In the western world, you celebrate Sweet 16, your becoming legal at 18, your legally drinking age at 21, and then when you turn 30, 35, 40, 45 and what not. Us Thais, we traditionally celebrate every 12 years.  It’s a complete cycle in the Chinese zodiac. These years are supposed to be your milestones in life. At 12, you’re not little kid any more–you’re becoming a teenager.  At 24, you’re now becoming a responsible adult. At 36, you’ve got

Want to help Thai people who suffered the worst flood our country ever had in recent history? Please donate to the Thai Red Cross Society. Your money will be well spent and will get to the flood victims most effectively. You can wire the money directly with the instructions provided when you click on the main, green banner. Or choose another donation method by selecting “Donation Online” banner on the left and choose “”Relief for Disaster Victims and Disadvantaged in

A lot has happened since I got back from Costa Rica.  As I was coming to grip with how to take life a little bit easier, this shit went down in Bangkok. “How Did Thailand Come to This?” indeed.  (And this report is pretty accurate and surprisingly unbiased.) My family home is literally in the war zone.  I mean, they had been since the Red Shirts camped out not 200 meters down the street.  Everyone is safe now, but my

It’s Thai New Year. Only a few days after the bloody result of the protest. I don’t think there’s enough water to wash the blood off our hands. (My family is safe, just FYI.  As a matter of fact, my dad has developed an unhealthy habit of taking an after-dinner evening stroll out to see the Reds’ activities in Radjprasong.  /headhand) Laws should be enforced. I said the same thing when the Yellow Shirts took over the airport. I say

Well, this post started after I watched the latest episode of “Sood Sanaeha”, the Thai soap I’m following.  Long story short, she finally sees what has been in front of her this whole time, and decides to nab the Chef.  The Chef walks away after her big scheme to apologize to him. I was actually cheering for the Chef.  Good for you for leaving that manipulative, selfish, whiny bitch! (Well, this is not the finale. Although to me, it’s a

One week in Bangkok. One movie. One episode of a Thai TV novella. And I’m hooked on the one, super hot Ken, Theeradej Wongpuapan. I only went home to Thailand for one week and I came back completely obsessed with a Thai TV novella, just like the rest of the female population in the country, Sood Sanaeha, directly translated to “Recipe for Love”. It’s all about the leading man, Ken, who plays a chef.  He was tasked to teach a

I told you about my multi-talented friend Note, the co-owner of Kinnaree Gourmet Thai and tarot card reader extraordinaire.  The latter, at least our group of friends think she is anyway. I promised Note that I would blog about my month-to-month prediction, so that as time ticks on, we can come back to see how accurate she really is. Before we get to that, what she said about my overall future gets me giggling. She said that although I am

Sawaddee from the Big Mango, y’all!  A nice, crisp, 75F “winter” Bangkok, no less.  I am enjoying the cool morning here. I arrived at dawn yesterday and what a day it was!  My brother and sister-in-law picked me up in his brand new BMW X5.  We had breakfast and I was left to myself all morning.  I unpacked, played some piano, and took a crack at the Nikki Heat novel before succumbing to sleep after lunch. My friend Note called

…I’m ready to go. Are you ready for me, the Big Mango? So I leave LAX tonight, arriving in Bangkok at 6 a.m. on Saturday.  (Yes, time traveling. It’s awesome.) Let’s say, I’d probably get home around 8 a.m.  I’d be done unpacking by 9 a.m. and I get to relax for a while. 3:30 p.m. I am off to my friend’s condo for a pool party.  A few hours later, we’ll mosey down to Kinnaree Gourmet Thai for dinner

When our beloved excuse themselves to disappear into their video games, we call that being a [insert game name here] Widow. For example, I was an World of Warcraft Widow, an EverQuest widow, and most recently a Fallen Earth and Fall Out Widow. Now, the table is being turned around.  I’m making a widower out of Brandon for the next few months. As in, a Italian Class Widower… Nora and I are taking Italian lessons together in Irvine on Saturday