OakMonster’s Den

oakmonster.com Coming Soon!

I’ve found a lot of my readers start marking me down for Oakmonster.com, so I might as well register the darn name.

I won’t be leaving this joint anytime soon though. Don’t know if I have time to tinker with another site just yet.

But when I’m ready, Chris Cactus, you’ll be hearing from me.

I’m up to my ears in HTML, hacking and slashing and adding things to one of our sites which is way outdated and mickeymoused beyond believe. And they want to add LOTS of data. No fun at all to hard code. I’m cheating though, using Dreamweaver to make the file then steal the code and plop it on to the old stuff.

Why not use Dreamweaver altogether? These files are so honked up that all the errors are showing up on the design screen that it drives me nuts. That’s why.

Anyway. I’m taking a little break from the madness here to let you know about my evil plan this weekend.

I’m going to head down to San Diego on Sunday to hang out with Olaina. Brandon may or may not come with, depending on if Justin is available or not. The Espresso Garden in Hillcrest, the cafe she has her paintings displayed, is having its grand opening event all day. So, I’ll go down for that and Olaina and I plan to get sloshed together and I’ll just spend the night there if Brandon doesn’t come with. It’ll be fun!

For obvious reason, Non Sequitur is one of my favorite comic strips.

WTF? …a little bit out of the blue, don’t you think??

[Brynn] Cameron and [Matt] Leinart dated while Leinart was attending USC. The two reportedly broke up last year, but still talk frequently.

So…he knocked her up while they “talk frequently”?

Oh yes. The USC Trojans Football returns this weekend. Expect to see the sudden increase in college ball talk for the next few months, y’all.

Having a tough morning. Didn’t quite go to sleep again last night and when I finally did, the Pot Smoking Neighbor struck again at 2 fucking a.m. Damn him. And his grandmother the apartment manager too! (”My grandson is a good kid. He’s a graduate of Fullerton College and works a good job. He doesn’t smoke pot.” — yeah, whatever.)

But this, this here is comedy gold. Both Colbert and Laurie.

Kneel before your god, Babylon!!!

Poof! Cinq!

Just about 1/2 a mile, baby!

LOL. That is nothing. But for an out of shape, 1st time runner like me, that’s pretty okay.

With all the FABULOUS Nike shoes I’ve gotten from my brother, I figured heck I should run in them instead of just wearing them for styles. As for Brandon, well, he knows he needs to get out more. Besides, he wants to test out his knees to see if he could run again.

So Brandon and I went running. Brandon used to run cross country when he was in high school, so he was giving pointers. We walked to the park which is just about a 1/4 mile from the house. The park has a track with a marker for 1/4 mile. Nice! So we ran around that once and walked out all the way to the end of the road. That makes about a mile. We walked back and ran a block or so, almost 1/4 mile and walked the rest.

Final result? I am feeling great right now…which I’m sure I will hate life tomorrow. Brandon is not going for a run every again. 1/4 mile was good, but more than that, his knees hate him.

So, I will be slowly running to Brandon’s fast walking. Or I’ll walk with him and run on my own. One of the two.

Because, y’all, I think running may have become my new addiction.

It once was. I mean, I used to really really like to run! I was never a long distance runner but quite a little sprinter. I would run here and there and everywhere I’d run. As long as it wasn’t a long distance. It goes with the whole, “I want to go there and do that NOW!” mentality. Oh yeah, I have always been this hyperactive. ;-D

And I was a fast little bugger too! I was neck and neck with Sam (funny to come to remember that!) in school for the fastest girl in class in 50 meter dash when we had tracks for PE. I was a lot shorter than she was…well…still am. Heh. I did okay at 100 meter. But when 400 meter came, I was one of the last ones to make it back around.

Oh yeah, I’m like a nitro booster. All that bundled energy is released for full speed for a short time…then sadly fizzles out.

I’m better at pacing now, but I still think I’m running a little too fast. But hey, I may actually run well. You never know!

I hope I can keep this up. Unlike yoga practice that has dwindled down to once a month now.

Gosh, I may actually have fitness A.D.D.!

I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog that I’m still not comfortable seeing images from 9/11 especially the World Trade Center. Tears well up everytime I see a picture of the Twin Towers burning. It just brings out all sorts of emotions from that day.

Tonight, Inside 9/11 was on National Geographic Channel. I caught it right around the section where the Pentagon was just hit.

Apparently, this is an updated of the original. Being that I haven’t seen it the first time, I figured I’d watch it a bit. You know, get all the bits and pieces I didn’t know and/or remember. I thought it would be more like their Seconds from Disaster series where they deconstruct the chains of events in a more physical way than emotional. You know, the science behind what happened, like “this is what causes the building to collapse”, sort of thing. I didn’t expect the human story and survivor recounts.

They interviewed the widows of Flight 93 heroes, a fireman who survived the second tower, and many more. An ache gnawed at my heart.

“I don’t think I should be watching this,” I said to Brandon. One hand on the remote, the other over my face.

“Then change it,” he said.

I hesitated. “I can’t,” I said.

“I HAVE to watch this. I don’t want to forget.”

And there I was at the moment that the first tower began to collapse, hugging my knees on the couch. My eyes were on the TV as I watched in horror as if this just happened yesterday. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I could do nothing to stop them.

“People just forget about this so soon,” said Brandon.

Indeed.

Had fantastic time with Rose and Janet tonight. Tons of food and lots of sweets afterward. Brandon went with us too. Much fun for all! You know Rose and I are true bloggers when we so thoroughly enjoy our first meet up that we forgot to take pictures. LOL. Will deliberate more about dinner tomorrow.

Because right now, I’m trying to go to sleep.

And I’m still wide awake. Not much from jetlag but from a brain that refuses to shut down. I went to bed at midnight. Couldn’t sleep. Came back out and watched a Tivo’ed Feasting on Asphalt. Got sleepy. Got in bed. Wide awake. Got up and took a Tylenol PM.

And now I wait…

I figure a few folks would enjoy my insights into Bangkok’s culture. So here is what I posted on Thai-Blogs a few days ago. Enjoy!

Perhaps it’s because I flied solo a lot more during my latest trip home now that my mom (sick) and my friends (work) are no longer available as my sidekick, and that I am older and can drink more than one beer before passing out drunk, I just suddenly realize a few simple things in life of a Bangkokian I never noticed before.

Here goes my “Ah-ha!” moments and survival tips about taxi cabs, pedestrians, love affair with food, and nightlife in Bangkok.

BANGKOK TAXIS

Available…NOT!

Cabs that have “Available” sign (Wang - or empty) lit up in the window doesn’t necessarily means that they are actually available. Many cabs would leave the light on eventhough they have passengers. Laziness or forgetfulness on the cabbies’ part? Either way, it’ll leave you feel like a jackass hailing a cab that wouldn’t stop.

Dude! What are you doing in my cab??

This is not New York or London where you can hail a cab, get in, tell them where you want to go, and they’ll take you. In Bangkok, you hail a cab, open the door and ask the cabbie if he would take you to your destination. If he says yes, you get. If not, close the door and hail another cab.

Oh yes, Thai cabbies can say no. Not quite what the government had in mind when they wanted all the cabs “modernized” to meter system. The meters were installed in cabs to regulate the pricing of fares and so that the cabs will take you anywhere you want. Before this, you have to haggle with the cabbie and they can tell you that they don’t want to go where you’re going. Now, you may have the regulated fare but the cabbies can still refuse to go to your destination. Why that is? Apparently, the longer time spent sitting in traffic–usually related to distance you want to travel–the less money the cabbie would make during that time. So, you’ll find yourself in a pickle trying to get a cab to take you to Central Chidlom from the Grand Palace during rush hour.

Cabbies wait for no man…

…just before 9 a.m. and again before 3 p.m. unless you’re on their way to turn in their cars or they are independent (which is quite rare). You’ll see empty cabs zooming right past you, empty and all. Those times are like the shift change in taxi driving world. The cabbies rush back to their respective cab companies to turn in their cars or they get fined if they’re late. Understandable. Only when you’re not in a rush to get somewhere yourself.

WALKING IN BANGKOK

Cars have the right of way

It’s not like in the US where cars would stop, usually, the moment a pedestrian sets his/her foot on the road. American pedestrians have the right of way, you see. It’ll always be the driver’s fault. Not so in the Land of Smile. You set foot on that road, you must pay attention or end up a roadkill. Cars don’t usually watch for you and they’d zoom in from every which way. You didn’t think there is a lane there, but a motorist would make one. You thought the street was clear, but then you didn’t think about the mopeds. You thought it was one way traffic…surprise! Not this time in the afternoon and say hello to the bus!

What crossing lights?

Red crossing light at certain intersections means absolutely nothing. I approached the crosswalk on Rama IV Road from Chulalongkorn hospital to Robinson Silom. I saw the walking light turned red, so I stopped at the curb. Folks behind me didn’t even hesitate a step as they started crossing. Well, the traffic was at a standstill nonetheless, so that sort of make sense. But what if the light turns green while you’re crossing, you ask? Then, you’d run for your lives. As I did with my brother and sister in law coming back to the hospital one afternoon.

Watch where you’re going

Quite literally. Sidewalks of Bangkok is no cobblestoned roads of Europe. It’s more like Cambodian minefield. The pavements could be raised, sunken, cracked, dented, uneven, and occasionally littered with dog poops.

GOOD EATS

Eating machine

You should know by now from Richard’s Food Blog that Thai people LOVE to eat. Any Thai of any walks of life enjoy everything from gourmet expensive 5-star hotel dishes down to street cart vendors. We enjoy eating and we enjoy good food. There is endless possibility of cuisines available in Bangkok. Name a cuisine and we can probably find you one.

The proof of how Thais love to eat is in our shopping mall. The food court in the U.S. occupies a corner of the mall. Over in Thailand, food courts take up almost an entire floor, not counting individual sit down restaurants. Then there are hot foods vendors down in the supermarket area, and random snack carts scattered through out the place. Look at the food court at Siam Paragon! The entire sublevel! It’s massive.

Not a single mall in the country goes without a food court or at least a few food carts, I dare say.

IN THE CLUB

Heineken or Heineken

When your brew of choice are usally New Castle Brown Ale, Bass, and Guinness, you may die of thirst in Bangkok. Unless you know where to go. Or BYOB from wherever you came from. I despise Heineken and not very fond of Singha, and pretty much those two are available nationwide. Everywhere. And nothing else. Really.

It was like sign from the heavens when I spotted “Guinness” banners hanging outside The Robin Hood in Na Na area. At least there’s still hope! I’m sure other foreigner-filled joints like those down in Kao San and expat pubs up and down Na Na would have a better selection of imports. (I know for sure BED Supper Club has Guinness AND Fosters).

Cocktails cock up

Similar to selection of beer, cocktails in Thailand can throw you for a loop. Definitely NEVER EVER order a martini unless you’re in a 5-star hotel bar. (Actually I can’t even vouch for that one yet.) Don’t be surprise that if you call for Kamekaze “shots” and you end up with something slushy in a pitcher to be poured into shot glasses.

Certain places though have gotten the drinks right. My friend’s restaurant Kinnaree Gourmet Thai in Sukhumvit Soi 8 is one. They have drink menu that is quite thick and well tasted by the owners and their friends. The bartenders actually know what they’re doing. Well, at least the cocktails that Note served us were delicious and pretty much the only martini I had in Thailand that actually tastes like one. (Ask for their chocolate martini - vodka and creme de cocao serve in a glass swirled with chocolate syrup…yummmmy!)

Cry me a whiskey river

Limited selection of beer? Bubmling cocktails? What in the hell do Thai people drinks at the club?? Whiskey, of course.

What I call “Thai Party Pack”: a bottle of whiskey, a few bottles of cola, water, and soda, a bucket of ice, and a few glasses. You’ll enter typical Thai clubs and you’ll see more tables than bar stools. Folks park their Party Pack and position themselves around such table and dance the night away. Starting for the good taste on a budget of Johnny Walker Red Label. So, no dancing on the table. Not because of disrespect, but you won’t have room with all the mixers. Heh.

The more expensive the whiskey for the more expensive and exclusive clubs. Certain places would have you purchase a bottle of expensive whiskey as your admission. If you didn’t finish the bottle, they’d put your name on it and save it for you until next time.

For folks who don’t drink whiskey, your choice could be very limited depending on the club. The one I went to with my girlfriends on this trip had either Barcadi flavored malt beverages or, you guessed it, Heineken. Not about to sink THAT low, I grit my teeth and had Heineken.

That is all I can think up right now. I’m sure you guys have more to add. Feel free to comment!

It’s my first Saturday back and my schedule is getting full.

AM: Brandon has scheduled someone to come in in the morning to finally tune the piano. A surprise gift for me and a splurge for us. He said it is well deserved. And besides, I was driving him crazy with my wild west parlour piano twangs. LOL.

AM-Early PM: Errands galore. I need to take the bottles and cans to the recycling place. Then take our heavy little blue piggy bank in to Coinstar. If the mood strikes, I may even trek a distance to find a Smart & Final and get a bag of their delicious all beef frozen meatballs and drop in on Trader Joe’s for some more food stuffs.

Gosh, it’s sooooo good to get to buy your own groceries again! All that you want and nothing you don’t.

Later PM: I’m going to meet up with Rose of Token Asian and her sister for dinner in Thai Town! Rose has just got back from Japan on Sunday from a stint of teaching English. She is back in Southern California for a while so we figure we’d meet up. This feels like a beginning of a wonderful friendship. Well, we sort of have a relationship already, having been reading about each others’ lives for months and months.

Wow. My first blogger friend meet up ever. But not first online friend meet up though.

The most far fetch meet up was with Adam and his girlfriend. Adam found me on Friendster (which, by the way, I don’t frequent much anymore) via the search for other Farscape fans. When he was in town on vacation, we managed to meet up for dinner one night. It was quite an evening.

With Brandon actively involves with MMORPG, once in a while he’d make really good friends and we would meet with them in person if the opportunity arises. Back in the original days of Everquest, we hung out with Rhino and his clans. Last year, we met with some of the folks from World of Warcraft via the fabulous Irena.

It was interesting meeting all of these people you’d never met under normal circumstances. Thank god for the internet!

One of these days, I hope to meet up with Thai-Bloggers and their faithful readers. I hope to take some crazy ass pictures with Chris “Rock out with my caulk out” Cactus and meet his wife Beth and Mia, the cutest baby ever. Next time I’m in Bangkok, I’d like to have Kitty and KorBua take me out partying with the kids 10 years younger than me…er…on second thought, shopping and lunch would probably do. LOL. I’m too old for that shit. ;-D I even want to swing by that little town in Idaho to see Ginny and maybe she can show me how to can some beans.

Here I go dreaming my big travel dream again!

I really need to make more money. LOL.