change of scene

MOVING ON UP

so i was able to flee the back alleyway life! i called the place where i will be living until decemeber, the evergreen, to see if i could move in sooner than august 9th, and they said i could. i called my director and told her that i had the chance to move in early, and she was just like, "ok." so it wasnt a big deal at all. well, the bigger ordeal was bringing all my bags down the four flights of stairs again, but the superwoman powers came back, and the mission was accomplished.

when i arrived at the front desk they told me i was going to have to pay extra since i moved in early. i expected this, and was like ok..but then it turns out they didnt have a one-bedroom available for me to stay in, only a two-bedroom. then on sunday when the one-bedroom opens i could switch to that so i wouldnt have to pay for a two-bedroom until august 9th. i had no other option at that point. i had my 200 pounds of luggage surrounding me, and the thought of lugging it all to a cheaper place for 9 days and then back here, all for the sake of saving money, sort of didint look like a bright and happy option.

so i settled for spending an extraordinary amount of money to stay in a gigantic apartment....but i LOVE it and feel like i have arrived at a thai resort. i have my own lil kitchen, a king size bed, two choices of bathrooms, one with a huge tub as well as a separate shower. i have a DVD player and a balcony with a view of bustling bangkok. no way! and there are no freaky noises at night! cant get any better..

there is also a workout room which i used this morning. yeah, i opted for not taking the sky train to lumpini park and lifting weights with the sweaty old men..while i worked out i looked out on the outdoor pool, which i might have to jump in later when it stops raining. WOW! i feel crazy blessed to be here.

plus i feel safe, which is probably one of the best factors. im on the 15th floor and you need a keycard to even get to that floor on the elevator. and i just noticed on TV that there is a channel to watch the front desk and see who comes in. how freaky! someone could be watching me whenever i come or go...or i can watch them. could be fun times.

TOURING THE HOME OF A THAI LOVER

jim thompson is a very popular guy here in thailand. i heard from some people before i came to thailand that i should tour his house. its pretty close to the evergreen, so i meandered there yesterday. as i was walking down the little road, this motor bike taxi man shouts, "oh, you are beautiful! where you from?" yeah, im sure he shouts that to every white girl he sees. but i was like, "north carolina!" he and his pals were like, oh, "tar heels!" then another one said, "carolina panthers!" i just laughed..i mean people should know about the tar heels, obviously, but the panthers?

when i got there i signed up for the english tour, there were like five different language tours. i thought, oh, there might be an american on this tour, cool. but whenever the lady would say in monotone english, "now you are free to look around the room," the fifteen other people around me would start chatting to the people they were with in all these different languages. so weird! i guess i was the only one who really knew JUST english. oh well, guess im just an ignorant american.

so what i learned from the lovely tour guide was that good ol' jim from delaware came to thailand during world war II. then after he was done with the army he decided he was so in love with thailand and that he had to return and live here forever. he was an architect and made his house by combing six traditional thai homes. the houses were found around thailand, and dismantled and reconstructed here. pretty crazy! so he is also famous cuz he was into thai silk, and helped bring them fame around the globe for it. he also had a sweet jungle garden around his house. BUT...then he dissappeared in 1967 and no one knows what happened to him...sort of creepy.

SLEEPY SHOPPING SHERRI

i got to hang out with ja again last night. it was so nice to be with a friend after not really hanging out with anyone but myself for two days. i get sort of boring after awhile. we went shopping together! i was half asleep the whole time though, jet lag wont let go of me. while i was waiting for her to arrive i was sitting on a bench and started to doze off. then i jerked myself awake as i started falling sideways. the security guards at the mall probably enjoyed watching that. anyways, tonight im going to get dinner with her and her friends, then i think i will spend the night at her place. we might go tour the grand palace tomorrow. what fun!

OH! and i got to go to a thai grocery store. it was on the bottom floor of the fancy mall, called gourmet market. it was huge, and had everything. i love grocery stores, its so sweet to wander the aisles and look at all the different food. there was a good amount of american stuff, but what made me most excited was seeing that it even had tim-tams, my favorite cookie from new zealand! discovrering that assured me that i will be very happy here.


right now im watching the maid make my bed with fresh sheets. wow, i wonder if she is going to do this everyday i live at this place? fine with me...

some new pics... http://www.flickr.com/photos/55907373@N00/