Damrongsak

Same thing happened to me on a vacation trip to Mexico. When my high school Spanish failed, a Thai word or two would pop right in there. I got some puzzled looks ...

I haven't shaved in about 50 years.

I met my future wife and her sister in the cloth market in Muang Loei 47 years ago. They were selling clothing. I had a couple months training in Thai courtesy of the U.S. Peace Corps. My wife did not speak English at the time.

My wife is in Muang Loei enjoying the warm winter weather until next month. Where I sit, it was -6 C this morning. We've had about 6 inches of snow in the past week.

Here's some sound recordings ... very annoying. https://ebird.org/species/copbar1 https://media.ebird.org/catalog?taxonCode=copbar1&mediaType=audio&sort=rating_rank_desc

Is it this one?

My wife's brother is one who can diagnose and fix things. He had his own little bike repair shop in Loei years back. Some of the local farang bikers trusted him to work on their big bikes. (LGMC - Loei Gentlemen's Motorcycle Club) A dozen years ago we sponsored him to come to the USA where he worked as a cook in a Thai restaurant for years. Then one day he walked across the street to a Honda motorcycle dealership and got a job offer on the spot. He's way ahead of the other mechanics in the shop in terms of knowledge and experience. He laughs about the other parts changers who can't even change a tire or clean a carb. He gives me credit for his interest in motorcycles - I've known him since he was 12 years old.

A bit more detail in this article from The Standard: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/7/264713/Model-'murdered'-at-luxury-home,-boyfriend-arrested ... "Neighbors heard a loud scream from Cretton's home and called police at around 6.15pm," the report said. "Officers arrived at the scene and checked surveillance camera footage, which showed three men trying to transport a body from the home. Among the three men was Cretton's boyfriend Wai," it added. Bystanders took to social media to say they heard Wai cry for help after Cretton was hurt. Wai then told them Cretton had committed suicide and asked them to drive her to the nearest hospital. The report said Cretton sustained nine stab wounds, including slashes to her throat and chest, which most probably caused her death. ...

I enjoy window shopping there if I'm in the neighborhood during a vacation.

More often than not, I've carried a knife ever since I was a Boy Scout ("Be Prepared!"). Useful tool.

I'm not sure of the legalities. But back around 1979 on an overnight bus trip from Loei to Bangkok, the cops searched our bus at a checkpoint. All men had to get off. They went through the bus and one cop asked my wife which bag was the foreigner's. She pointed to a bag in overhead rack. They searched it and found a knife with a blade about 10-12 inches long. I had bought it from a blacksmith in the Ban Vinai refugee camp where I worked. The cops tried to make a big deal of it but I argued that it was just a farmer knife. I had worked with farmers the prior two years and always carried a big knife when I was out and about on my motorcycle. They ended up giving it to the bus stewardess for safekeeping until we reached Bangkok. She was mad that I had caused a delay and said she'd announced before the bus left to check "weapons" with her. My wife never let on that she knew me. I've always wondered what the cops thought when they found women's undergarments in our shared bag, LOL.

I cringe when I see some of their "pruning" jobs. A machete or hatchet is not the right pruning tool. I've been pruning with my FELCO #2 shears for 46 years.

Check out this video clip. Amazing riding ... at the end. https://www.facebook.com/reel/402203992550341

Statista: "As of January 2020, there were over 70,200 7-Eleven convenience stores in operation around the world. 20,988 of these stores were located in Japan, making it the country with the most 7-Eleven stores globally. ..." Global Data says as of FY 2022: 21,327 Japan 13,562 U.S. 13,134 Thailand 11,173 South Korea 10,359 China 8,986 other https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/retail-and-wholesale/number-of-seven-i-stores-globally/

Singapore Daisy is listed as one of the top 100 most invasive alien species globally.

Foxtrot is active in Norway now. " ...Norwegian police have confirmed that not only is the criminal network Foxtrot active in Norway, it’s also probably behind a kidnapping in Trondheim earlier this year. ..." https://www.newsinenglish.no/2023/09/28/trondheim-kidnapping-linked-to-foxtrot/

I normally don't notice the smell of fish sauce but the fermented shrimp paste (kapi) has a strong smell.

I'm sure there's a Yiddish word for that.

So now you have a second opinion. Where does Sheryl send the bill? ????‍⚕️

Don Chada.

The Shinawatra family are major shareholders in Praram 9 Hospital.

Firefox works for me. I was on Windows 7, now 10.

Last week as I was checking out at a Lowe's home improvement store (like Home Depot), a fellow with a shopping cart was about to exit. He had an empty cart with a big backpack on the lower shelf. Another guy came in from outside and confronted him. The cashier and I watched as he emptied the contents of the backpack into the cart. It was a whole bunch of DeWalt cordless tools, like drills and impact drivers. Hundreds of dollars worth. I think the store guy just chased him off.

That's one of those conditions that comes and goes. Here's a practical breast augmentation device:

My wife worked at a Chinese restaurant in the U.S. awhile back. When the restaurant changed hands, the new owner had to tear up the kitchen and replace most everything.