Texpat

I wonder how her protective services have reacted to the gun battles raging across Phuket...

People dying in the streets.

Sanding and refinishing a deck every two months?

Urgggh!

Is the wood that important? Thailand is not a human friendly environment when it comes to building materials.

Steel rusts overnight, wood rots in the sun and humidity, and plastics become brittle very quickly.

That's why there's so much nasty, ugly concrete. Good luck with the wooden deck. You're a braver man than I.

I like CA. The CKS airport is 100x better now than it was a few years ago, too.

You want me to be wild-eyed, emotional and confrontational?

Hopping mad and defending each and every position, lathering at the mouth?

Sorry to disappoint.

You're desperately trying to fit me into a mold you've created in your mind. But I don't fit. Maddening, isn't it? The RW&B cowboy hat and username just scream out to you who I am and what I'm about, eh?

Take a hike.

brazilian beaver ....

Barkin' up the wrong tree here, Rufus.

"East coast liberals?"

Never used that term in my life.

Maybe you missed the part where I said I was OK with Obama being president. He's making some bad decisions but all presidents do. I don't get emotional about it, but I can see you do. Get your chase somewhere else.

Hillary? That woman's worse than 40 miles of bad road.

Nice effect. Nice shot.

I came on a multiple-entry 1-year marriage non-imm O in '06.

Had to leave into Laos every three months until the first annual renewal.

Expect them to make up any sort of rule they can imagine.

Be happy if they don't.

การสบประมาทศาสนา

gaan sòp bprà-mâat sàat-sà-naa

(gaan changes verb to noun, sòp bprà-mâat insult belittle, sàat-sà-naa religion)

I haven't listened to Rush Limbaugh in at least 10 years. A Grade-A blowhard. Equally narrow-minded as some of the Democratic pundits and followers of the Messiah.

Don't pay 'em a dime. Ever.

Not when you meet. Not when you marry. Not for any reason or any circumstance.

Keep money out of it.

The leeches won't be happy, but you won't feel like you bought your girlfriend/bride.

Plenty of nice girls around that aren't going to push you into their little family money trap.

Go find one.

Hillary's in town Gnome. Bangkok!

Aren't you just giddy with anticipation of hearing her screech and cackle?

^ ^ Referring to the visit where he took a vicious dressing down by PM Putin?

This after weeks of sucking up to Medvedev and admonishing Putin as old school?

Yeah, there's that.

I'll decide what I'm for or against, but thanks for your help anyway, Pubis.

I'm not a fan of Hillary, although her husband was OK. Obama is probably the fourth best candidate, but got elected anyway. I'm OK with that, too. I'm glad to be living in Thailand at the moment because I see some very major bad decisions being made and I don't want to have to witness it.

Regional affiliation?

The colors aren't regional. Neither is the style.

Lots more cowboys in california than texas.

Expat -- maybe my name's tom or tim or tony -- Texpat. Who knows. The persuasive power of a little image and a pseudonym are too powerful for some to see through. Hilarious.

The only thing I'm refuting are the assumptions.

She's a divisive, abrasive woman.

Perfect candidate for a novice community organizer to choose as chief diplomat.

You got CREAMED.

Not sure how to break this to you, Jing, but ... I wasn't running.

Have you signed up to the THai FDA's amulet release notification program?

SARS, Bird Flu, Pig Flu, Ugliness, Stupidity, Infertility, Instant Fortune, Driving Lessons, Extra Life, ...

I haven't stepped foot in Texas since 1984.

I voted for Bill Clinton, once.

Why does everyone make such silly assumptions?

It's amazing what power and influence a username and av conveys to feeble minds.

Non-aggression ... good. Very well.

Does this mean Indonesia can find and fix the terrorists that bombed Jakarta hotels themselves?

Pakistan used to claim they had it under control, too.

She's a divisive, abrasive woman.

Perfect candidate for a novice community organizer to choose as chief diplomat.

Some farangs will never accept that their existence here doesn't amount to jack squat.

They believe their precious money spent here buoys the fragile Thai economy, their deep-thinking brains are a valuable resource to be treasured by the dum Thai folk, their creativity and ingenuity are miles beyond anything a Thai is capable of...

This is Thailand -- 66+ million Thais and a handful of self-important farangs. Get over yourselves.

Don't start in the first place. When you try to apply your western morals and generosity and lifestyle to their predicament, you'll be milked, drained, sucked dry and won't even hear a thank-you from them.

Sure they'll smile and serve you a cold beer when you visit (assuming you buy it) but you're not doing anyone any favors. You'll only create a few dependents for yourself. Look how Thais treat each other and gauge appropriate response based on that as a baseline. Don't let foreign concepts like charity or fairness and equity cloud your thinking.

If the limits of your generosity have no boundaries, the circle of groupies will expand to include neighbors, distant cousins, acquaintances ...

My advice is: don't ever start -- ever.

If the in-laws want a house or a truck or a 42 inch tv, they can get it the same way I do.

Work, save, buy it.

They get nothing from me and it all works very nicely.

I wonder if they try these childish games on fellow Thais?

Why do you feel like you have to send money to your in laws?

I wouldn't ever do that.