Because I have way too much time on my hands this vacation:
(From Joe.  Again.)

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
01 | disappointment.
02 | missing out on the small, important things in life.
03 | s-s-spiders.

THREE PEOPLE WHO MAKE ME LAUGH:
01 | arwen and her guffaw/hiccup laugh.
02 | nick and his spontaneous randomness.
03 | akira and his impeccable impersonations.

THREE THINGS I LOVE:
01 | the ocean.
02 | lying beneath a starry sky having random conversations with friends while listening to music.
03 | bangkok.

THREE THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND:
01 | anything physics or math-related (matrices? huh? is that a combo DVD set of all the matrix movies?).
02 | wonderfully vague goo goo dolls lyrics (johnny rzeznik rocks).
03 | american football, and why people are so into it (i know, i know, i oughtta have my passport revoked).

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK:
01 | my glasses.
02 | a plate of bright yellow, juicy mangos.
03 | a big pile of CDs (both of the authentic and burned variety).

THREE THINGS I SAY THE MOST:
01 | "oh wow" (I guess I'm easily amazed)
02 | "oh FISH" (in high school, my friends and i concluded that saying "FISH!" with flair and exuberance was so much better than saying "FUCK!" because there would be no chance of you accidentally slipping out profane words during inappropriate moments, like when you're out having dinner with your parents and their friends and realize that you've completely forgotten about the 15-page paper due tomorrow that you were going to finish up tonight. that, and it also kind of gives the same sort of satisfaction and gratification as saying "FUCK!" out loud. come on, say it with me everyone, "FISH, FISH, FISH!")
03 | "na ja" (added at the end of virtually every single sentence when speaking with my Thai friends)

THREE THINGS I'M DOING RIGHT NOW:
01 | talking to Siri on MSN
02 | listening to David Bowie's new album, which is so freaking awesome (especially "Fall Dog Bombs the Moon"), I don't know why I waited so long to get around to listening to it.
03 | trying to get onto my university's intranet so i can check my grades for the past term, but the stupid server's been fuc-- i mean, fished up for the past week. arghh.

THREE MEMORIES FROM WHEN I WAS A CHILD:
01 | road trips with my family to beautiful west coast spots: monterey bay, napa valley, redwood national park, lake tahoe, yosemite, las vegas… that was so long ago and i haven’t been to those places for ages, thinking about it almost seems like a dream.
02 | falling off the kitchen counter when i was four, and thumping my head (that would explain a lot, huh) after climbing up to reach the oreos my mom had hidden in the tall kitchen cabinets.
03 | falling into st. elizabeth lake in fremont during a 2nd grade field trip. damn ducks started honking and nipping at me with their beaks and, at the time, i thought it was punishment for eating duck at china town every weekend.

THREE THINGS I REMEMBER LISTENING TO WHEN I WAS A CHILD:
01 | anything and everything elvis has ever sung.
02 | michael jackson’s thriller album (i used to dance - rock back and forth - next to the speakers whenever "beat it" came on, or so my mom says).
03 | songs by the early motown artists: the platters, chuck berry, the temptations.

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE:
01 | have a baby(ies).
02 | go to ireland and walk along the cliffs of moher.
03 | write a book (about what, i still do not know).

THREE THINGS I CAN DO:
01 | drive in mad bangkok traffic (hey, that takes skills you know).
02 | tell you (in great detail) about organophosphate poisoning, its mechanism and initial approaches to treatment (but ask me anything else medically related and i'll have to get back to you on that).
03 | play the Irish tin whistle.

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY:
01 | silly (ting tong).
02 | quirky, some would say odd.
03 | inquisitive.

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY LOOKS:
01 | often very smiley for no particular reason. sometimes i get really happy or just generally amused at some very small random thing, and then i can't stop smiling.
02 | asian.
03 | err, human? (i don't have antennas).

THREE THINGS I CAN'T DO:
01 | dive.
02 | fill up the gas (god, how embarrassingly pathetic, but it's true. there's no such thing as self-service here in thailand. i guess i have to find someone to teach me when i go back to the states. that, or risk owing US gas stations oodles of $$$ to make up for their broken gas pumps after i'm done fiddling with the gas watchamacallits and all the bright buttons.)
03 | whistle (but i can shout really loud. can anyone teach me how to whistle?)

THREE THINGS I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD LISTEN TO:
01 | u2's album, "the joshua tree".
02 | loreena mckennitt's album, "the book of secrets".
03 | any of these movie soundtracks: "ever after", "last of the mohicans", "braveheart", "tuck everlasting", "the princess bride", "cider house rules", "far and away", "o brother where art thou", "man in the iron mask", "the secret garden" (i'm a movie soundtrack aficionado).

THREE THINGS I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO EVER:
01 | britney spears's cover of "(i can't get no) satisfaction" (she butchered one of the best rock songs of all time), but anything else by britney is good fun (please don't shoot me).
02 | soulless modern rock bands, like simple plan.
03 | cheeky girls and their annoyingly addictive "the cheeky song" ("da, da, dadida, come and touch my bum, this is life!"… oh god.)

THREE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS:
01 | lasagna
02 | tom yum koong
03 | salmon (preferably in the form of sushi)

THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO LEARN:
01 | how to speak mandarin well.
02 | how to cook well (even though i'm an avid watcher of "the naked chef", i still suck…sorry jamie, but you yourself are an awesome chef).
03 | not to procrastinate (even though, ironically, i tend to do better in whatever i'm doing when i do procrastinate).

THREE BEVERAGES I DRINK REGULARLY:
01 | green tea.
02 | water.
03 | thai iced-tea smoothies (nothing, i tell you, nothing can beat this).

THREE SHOWS I WATCHED WHEN I WAS A KID:
01 | full house (I loved that show).
02 | the wonder years (I loved this one even more).
03 | growing pains.

Currently Playing Reality By David Bowie see related

Sorry about the multiple entries, but I just felt like blogging a bit.  I just had this long talk with Gug on the phone.  It made me think of one of markboonya's entries about people who you can just click with as friends...a sort of "soul mate" in terms of friendship.  I feel so fortunate to have a tight group of friends... these amazing people from high school whom, even though I don't see or talk to for months on end, I can still pick up with as though the last time I saw them was just a few hours ago. 

We started talking about the Pattaya trip this weekend, and then ended up delving into other things:  the future, how we've changed since high school, what we want from life, things like that... Heh, and of course we started talking about ruang kwam rak, too.  I don't know if it's just the guys at our universities or what, but we've concluded that it's practically impossible to find decent Thai guys (I mean Thai guys who are born and raised here) who you can just click with.  I remember having a conversation with Dea and Siri about the same thing.  A lot of Thai guys (at our unis, at least) switch girlfriends like accessories.  It's like, oh, I have my car, flashy cell phone, and girlfriend hanging off my arm, I'm so fly.  Or some of them expect their girlfriends to be the clingy, non-independent types who are constantly there for them at their every call and whim.  Do I sound cynical and pessimistic?  I probably do, but it's just what some of my friends and I have observed these past few years while attending Thai universities.  I know there's guys like that everywhere, but with Thai guys, it's extra hard to see eye to eye with them about certain things.  I guess it's because of the different upbringing, different ideas and different expectations.  I don't know.  But coming from an international school and upbringing, we were always sort of caught in the middle of the western and eastern world.  We were brought up to think like people from the west, but were still immersed in the ways of the east.  As a result, we're a sort of mix of both, neither one nor the other.  Makes me think of this one guy I used to know who said international school graduates are "third culture people".  We're ethnically one culture, are born into another culture, and grow up surrounded and influenced by another completely different culture. 

Anyway, guy ranting aside, a lot of what Gug said today got me thinking long and hard.  Who knows what we'll be like a few years from now... where we'll be... what sort of lives we'll be living out.  But, whatever the case, I guess that the not knowing part is what makes it all the more exciting.  Hmm...

Currently Reading Irish Blessings: A Photographic Celebration By Ashley Shannon see related

Kids say the funniest things.

At a recent family get-together dinner, my adorable, very cheeky, seven-year old cousin, Nina, exclaimed rather audibly when she heard the adults talking about the whole Paradorn & Tata ordeal, "Paradorn has such big lips! Isn't Tata scared he might eat her up when they kiss?".  She followed this up with wet, smacking, kissing noises that were so loud, I swear the farang couple at the table next to us heard it (I believe I heard tittering coming from their table).  A few minutes later, obviously after much speculation and thought, she suddenly cried out, "But Tata has a big mouth too because she's a singer and looks like a puffer fish, so maybe she'll eat him up." This time I was certain the farang couple heard that because they were practically howling with laughter.

Today, I saw my ten-year old cousin (he's actually my cousin's son, so I guess that makes us second cousins?). The last time I saw him was about a year ago and he's grown up so much since then. Not physically, though… poor kid got all the short genes in the family and so while his brother and sister are giants, he's still, well, short. Anyway, he's already passed his cutie-patootie phase and so I can't squeeze his chubby cheeks anymore in risk of being swatted at.  He's starting to near puberty and from what my cousin (his mom) says, the mood swings are now in full force.

I still remember when he was six and the cutest thing on earth:

Mann: I farted in class today while the teacher was reading to us.
Me: Uhhhh. Really?
Mann: Yeah, it was really loud. Boom, boom, BOOM!
Me: (trying desperately to keep a straight face)
Mann: We were all sitting in a circle.  I was going to say my friend did it, but then I got an idea.
Me: Oh yeah?  What was your idea?
Mann: (rolling his eyes like the answer is so plainly obvious)  You got to hurry and breathe it all in before other people smell it (starts inhaling like mad…I'm so worried he's going to start hyperventilating).  See?  Like this (Heave, heave. Inhale. Pant.).
Me: Ehh…are you sure that works?
Mann: (gives me an exasperated look and rolls his eyes)  You don't believe me, right?  OK, here, I'll show you.

I reminded him of his expertly adivce today and he gave me the most baffled look, "Arai wa?.  Dude, I'd never do anything stupid like that." Then he started to look a little uncertain. "Or maybe I did… but don't tell Ben (his older brother)... he'd blackmail me if he knew that."

Ah, sibling love, ain't it grand?

I've recently rediscovered Sophie B. Hawkins' Whaler album, thanks to the background music Naeglerian recently put up on his site.  I remember listening to Whaler nonstop throughout eighth and ninth grade, but then soon forgot about it after Hanson came MMMBopping into the music scene during the summer of '97.   As I Lay Me Down is definitely one of the best ballads of all time.

Currently Playing Whaler By Sophie B. Hawkins see related

Was talking with Akira on MSN this morning, and yea, the APEC conference has finally come to a close:

Banno says:  APEC is over right
 . l y n n . says:  yup
Banno says:  i heard that thailand did a great job man
 . l y n n . says: yeah, they did! 
Banno says:  its great to know that... "pride of thailand"
 . l y n n . says:  hehe bush was tapping his feet to the "ra-nad" music during the royal barge ceremony
Banno says:  really, he did that?
Banno says:  arghh..anyways i'm happy he's gone from bkk
 . l y n n . says:  yeah i read it in the daily news this morning
 . l y n n . says:  they also said arroyo couldn't get enough of Thai durian lol
Banno says:  haha.... really?....where do you get that from
Banno says:  daily news thailand?
Banno says:  haha...its quite funny putting that into the article
 . l y n n . says:  yeah i just got back from the bank and was reading a little snippet
 . l y n n . says:  from the newspaper while i was there
Banno says:  but arroyo's country has DURIAN
 . l y n n . says:  yeah i know... but they said she really liked durian ice cream
Banno says:  but anyways great job...really happy for thailand
Banno says:  durian ice cream
Banno says:  thinking about it
Banno says:  she is small and chubby
 . l y n n . says:  hahaha
 . l y n n . says:  so is megawati....
 . l y n n . says:  or as my brother says, MEGAwati

By the way, if anyone was wondering, Arroyo's the president of the Philippines and Megawati's the prime minister of Indonesia.

Yecch.  I can't stand durian, much less durian ice cream.  I remember trying durian for the first time when I was eight.  I was on vacation in Thailand and as I took my first trip to the thalad nud (morning market), my cousin said to me rather excitedly, "You HAVE to try this!!!  It's the best thing EVER, in the whole wide world!!!  I eat it ALL the time!!  I can't get enough of this stuff!!!!".  So, as you can imagine, I was really eager to get a taste of this "really amazing fruit" (*insert multiple, excited exclamations*), and I did... and I regretted it.  I wanted to spit it out, stomp on it and gargle until my tongue fell out, but couldn't because my cousin and the mae kha (vendor lady) both had these super excited looks on their faces as I took my first bite... I remember my cousin looking as though she expected me to start jumping up and down, raving about durian, "the best fruit in the whole wide world!!!!" (*insert multiple, excited exclamations*).  All I could offer was a weak, "aroy dee ka" (*cough, choke, cough*).  I now avoid the yucky yellow stuff like the plague.

Thai Rath also had more details (gossip) on what went on behind the scenes at APEC, too.  Poor Bush, they said he really wanted to leave his bulletproof room to view the Royal Barge ceremony from outside, but his body guard wouldn't let him.  Also, as I was watching the live coverage, I noticed that everytime he greeted Taksin before a conference, he would go, "Howdy, Mr. Prime Minister!"... hehehe, gotta love the Texan in him.

I got this from Joy yesterday... I thought it was cute. 

Oh yeah, I'm all for promoting bitch-slapping.

And, for some really odd reason, I find this mildly amusing.  According to them, I am insane.  Kakakaka...

Oh, and speaking of Texans, Texas rocks (the band, not the Lone Star State). I'm listening to them right now and Put Your Arms Around Me is achingly beautiful... Sharleen Spiteri, what a gorgeous voice.

Currently Playing White on Blonde By Texas see related