Groongthep

What they mean when they say that once an alcoholic always an alcoholic is that people with the disease of alcoholism will never be able to drink in moderation...because they are wired in such a way that alcohol ingestion triggers in them a craving for more. That is in fact the medical definition of alcoholism, and it is quite likely linked to how the individual's body metabolises glucose as well as their neurochemistry.

Yes, what you say is true. I guess where I have the problem is being stuck with the label "alcoholic" or "addict" in spite of the fact that I haven't touched the stuff in almost a decade and a half.

Also, sorry to have stuck this on a thread about coffee. Even though caffeine certainly fits the definition of a drug it is a much less powerful one than those I was talking about. I still enjoy a cup or two every morning and sometimes after a good meal.

I of course agree that coffee and caffeine are hardly lethal drugs. Forgive me if my long winded post gave the impression that I was suggesting that they were. It was the "once an addict always an addict" statement that got me going. As is probably obvious I also have reservations about 12 step programs which adhere to that philosophy.

Coffee addiction is like any other substance addiction. Being off three months is nothing. You are an addict for life whether you are drinking it now or not. Chances are very high, you will be back ... I know, I know, you think you are stronger than that. Check back in a year, mate.

This concept that once addicted you are addicted for life is classic AA (and other 12 step addiction program) rhetoric. I know first hand that believing this myth can be very useful and effective in helping one get free of the chains of an addiction, but to be frankly honest, it is indeed a myth. Following the 12 steps of the Alcoholics Annonymous program helped me quit drinking alcohol which I did pathologically for 30+ years and nearly killed me. As a result of following AA, I have now been clean and sober for nearly 14 years. While I thank AA for saving my life, I realise now that following the steps and believing the doctrines were simply psychological methods for training one's brain to stop deeply conditioned addictive behavior. If one is free from the addiction long enough it is my firm conviction that eventually one will lose all desire to ever go back to using booze or drugs and hence will no longer be an addict. There are hard-core AA devotees out there who will strongly disagree with me on this but I suspect that they are the ones who are still not fully at peace with their sobriety or freedom from drugs and have simply substituted the 12 step crutch for the booze and/or drugs. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because being addicted to a 12 step program is a far lesser problem than having a chemical abuse problem but with enough time and mental discipline one can get free of both of them. I have found Buddhist meditation an excellent tool to help rid myself themself of the residual psychological hang-ups left by my 12 step "cure". I don't want to desparage 12 step programs because they have indeed help save the lives of millions of people, I only warn that psychological tools and therapies in the form of 12 step programs can have unwanted side effects just like some life saving drugs which are used to treat cancer and other life threatening diseases. Use them wisely and with caution.

CAT cards are good. I'm not sure of the rate to China. It's 3 Baht a minute to the USA. You can buy them at a Thai Post Office.

CAT cards are good, I use them all the time. According to their website it is 1 baht a minute to mobile phones in China. Also 1 baht a minute to the US. CAT Card Link

Besides the Post Office they are also for sale at CAT offices. There's one on the second floor of the the Times Square Bldg. near the Asoke BTS Station.

Thailand is strategicaly and economically important to the US......

How do you figure that? According to US government statistics Thailand is way down at number 29 on the list of trading partners and does not border on any strategic waterway or with any major nation of importance. Its biggest neighbors, Burma, Laos and Cambodia are all among the poorest counties in the world. Since the end of the Vietnam war no US administration or Congress either Republican or Democrat has given much more than lip service to the relationship with Thailand and with all the other irons they have in the fire nowadays there is little to no chance they're going to care what the hel_l Thailand does now either. They'll diplomatically say that they support reconciliation but they are not about to do anything to get involved in another internal situation they can do little or nothing about. I imagine they will continue the yearly Cobra Gold exercises as a show of solidarity with the SE Asian allies (Thailand, Singapore, Philippines) but that's about as far as it will go.

Agree with tod-daniels. I have heard the word แมงดา used to describe a low-life male who controls women through fear and threat of violence. More often than not this type of guy is usually also described as a จิ๊กโก๋ which means something like hooligan, thug or tough-guy.

Good quality socks. (Hard to find here.)

A good quality upright hepa-filter vacuum cleaner. (Never seen one here.)

Here's your man.

Surely the point here is not the relative merits of different games. Rather the childish macho posturing of many males in these situations. Not surprising to see an outcome like this in Thailand with their "loss of face" bullshit. But an outcome similar to this more likely with a gun or knife could also happen anywhere else. Overgrown children anywhere should carry a health warning.

I agree with salty. The game has little to do with it. There have probably been more killings over card games than any sporting event.

Heng and Maccheroncini are correct. The offerings you see at spirit houses and to the figure you see in Maccheroncini's post (who is Mae Nang Kwak, the goddess of prosperity) are offerings to animistic spirits and have nothing to do with Buddha or Buddhism. The average Thai has blended ancient beliefs with Buddhism to form their overall religious system. A significant number of modern Thai Buddhist monks reject the animistic rituals. Some don't.

When I first visited Pattaya in 1988 the baht busses (songteaws) were 10 baht. Twenty two years later they're still 10 baht.

Until quite recently they were 5 baht. You've been tipping them 100% for 20 years. Good on you!

I live in Bangkok not Pattaya so the few times I gave a songteaw driver a whopping 5 baht extra would hardly make any difference to either me, the driver or the full time residents of Pattaya.

Perhaps the second most distressing thing about the ousting of the US team is that I will now find myself supporting the English. I can't help but admire Wayne Rooney. I like his passionate and aggressive style of play even though we haven't seen too much of it recently. Hopefully, we will see it tonight against Germany.

Boy was I wrong.

Any yank that has sporting brains knew that the USA team stunk and was lucky to get to the second round, so if they stunk where did that put England, even further down the drain as losing to Germany proved. My money is still on Argintina.

I said I was supporting them not betting money on them.

i just ask myself....

is it worth all this degree of aggravation....

for 150 thb....?

Who's aggravated? If you live near an AEON machine use it instead of another bank's ATM and save yourself 150 baht. Pretty simple concept really.

i just ask myself....

is it worth all this degree of aggravation....

for 150 thb....?

but i just much hate it too.... having to pay the 150 thb to withdraw a mere 20k thb each time....

in hkg.... i used to withdraw 100k usd equivalent in hkg currency in one stroke....

but in thailand i too have been restricted to only 20k thb max withdrawal per transaction....

it is insane.... but i won't let it ruin my life too much.... just make sure that i won't order edibles more than 20k thb worth of shark fins or bear claws.... each evening....

You used to withdraw $100,000 dollars equivalent in Hong Kong dollars from an ATM? Forgive me if I find this hard to believe.

Perhaps the second most distressing thing about the ousting of the US team is that I will now find myself supporting the English. I can't help but admire Wayne Rooney. I like his passionate and aggressive style of play even though we haven't seen too much of it recently. Hopefully, we will see it tonight against Germany.

Boy was I wrong.

It is not just Thai males. Went to Central yesterday and ordered food from a stall I have been going to for some time. After handing over my money I waited for my ten baht change and it was not given. Asked the old lady about it and she said that was enough. I figured a price increase then looked at the sign and the price was the same. Asked again about my change and the coworker of the lady (also lady) stated that the price was for broth only and to get a piece of chicken was ten baht more. I then demanded the manager and the ten baht was swiftly handed over. After my meal I gave the lady the ten baht back as it was not about the money so much as treating me as a fool. I think wages in Thailand have failed to adjust to the rise in prices and people are desperate.

When I first visited Pattaya in 1988 the baht busses (songteaws) were 10 baht. Twenty two years later they're still 10 baht.

What about UOB?

UOB now charges 150 baht too, unless of course, you have an account with them and are using their card in the ATM.

AEON is the only ATM system in Thailand that I know of that is not now charging foreign cards a 150 baht fee. I just used the one at Ocean Tower near Asoke on Sukhumvit 19 two days ago and it was still free. The exchange rate was on par with other major banks too. My bank in the US still charged me the out-of-state-non-their-bank fee though.

There's no history and culture with American Football.....

If by American Football you are talking about soccer then you are correct. If you are saying there is no history or culture behind American Football as in gridiron then you are sadly mistaken. The history and tradition surrounding the game, particularly at the college level is something that just can't be explained to any non-North American. It's something we grow up with. Argue if you wish, but it will fall on deaf ears. Trust me on this one.

Back on the topic of the Americans in the World Cup, I must admit my disappointment with last nights loss to Ghana but agree with most others that Ghana played the better game and they deserved to win. Asamoah Gyans goal in extra time despite being clobbered from behind was remarkable. Congratulations to the Ghanans and their fans. I was also quite pleased that this contest was much better officiated than the Slovenia and Algerian matches. Perhaps the second most distressing thing about the ousting of the US team is that I will now find myself supporting the English. I can't help but admire Wayne Rooney. I like his passionate and aggressive style of play even though we haven't seen too much of it recently. Hopefully, we will see it tonight against Germany.

Here's a couple links that might be helpful:

Langhub Taxi Thai

Americans would no sooner discard the term "World Series" than the English would do away with the name "Premier" league even though they may not be the best league in UEFA.

Premier refers to it being the top league in the country. Just as Serie A refers in Italy to it being the top league there. That's where the claim ends.

The world is apparently still flat Rix. 

It was not my intention to start an argument. It has been called the "World Series" for 107 years and it isn't going to change anytime soon. Let's leave it at that and return the thread to the topic of the World Cup.

But you need to make sure you copy the Dutch coaching models, lots of five asides on small pitches plus training young players in every position. Rather than the English coaching model which is lots of weights sessions in the gym and learning to kick the ball as far as possible

The size of your population is no guarantee of footballing success, look at the Solvenians pop 2 million who regularly qualify for top tournaments whereas Russia regularly miss out, also China footballs very popular but they are rubbish. I proper coaching philosophy like the dutch total football idea, which Johan Cruyff exported to Spain and is used at Barcelona, gives a much better chance of world cup success than a large population.

What is it with you Americans in your constant need to knock the English at football are you trying to tell me you couldnt learn a thing from the English at football?

And i am telling you as a fact Johan Cruyff did not export total football to Spain ... try Rinus Michels.

I don't believe noel2499rk is American.

I think what he is getting at is when the champions of MLB of NFL or NBA are crowned, they are crowned World Champions - which is a bit strange considering they are national leagues. 

A matter of semantics. When those organizations were formed they were the only leagues which played those sports professionally so the league champions were obviously also the world champions. Baseball's World Series is not an international competition (except for Canada) but the teams in the MLB are made up of the best baseball players from around the world (with maybe the exception of Japanese/Iranian pitcher Yu Darvish) just as the European soccer leagues are made up of teams that include the best players from around the world. Likewise the NBA and NFL. Americans would no sooner discard the term "World Series" than the English would do away with the name "Premier" league even though they may not be the best league in UEFA.

Just think you could play Uruguay or S Korea if you beat Ghana so it really does mean it is a World Cup that your country is involved in maybe most of the American population needs time to find its identity first before they can understand the concept of a World cup involving other countries?

I'm trying to figure out what you’re getting at here. If you are insinuating that Americans don't participate in sports at a world level I would have to ask what planet you have been living on. The US has been participating in international football (soccer) for decades. Americans are also, of course, active participants in international Olympic basketball and hockey which now allow professionals to play. The last World Baseball Classic involved 16 nations and its final was the most widely watched sporting event of any kind in the history of televised sports in Japan. True, American football is not an international competition since it is only really popular in North America but I'm sure they would be glad to play any teams the rest of the world outside of the US and Canada might want to field if they truly felt suicidal. Rugby is only really played at the amateur level in the US and there is really no interest in cricket to speak of but I'm sure the Americans would send teams to international competions in these sports too if they became popular enough.

No Thai bank will give somebody with less than 20.000 baht/month (after proof of at least 6 month) a loan of 200.000 baht

Correct. Might as well forget it.

The reason you are wrong -- LATINOS. And the Latino-ization of USA culture.

The American MLS Seattle Sounders Football Club home attendance averaged 37,000 fans a match last season. Not bad for a second tier sport. The majority of fans were not Latinos but rather people of European and African ancestry. The American kids who began playing soccer 20 years ago are now becoming young adults and will provide an enormous pool of fans in the future. I am an avid baseball and American football fan and enjoy basketball during the playoffs. I also like soccer and hockey. It's all good.

And of course the correct answer is

You don't talk about sex or acknowledge it even exists with anyone, only bar girls and guys that hang with them do that (and maybe other lowlife).

Again 'sarahsbloke' the self appointed resident expert weighs in with his 2 satang worth of misguided information...

While I routinely use sweeping generalities and paint with a very broad brush (to cover ground quickly); I too must agree to disagree with that poster's skewed take on "all thingz thai" concerning talk of a sexual nature amongst close friends.

Slightly Off Topic but of marginal value none the less:

Once you get to know a particular group of thai guys (whatever their position on the socio-economic ladder of success and/or demographic), and they accept you ‘into the fold' so to speak; the conversation can and does ALMOST always touch upon sex at some point.

The guys I’ve sat with nearly every nite for the last 3 years are ALL what I would term "middle class working stiffs". They're married, educated, in their late 30's to mid 40's; have great jobs with international companies, and their salaries are comparable to what you'd get in the west for similar work. They have free family health insurance, paid sick, vacation and holiday leave, bonus and incentive programs, life insurance, etc. They own their own homes, cars, moto-cys etc. Again, any way you figure it they're about as far from a low-life person as I could imagine. In fact they've got better jobs than many foreigners I know who live here.

Once I got to know them, these guys are some of the most down to earth people I've ever come to know ANYWHERE I’ve lived. Yet time and again when we sit outside and drink at nite, the talk invariably touches on sex, sexual jokes, double entendres with sexual connotations, speculation about this or that couples sexual penchants, frequency of intercourse, efficacy of viagra, penis size, a particular person's sexual history, etc.

Some of the most hysterical conversations (to the point that we all had tears running down our faces in laughter and could barely catch our breath) have come up when I sit out side my apartment on the Soi and interact with those guys.

Remember; this is in an ultra-casual social setting, NOT at the office, at the restaurant, in a food court, etc, but sitting outside drinking whilst they wait for traffic to abate so they can make their way home after work. I think familiarity of the group you’re with AND the social setting you’re in play a very important role in what is acceptable to discuss and what is not; much more so than broad brush labeling that any talk of a sexual nature makes a person a 'low life'. ..

I've found if you spend time trying to make friends with thai guys, in your neighborhood, or ones you see every day, etc, your 'bang for the baht' and enjoyment of 'all thingz thai' can does go up immeasurably.

Once they know you, thai guys are definitely a hoot to sit with and IMHO they are far more interesting than sitting with thai gurls.

Good post. My experience with middle class Thais is similar.