Powder

Here in Chiang Mai, there is some body powder you can buy that is called "cooling powder". I bought it before and really liked it. It heats up like Ben Gay. It is suppose to cool you down when you get wet and sticky. And it does. You just have to be careful where you put it. A friend of ours decided to put some down his pants on a hot day. He didn't realize it was the cooling powder. It started to heat up. He was so uncomfortable that he had to take a shower to get it all off. So let that be a warning. Be careful where you powder yourself.

TODAY I GOT MY NOSE PIERCED!

Sadness

I went to the counselor today. We talked about me not letting my emotions out. I stuff them deep down and try not to let any seep out. So today we talked about sadness. Sadness of not being protected. Sadness of unmet needs. Sadness of being overlooked. Sadness. In my life I have had sadness. Who hasn't? I don't really like thinking about it. And I really don't like experiencing it. I'm okay with sad movies that make me tear up, but not so much real life. So my assignment is to think through some sad times in my life and to journal about it and feel it. Doesn't that sound fun!

My chamo shorts

Steve bought me a nice pair of chamo shorts a few weeks ago. I wore them probably 3 times before I decided to put them in the wash. That was this morning. I did a load of darks with my chamos and threw in a few underwear since it doesn't matter if those get color on them. Sure enough, the shorts turned all my underwear brown. So now I have matching underwear to go with my shorts.

Massages

I took a massage course last week for a day. I thought it would be good to add massage therapist to my list of professions. I am sure with just one day, actually only a half day course, that I could call myself a professional massage therapist. Kind of like Phoebe in Friends.

So I learned how to give a nice back massage. I have given one to Steve and now one to Jen. The butt massage is a bit awkward, but you actually get use to it and it isn't so bad.

I hope to train my two ladies who worked for me at the gym to give massages. I think they could really make some good extra money with it.

Now if I could just train Steve so he can give me one.

Burma and Back

Today (my 39th birthday) Micah and I went to Burma. We had to leave Thailand to get a new visa for Thailand, so we went to Burma, also called Myanmar. It was a four hour drive. We went by tour van. It was a very quiet trip. Micah and I whispered to each other, listened to music, ate chips, and just sat there. The driver had the longest fingernails that I have seen on a man. Very nice hands.

Burma is kind of like India. At least the one block that we saw. It is like a market in Delhi. There were even more beggars there than there are in Thailand. We bought a few movies there since they were really cheap. Then we crossed the border back to Thailand and rode another four hours back to Chiang Mai.

We got dropped off at a gas station and our friend was going to pick us up there, but he was busy at the time. So I said, "no problem we will just take a tuk-tuk or sung tow." Easier said then done. We walked and walked and couldn't find one. Finally a traffic cop helped us. He couldn't understand the name of the road I was saying. I said, "May Rim" and he heard "Mariam". So it took a while to find someone who could understand me and help me get the right directions. The police man called a motorcycle for us. So Micah and I got to ride without helmets on the back of a stranger's bike. It was fun.

So now we are back at our friend's house. Steve left this morning for India. We will be here at least another week. I wonder what other adventures we will get to go on.

Sidewalker

I don't walk on the sidewalk. I walk on the street. As I was walking to the store today I realized that I don't like to walk on the sidewalk. I tried to do it. But the problem is that you have to step up and step down. Those are times when I could fall. Or there are trees that have branches that hang over the sidewalk that I will have to duck under. Or maybe a snake is in the tree and it will fall on me as I pass under it. In Delhi you always have to be watchful of pee or poo on the sidewalk. So I prefer to walk on the street.

Dress Shopping

Steve's sister is getting married in April and we will be going back to America for it. So I want to find a dress to wear to the wedding. I haven't owned a dress in several years. I haven't even looked at dresses in clothing stores since I just don't wear them. But I want to wear one for this wedding.

We are in Thailand were the women are all skinny and weigh less than 100 pounds. So dress shops cater to them. Lots of little, cute dresses. Dresses that a very skinny person looks great in. Short length that look good when you have no hips. But I am made differently. I have hips and flabby arms and a belly. I don't really want to show my thighs. So I almost had an anxiety attack and started crying when I went shopping.

I looked through all the dresses twice. I held a few up to myself to see what they looked like. Not all the dresses came in large so that narrowed my choices. And not a single dress went down to my knees. I seriously wanted to cry.

I really want to look nice for this wedding. I am worried what others will think of what I wear. SO I not only have to find something I like but also something other people will like. I try not to care, but I just do.

So we left the mall frustrated. I, with no dress. Steve with only a leather pocket knife holder. Micah with nothing.

Blogs

I like reading my friends' blogs. And I like writing my blog. There are lots of times that nothing comes to mind to write about. But still there is lots going on in my life that is interesting. I think I have an interesting life I guess. Maybe it is just how you look at it. For instance...

Today I decided to go to the store. We are in Thailand right now and I'm not extremely familiar with my way around, but I was confident that I could find my way since I have been to this store several times and it is only two turns from the house here. Well I didn't make the right turns. So I ended up twice as far away. But no problem. It just took me three times as long to get there since I had to slowly go around the moat.

What is interesting about this to me is that my life has a moat in it. Or at least the city that I am in does. How cool is that? How many people are in cities with moats? Not many I bet.

So even though we all get to take trips to the store to buy basic items, I decided to take the scenic route which made my life more interesting.

Babysitting

We are watching the Klakulak kids for about two weeks while the parents are in America. We get to stay in their nice, big house. All is well except that Josiah is sick with what could possibly be H1N1. And this morning Nicole also was sick. So we get to go to the hospital in an hour. I think I will buy some surgical masks while I am there.