ChrisP24

Agreed on all points. Makes as much sense as making our fried chicken resemble broccoli so the experience would be like eating a vegetable. If Meat Eaters Acted Like Vegans - Ultra Spiritual Life episode 35 - YouTube

Best wishes for whatever that is. I suspect that just having the goal, having a plan that you can actively push forward through your own efforts, and having reasonable hope that it will work, is already more than half the battle.

So.... now they "identify" as dogs?

The rule is that You must have been in your departure origin country for at least 21 days. That said, I think that you only have to attest to that, not sure if they check your passport for prior exit/entry stamps or dates. And even if they do, my understanding is that your U.S. passport doesn't get stamped coming or going between the U.S. and Canada unless you request it for proof of entry purposes. So...."up to you" on whether you want to be truthful/exercise good citizenship by disclosing where you have traveled. Source for the first part: Thailand Sandbox Requirements / Plan / Model (asq.in.th)

Summary: - Moved to Philippines with $100 in his pocket, but a $600 paycheck coming the next day so he was "Ok due to the exchange rate." - If he could do it over again he'd wait until he had $20k USD minimum saved.... - He has a work at home business, and hired his GF to work for the work at home business so she had income. He needs the income too because he is not drawing a pension/etc. Before that she was a schoolteacher in Thailand but he had her move to Manila so that she would have a secure job with him. - Had a cheap condo in Pasig with roaches and mice. Would have gotten a better condo if doing over. - GF was crying and then went "tampo" so he bought a ticket anyway to get there right away. He had not previously met her in person, only online. - Advises that $10k USD is enough to survive on for a full year, $20k will last two years. - Some discussion about travel restrictions but then planning ahead by showing current round trip air fare rates. No discussion of a one-way ticket with a "throwaway" exit ticket to meet entry requirements. - Discussion of a permanent resident visa once married. Says you can't keep re-entering the Philippines without it. No mention of a Balikbayan visa (that's where you get a one-year stamp at no cost if entering the country accompanied by your wife. And after it is good for multiple unaccompanied entry....). - Despite all that, he looks healthy, upbeat and seems like he is doing fine. I wish him all the best.

People could write (and many have written) a philosophical treatise on this subject. For me, my simplest take on the subject is that happiness is a mindset, and happy people are those who, through a process of self-discovery and self-awareness, have developed a habit over time of being in that mindset. Yes there will be ups and downs but happy people don't let the downs rule them. You say that "Many of you have come to Thailand seeking this secret happiness, yet few have ever found it." To that, I say that the happy expats are those who brought their happiness with them. Those running from something or running to something are too often deceiving/misdirecting themselves. As for women, my past relationships have been almost all good ones, and although those relationships of course come to an end one way or another, having had them, and having conducted myself in a way where I have few regrets, is a source of comfort and joy for me still. I'll end with a quote from Yul Brynner: “We are born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Everything in-between is a gift. ”

File a police report making sure that the report notes the total value stolen, keep a copy of the report, and then forget about it until the time comes to file your 2021 tax returns. Then maybe you can deduct the loss, or even write it off as a "home improvement expense", because it sure sounds like your home just got a LOT better......

Have flowers delivered to the husband of the couple next door, with a note saying "I miss you, Love, Tiffany" then sit out on the back deck, pop open a beer and listen to the fun as his wife reacts......

Sometimes the trouble is worth it. There are studies out there indicating that in general, married men and women are both happier and healthier than their unmarried counterparts. Of course that won't be true for everyone, and it's not a reason to stay in a bad relationship - - actually the opposite, sometimes it's best to part ways and free yourself to pursue good relationship(s).

Nah you nailed the top three.

Indeed.

Internet - so you can post about all of it. And maybe aircon.

Let's meet over coffee and discuss trading my sister for yours......

I think that is good advice too, and something to keep in the back of your mind (and implicitly in the back of hers too). I recall the lyrics to one of Madonna's songs; "poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another." Ultimately your wife doesn't have the right to deny you having your needs met, that is unless you voluntarily give her that right.

That's great advice. There are things that only a father can add to a son's life and upbringing. All the better if you find a couple of farang fathers (or even Thai fathers) with sons the same age to go do "boy things" with. Does your son have friends in school and have you met their fathers? Sports, outdoors, hobbies or interests that you can share with your son, all of those are gateways to happiness (for you both!) and bridges to make friends with similar interests. On that note, have you learned to speak Thai? That would also open doors and bridges, perhaps even with your wife. Regarding the marriage, something clearly has to change, and the one thing you have control over is you. Isolating yourself in the guest house is not good. In my own marriage (my wife is Filipina) we co-slept with both of our kids, and for a few years she was in another room with our daughter while I was in the main bedroom with our son. Intimacy dropped off and it did cause some frustration and tension for some time, but we eventually came to an arrangement that was workable. There is inevitably some adjustment that comes when kids arrive, but it sounds like your wife is not interested thus far in arriving at a middle ground that will work for you. Getting your son into his own room (which you indicate is ready for him now) is the next step, as that will shake up the mix. One method is to move him and your wife into that room, and then after he falls asleep she moves back so that he gets used to sleeping alone/waking up alone in that space. Then after he's asleep you go visit her and stay there. It'll be awkward at first, so don't push intimacy immediately, just get the two of you back into bed together each night and let it happen naturally. Yes, getting closer to your son might give your wife a lever that she'll use against you if things go further south, but you really can't withhold that out of fear of what might happen. There are many studies out there showing how a child benefits from having an active father. Being a good father is a unique contribution to a child, and a special experience for you - you get to share and re-live your own childhood, get out there with him for some all-new adventures that will be loads of fun for you both!

Practical approach: Get some spot paint, white out, or a white marker to cover them for now up so you don't have to look at them, as it appears seeing them will bother you and cause tension for you between you and your GF. Then get some matched paint or hire someone to paint (or any of the other solutions others have suggested) right before you're ready to move, as if you do it now there may well be other little things like this that happen, and it's easier just have a handyman fix all of it at once. Global approach: Engage in honest introspection to discover why it's even conceivable for you to not only blame your GF and be so petty that you want her to pay for it, but then go out of your way to post it here on a public forum to get validation that it's her fault (which you're not getting much of because most men would just be happy that their GF took time to celebrate their birthday and not give a second thought to minor wear and tear of this sort) These sorts of things happen. If it bothers to this point then you'd probably be happier without a live-in GF.