Should this be a regular thing now? Masala is roughly 10 months old now. I say "roughly" because we don't actually know, the shelter's best guess was that he was born around March/April. Thus we have decided that his birthday shall be April 1st, because he is a silly boy. We plan to give him his very own fish on that day, and apparently this is now what passes for excitement in our lives.
It seems we're always learning new things about him. He is still obsessed with bread, but beef is probably his new favorite thing. Beef isn't so common in Thailand, but recently I bought some to make chili. I browned it beforehand, so I made sure to save him a piece. He went ballistic. I have never seen him eat anything that fast. Actually the next day I was chopping up the beef I had frozen, and a small piece shot off the counter. Strangely enough, it landed on my foot. He saw it and made a dash for me, while I raised up my foot to keep him from eating raw meat. He stood on his hind legs to try and get high enough, and here I am dancing around the kitchen on one foot while he's trying to streeeeetch a little further and get that yummy snack. But I snatched it with my other hand, and then wanted to grab a tissue to wash off the meat juice. But he could still smell it, so he chased me all the way to the bathroom, desperately trying to lick my foot the whole way. So yeah. Dude likes beef, probably more than fish. I even gave him some roe from my sushi, and he didn't eat more than a bite or two. Maybe for his birthday I should give him a plain hamburger instead.
But aside from food, his behavior is coming along. He's quite polite about never using claws on people, even when playing. We're working on getting him better with play biting, and using his words instead - thankfully that happens rarely now. His morning routine is really cute. He knows what time our alarm is set for, and I've caught him just waiting patiently near the bed. When the alarm finally does go off, he instantly jumps in bed with lots of "meow meow meow!" so we can get his cuddles. Also we've discovered that he likes to play tag. He'll just randomly sneak up on you, tap your ankle, and run away. You can do the same to him, though he has a funny way of coming after you - he'll go into stealth mode, stalk around corners, and sneak around until he's finally within striking distance. But instead of immediately tagging you back, he stops, and looks at your face as to say "You have lost, pathetic human. Beg for your life." THEN he taps your ankle and runs away again, and the game continues as long as you have patience, or he floofs on the floor.
~~End of Masala Update~~
Now to switch gears, Thailand still hums along, we even had an election a few days ago. I love how Thailand does their elections, because it's pretty much the same way they do their night markets - set up some tents, have some snacks, boom. Done. Seems that the Bhumjaithai party got the majority of votes, which is considered conservative. But for my American folks, conservative here does not mean Republican, GOP kind of conservative. Bhumjaithai supports more traditional values like the monarchy and family, and to that end they favor strong social welfare and public spending programs. Funny how, when there are 20+ parties, you get Coke Freestyle flavor combinations people in the USA didn't know existed. Which, by the way, how's it going over there guys? The latest season of "Trump 2" is pretty bonkers. I try to stay up on things because it's important, but the more I stay up on things the more glad I am that I don't live there anymore. Actually the other day I was teaching more Year 12 students about logical fallacies, and one that came up was the Straw Man fallacy. When I was planning my lesson, I realized that I am overwhelmed with examples from American politics, that I had to keep switching my brain to other topics. Seems everyone is just out to paint the other side in the most unflattering way possible, and that's just sad. Not that groups such as ICE needs any help to be painted in an unflattering light, but it seems any sort of nuance or empathy has just been smashed into pieces. It's a sad situation, and all I can do is sit here and hope the country finds its footing, and things change to being a more understanding and kind society.
But if you're interested in a move to Thailand, there is no shortage of positive things to keep you busy. Every weekend we're usually up to something, in large part because of Ella's efforts. She always has something in mind, especially on Saturdays. Be it some sort of floating market, park, or other interesting place, she's the go to person for knowing whats up in Bangkok. For example, we went to a concert celebrating a night market's 15 year anniversary. In typical Thai fashion, if there is a way to have fun with something, they'll find it. They had gogo dancers, a marching band, vintage cars, and a firework show that rivaled the city's New Year's celebration. It was a fun time, but I think I am too old for concerts, or more accurately, I don't think concerts have ever really been my thing. They are too loud, and this is not an old man thing, even when I was in my 20s I thought they were way too loud. I want to hear the music, but I also don't want it to be painful? Anyway, there were some good bands, even some that I recognize with my rudimentary knowledge of Thai music. But regardless of the concert, the real draw is to hang out at a good market, with good friends, and have a good time. Speaking of friends, we were lucky to have quite a few visitors for the holidays. I think we're up to 4 or 5 visitors now? Some were friends, some were friends of friends, and even parents of friends. The parents were just as awesome and he is, they even went out drinks and karaoke.
For other adventures, I just put "museum" into Google Maps, and oh boy there are a lot of places I had never heard of before. Some were a bit so-so, or one room kind of places, but actually some were really interesting. For example, The Thai National Bank Museum isn't something that is probably on most people's radar, but it was interesting seeing the old notes and printing machines. Plus they have, I think, the most beautiful library in the city overlooking the river. Nearby, there is also the Bang Lamphu Museum - oddly enough, it's where those printing machines used to be. After it was turned into a district office, and now it's kind of a hybrid museum exploring money and the local district. There's also the Rattanakosin Exhibition Hall, which we have been to before, many years ago. But they have another section, maybe new, that explores Thai life - complete with a "It's a Small World" style boat ride, which is just so Thailand. We also went to the Royal Thai Air Force Museum, which I had been to once, even before I met Ella. It has a lot of older planes, with the newest probably being an F-16. But it's still interesting, and I like that they let you climb in some of them. Oh and to round out the list, we went to DiB Bangkok. An odd place full of experimental, contemporary type art. They had an exhibit where you were invited to hit a wall with a metal baseball bat. Yes really. I assumed the wall was stone.
It was not!
Turns out it was hollow metal, which you can imagine creates quite a sound. Anyway, I feel I've talked a lot and even left a few places out. But I think I'll end with some photos, plus a video of me hitting the wall and being quite shocked at the ruckus.
