Covid Invades Our Household

 

I suppose it was inevitable, despite our careful sanitation routines, for Covid to infect our family.  The virus has been considered “endemic” here, and most of the restrictions are in the past.  We have still been wary because Tuk’s parents are old and frail. 

Tuk came down with symptoms and tested positive first.  So, she self-quarantined to our third-floor room, and we didn’t see her for days.  She ordered food delivered to our gate, and I took some to her parents and left hers at her door.  We communicated via text. 

Some days later, I felt cold-like symptoms coming on.  Tuk gave me a Covid home test which came up positive.  Now we both are barricaded in our portion of the house, isolated from her parents who are so far ok.  Since I am no longer going out shopping, the deliveries are all-important.  I really miss going outside, to the courtyard in front and the second-floor veranda in back, but we stay away to let the parents use those areas. 

My symptoms so far have been like the tail-end of a very weak head cold, and they have diminished daily since Day 1 – I’m now at Day 6.  The reason, I think, is because of my vaccinations:  Two Astra-Zeneca (in July and October 2021) and a Moderna booster (in February this year).  Tuk had two Sinovac, then a Pfizer booster, then a Moderna.  She has cold-like symptoms that are a bit more pronounced than mine and which persist longer, yet they are still relatively mild.  Her parents have had a vax history similar to mine, but because of their age we try to keep them safe at a distance. 

I feel like I’m under house arrest.  I will be glad when the self-quarantine ends. 

-Zenwind. 

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Marijuana Liberated in Thailand!

 

It is Independence Day!  The Glorious Fourth!  And here in Thailand it is appropriate that marijuana has recently been legalized (perhaps) and we can now smoke high-THC weed recreationally.  Cannabis was taken off the prohibited drug list three weeks ago on Jun 9, and free-enterprising sellers have set up shop throughout Bangkok.  And very high-potency ganga is offered. 

I didn’t expect this, and neither did most people.  There were no plans in place for regulating it, except for “public nuisance” prohibitions for smoking in public and a THC-content limit on extracts.  It is a sudden rush of freedom. 

Yet, it is suspicious that such a reactionary society could take such a libertarian step.  Some speculate that, because of the enormous profits from the weed trade and the great stimulus this liberalization will give to the foreign tourism industry, many of the power-brokers among the elite establishment here have their fingers in the various money pies.  Corruption is endemic everywhere here. 

I am skeptical about how long this free market era of freedom will last without stupid regulations from the political class.  A committee is now drawing up new regulations (due around August), and I predict a slew of nonsensical laws from politicians, bureaucrats, and their cronies. 

But in the meantime, I’ve visited two dispensaries in Bangkok to buy the legal limit of 3 grams from each.  One shop was staffed by mostly Americans and the other by Thais.  Each shop was consumer-friendly in the best traditions of free-market capitalism – offering a great product at competitive prices along with very supportive advice.  (As my father always explained to me, as we sold our farm’s milk and eggs to the public, the customers’ preferences and satisfaction are of the most importance.) 

I intend to visit several more of the weed dispensaries in the city, out of curiosity but also from the desire to stock up a decent personal stash in case the government goons decide to crush this renaissance of free-market cooperation between buyers and sellers. 

This stuff is powerful, far beyond our 60s and 70s experiences.  I always tend to micro-dose, limiting my indulgence to two or three tokes, enough to get a buzz and still be able to be energized and motivated.  This mode of usage gets me to exercise, to move out, and to heal.  It especially gets me to have much more intense Tai Chi sessions. 

I have been quite crippled for the last several months with severe hip pain.  I had not fallen, and I couldn’t explain it.  Last week, my doctors speculated that I have suffered compression of the lower spine due to lifting heavy stuff at home recently.  The pain has been so bad that I must walk with a cane, and only short distances at that.  I am curious about how marijuana (the THC-high smoking type) affects this recent episode of pain. 

The pain is always uneven, inconsistent and unpredictable.  But after two weeks of intermittent toking of weed, I no longer have to use my cane for large portions of my day.  Grass doesn’t relieve pain, but I’ve always thought of it as allowing me to “climb up through the pain”.  It kind of forces me to pace my movements carefully. 

I am going to observe this personal use of cannabis more thoroughly and try to see to whether it actually does have consistent healing effects on me.  On the plus side, it does make music sound so much more intense. 

-Zenwind. 

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They're Baaack!! Return of the Tourists

 

The foreign tourists have been starting to come back to Thailand.  Not the former great numbers of Chinese yet, but “farangs”, i.e., westerners, and some Middle Easterners are showing up. 

I have been extremely spoiled for two years, because the Covid pandemic shut down all incoming tourism.  I seemed to be the “only farang in town”, and I admit that I really liked that.  The trains, malls and theaters were empty and I roamed freely.  I didn’t have to witness crude behavior from farang (Euro-American types) or Chinese tourists.  There were only Thais and myself out and about, and I felt like I blended in.  But the dread tourists are trickling back.  I feel crowded now. 

We are all still expected to wear masks everywhere in public – it’s the social norm here as well as the law – but some tourists are arrogantly ignoring it, thumbing their noses at Thai values, and to me, as an expat, this is embarrassing to see. 

What I hate most is that public spaces are more crowded again.  Yes, that is selfish of me, but I am by nature a solitary rambler. 

“Ramble on; and now’s the time, the time is now, to sing my song...”. (Led Zeppelin). 

-Zenwind. 

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Royal Ploughing Ceremony

 

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony was this morning, and I always try to watch it on TV.  It takes place around this time every year, to acknowledge the beginning of the rice-planting season, just before the Rainy Season begins.  It is an ancient ceremony introduced from India, its first mention being in the Ramayana.  Brahmins – Indian Hindu priests, these being historically attached to the Thai royal court – officiate at the ploughing field. 

After the Thai king has finished the Buddhist part of the ceremony at the Grand Palace, he arrives at the ploughing field.  Then two beautiful white oxen, huge with golden embellishments on their horns, are harnessed to an ornate wooden plough with a single blade.  Brahmins led the plough procession, followed by the oxen.  A chief Brahmin has his hand on the plough, and following are young ladies with baskets of rice seeds and flowers.  The Brahmin tosses seeds into the ploughed furrows as they go round and round. 

At the end of the ploughing, the oxen are fed.  Their given choices are:  rice, corn, green beans, grass, water, or rice whiskey.  Their choices are interpreted by Brahmin astrologers (who also have chosen the auspicious date for this ceremony) for predictions of the future harvest. 

Needless to say, my confidence in astrologers is zero.  But it is a beautiful ceremony to watch. 

-Zenwind. 

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Absurd Misadventure

 

I had an extremely trying day recently, to put it lightly.  I got locked into my toilet cubicle, in our outside second-floor veranda toilet-shower area.  The doorknob locks on our doors, both inside and out, are crap.  They are cheap, poor-quality shit that often freeze up.  Through the years, we have had numerous episodes where someone was locked out of (or into) some space or another because the cheap doorknob-locks froze up. 

I went into my toilet cubicle and, per usual, pushed the lock button once inside.  When trying to get out, I turned the knob, which released the lock button with a click.  But the door was still firmly locked.  I could not open it to get out.  I was stuck. 

I tried climbing up out of my cubicle, over the high walls under the veranda roof, to either the shower stall next door or the outer veranda, but I soon realized that I would seriously injure myself if trying these strenuous acrobatic maneuvers.  I only had marginal toe-holds on water pipes, and the long reaches were beyond me.  (And, days later, I am in extreme pain from those attempts at the climb-out.) 

But I was extremely lucky – or “Be Prepared”, as in the Scout Motto – in this instance.  I had my phone.  I always prefer a “Compact” phone, a small 4.7-inch waterproof Sony, one that I can easily put into a pocket of my swim trunks that I wear at home every day.  (If I want more readable internet connection detail, I will access my 8-inch Mini Tablet or my laptop, both of which are less conveniently portable.) 

Locked inside, I called Tuk at her office, and – my extreme good luck again – she answered.  I told her my tale of woe, and she contacted a locksmith to come and rescue me.  It took about an hour, but I had assets:  a toilet, a smartphone, and a towel to wipe the sweat out of my eyes from this accursed tropical heat and humidity (a reminder of my first landing in Vietnam in 1969, when I noticed all Marines had a towel around their necks, to wipe sweat off their weapons and faces). 

The locksmith changed the lock, but also added sliding latch-locks to the inside doors of both toilets and the shower room, so that we don’t have to use the undependable doorknob locks.  I don’t want to go through that again. 

-Zenwind. 

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A New Barber

I have found a new barber, and I am pleased.  (My regular haircutter of over five years is not working anymore.)  I chose this new shop because their barbers are noted for their English-speaking ability.  It is near my most frequented movie theater and shopping centers when I go deep into the city, and is close to transit hubs. 

My new barber, Dew, understood immediately what I wanted and – most importantly – errs on the side of not cutting much off, until I asked him to cut off just a little more, twice.  (I absolutely detest barbers whose first instinct is to scalp you down to the bone!) 

The shop has a classic cool old-time vibe.  I noticed that the bottle for spraying water was a modified Jack Daniel’s bottle.  Everyone is easy-going and friendly.  I’ll be back. 

-Zenwind. 

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Screaming Pain & Agony

Caveat:  I’m not actually screaming, but I’d like to.

It is really difficult to sleep, as my hip pain makes any position uncomfortable.  My range of walking is limited to not much more than 100 meters a day.  I’ve quit stretching and any other exercises, because it hurts too much.  Constant deep pain wears you down. 

In other news, we just got over a week of unseasonably cold and rainy weather, very unexpected.  A high-pressure system over China brought cold air down to us, and it disrupted what would normally be dry and hot conditions.  The Hot is back now, so we will sweat out the upcoming Songkran holidays – the hottest time of the year. 

-Zenwind. 

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Immigration trip & Physical Pain

Today I successfully completed my dreaded annual ordeal at the Immigration Office, applying for an Extension of Stay in the kingdom for another year on a Retirement visa.  I have the routine down quite well, preparing the financial documentation and providing numerous copies of passport info, etc. 

But they always throw a surprise at you, every single year.  They told me right off that I needed a copy of a “house registration”, something they’ve never asked me for before and which I’d never heard about in the online forums where foreigners share info on Thai visa issues. 

Do they do this just to screw with farangs?  It throws an instant panic into the applicant, who wonders if their extension of stay will be denied or what will they have to do to get over this new hurdle. 

I got to see an immigration officer anyway, and she was very professional and decent.  It seemed to be going well, as I was photographed and processed as normal.  But I had to sit and wait for three hours before they returned my bankbook and my passport with an OK stamp for the next year.  I’m good through March 2023, but I’m dazed and in pain from the long wait. 

These last weeks, my hip pain has become alarming.  I can barely walk, and climbing stairs is brutal.  The scariest aspect of it is that I cannot exercise in any way, and I know that routine lack of exercise is a downward path that I do not want to accept. 

This was a stressful day.  After long agony at Immigration, I limped home the last few meters like an old cripple.  Physical pain wears you down. 

I will watch a comedy film this evening, and then I will meditate myself to sleep.  Dukkha – accepting it and then releasing the negativity – letting it go. 

-Zenwind. 

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Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac was born one century ago.  (12 March 1922 – 21 October 1969).  He was a great influence on my early life.  In a rare post to my main Zenwind blog, HERE is my tribute to him.  

-Zenwind. 

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Hot Season Begins

 

Sweat City normality is back.  I saw it coming from my close monitoring of weather forecasts.  We lucked out this year, with a February that was not too bad, with dew points only in the “somewhat uncomfortable” range.  Tonight, the dew points will be in the “very humid, quite uncomfortable” range, and tomorrow in the “extremely uncomfortable, oppressive” range. 

This means, for the long foreseeable future, getting dressed to go out while under a fan and a/c, and then when moving through the house to the door becoming wet with sweat already – before ever getting out into the sun.  Returning from a 100-meter walk to the store, I am soaked through, clothes wringing wet.  Without a bandana sweatband, I would be blinded. 

So, “Summer” is back, and April will be the most intense.  The Rainy Season, starting in maybe June or July, will still have high, uncomfortable dew points, but at least the clouds will sometimes shield us from the sun. 

I regret that I have squandered my opportunities to explore new neighborhoods on foot while the weather was more comfortable, although my recent hip pain has hindered my marches.  The new MRT train route would allow me to check out new areas on the far side of the river.  Maybe next winter.  

-Zenwind. 

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