WonnabeBiker

When away from a pharmacy, try gurgling with 3% H2O2, Hydrogen Peroxide and hot salt water.

Melatonin definitely works but I'm not sure if they sell it here 10 mg 30 mins before bed and I get 7 hrs sleep and don't feel hungover like I did with Atarax. You can buy it online as a soluble tablet in a few flavours try i-herbs.com. Before that I was taking 100 mg Amytriptyline with 50 mg Atarax it worked but I just got fed up taking pills and was pointed to the Melatonin a strawberry treat instead of bland pills at night. I'm hooked.

Melatonin gives me a slight headache and somehow causes a dull feeling. But I haven't found the right dosis yet.

Never dared to try 10 mg!

A Dr. Berg with a Youtube channel speaks of 5 pressure points to relieve stress. Didn't buy the tool on Amazon, but tried to find the points and press them. You might try that in addition to everything else? STRESS is likely another factor...

Found it on Ebay.de for <30 Euros a kg. No to 200 gr rip off prices seen over here! First heard Frank Medrano mention it in a Youtube video, He's a Vegan bodybuilder or rather body weight fitness hero. Not sure I can find a label...

WLT try it sometime soon. Bought 1 kg Spirulina, have problems finding something to mix it in with.

Can recommend Psyllium Husk. I mix with cold milk, let it expand and then add lactobacillus casei drink for taste, treating it like pudding. (YMMV, but I like it better this way instead of drinking it down very quickly)

This video channel deals with exercises for injured people. Can't advocate this as substitute. But found fip flexor videos helpful

Well, it will be up to you to stay motivated and just do it.

There's a ton of useful videos on Youtube. (I just discovered the hip flexor exercises as my ability to move leaves a lot to be desired).

Lots of movement, exercise and appropriate nutrition. Shun the white rice, lay off sugary juices, sodas and sauces (ketchup often contains more sugar than ice cream).

Any doc (or you might find a blood lab, cutting out the middle man) can do a test which reveals the sugar levels over the last month or longer. Not just the level ATM. That way, you can monitor your progress month by month.

Personally, I've learned to believe that about 80% of weight loss is linked to nutrition. More but smaller meals. Drink before you eat... YMMV. But you would have to do the work and then s h o w the progress. And with a little test machine and a diary, you could check the daily impact of what you are doing and reduce the meds.

Some schools have perfected their systems when it comes to ripping off foreign teachers. Often, this involves the contract. Beware when you not get it signed prior to hopping on a bus...

* The year may end in February, not March (or May - for those with 12 months' contracts which are so much better, including avoidance of Visa hassle & expense)

* No re-negotiation after you begun, got a place rented etc.

What to do when a government school defrauds you?

A: forget Labour Court, it has no jurisdiction!

Well, I took the school to Administrative Court. Had to pay a 2% fee, submit everything in Thai. The school hired an attorney and produced hundreds of pages (printouts of their finger print system) and thought tooth and nail.

The court first collected the money, then they wrote to me, asking to come and collect it in person.

All it took was getting someone to write a complaint, add the 2% fee by postal money order and mail it to the regional court. No hearings, just a long wait.

The Thai Administrative Court may be the place when you want to walk the walk.

I got thinking, maybe you installed the memory and only saw 3GB, and assumed it was due to a 32bit installation of Windows 8 -

BUT

16 GB RAM were recognized in bIOS.

Lenovo X201 only supports 8GB - I also own one and have researched such an upgrade.......

It'll show 16GB but proceed no further. Reduce the ram to 8GB (2 x 4GB) and your milage may vary. What CPU is it ?

Crucial DDR3-12800 2 x 8 GB was recognized by BIOS and the computer is just fine.

The crook had interrupted the boot sequence to present evidence that the "CPU is defective". If that had been the case, the notebook wouldn't have booted at all!!

He then proceeded to double the installation fee, because <Lenovo does not have drivers for this notebook>. Not sure if he meant the old X61. But no other shop had demanded such a surcharge for such an installation...

Will get back to you after a day of testing regarding 16 gB being okay. Got the info from a LENOVO forum.

For all others, a SSD is a worthy investment. What a difference, even with an old and slow X-61!

Today, I returned to the shop. They manually interrupted the boot sequence, while pretending that the computer cannot boot without a new CPU.

I had brought 2 of the same Thinkpads and asked the tech to swap hard drives. Voila, both booted perfectly!

A fee of an extra 300 Baht was demanded, because <Lenovo doesn't provide the drivers>. Really?! He had chosen Win 7 instead of the Win 8.1. I thought 8.1 had a huge drivers database. But it's now water under the bridge.

Seems to be a common scam, waffling about some hardware defect, then doing nothing besides raking in a few thousands Baht.

Any defect in such an incredibly complex and fragile device as a CPU with millions of transistors would mean the computer would turn into a brick!

Lots of shops shuttered... What a change from the hustle and bustle of bygone times.

Took 2 Thinkpads to get SSDs and new RAM installed and Win 8.1 loaded.

#1 was a junk X61 (no surprise if something would go wrong here).

#2 was a super X-201 which worked beautifully, but had only 4 GB RAM and a slow HDD.

• 16 GB RAM were recognized in bIOS. Brand new, CRUCIAL brand, out of the sealed box.
• Both SSDs were new.
• Wifi was working fine

The guy charged 600 Baht. Then called my wife, saying <your cPU is defective - pay x thousand Baht to replace it> and <wifi isn't working>.

It was working flawlessly and there was no bump or shock when I carried the notebooks to the shop.

Besides, I bet a genuine CPU failure would have produced some noticiable results like the screen staying black.

Am certain they have either cannibalized a perfectly working wifi card or replaced the CPU or just were blowing smoke. anything for a quick buck, huh?!?

Last time, all the new CRUCIAL 2 GB RAMS were stolen and replaced with smaller RAM. That was a computer teacher at a government school who owned a shop and I was paying for the work, of course (double).

Q: how common is this kind of behavior?

Q: can someone tell me how to notice "a defective CPU"?!?

Q: What kind of wifi card does the Thinkpad X-201 use?

Will take another X-61 to the shop tomorrow to pull out the motherboard. That one was booting and showing the Windows symbol. Bet this wouldn't be possible if the CPU was defective.

"I have completed my obligations until the last day of my contract, however, the school is refusing to pay me my salary for the month of March unless I go to the school and sign another letter of resignation written by them and also stipulated that I hand in my work permit which has already expired."

Schools love to withhold the last month's salary - just like landlords the tenant's security deposits.

Who cares about the excuses?

The foreigner may give up, walk away or sit in a dark corner of some bar, muttering to himself.

The seller isn't a biker. What does that tell you? There is no bike and the "seller" has no idea about things like gears, handling or the Green Book.

The escrow is a scam. There is no such company...

And the b.s. (bullshit) of having 10 days to return the bike? A genuine seller wants to sell the bike, not work on weird guarantees to let someone ride it for a week, thenreturn it.

***

Often, these con men pretend to be in some other country.

I was keen on a Honda Fury in Malaysia - that was a similar scam (years ago). But these scams pop up even whenfolks sell a notebook or something!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/virals/11510823/Physics-teacher-hits-boy-in-testicles-with-axe.html

"They also checked and found Yom in good physical and mental health." Relly? Are they serious?!? Digging a grave would have been a sign of mental illness then?

Make sure to contact the Labour Inspections Office.

Oops. It was a quote from a Thai lawyer's e-mail. A Thai researched this and found no such office. It's likely the lawyer meant "protection" instead of "inspections". But when you work for a government school, the Labour Dept. won't really handle your complaint. Nor will the free Labour Court take a lawsuit.

So sorry about this - wish this answer could be deleted!

In all provinces over the country, there's a place- usually at the city hall-, where one can file a complaint.

They're the ones who can/will offer a free lawyer.

I assume that they also get in touch with the DoL. I don't really understand your post that those who work for a government school, are excluded.

I'll have to ask the American guy who went this way, to get clarification on that matter.

Well, first, someone promised assistance. But then he had to backpedal - as they apparently have little or no jurisdiction over "government schools".

It came as quite a shock that the most fundamental things remain uncertain over here.

Make sure to contact the Labour Inspections Office.

Oops. It was a quote from a Thai lawyer's e-mail. A Thai researched this and found no such office. It's likely the lawyer meant "protection" instead of "inspections". But when you work for a government school, the Labour Dept. won't really handle your complaint. Nor will the free Labour Court take a lawsuit.

So sorry about this - wish this answer could be deleted!

Numerous off-topic posts have been removed. This is not about grammar and unless someone specifically asks for comments about grammar or spelling it is not permitted.

A person can go to court whether you have a work permit or not. You are still covered under the labor laws.

If you are working illegally, you can get help from the Labour Department?

Yes! It's a private school and Labour Court is both free and effective.

Alas, for government schools, neither will be very helpful. (Some staff might make some promises but when you dig deeper, they have no authority over government schools). But you might get a referral to some other organization if you have a problem with a government school...

Well, I wish they would turn into a customer-centric service provider.

It's not always clear what constitutes >a good teacher<.

For English, it would help if

• the teacher were a NES or had outstanding pronunciation
• the teacher could actually speak, write and understad English. (The TOEIC score should be >700. It's absurd to hire foreign teachers with sub 600 scores while Thai talent has got no chance even with a >800 score to start at say 16,000 Baht).
• schools had a syllabus for each class and curricula.

Is there a book? Errm, maybe yes, only the students haven't gotten it yet. Or it's awful. - But hey, Thailand spends 4% of GDP on education?!

Your electric bill doubled a few months ago (in the cold season) or more recently?

If more recently (last month or so) it could just be working twice as hard to overcome the heat.

As lopburi points out, it could need cleaning and just be very inefficient as a result. It might also be low on refrigerant - look at the outdoor unit for any icing-up of the pipes - it's usually a good indicator that one of these conditions exist.

Thank you - can't see icing and was comparing the bills month by month (hot season with hot season).

Will order another service.

Thanks again to y'all for helpful hints!

Weather has heated up, A/C working harder.

Fridge will be working harder too.

EDIT. What temperature do you have set on the A/C? Does it ever attain that? Do you have bills from last year this time to compare?

Thanks for these good questions.

* Got the bills from last year (same period, same setting: 24 Celsius)

It is intermittedly "blowing" and often in silent mode. The temperature is not unreasonably low.

Bills really doubled.

We are renting but have been paying to have the AC maintained.

A few months ago, ourr electric bill doubled. It's got to be the AC, as the refrigerator is modern and frost free.

• Should we buy a meter to check actual power draw by the AC?
• what could cause this issue? Maybe we need to replace a part in the AC? (Had the filter and gas changed last time).

Thak you for all answers!

A list of provinces/places that have issued Work Permits on the trainer / expert / whatever route would help, but not all that much. Because just like in any office here, interpretation of the rules shifts hourly. Ask 10 different people, get 20 different answers.

I'm basically in the same boat. I want to be able to plan ahead -- multiple years ahead would be nice. But things essentially never work that way here, for me anyway.

As unhelpful as "life isn't fair" is, it is kinda correct. Especially here.

I've been working here for almost 10 years,which I know is less than a lot of you guys. I have a Bachelors of Engineering. I know of a lot of "unfair" situations, like non-NES Africans in a school near me getting paid 40-50% more than me because they got 5-year full teacher's licenses from Photoshopped B. Eds. Plenty of other stuff like that. In the meantime, I've been jumping through the hoops and generally doing things by the book (or at least, a fairly rigorous interpretation of the book). I think I easily do a better job of actually teaching than 95%+ of the random motley crew of semi-serious people, newbies, non-native speakers, backpackers, sex tourists, and other types that make up the labor pool of "English Teachers" here. But, I get paid the same as any new fresh-off-the-boat random hire, the same amount that I got when I started the job years ago ... and I don't complain about it. Actually, it is probably better that way, because in my experience any NES teacher getting paid more than any other NES teacher at the same school is going to be the first person looking for a new job when the front office realizes that they could just hire some random new person and pay them less. We are thought of as easily-replaced cogs in the machine. Quality and experience in teachers might be an item on the priority list at most schools, but it sure as $#!t isn't very high on the list.

Sorry for the rant. I don't have any solutions. I keep thinking that eventually the train will go off the rails in such spectacular fashion that things will HAVE to change. And I'm half right ... the train is off the rails all right, but heads seem to still too far buried in the sand to actually do anything about it.

Hear, hear!

This might seem arrogant, haughty and reeking of racist bias. But there are lots of people working as "English teachers" who

• can't speak the language well enough
• couldn't do the things a M4/1 student must be able to, like writing an essay
• never went to a university.

Asking a candidate to do some test makes perfect sense. Anyone with a genuine degree will be able to sit down and write hundreds of words in half an hour... A little reading test would also show how academically gifted someone is

Some people are more equal than others and I would guess that Thailand will have more foreign teacher SCANDALS with some backlash regarding criminal record and other checks. Vietnam requires the verification of documents by the teachers' embassies...

Hello!

This is what I have so far done. (in chronological order)

1. To apply for a Non-B visa (good for 3 months) in Vientiane, Laos

2. To apply for a provisional teacher's license (good for 2 years) at TCT in BKK

3. To apply for a work permit (good for 1 year) at the Labor Office of the province where my school is located

4. To apply for a 1-year extension of my Non-B visa at the Immigration Office of the province where my school is located

This is what I heard you must do to teach for another year. (in chronological order)

1. To extend your work permit for one year

2, To extend your Non-B visa for another year.

HELP!!

What are the poor guys with their 9, 9,5, 10 and 10,5 months' contracts gonna do?!

Amazing, how my wife managed to do that return without my involvement.

Thanks for sharing - we need to get our ducks in a row. Shame about schools not deducting anything.

Kudos to the Ssingaporeans! Chances are, the guy would have kept his job.

Thailand needs to learn how to deal with crooks - especially those in high positions and in uniform.

Have you ever been gobsmacked?

My school's clever HR lady claims they "lost" my contract.

They got many photocopiers (and have shown little restraint when it comes to violating copyrights; but then, is there a single government computer running a legal version of Windows?). They got a stamp to verify a true copy. And they got lots of helpers, including secretaries and xx unpaid students from the university.

This lady thinks this was the ultimate arguement to end all discussions.