Colonel Kai-U Fever!

Ok...so after all the terrible things that have been said and done, an incredible and relaxing phenomenon is happening in Thailand: "Colonel Kai-U Fever!" Colonel Kai-U (kai-u is also the name of a traditional rooster raised to be a fighting cock), or his full name, Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnert, is the Spokesperson of the Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situation and became well-known, especially among Thai ladies, since the "Red Day" happened. Being a military guy, added with his good-looks and a calm character, it is not hard for him to be the talk-of-the-town. Thais have always had something for people in "color" (meaning in the military). With his appearance on TV every day, several times a day, and with dark circles under his eyes, which turned darker every time he was on TV, Kai-U fans put up a blog to vote which eye cream he should use. There are comics, fliers, and forwarded emails about him everywhere! Recently, he was voted to be more famous than the forever-famous actor Ken Theeradech. Thai people are goofy! I love it!

Anyway, things are going great here with us on the other side of the world. Weston started working at the school. I can tell he doesn't like his job that much. Two hours of traveling each way to deal with unruly kids does not sound like fun work. But he knows we have to do what we have to do. Things will get easier though...I believe that.

I'm almost done with my current job. One more day to go. I have two possible jobs lined up and both are about PR. One is PR for an agency and another is PR for a company. Both sound good. As long as I don't stay jobless for more than a month, everything sounds great!

Translating.....oh translating. I thought it would be fun but it's actually torturing me. I'd rather translate a novel than a book full of technical words about film making. I need to finish the job though. So we can earn more money for this month.

The power was out for 3 hours the other night. It was so hot that I kept tossing and turning on the bed and finally fell asleep once the A/C came back on. Weston slept through the whole night because he was so wasted. The heat makes me sick. And it's unbelievable that this statement is coming from a Thai person. Seriously, something's wrong with the world. It's almost like living in an oven. I'm cooked.

One of the missionaries who taught me the gospel is coming to visit us tomorrow. I'm excited to see Jeannette again because I haven't seen her for 10 years. She still can speak Thai which really surprised me. She's incredibly smart! No wonder why she's becoming a doctor pretty soon.

The Land of "Smiles" and the "Peaceful" People

Thailand is called the Land of Smiles and Thais are perceived as peaceful people. But what has happened in the last month, especially the last week, proves that particular concept wrong. Being a Thai, I am in deep sorrow to see that we, Thai brothers and sisters, have sought one another's lives and put "the other" in the enemy category. The government called the red-shirts terrorists. The red-shirt protesters called the government tyrants. People started to take sides. Anger and outrage were expressed in many ways. The picture of a red-shirt guard, or a so-called black-shirt, kicking a tied-up soldier in the face while other red-shirt colleagues cheered is unforgettable. It is absurd. The guy was just doing his job as he was commanded. The video clip of soldiers hitting protesters without hearing their pleas is a hard reality. Maybe it's time for Thais to rethink if they are really peace lovers as they've been trying to portray themselves to other nations. I am not on either side. And I am not indifferent either. What's wrong with "both" sides is that bloodshed doesn't bother them. I only pray that one day everyone will come to an understanding that the only solution to solve the problem is love and it must start with giving, not taking. Sacrificing one's own goals for everyone to win together isn't called weakness, but it should be praised as an imperishable strength.

Sorry if this seems almost like venting. But my heart has been burdened by some actions of some members of the Church who react to the situation poorly. But again...everyone has choices and who am I to judge?

On the first night after the curfew was announced, we were down on the street getting some food. All 7-11 shops were closed. Tops supermarket was the only place that was open and it was packed with people. The shelves were almost empty. We managed to get some water and some instant noodles. Fortunately, we still had some food in our little food storage. I was so grateful that the Church teaches us to store food and water. The Lord is clever. Following Him will always lead us to safety.

There are many things going on this month. I quit my job as a Public Relations Manager. I didn't want to, but the company's liquidity is in bad shape and there's a high possibility that the company won't be able to pay me for this month's work. I am still looking for a new job which is not easy. Maybe I am being too picky. Anyway, I got a freelance translating job for Eclipse: The Illustrated Movie Companion. The money isn't that great, but at least it's some money until Weston gets paid the first month for his English teaching job. We both have a very strong testimony that as long as we faithfully pay a full tithing the Lord will take care of us. It has always been that way.

It was our 4-month anniversary yesterday. It was a good anniversary. Weston was really sweet. He got me a card with a sweet note in it. He also got me some red roses and a DKNY Be Delicious perfume (In Thailand, we sell small portions of perfume for a cheap price). Me? I forgot that it was our anniversary. Weston said that we probably switched our roles. I work outside the house as a main provider of the household and forget our anniversary while Weston stays at home, does laundry and cleans the house and remembers every anniversary :P I am thankful to be with him through both smooth and rough times. He is the best I could ever ask for.

Damon or Drag Queens?

There's never a good way to start these things. Maybe I should just explain the title of the blog. Half-babies (or ลูกครึ่ง in Thai) are half-Thai, half-Caucasian (ฝรั่ง) babies, and the fact of the matter is, they are just better-looking than everyone else. The parents can be ugly as a brick, but if one is white and the other is Thai, their kid is gonna go places, especially when you have a pair of lookers like me and Kami. We'll just have to make sure they don't know how attractive they are as they grow up so it doesn't go to their heads. I gotta figure out a way to keep our aesthetically-blessed children humble. Maybe we'll have to raise them on a farm.

I downloaded Green Zone with Matt Damon today so me and Kami could watch a good movie together for our Friday night date. Instead, we ended up staying at her mom's house watching the Miss Tiffany's Universe pageant on TV. Sounds like a good trade-off, right? Put off watching an intense action movie until later so we could watch a bunch of bikini-clad beauty queens... "Queens" is the key word there. All the Miss Tiffany contestants are dudes ... post-op (กะเทย). If you've never been scared to assume that the pretty Asian girl you're ogling was actually born a female,Google "Miss Tiffany" or watch some videos on YouTube and you'll be cured of that naivete real quick. Kami loves to trick me by asking if I think some Thai celebrity chick is good-looking, and only reveal that it's actually a man after I've already admitted the unspeakable: some of them are actually pretty (barf).

Me and Kami will probably switch off writing in here, but I just wanted to get things started. Married life is swell. Sometimes it is like living with a missionary companion 24/7, but a missionary companion who is actually your best friend and also female (a huge improvement). I love this woman I chose to marry. I do what I do to contribute to her happiness and well-being, and when she is happy it's a heck of a lot easier for me to be happy. Right now, we're both happy, and sickeningly in love. Expect more news from this part of the world soon.