Curveball

I was coming out of the BTS yesterday afternoon when everything I ever thought I believed in was shaken to the core. 

Just what does she think she's doing?

Has she no awareness of how this little stunt upsets the balance of everything I have worked so hard to understand? 

Is that ham on one of the crackers? 

Why is she looking at me like that?

Accepting Defeat With Dignity

I have a lot of questions about this ad.

None of which I need to know the answer to.

Great Minds Think Alike

Sometimes people tell me they love cheese.  To them I say - you don't even know what cheese is.  The fact that this doesn't make sense and has never happened is irrelevant.  Basically, I just really like cheese.

It's delicious!

Also, teeth are cool.

Now stop me if I've had a little too much wine but what if - what if - there were a way to combine the two into a profitable enterprise?

It's so crazy that it just might work.

In my mind, it would look a little something like this...

It's Cold Season!

And he's not taking any chances.  

Umm...Just A Little Off The Sides Then?

Spirits Exhibit - Spooky, Scary!

Surprisingly, Bangkok is pretty big on Halloween.  Haunted houses, parties and even an annual zombie walk.  It's all pretty awesome.  To get into the swing of things I went to see the "Spirits" exhibit at the Thailand Creative and Design Center.

www.vaitor.com

This is not as ambitiously cultured on my part as it may sound - the TCDC is at the top of the Emporium Shopping Mall.  I did, in fact, go to try and find the exhibit.  And find it, I did - but not after a few random 'I'm in a fun mood - why not?'  purchases, including but not limited to a pair of suspenders that I will never wear. 

Moving on.

To enter the exhibit, a nonchalant security guard waves you towards a black wall - which then slides open and you, impressed with such a fine start, stride in with full confidence.  I was not prepared for when the door slides shut behind you and all is dark.  Extremely dark.

Feeling my way along the wall, I rounded the corner and entered the next room.  Bare, cement walls with a lone light bulb hanging from the ceiling.  This was beginning to feel like a twisted version of a Law & Order episode wherein I had the potential to be both victim and/or interrogating officer (suspenders).  I'm not sure if this was the intent.  There was no explanation for this room whatsoever and after I walked through, I found myself in the midst of a delightful exhibition.

It was incredibly well thought out, with signs in both English and Thai and was quite thought-provoking.  Not only did the curators touch on different spirit traditions in Thailand but they also spoke about the economy of death and fear as well.  It was pretty awesome.

The picture quality makes this hard to read but this sign talks about how many people visit fortune tellers in Bangkok every year and the total revenue this generates. 

I was a Religion Studies major* in college and I find all of this really fascinating.

That is, until you accidently bump into this:

Not cool, Spirits Exhibit.

There were lots of different examples of Thai spirits and ghosts, including the head of a female ghost that was rigged up so that it moved slowly in a wide circle.  It was very dark in there and unfortunately I didn't even notice this one until it came around and hit me in the arm.  

There is a very interesting male spirit that I believe is called phi kra hung and basically this guy flies around at night, has a tail and what appear to be giant bamboo baskets for hands.  

On the write-up it says that men who live in the world as these spirits are very good at hiding it.  This is because they never let anyone touch their behind, presumably, to find the tail.  As a rule, I generally don't go around touching men's behinds.  I do, however, tend to notice when men have baskets for hands.  

The exhibit was impressive and culturally relevant.  Which is why I was a little concerned to see this guy trying to weasel his way into Thai culture via a cardboard cut-out.  

I enjoyed seeing Thai horror comics through the ages.

But not as much as I enjoyed seeing this.

"Something wicked this way comes!" - says this guy, unconvincingly.

*lazy

Sent From Above

I got to work today and made it up to the office, arms full of gradebooks and planners - cup of coffee balanced precariously on top.  With my hair twisted into a bun held up by a pencil and my non-existent glasses sliding down my nose, I ambled down the hallway reminding students of assignments, tossing off one-liners, and rolling my eyes in a good-natured way*.

I sat down at my desk and immediately began to think of all of the wonderful ways I would reach the minds of young people today.  This is what I do every morning because I am a great teacher. 

So I was chatting online and sipping my coffee after just having moved my "to do" pile to the left side of my desk - which, if I position my chair just so, I never have to see. 

When, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something.

I swear to God this was not on my desk yesterday.

I think this is one of those things that just is.  A mystery.  The Holy Trinity.  You really can't spend too much time trying to figure out what it all means. 

But honestly...

How can it not mean something?  Look at this guy.


*none of which actually happened