DAY # "It doesn't matter"...

THOUGHT ORGANIZATION TOOL (i.e. Contents):

1. the AM run around

2. volunthai friends at the park and baby dinosaurs

3. muay thai wipeout x2

4. voluntary body submission to flesh eating fish and other luxuries...

AM RUN AROUND (men are probably encourage to skip this...):

dear jesus.  i will keep this short. knowing a particular time-of-the-month would be upon me as soon as I hit Bangkok, i stocked up on tampons (i hate this word so won't use it again).  GREAT proactivity...IF I remembered to put them IN to my bag.  They're on the counter...waiting for the arrival of my friend, Joel (staying at my place for a few weeks while i'm away).  So Joel:  sorry.  So I wake up this morning frantically attempting to locate something that is no where to be found.  fab.  rush to the pharmacy...7/11...notta.  i am NOT switching from t-ns!  few more stores later...and success!  oye...the fun to be had in this town!  and you have NO IDEA the uncomfort of me attempting to describe what it is that I was looking for....  oh i tried to look by myself...without help...but they insisted...  SO awkward...but that's the beauty of it...

VOLUTHAI AND BABY DINOSAURS:

First of all...I encourage anyone interested in a QUALITY organization to check-out VolunThai's website:  volunthai.com  1 month of full-board volunteering is about the equivalent of 1 night hotel in Chicago...

So I meet up with two other volunteers yesterday morning - Trevor and Mary Lou...  One is fantastic...the other...is...well...she's VERY sweet...but kind of has the 60+ naivete thing going on...  Again...an AMAZING woman!  Would speak nothing but praises of her...HOWEVER...doesn't mean I can spend a lot of 1-on-1 time with her...  Frankly...to ignorant for my pleasure.  Again...this is NOT negative...she's a GREAT woman...and is here to experience it all...but...well...it's kind of like my mother...

Anyway...we all go to the oldest park in Bangkok...JJK park.  It's the same one I posted a photo of...and makes for a lovely jog.  I only ran 6K again...side started hurting...i think it may have been the heat perhaps?  Anyway...on my jog...i saw a GIANT lizzard!  I thought at first it was a mirage style object ahead...like a lagoon in the desert...NOT SO!  This thing was slightly smaller than my leg...must have been 2-3 feet.  I wanted to take a picture but it looked like it hated me. or maybe like i was a giant piece of food (and i mean GIANT)...  either way...and from various national geographic videos...the swift speed of these things prevented me from photographing...oh golly it was creepy!  Later that evening I googled it...and from the search of 'giant thai lizzard' found out that it was a water monitor.  But this thing must have been like the SUPER breeder male...because he had some SERIOUS authority!  

I also saw a turtle en route...about the size of my head...i did take a picture of him...but he was shy and hid from the camera...so it was as good a picture as me posting a photo of a boulder...  but he was a good turtle...

And so...that was my run in the park...

MUAY THAI WIPEOUT!

This has two parts:  My wipeout...and the karmic follow-up take-out of my instructor...

1.  doing a high kick...totally blew the other leg from under myself and landed on my head/bum...  good thing both parts are soft to soften the blow...  

2.  then about 2 hours in...was feeling all confident on my high-kick...and on my last kick...kicked a bit lower than expected (concentrating on arms and blocking) that I hit my poor instructor VERY VERY VERY hard in the groin...he fell to the floor in agony for 10-15 minutes.  The other boxers were laughing...i felt HORRIBLE!!!!!  Poor Kru Ae...  

no more high-kicks!  the instructor of the instructor said i had a good body for muay thai because of my long limbs and the ability to more effectively use knees/elbows than the thai competitors...  he said if I ever wanted to move there to train with him...he would highly encourage me...  i thought about it for a few seconds...  and a no.  would miss everyone too much...  plus he would want me to start lifting weights with my teeth to get a strong neck (i.e. football man neck...) and albeit fine on a man...is not so attractive on a woman with ballroom aspirations...

FLESH EATING FISH!

Today we go to the largest outdoor market in the world!  en route I will be eating coconut sticky rice with mango...various coconut fried and baked goods and...i've been told I must try a cricket...  I was actually told to try ALL the bugs...but I REFUSE to eat cockroaches.  NO NO NO.  I have standards friends!

After the market...we'll all be going to get fish massages!  Essentially...you're submerged (or at least your legs) into an aquarium filled with a ton of little flesh eating fish!  and they just peck away at you for 2o minutes!  I'll feel like i'm doing the world a favor by feeding these little guys...and it's a pedicure too!  This costs $5...  FAB!  Will make for a fantastic photo!  I was debating between that and the regular 60 min thai massage today...my body could use some good hand work...

Then back to the casa for a shower and off to train until 6...  I'd like to have a few beers tonight maybe...  but i haven't been able to make it past 10 in all my days here (well...yesterday i made it to 10:15....so that's not really true)...  But don't want to go anywhere outside the hotel really...

Free day tomorrow...no training on Sunday...i'd like to do something spiritual...temple...or something...

All my love friends...stay well...keep your thoughts in gratitude and well wishes...

K