I may have FB Messenger access still on my old laptop, which I rarely use, but I think my access to my LINE account is lost even there.)  To contact me, use my email address or use SMS text messages to my phone number. 

My current personal task is to balance my reading/ writing projects with my exercise routines.  I am behind on all fronts.  I did complete my Zenwind review of Ready Player One – which unfortunately required that I sit around too much.  I urgently need to exercise much more, or else I decay.  I’m currently reading a very intriguing biography of a controversial contemporary, and I’m taking careful notes in case I want to review it later.  Reading and writing are addictions, so I must counter that by getting out and about much more. 

Find the balance.  Aristotle’s Golden Mean.  The Buddha's Middle Way.  

-Zenwind. 

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