CrunchWrapSupreme

16 hours ago, Skeptic7 said:

The Thai male population is suffering from terrible upbringing, spoiled rotten, no discipline

It's the end of the term, time to make scores. Behold, my typical score sheet. I've seen this for years. In this male oriented society, boys are listed first, girls at the bottom. And so every time there's a sea of blank space at the top. The boys' behavior is coddled and condoned. I submit their blank spaces, and they'll still be given a passing score.

There'll be one or two good boys toward the top. These are usually ladyboys. To be a masculine, Thai male is to be too cool for school. But to be fair, it's not much different around the world.

9 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I disagree, I behive in rehabilitation. 

There's an old thread on here about the old Washington Square. It's amazing how much info those old timers have complied. They got the names of all the bars, all their regulars, and the staff. Since it was torn down they said many of the regs and staff had paired up. Contrary to popular belief, it seems most of those relations wound up being successful and long term, as opposed to just long time.

On 3/13/2022 at 5:02 PM, steven100 said:

you'd likely end up in the Khlong ..  

That's pretty much what my wife said. We lived out in the provinces and took a 2 week BKK holiday. I then came home to another high electric bill as if we'd still been home. I said I want to show him the bus tickets. She said "No no, Mafia". Hah.

If the electric's tacked on to your monthly rent invoice, you're at their mercy. If you rent say a condo and get the official govt bill in your mailbox, the orange one in BKK, or the purple one in the provinces, that's usually the only way it's fair.

Makes you wish they were doing something with all this speed.

We amazingly get great speeds out here in the most country bumpkin village you can think of, amidst tractors, cows, chickens, both fiber and cell phone. Micro cell towers stand next to run down shacks. I'm certainly thankful for it as it allows me to do my online teaching for extra cash, to intl students who actually want to learn. The locals certainly don't. Hah.

And therein lies the prob. All this amazing speed, and I just see kids lying around playing games, scrolling through Facebook, watching TikTok. I'm doing my final scores now, and about half the sheets are blank.

It puts me in a pickle. I'm a teacher and my contract's up for renewal. My visa's running out. Word is the start of the next term will be delayed a month or so due to Covid, as it was last year. Word is they want to start my new contract a few months late. In the meantime, they're hinting I take the Covid extension to fill that gap. Hah. I gotta tell them it doesn't look like they're giving them out anymore, now they're sending folks home. They can go ahead and not pay me for those months school's not open, but I need my visa.

23 hours ago, Dukeleto said:

an example of the same in the west where a “top cop” is one of the countries wealthiest men?

Akin to college football coaches being the highest paid public employees in many US states. Misplaced priorities. In Thailand the cops are busy enriching themselves rather than upholding the law. In the US American Football enjoys religious status, while education goes neglected.

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Being a soldier is in your blood

Haha. Give me a break. Too much Rambo bro.

Most soldiers did not choose it as their profession. Most are drafted in times of war. In such times they need bodies at the front lines to be handed guns. Soldiering's def not in their blood. They do it because they often have no choice and no alternative. My God man, listen to Creedence Clearwater's "Fortunate Son". Read up on a certain famous American president and his "bone spurs".

Read up on the Vietnam war. They weren't exactly too picky. Sure, if someone was jittery and talking to himself he might've been rejected, but they needed the bodies. They pulled them from the streets of America and many were sent to die not knowing what do to, or why they were there. Hence the high casualty numbers, why we lost the war despite throwing so many people and so much money at it, and why the streets of America were then later filled with homeless vets. Their govt and military didn't adequately prepare them prior to war, they didn't have it "in their blood" otherwise they wouldn't have come back horribly broken, nor was this cared much about.

No, I doubt the Ukraine battle is going to attract many professional mercernary, "in their blood" types. I imagine the pay's not too high. They're going get some with some soldiering experience, or more likely some interest in it, and certainly many who like to talk tough on the Internet. Heh. I doubt they'll choose to do so if they already have wonderful lives and careers. Perhaps a few may truly care about the Ukrainians, maybe there's ancestral ties. Hats off to them. Otherwise I can't see being willing to accept death for a country that's not even theirs. They'll likely do it because they don't have much else going.

14 hours ago, Pravda said:

I'm surprised it's crickets in Thailand. Pattaya alone has a large number of SAS and ex military operatives situated in this world class family resort. 

 

 

Everyone's ran into that "special forces" guy at the bar. I like to call this the "summer school" effect.

When I was a teenager I sometimes got sent to an extra school during summer vacation. These were often some distance away from one's regular school, where one would meet many new kids they've never seen before, and very few of their own classmates. The perfect opportunity to become whoever they wanted to be. Hehe. I could totally tell who these poseurs were, trying to drop the lingo incorrectly, looking uncomfortable in clothes they don't usually wear. Much the same happens with those who come to the LOS. Not just in the bars, quite a few of my coworkers also claimed to have founded tech startups, struck it big with crypto, had this or that side gig going, and the buzzwords everyone loves, "passive income".

But in regards to the topic, yeah, about 20 years ago I was at rock bottom. I had lost both my long term job and fiance. I put out stacks of applications and got nowhere. Everyone was reeling from the dot-com crash, Enron, and 9/11. I drained my savings and started selling everything I had. Friends of mine were schmoozing their way into gigs, I've always lacked such skill. I was drinking a lot and suicidal. Had I heard of a war, I prob would've said why not, and signed up.

I really wish my students would ask more questions, especially with all this online learning. We got them all in Line Groups. I'm always telling them they could ask in the group or private message me. A few do, but alas many do not. Mostly it's laziness, but also they have ingrained in them this philosophy of not asking.

Instead they copy from their friends who had incorrect answers I told them to change. These just keep getting passed along, and it makes you wonder what if any education they're getting.

I was once at a big, famous name, chain of private schools in BKK, where the kids were repeatedly whacked. It was a joke, just for show, as much of the things at those schools are. They laughed about it and kept on doing whatever they were doing, acting out in class, running in the halls, playing games, not doing any work. There otherwise were no real consequences to any of it. Their hi-so parents paid exorbitant fees, for which they expected high scores every term.

Most schools don't bother with it as they expect a revolving door of backpacker, working holiday types. But if you like the school, expect a contract extension, and plan on being there awhile, then you really should ask.

19 hours ago, steven100 said:

just shows how inept,  uneducated,  and lack of understanding on how to be a proper parent and control your kids

Final exam time is fast approaching here in the moo ban. The kids are all studying online, supposedly, due to the rise in Covid cases. They're all lying around with their phones doing something. They're also riding 2-3 per motorbike, cruising up and down the road, surely on the way to their study groups.

Someone keeps paying those phone bills and for the more expensive gas going in those motorbikes. They could easily put their feet down by cutting these off, yet don't. It's no wonder then how such spolied brats do such things.

I once stayed at "Resort V" in Huai Khwang in BKK. Great pool. Simple, not very deep, just for swimming laps and relaxing. Always thought something like this would be nice for the house.

Invaluable reading for anyone interested in teaching:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_approach

https://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash-english.html

I teach adults online and it mostly consists of just having friendly conversation. Use pictures, objects, gesticulations, get creative if you're not getting across. "Compare notes" about each other's life experiences, re jobs, travel, family. Find out what they're interested in, pull up an article to that effect, and go through it together.

Ukraine looks poised to win. Putin made a gross overestimation. A lot of his equipment is outdated and not up to the task, his fighting forces have long been out of it. The Ukrainians haven't given up as easily as he'd thought. He's getting far less intl support than he hoped for. He probably expected some backlash, yet this turned out to be a lot more. Russia's economy and world reputation have now been crushed.

I expect Ukraine to gain EU and NATO membership, and enjoy an economic resurgence with the support and sympathy they've been getting. Europe speaks many languages, but most should be aware the one they rely upon for intl communication is English. Heh. Us farang English teachers here in the LOS are up to the task. My Thai wife and I planned to go back to the US, but hey, we're ready to do our part for those in greater need. MA in Education and nearly a decade of experience here, and my wife with years of experience in BKK hotels and restaurants. Let us know, Ukraine.

I'm a teacher a bit north of you, and we were supposed to be back in school in February. Yet this keeps getting pushed back and I'm still teaching online. It's really killing the kids' morale. Fewer and fewer of them are coming to the online classes. Covid cases countrywide have been rising from 15k, to 20k, now 25k per day.

However, the country still seems to be proceeding with reopening plans, a refocus on tourism, and talk of downgrading Covid to "endemic" status, as several European countries have now done. Throwing in the towel basically, as the infections seem to be passing quicker, with fewer fatalities. That famous BKK newspaper a few days ago said this is still ontrack to happen in four months. We'll see I guess.

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

As for your Thai home, I just paid for the 10% deposit and monthly repayments, most of it still belongs to the bank, and they're happy for me to live in it as long as I make the monthly repayments.

Yup, that's the way to do it. I'm doing this with the car. My wife's name, on finance, but I'm using it mostly to get to work. They benefit from finally having a car for grocery and hospital trips, the pickup having long since been repoed. I trust them and they seem like good people, but can still rest easy having some security, knowing they'd dare not kill the golden goose, so to speak.

The guys who walk into the dealership with a bag full of money so their pants can feel bigger or whatever are absolute fools, IMHO. Granted, this saves them the hefty interest payments, but on the other hand, such has led to some "Where's the car, teerak?" moments, with it being gifted or sold, or the blue book taken to one of the many enticing loan sharks for quick cash, and an eventual repo.

40 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Hell, why don´t just fix up ma and pa´s house at the same time? We know it already when we settle here, and the rules have been the same for ages.

Yup, that's the way I see it. It's cheaper than my BKK condo rent was. Now I get to help the fam, rather than pay for my BKK landlord's vacations and his kids' snooty intl schools. ????

5 hours ago, cobra said:

A competent lawyer will calm client didn't have capacity to understand document, was under duress, etc.

Indeed, this is why I've heard all pre-nups in the US have been invalidated. The lawyer just has to say the lady was so in love and felt this was her soulmate. For the marriage to go through she either had to sign the pre-nup or be forced to abandon it all, and such is duress.

I'm actually in the house my wife's farang ex built for her over 20 years ago. Not such a windfall as I've had to do a lot of work on it, replacing all the electrical outlets, switches, converting most of the lights to LED, patching many leaks.

Sometimes I feel sorry for him and the money involved. The way she tells the story he screwed up, was a butterfly, couldn't stop sowing the wild oats. I'm inclined to believe her but who knows what happened. Either way, it's her dad's land, so he should've known he'd have to walk away if it went south. He's very well not taking the house back with him, nor could they pay him back.

Back in November, my bro sent me a fat envelope with my mail from the Midwestern US to Issan. Took 2 weeks. Regular US Postal Service. 25 bucks.

On 2/23/2022 at 8:17 PM, tomster said:

having to mix with the kids of parents that quite frankly should not not be allowed to breed

Indeed, harsh words, though there is truth to them. In my online teaching, in my classes of about 30, I'm now only getting the 5-6 kids per class who really want to learn. They participate, answer questions, do the homework, finally free from the distractions of a roomful of the other 25 who want to run amok with no consequences. My Thai colleagues have also remarked on how refreshing this is, though very unfortunate it has to be such a small percentage.

As much as we like to point at the Thais, it's really no different in the US. There's their infamous gun problem, then just this past month, two incidents in the Las Vegas school system. One in which a student was pummeled upon by another in class, while another put it on TikTok, then another incident where a teacher was assaulted. The school board's response? They held a motion at a meeting, to put it on the agenda for another meeting. Heh. I guess they've been talking to Thailand.