slipperylobster

I Have his name and number as well. In Chiang Mai, by the way. We would all want to know that this guy makes it out (I think he will). Hopefully, he is not penniless. Certainly a complication, but that is what Embassies are for. Unfortunately, if he needs that financial assistance, it will be his last visit for a long while. For example, the US Embassy will fly a citizen home, but his passport may be invalidated..i do not know for how long.

slippery lobster, you should write a book, you seem to have led a very interesting life

The book would only show how foolish I was.....lol.

I lived the bargirl scene for forty years. Pretty much my life. Married the first one I met, as a young military man. Bought condo in Waikiki, made money as a land lord in lake tahoe, (my daughter runs the bank for Harvey's Casino there). Had girls in Japan (filipinas) that had my kids...but they worked for the Yakusa. Met many of those guys...and had a friend or two there. Walked the path to self destruction, alcohol. Spent 15 years drunk every day. Went into the DT's and was hospitalized, almost shot by a swat team in Olongapo...., saw ghosts, and demons, was voodoo'd, minutes away from death from gunfire by the local Baranguay Captain and thugs, kidnapped on a jeepney and brought to a cemetary....friends mysteriously dying, carrying bodies up hills in plywood boxes, and they would fall out.... Still have a son and a daughter in the Philippines. My son's mom saved my life, then almost took it again. She just passed away from cancer.

I can smell danger a mile away, now.

Sort of a black comedy.

I think there are a few "out of body" experiences right here on TVF. They come on here as other people, make wild claims and accusations, some pretend they are women, others think they are someone else entirely !

Many many believe in reincarnation on here that's for sure.

Those are not complete "out of body" experiences....the only thing leaving their body is their brain.

Perhaps a trained "extraction team" would be a good business.

My stories may be hard to believe, but I actually hired a farang who had a black Humvee, with darkened windows, to go right through the security gate, and drive a circuitous route to a neighbors house. This neighbor had already extracted my few valuables and placed them in his garage. The Hummer backed up, we loaded, and were off....before the neighbors even got a phone call out to the gate.

As we drove out, I lowered the passenger window and saluted the guard.

True story....Beilieve it or not.

I was talking to a friend who knows someone that has a friend and they were talking about another friend who lets their friends girlfriends mates lover control his money.

Craziest thing i ever heard.

Sent from my c64

You make all of that sound as confusing as having a homeless man put on house arrest !

Yes...I have not had sex for a few weeks now...

Looking for the "in the body" experience, actually.

Lots of cheap, plastic/wire shelving that sits on top of a counter. You want something like a cooling rack..I would think

Another thing that comes to mind are the old, eight track storage towers. Might be something you could find in a second hand shop/antique shop. Mine would just about fit it one of those.

On the side... perhaps a stationary story would have letter dividers, made out of mesh.

Here is an idea I just had...that I may try. Attach some thin rubber (for protection) material to the inside lips of a large paper clamp. Then attach the clamp to the bottom edge of the drive. The handles facing backward. You can then suspend your drives from a peg, or two bookends with a rod between them.

Reminds me of my youth, when we would buy "Beer Balls". They held about a gallon of beer...and came with a tap. The thing came in a box, and was not refilled. Just great for a small party. 4 or 5 liters of beer would be my limit, but not necessarily where I would stop. Three liters is the minimum I would care to drink....

I only drink to get a good solid buzz and loosen up. Not one of those guys who sips on one glass all day long. Can only do it once a week though.

Found it convenient to let her pay for the bills in Thailand. I keep a spreadsheet of upcoming bills, travel and purchase plans for the year. That money is sent directly to her account here. Our savings (emergency funds) remain in my home country..accessible only to me. We are not married, but lived together for 4 years.

I show her the spending plan for the upcoming month, and just ask for receipts for the rent, car payment, and utilities. Her allowance is tied in with the food money....so she shops wisely. As long as the money left in her account is the same as we predicted, I do not worry about things. Best part, all bills are paid during the first 3 days of the month.

This setup suits me fine, as it does her. She is able to show a steady income (from bank deposits), should she apply for a visa. Another thing...I have freedom. If I need to leave Thailand for more than a few months, there is no worry or argument about money or bills. It just carries on.

She gets a big smile on her face, when she is notified of a bank deposit. (Even the the majority of the money is for necessities). I think it is the feeling of security/control, or perhaps her "face" of going to the bank and having more then 400 baht in her account. For me, I do not stress out about the next month or two. There have been times, in the past, where I could not get hold of my money in the states for weeks. That is all being handled. And, should I wind up in a hospital, she can put some cash up front.

This might not work in every single relationship. It works fine for us. My girl was a manager at a Handbag/shoe outlet in bangkok, with several employees under her....and a Chinese boss micromanaging her purchases and receipts. I do not micromanage, but just insist that the bottom line match our plans.

If you feel the need to see all receipts, then you don't trust her much. You are in fact just delegating a job to her, not giving her any independence.

Most of my money goes into our joint account. She buys what we need, she consults me (as I do her) if she thinks we deserve a luxury item. I tell her when I'm going to the pub, as a politeness, and she never asks how much I spend. We keep receipts in a shoebox, but only for the utilities and large, under-warranty items. Day to day spending we never bother to keep receipts.

But then, I have a passive income and she works for a decent salary.

Receipts are put in a folder for household expenses, and kept for the term that I am renting. I had a man on a motorbike come and cut the power because I could not show a receipt. Yes, it does seem smarter to double check. But I hardly look at the receipts, they are just something I always thought important to keep...for future reference.

I trust her honesty, but not her forgetfulness.... which, I am afraid, we both suffer from.

Cross checking would be the best terminology...eh?

You can got to the Wat, meet people and family members. They may have a vested interest in keeping you here. If there is a feeling inside that you are not safe there, any longer...then all the meetings in the world would be nothing but a dog and pony show.

Take it from a guy who lived a brave, but stupid life. Lucky I am here. By all counts, I should have not made it out. Others, who I have known, took the bullet...literally. They would come and tell me that they found a bullet on their kitchen table, and a week later, bye bye.

Sometimes you need a good scare.

Found it convenient to let her pay for the bills in Thailand. I keep a spreadsheet of upcoming bills, travel and purchase plans for the year. That money is sent directly to her account here. Our savings (emergency funds) remain in my home country..accessible only to me. We are not married, but lived together for 4 years.

I show her the spending plan for the upcoming month, and just ask for receipts for the rent, car payment, and utilities. Her allowance is tied in with the food money....so she shops wisely. As long as the money left in her account is the same as we predicted, I do not worry about things. Best part, all bills are paid during the first 3 days of the month.

This setup suits me fine, as it does her. She is able to show a steady income (from bank deposits), should she apply for a visa. Another thing...I have freedom. If I need to leave Thailand for more than a few months, there is no worry or argument about money or bills. It just carries on.

She gets a big smile on her face, when she is notified of a bank deposit. (Even the the majority of the money is for necessities). I think it is the feeling of security/control, or perhaps her "face" of going to the bank and having more then 400 baht in her account. For me, I do not stress out about the next month or two. There have been times, in the past, where I could not get hold of my money in the states for weeks. That is all being handled. And, should I wind up in a hospital, she can put some cash up front.

This might not work in every single relationship. It works fine for us. My girl was a manager at a Handbag/shoe outlet in bangkok, with several employees under her....and a Chinese boss micromanaging her purchases and receipts. I do not micromanage, but just insist that the bottom line match our plans.

they seem to go for disembodied penis, according to Thai folklore.

My Thai mobile is <snip>

The cat is out of the bag. Hope your wife/and relatives know nothing of Thai Visa.com. My girl knows very well that I post here. Suggest you go..now.

Yes I would like help I'm 6 hours away from Bangkok. The local people in the village are already having heated discussions. I spoke to the local police 2 weeks ago but they haven't really helped. I'm not sure I can leave safely. I do not want an accident on the road

If you cannot physically drive, then hopefully there is another farang nearby that can get the car out. I believe just the keys and a letter from you authorizing him to drive the vehicle, would be enough. Best you get the vehicle out of the neighborhood, then have the friend drive it to where you are going. Perhaps meet up at a 7/11 store, with you just driving out for a quick snack there. Once you leave, it will become very hard to get the vehicle. Do this today, if possible. You are now in enemy territory. Prisoners of war have the best chance of escaping within the first few hours of capture. Consider your first post as the time you were "captured".

Strategy dictates that you can only work matters from a position of strength. Get to a safe place, call a friend, avoid confrontation. The vehicle must be taken out wisely, and without notice.

seeing as your an offshore guy, one assumes you have a slush fund stashed away for a rainy day ?...hope so,

if everything you have written is true and your not a bored troll cos its Sunday, get into your Isuzu and leave, go and find a hotel somewhere out the way, where you cant be found, better losing around THB 2.0 million, than your life, as without stating the obvious you are being set up for a fall

You will most likely discover a "relief:" as soon as you do. It might even be a little voice inside you telling you it is time. Too people have stayed in their "situations" and paid the ultimate price. Leaving brings a whole new perspective. Take the car, leave it far away, with a friend, for a few months. Do not leave a trail.

Temples or cute girls dancing.....

I wonder....wonder I do.

Unless all hell breaks loose, I think things are just going to tick-tock slowly ahead. For now, Thailand looks stable. Let's see how many tourists flock here this year. Still, I see the cost of living, cost of imports, cost of labor, cost of "P" & "B" going up....steadily. My retirement is going to stay the same for 2 years and 9 months longer. Then I get a nice social security boost...at 62 (if no laws are enacted during that time, to delay it).

That being said, the kids will all be cut to the quick...like I was. My youngest will be 18. Going to have to pull his weight. Effective gain from social security and child support stoppage will increase my spending power by 70 percent.

Just keep the beer within that cost range...I should make it to the grave with a cold Leo, a full belly, and a sexy smile on my face.

Sure Ben is dead. And the hornets are out of the nest. Buzzzzznizz as usual.

"----" scrapers scare the bejesus out of me.

and no one tried to stop the shooter,, people didn't react, notihng, and if you watch the tape, there is an edit in at the 5sec mark, something is missing.

Not that I would have ran up and tried to grab the gun, either. There would have been two bodies on the ground, and the owner of the pistol would have still driven away.

The point is, the western alternatives are far worse. A cup of rice is not as bad as mashed potatoes containing milk and butter, and smothered with gravy made from pad drippings (pure,unadulterated fat).

Meat Pies and mashed potatoes (with gravy)

Mince and mashed potatoes (with gravy)

Bangers and mashed potatoes

fish and chips (deep fried in fatty oil) and served with mayonnaise

Cheeseburgers and fries with (the lot) Aussie style adds eggs?

....you get the idea....

Now compare that to a scoop of rice, vegetables (usually fresh not canned..like our stuff)
,served with a bbq tilapia or some bbq pork

The western alternatives are, albeit, more satisfying but far more fattening and overloaded with calories