impulse

Having given it a little more thought walking to get the groceries, I think Dumb Entitled Ingrates is better. Some of them are pretty crafty, so not idiots. But I agree. When society starts giving out money and position for just being there and ticking demographic boxes, it can't advance. That's why the collective West is soon to be overtaken.

DEI. I thought that was Dumb Entitled Idiots. You can get an education, work hard, and get ahead. Or you can squander every opportunity, sit on your butt, and demand your "fair share" of OPM. That's what they should call them. The OPM movement.

Pirate Buy a copy of the Drifters' Under the Boardwalk. It'll all be okay.

Folks suggesting EVA may not be considering the price. I've been getting amazing prices on Chinese airlines post Covid. My buttcheeks pucker for any int'l transfer less than 2 hours. Great if everything goes right, but there's a lot of places to get tripped up and end up sleeping in the airport.

We hired a visa agent to help my female friend to get a US visa. They suggested she not even mention knowing me. She got a 10 year visa. She did have a good job, and had graduated college in Australia. But no assets in her name and not a big bank account. To the OP, run it up the flagpole. $185 isn't prohibitive, and you're not on the hook if things don't work the way you envision. But (especially if she's a new GF), be ready for the possibility she's been denied before... There are serial visa seekers in many countries, including Thailand.

Most people take "friendly and happy" with them wherever they go. Same with "grumpy and miserable".

If the OP finds a way to get tested in Thailand, please post back. After 20+ years in the US healthcare system, 6 sleep tests, 2 surgeries, hundreds of appointments, half a dozen "diagnoses", trying out about a dozen "latest and greatest" meds (including participation in a clinical trial of an even newer one), I gave up on putting a name on it (ADD without the H was the best match, but who knows?) and just went for the symptom relief. Had to go 2 states over because my home state (Texas) makes it so difficult for doctors to prescribe Ritalin. If the Ritalin's working, I'm happy for you. I was pleased that it's possible to get it in Thailand, if only through a hospital pharmacy. It wasn't difficult, especially with a note from the doc back home (in Colorado, actually) Sadly, this is a discussion that's better had with a bunch of close friends over dinner, and not in a public forum that's not known for sober, compassionate and serious posters. So don't let anyone convince you to abandon something that's working for you, assuming it is.

When Lazada first hit Thailand, I did my first few orders COD using my office address. That turned into a PITA when the receptionist had to find me. After the first few seamless orders, I had the confidence to use my K-Bank debit card and have the deliveries go to my apartment where the security guy and manager were always there to receive the goodies. Never had an issue... I also visited their HQ near Emporium and met a lot of their staff at the time. Several of my Thai workmates took their seminar on becoming a vendor.

I don't think it's usually that insidious. They'll have the same items listed on Lazada, EBay, AliExpress, TaoBao and others. Hard to keep all the venues' inventory updated. Also, a lot of them sell from an empty wagon and when they go to buy what you've ordered, their supplier is out of stock. Lots of them also use stock photos.

Most times when the Lazada delivery guys did call me, they didn't speak English. I lived alone and don't speak Thai... Obviously, YMMV.

You're forgetting a major one. Back home, you can pick up part time work. Or even a full time job. Which serves a dual purpose of helping with the expenses, and giving you something to do besides hanging out at the bars. And it doesn't have to be a crap job if you have some skills to be self employed. I did a lot of that for free, just to help my neighbors and have something to do during the lockdowns *. I could have probably cleared several thousand $$ a month doing those odd jobs. Try that in Thailand... Still, if you're already established in Thailand, I doubt you'd do better back home or in Mexico. Edit: *My favorite was pressure washing driveways. Something soothing about watching the grime disappear. The locals who did it for money charged around $0.10 per sq ft, which would be around $100 an hour. I did all my neighbors' driveways for fun and for free.

There's a lot of eclectic small towns that have shuttle service catering mostly to old farts active seniors. Not to mention the less fortunate who can't afford a car, and those who have too many DUIs and still need to get to work. Some are gub'ment funded, others are funded largely by retailers who need the customers. Not as flexible as having your own wheels, but people adjust.

Just did a search for "branston pickle recipe". That does look good. And all the ingredients available in Chinatown... Except maybe molasses. 285 g Brown Sugar 40 mL Molasses 5 mL Salt 1 Lemon (cut into pieces) 375 mL Malt Vinegar 3 Tomatoes (roughly chopped) 10 mL Mustard Seeds 10 mL Ground Allspice 5 mL Cayenne Pepper 1 Medium Swede (Diced) 4 cloves Garlic (Finely Chopped) 1 Granny Smith Apple (Diced) 85 g Dates (cut into small pieces) 1 Onion (Diced) ¼ Cauliflower (cut into small pieces) 1 Courguette (Diced) 1 Small Carrots (large or 2, Diced) https://steves-kitchen.com/branston-pickle/

Over the years, there have been many times when western products were out of stock. Sometimes, it was for a few months. Other times, they didn't come back. Pickles were hit and miss. I always stocked up on sweet pickle relish when it was in stock. (Which probably made me part of the problem) Never tried Branston Pickle. What do you use it on? Sure looks good in the photos on the Bing search.

If you don't mind staying around the house all day, every day, with cash in hand, go for COD. I did several hundred Lazada orders by debit card and never had a problem.

Gerrymandering is drawing maps to favor one party over the other. Gerrymandering, in U.S. politics, is the drawing of the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage over its rivals. The term is derived from the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, whose administration enacted a law in 1812 defining new state senatorial districts. So, no. Requiring ID isn't gerrymandering. Voter suppression, maybe. Depending on how it's done. But it isn't gerrymandering. https://www.britannica.com/story/what-is-gerrymandering

Gerrymandering must mean something different in British English.

I had a cheap Toyota Sienna and I was paying almost $2K a year just for liability insurance and registration. I maintained high limits, but just liability. That's about $160 a month you wouldn't have to pay if you lived in a city where you could get around with no car. And that's before gas and maintenance. Cha ching. That narrows the differential cost of living in a city (or suburb) where rent will be more expensive, but public transport is available and cheap. Not to mention, at some age, it's no longer safe to drive. Something to ponder for "down the road".

I use Google Fi and get 2FA texts in Thailand and in China. I used it for my cell/data service in the USA and I just continued using it when I left the USA. I can no longer use data after a few months outside the USA, but voice and text work fine. It's not cheap, and I think you have to start the account from the USA, (at least to get the SIM card in the mail) so I can't say I'd recommend it to the OP, but it does work. Not really a recommendation as much as a data point.

Regardless of where you stand on the abortion issue, it's disingenuous to blame Florida. The reason for the turmoil is that the states around Florida already had laws that sent their residents to Florida for abortions. Blaming Florida is political, an attempt to derail DeSantis's political future. Just like blaming Florida for their "measles epidemic", when Blue Chicago had 5x as many measles patients in their migrant shelters.

As long as we were driving her car...

The OP's situation is clear, but lots of folks come to these threads for generic info. So far, nobody's posted whether a Brit can drive in Thailand using their valid back home license, for how long, and whether an IDP is mandatory. In years past, there were mods and participants that actually posted good info. I miss that.

I'd agree, as long as they put out a litter tray, and the cat was well trained to use it. Decades ago, the ex had a cat that would immediately poop when we put her in the car to go to the vet (only time it ever left the house was to go to the vet). That's a smell I wouldn't wish on anyone, and cat pee is even worse. And almost impossible to get rid of.

Depends on how sophisticated their inventory system is... But if it's sophisticated enough to recognize the S/N, the OP wouldn't even need the receipt. But I agree. Not cheating, and that's what I'd have done, and have in the past. With no remorse, even though I often second guess myself.

How sick is a piece of string? (I paraphrased) My bypass cost the company insurance 2 million baht at Bumrungrad, with another million baht for follow up and meds over the next 2 or 3 years. I probably could have gotten it for a tiny fraction of that in a gub'ment hospital. So YMMV. On the plus side, in the US, that 3 million baht probably wouldn't have even covered the 20% deductible. About the time I was recovering, I read about a US patient that was charged $900,000 for the same surgery. Ouch.