Unify

Bangkok bank emails me copies of the year's statements next day. I print them out and take them to the bank to have them stamped, or whatever they do. 

As a few others have suggested, explain to them that you like to take it slow. If they text you and say "See you tomorrow", say " I'm free next Thursday, but in the meantime, we can chat" if you want to see them again.

Don't tell them where you live and don't give your phone number. Here's why.

A few years back I was chatting with an attractive woman in her mid thirties. She was a school teacher and owned her own home. It was a pretty good set-up for a girlfriend.

She lived a couple of hours away. Eventually, I invited her to visit me over the weekend. I  had noticed she was somewhat insecure, but the alarm bells didn't ring.

She came and spent the weekend, but we weren't a good match. It was a constant struggle. She was continually putting herself down.

Come Sunday, I was getting ready to take her back to the bus station so she could catch a van back home, and she refused to leave.

She said she was going to quit her job and stay with me. I eventually told her that she could stay if she wanted, but I would leave and go elsewhere (I was in a hotel).

I finally got her in her van and off she went. I even tried to encourage her after she got home, but it was no use. She had terribly low self-esteem, and what I had done lowered it more.

From that point onward, I've been careful about letting women know where I live until I get to know them better. And LINE is much better than a phone number. I have one gal who climbed over a security fence, in the rain, at 1:30am, knocking on my bungalow door, claiming men were chasing her. She had my phone number and got new SIM cards and texted me from new numbers for months.

So, part of it is realizing that yes, they may take dinner far more seriously than you do. Part of it is you being clear about a pace you're comfortable with. And part of it is about protecting yourself.

Personally, I'd make it clear in text, before you meet. I'd consider a coffee date rather than dinner.

Good luck.

PS: I'm no prize. I'm older, don't have much money, and I don't dress that well. 

4 hours ago, jcmj said:

I have always used Wise. Everything is transparent and I get good rates. What makes Dee money better ?

What makes Dee money better in this instance is that Wise doesn't transfer to the US from Thailand -- only to Thailand from the US. 

I've sent a direct message to you, with the contact info of a guy who did work for me in Chiang Mai.

????

I mask up when the AQI is above 70. Air pollution is a risk factor for not only lung cancer and emphysema, but heart attacks and strokes.

On 5/14/2023 at 5:54 PM, fusion58 said:

I'm often amazed at the number of business signs - some of which must have set the proprietor back more than a few ducats - I see around Bangkok with similar grammatical errors, misused colloquialisms, etc. You'd think some of these folks would want to consult with a native English speaker before placing their orders.

I have a Thai friend who runs a restaurant. She regularly checks with me about how to write things in English. I also wonder why more don't check with a native speaker. 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

RTA army chief assures there’ll be ‘no coups on his watch’
by Mitch Connor

 

Royal Thai Army Commander-in-Chief General Narongpan Jittkaewtae.

Royal Thai Army (RTA) Chief General Narongpan Jittkaewtae assured the Thai public yesterday that there would be no coups on his watch, stating that the term should not exist in anyone’s vocabulary. General Narongpan is set to retire on September 30 and provided reassurances in the lead-up to the elections on Sunday. There have been concerns about possible unrest following the polls.

 

When questioned about the potential for future unrest and the military’s response, the Army Chief explained that he was not worried.

“I don’t worry. We have learned many lessons from the past. We have reached a point where democracy has to go ahead. Everyone should be mindful and avoid what should not be done.”

 

In response to inquiries about the possibility of another coup following the elections, General Narongpan urged reporters not to raise such matters, as it could create conflict. He asked that journalists refrain from using the term, and confirmed that the military had removed it from their vocabulary.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/army-chief-assures-no-coups-during-his-tenure

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-05-12

 

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No coups in his watch. But will there be watches on his coup? 

A while back, I met a gal on a dating app. I asked her about her job, and she said she owned a coffee shop. I thought, "Great. A businessperson. Someone who can support themselves."

Then, strangely, she asked for my opinion on which purse I liked, because she was online shopping.

Then, after a day or two, she asked what I do during the day and I told her. She said she spent her day trading forex. That's when it hit me.

She was just trying to give me the impression she was successful so I would buy some software from her, or some forex trading system, or maybe engage in a pyramid scheme.

And I thought she was talking to me because I'm so handsome ????

Which immigration office? 

My Xiaomi unit works very well, and has for 5 years. However, the meter that reads the pollution level is <deleted>. Therefore, it doesn't come on automatically when it should. I recommend you go down to Makersplace in Chiang Mai, and pick up one of their more accurate meters. 

I've never heard of a car flipping being described as 'doing a summersault' before. 

10 hours ago, ezzra said:

I'm all for giving a fair go to everyone and every type op people when it comes to gainful employment and being part of society but such behavior by a transgender cast heavy doubt whether they are fit to be employed when it comes to children...

Ridiculous. Men end women have also abused children. 

54 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Why do you not get your pension paid into your own personal bank account, so then you can transfer to your Thai Bank, be it via Wise or Swift or other way. YOU then decide which day of the month it transfers.

 

As an off topic aside, isn't it strange that I can do a transfer from my current account to any other account in UK at any time of the month, day or hour and it is almost instantaneous. The computers DO NOT go to sleep.

If you're talking about Wise not being instantaneous, they work a different way. They don't actually transfer the money from your foreign bank account to your Thai bank account. For much of the world, they try to match up transactions. In other words, if you're moving money from the UK to France, they'll match that up with someone who's moving money from France to the UK. That way, they can just transfer from one UK bank account to the other, and one French bank account to the other. Obviously, this gets complex pretty quickly and relies on volume.

I don't know quite how they do it in Thailand, as you can't use Wise to transfer out. But anyway, that's why they're not instantaneous,

8 hours ago, Purdey said:

Apparently, it isn't only spread by homosexuals. 

According to the CDC website, Monkeypox can spread from person-to-person through:

direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids

- respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex

- touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids

- pregnant people can spread the virus to their fetus through the placenta.

Seems to be anyone can pass it on. 

I'm general, gay men may be more likely to check out skin abnormalities more quickly than straight men. The numbers might be misleading. 

Just because they're not making good progress with air pollution, doesn't mean they should stop all other forms of progress and wait.

Smoking is one of the greatest evils in history, killing somewhere around 7 million people per year, and causing illness in many times that number. At the same time, I think people should have the right to smoke, if they want to.

Outlaw it in all public places, and give smokers designated areas in which to smoke. They did this in Washington state years ago and it was a tremendous improvement. 

19 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

 

To get peer reviewed studies on flu death in Thailand then you can visit a previous post I did on this here:

 

2005 - 2009 

On average, 6 people in every 100,000 were estimated to die each year in Thailand as a result of seasonal influenza, representing 4,000 deaths per year.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275363294_Mortality_Attributable_to_Seasonal_Influenza_A_and_B_Infections_in_Thailand_2005-2009_A_Longitudinal_Study

 

2006 - 2011

The average annual influenza-associated mortality per 100 000 persons was 4·0 (so less than the above study of 4,000 yearly deaths)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605410/"

In the US, flu deaths/year typically run 20k - 60k. That's from roughly 300 million people. I wouldn't expect Thailand, with 1/4 as many people would have 100,000 flu deaths.

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

Where did you get your figures for 100,000 deaths for flu and Pneumonia for 2021? I suspect its from this misleading website here 

https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/thailand 

 

A few points on those figures

1) They are for the period 3rd Jan 2020 through to 15th April 2022 

2) The figures do not separate out Flu and Pneumonia deaths

3) The website has stated it gets its figures from WHO, yet WHO has not published those figures in any publicily available documents, it also states on the website that the figures are from WHO in 2018 yet these are 2020 - 2022?

4. To give them one piece of credit they do say in their disclaimer: Data Accuracy Not Guaranteed

 

To get peer reviewed studies on flu death in Thailand then you can visit a previous post I did on this here:

 

2005 - 2009 

On average, 6 people in every 100,000 were estimated to die each year in Thailand as a result of seasonal influenza, representing 4,000 deaths per year.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275363294_Mortality_Attributable_to_Seasonal_Influenza_A_and_B_Infections_in_Thailand_2005-2009_A_Longitudinal_Study

 

2006 - 2011

The average annual influenza-associated mortality per 100 000 persons was 4·0 (so less than the above study of 4,000 yearly deaths)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4605410/"

In the US, flu deaths/year typically run 20k - 60k. That's from roughly 300 million people. I wouldn't expect Thailand, with 1/4 as many people would have 100,000 flu deaths.

On 11/12/2019 at 9:43 AM, SoilSpoil said:

Thw whole country, even Phuket, are in orange or red. Thailand us sucking up its own air pollution.

Phuket Town is 59 aqi as I type, and has mostly remained in the yellow or green zones last few times I checked. 

As for all these pictures of pristine mountaintops -- you can see the gray in the air as you look out over the distance. I can generally tell in the city, when the aqi is high by how quickly the gray appears in the distance. If you have a meter reading that says it's good, that will convince me. Just because you see white fuzzy clouds and blue sky doesn't mean it's good air.

Air pollution Is a risk for stroke and heart disease as well as the more obvious lung cancer and emphysema.

One of the reasons I moved from Chiang Mai is that the air is not that great, even when it's not burning season, with the exception of immediately after a hard rain. I didn't like the risk factor over 10-15 years.

According to their website, yes.