dingdongrb

Wow... Reading all these posts brings 'flashbacks'.... Some very good music listed on here. Many I still have on CDs (Sweet, LedZepplin, Blue Oyster Cult, Beatles, Stones, etc..)

I remember my sister, three years older than me, would go and buy the top single 45 rpm after watching Dick Clark on Saturday mornings. She would get together with her girlfriends and they would dance to their 45s all day long. They would carry around their portable 45 record player along with their cases of records.

I also remember buying cereal (or at least have Mom buy) that would have a 45 rpm cutout on the back of the box. We would collect and play them all the time until they wore out.

As far as my first record I bought??? Hmmm.. My brain is so fried I actually forget... But I do remember my first concert. It was in 1972, Dayton Ohio, Deep Purple... Maybe someone should start a thread on first concerts.....

My two favorites were "Firemen have longer hoses." And "Electricians know how to turn on your socket."

"Electronic Engineers do it without shorts at a much higher frequency!"

Pffffffff... You call that stuff beer?

A good beer is a cold Colorado microbrew. I am absolutely positive that Colorado has better beers in a 100 mile radius than there are in the rest of the world!

Try a 'Fat Tire' some day and you'll see what I'm talking about.....

Colorado has excellent micro breweries as does Northern Cali, specially Mendocino

btw I love the name of your chosen beer(Fat Tire) as I am a fat tire fanatic(mountain biking)

I agree Northern CA has a few tasty microbrews as well.

I chose 'Fat Tire' because it is one of my favs..... My mouth is just watering writing about it as it has been about 2 years since I have had one. I used to keep a pony barrel on tap in my homemade keggerator when I lived in Colorado. Stayed fresh and lasted about 2-3 weeks or less when friends came over. (Seems like I made more friends when the keggerator was full.... ...)

BTW, I truly enjoyed my days at mountain bike riding in the front range of the beautiful Colorado Rockies.... (And they call these here 'bumps' in Chiang Mai mountains..... )

Pffffffff... You call that stuff beer?

A good beer is a cold Colorado microbrew. I am absolutely positive that Colorado has better beers in a 100 mile radius than there are in the rest of the world!

Try a 'Fat Tire' some day and you'll see what I'm talking about.....

When I married my Thai wife and took her to the USA it must have been just a few weeks where I let out one of my famous loud and notorious reliefs of gas... You should have seen the look of disapproval on her face. She immediately stated how ‘not glear’ (sp) – ‘ugly’ that was… I asked her if she farts. She replied that I would never hear her fart. Funny thing is now that we have been married for almost 5 years she wallops one of the loudest farts I have ever heard. I think that I have changed her slightly as she immediately states how proud she is for delivering such a loud bomb… But every time she always states that her farts never stink…..lmao…..

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They don't stop you cuz you're farang. I've NEVER been stopped at the booths EVER. If you're driving a truck you'll get pulled over, but not a sedan (saloon) or an SUV. The cops will pull anybody over in a truck cuz they think they are poor and are therefore not important and therefore are more able to elicit bribes from them. But it has nothing to do with you being farang. i've driven here for 6 years and have gone through multiple cop checkpoints and never ever ever have I been stopped.

You taking something you shouldn't be?

HMMM. Forgot to smoke my morning doobie.

I wrote in haste. The point I was making is that cops are loathe to pull people over in nice cars, because they might be someone important, and hence, that drive could possible get them in hot water.

They figure that anybody driving a pickup or a beat-up car has scraped together the cash and is therefore not well-connected and, hence, can be messed with. I drive through checkpoints all the time when they only pull over pickups (new or old it doesn't matter).

I've been pulled over three times here, all for doing something illegal. Like an illegal u-turn or turning left against a red light where there was a sign that read "no turn on red light" in Thai. They'll nab you for legitimate stuff.

And also, it seems to me that they are loathe pick out a farang for the most part at their checkpoints because they don't want to deal with the communication problem of trying to explain exactly why they are being pulled over in broken English.

'nuff said.

Wow, you better get that 'doobie' material looked at because from the sound of your post I reckon it's 'ditch weed'....

I have been living on and off in Thailand now for the past three years. Just over Songkran week I was pulled over twice for no reason. Both times it was as I was driving between Chiang Mai and Surin for the holiday. On the way to Surin, I was waved over (as I said for no reason) and the officer asked from my Driver's license. I politely handed him my 10 yr USA license. He next stated (in English) that I was driving too fast and passing too many cars. This was impossible with all the traffic on the roads leading out of Sariburi the Friday before Songkran week. He then asked for 200 baht (in Thai, of course). I played 'dumb' saying that I didn't understand what he was saying. He then leaned through my open window spoke Thai to my wife saying for me to pay 200 baht. My wife playing along with me (making him think I do not speak Thai) told me in English that he wanted 200 baht. I paid him, he gave me my license back, and I left.

Now when I was leaving Surin alone and heading back to CM I was pulled over again. This policeman spoke very little English at all. He approaced my car speaking only in Thai. I told him that I didn't understand him. He then only said one word, 'slow', as he was gesturing downwards with his hands. He then asked me for 150 baht in Thai. I again told him that I didn't understand him. Since his English was very limited he asked for 100 baht, but this time in English (I guess he didn't know how to say 'fifty'). Anyway, this time my wife was not there to help him interpret so I paid him 100 baht and drove off.

This was two times in 1 week mind you. But before that I took my wife's cousin's taxi once a month from Bangkok to Surin as at that time I was working in China and living in Thailand. When I made this trip it was always well after midnight and on a Friday night. Needless to say, I did this for about 18 months and every time we made that trip we always got pulled over by the police. Many nights we were pulled over two or three times with the police only wanting money. Since my wife's cousin is Thai he usually got away with only paying 40 or 50 baht. But believe me, the policemen always looked in the back of the taxi and saw me, the farang, and usually asked for much more to begin with.

So, if you want to get pulled over and pay a few baht I recommend traveling outside of BKK into the countryside later at night......

It looks like the Americans have it by a wide margin. Probably due to the fact that we are the only country that really knows how to vote..... Hmmmm is a 'chad' laying on the floor?

Here's a webcam in Mae Hong Son province that seems to be live at the moment. Looks sort of wet right now, but nothing dramatic so far.

http://www.soppong.com/live1.html

Thanks for that link with the live webcam Bubba, but I am wondering what it means when it says "Occasionally live from the Seven Elephants Cafe"? 'Occasionally' in regards with.......

By the way to anyone that is interested, I'm in the Hangdong area of Chiang Mai where last night there was only little rain off and on. Since I am a 'stone's throw' from the airport I could see flights taking off and landing pretty much on schedule all evening. There were some big nasty black clouds hoovering against the mountains. And my power was off for about 5 or 6 hours. But overall it seemed just like a typical rainstorm....

The fiance visa was a real pain to put together, but I had done a lot of research and had more than enough evidence to provide. I made sure everything was neatly filed and in the proper order (there is a proper order).

I was still very nervous....and then read about the requirement that ECCO certified paper clips (no kidding) must be used.....no staples. I had no idea what a ECCO certified paper clip was.

I decided to get a lawyer.

I paid 3000 dollars for them to make copies of the work I had already done, and attach an official looking cover letter with the firms name boldly displayed.

We got the visa first try.

I try to tell myself that the cover letter helped (so I don't think about blowing 3 grand on 3 dollars worth of copies)

The lawyer never heard of an ECCO certified paper clip either.....then I noticed the box on the secretary's desk.....ECCO BRAND PAPER CLIPS!!

It truly is a requirement. Whether or not it is enforced, I don't know....

But it could drive anyone to tears

Getting a lawyer is a waste of $$$$. That is unless you have less than a HS education and are stupid. I did the K-1 Fiance visa for my Thai wife and had no problems getting the visa issued the first time submitted. Grant you, it took many hours of filling out and organizing the proper paperwork. The directions are pretty straight-forward and it is no more difficult then doing your yearly taxes times 4 (Long form that is.)... But then again that is why H&R Block is so successful, too many morans that can't read and write...

Here's what I think of lawyers:

A guy walks into a bar and yells out, "All laywers are ace-wholes."... A man at the end of the bar yells back to the first guy, "I resent that!"... The original guy asks, "Why are you a lawyer?" The man at the bar says, 'No, I'm an ace-whole!"

The fiance visa was a real pain to put together, but I had done a lot of research and had more than enough evidence to provide. I made sure everything was neatly filed and in the proper order (there is a proper order).

I was still very nervous....and then read about the requirement that ECCO certified paper clips (no kidding) must be used.....no staples. I had no idea what a ECCO certified paper clip was.

I decided to get a lawyer.

I paid 3000 dollars for them to make copies of the work I had already done, and attach an official looking cover letter with the firms name boldly displayed.

We got the visa first try.

I try to tell myself that the cover letter helped (so I don't think about blowing 3 grand on 3 dollars worth of copies)

The lawyer never heard of an ECCO certified paper clip either.....then I noticed the box on the secretary's desk.....ECCO BRAND PAPER CLIPS!!

It truly is a requirement. Whether or not it is enforced, I don't know....

But it could drive anyone to tears

Getting a lawyer is a waste of $$$$. That is unless you have less than a HS education and are stupid. I did the K-1 Fiance visa for my Thai wife and had no problems getting the visa issued the first time submitted. Grant you, it took many hours of filling out and organizing the proper paperwork. The directions are pretty straight-forward and it is no more difficult then doing your yearly taxes times 4 (Long form that is.)... But then again that is why H&R Block is so successful, too many morans that can't read and write...

Here's what I think of lawyers:

A guy walks into a bar and yells out, "All laywers are a$$-holes."... A man at the end of the bar yells back to the first guy, "I resent that!"... The original guy asks, "Why are you a lawyer?" The man at the bar says, 'No, I'm an a$$-hole!"

I guess the better answer would have been that she must be a permanent resident of the US. I was told that my wife could not get a Social Security number if we are living in Thailand.

Actually that is somewhat correct, however my wife is Thai and was granted permanent residence with a 2 year condition when she arrived in the USA on a K1 Fiance visa. Needless to say, we have since left the USA and did not refile to remove the conditions and in not doing so she lost her PR status. But in the end, she worked in the USA during the 2 years that we were there, obtained a SSN, and filed taxes... So in summary, she has a SSN (which she will keep until the day she dies), does not have PR status, and is not a US citizen...... Positive note: Since her and I both have SSNs we were elgible to get the tax rebate the kind ole USA govt was handing out this year.....

The 'how much do you spend on electricity' and similar threads have got me thinking that perhaps I'm being cheated out of money somehow.

I spend over 100THB a month on toilet paper. Is this reasonable? I would hate the think that I'm just flushing money down the toilet.

No one ever better complain that a posting on ThaiVisa is frivolous after this. Too much drinking or drugs I suspect is at the bottom of this post. I think this topic should be immediately moved to the forum where people brag about how little they live on in Thailand. The only thing worse than reading this post is taking to time to respond to it. Mr. Garro, get a life.

Yes, you did reply to it and we all read it...... I guess that shows us a lot about your life.....Bored are we???

All looks good, but I can't really see much use for it here in bangkok as there's nothing there which I can't get by traveling 5 minutes to Villa. But as you say that's not your target market... Will be interesting to see if the wish-list can bring in some new products not on the shelves in Villa though.

Also, if you do get an order from someone in Bangkok, can you deliver same day, and with a cheaper delivery charge? I.e. in a Food-By-Phone type way, where groceries come within the hour.

Finally, are you allowed to have alcoholic items on your list? Or is this pending a liquor license?

Good luck though, seems good.

PS: The scrolling marquee-style ticker with product photos is quite bugged in Firefox.

I agree the marquee banner at the top of the 'Home' page needs a little work. Even using Internet Explorer there seems to be a bug or two.... Please keep the bugs away from the food....lol... The beef looks great, I'm sure I'll be ordering some as soon as I return from the USA as another poster has stated the prices are nearly half as much a rimping... (I hope the quality is just as good or better.)

I will add to the 'wish' list as soon as I can stop my mouth from watering after looking the site over. I agree, it needs a little more American to it, perhaps some Kraft macaroni and cheese to start with and a side of Khans weiners.... or Brownville's brautwurst.

My father-in-law is a rice farmer in Surin providence. On one of my weekly visits I was bored and asked if I could help harvest the rice. My wife pleaded for me not too as she thought I would probably suffer a stroke in the hot sun. Mind you the rice had already been cut and laid in the paddies for us to just to pick up the bundles and toss them in the wagon to haul to the farm. Well I did work a 10 hour day and it was good exercise with giving me a chance to pass the time away. I will tell you it was mighty hot but all in all it was no different than bailing hay when I was a youngster. I guess the lesson I learned was not to stand to long in one spot on the mounds between the paddies, as this is where some of the nasty ants tend to make their hills.

Of all my time that I have spend in the farm country of Surin I can honestly say that I have seen quite a few snakes and only one time a cobra. They all appeared to me more scared of me than I was of them.

NOTE: I wore no boots while in the paddies, only a cheap pair of Thai sneakers as these felt more cool and comfortable than any big hot boots.

The fiance visa was a real pain to put together, but I had done a lot of research and had more than enough evidence to provide. I made sure everything was neatly filed and in the proper order (there is a proper order).

I was still very nervous....and then read about the requirement that ECCO certified paper clips (no kidding) must be used.....no staples. I had no idea what a ECCO certified paper clip was.

I decided to get a lawyer.

I paid 3000 dollars for them to make copies of the work I had already done, and attach an official looking cover letter with the firms name boldly displayed.

We got the visa first try.

I try to tell myself that the cover letter helped (so I don't think about blowing 3 grand on 3 dollars worth of copies)

The lawyer never heard of an ECCO certified paper clip either.....then I noticed the box on the secretary's desk.....ECCO BRAND PAPER CLIPS!!

It truly is a requirement. Whether or not it is enforced, I don't know....

But it could drive anyone to tears

Getting a lawyer is a waste of $$$$. That is unless you have less than a HS education and are stupid. I did the K-1 Fiance visa for my Thai wife and had no problems getting the visa issued the first time submitted. Grant you, it took many hours of filling out and organizing the proper paperwork. The directions are pretty straight-forward and it is no more difficult then doing your yearly taxes times 4 (Long form that is.)... But then again that is why H&R Block is so successful, too many morans that can't read and write...

Here's what I think of lawyers:

A guy walks into a bar and yells out, "All laywers are a$$-holes."... A man at the end of the bar yells back to the first guy, "I resent that!"... The original guy asks, "Why are you a lawyer?" The man at the bar says, 'No, I'm an a$$-hole!"

So, like when you were defecating in the woods, you ever have a critter come up on you? I was once stuck up in northern Canada tracking varmints and had the squirts. Stopped to cure myself and lo and behold a black bear came along. Literally scared the sh*t outta me.

I could have done without that mental picture......

On the internet, Im 6'11 weighing 150 kgs of pure muscle, Im a expert in Wrestling, Karate, Tae whatever do, boxing, Thai boxing, kickboxing, brazillian jujitsu. I eat nails for breakfast and brush my teeth with a bbq brush.

And in real life, what, you're a 90 lb (wet) 5'6" little boy still sucking his thumb under his mommy's skirt?

I bought a new laptop (HP) about 6 months ago and it has Vista loaded on it. I have had a few problems but don't use it enough to annoy me. Personally I think Vista is a memory hog and runs very slow compared to XP. It takes forever to boot up and shutdown. On the other hand my business laptop has XP and I'm loving it.... just my 2 cents......

"Large groups of people - 30 or more - standing on the roadside with buckets and buckets of water - sometimes with ice-cubes and/or Tiger Balm mixed in the water -- that REALLY stings when you get it in the eyes --- icecubes also carry an extra punch when they hit you in the forehead at 60+ km/h!!!"

I wear eye protection all the time when I ride a scooter. The mosquitos and dirt can take out an eye just as easily as any Songkran activity... I bet you left your helmet at the store as well...

I have to say that this was an interesting poll and some very interesting feedback/conversations..... But I would like to see an age poll as well... Just how old is everyone who has come to LOS to retire. I would be betting that the larger percentage is in the 60+ area....

As you can see from these examples, Canadian speech tends to be somewhat more refined, and easy to distinguish from American.

"More refined"??? Surely you jest.... I respect your opinion but then again we all know what opinions are like, right? (In case you didn't know they are like arse-holes, everybody has one and some stink more than others.)

Most of my Canadian friends I have met over the years speak almost exactly like my American friends until the 'aye' comes out....

I would like to let everyone know that the processing time to process a K1 fiance visa when submitted depends on where in the USA it is submitted to. Looking online I noticed that this must have changed from 5 years ago when my Thai GF (now my wife) and I applied. At that time we had to apply to the Nebraska Service Center because of the location I was residing at (Colorado). Looking online today I see there are no 'processing times' listed for a K1 fiiance visa at this service center. Now I am telling myself things must have changed from 5 years ago.

Anyway looking online at the Cailfornia service center for the USCIS I see that they are now processing K1 fiance visas that were submitted on or before 9/9/07... So if I do my math right that is at least 7 months wait from the time the paperwork was received at USCIS until now..... Vermont service center is not too far behind. They are processing K1 visa applications that were received on or before 9/17/07.... Please note that these posting dates were last updated by the USCIS on 3/15/08 so there could be a good sign that it will happen a little less than 7 months just to get the packet to prepare for the 'big' interview at the US Emabssy in BKK.... If you would like to keep a tab on the processing dates go to: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp

I married a Thai woman years back. I got her to the USA using the K1 Fiance visa which took over a year from the time I submitted the first paperwork until she set foot on US soil... The paperwork is not dificult and as everyone else stated a lawyer is a waste of $$$... That is unless you cannot follow instructions to the absolute point and definition. It can seem overwhelming and I would compare it with doing a USA tax return (long form) x 4.....

I will tell you this much from experience, when she is granted the interview, which most are, it is highly recomended that you appear at the interview with her in BKK... This will help your chances of her being granted the visa. It isn't so much about who she is and who you are but more about how much and how long you both have known each other. Meeting on the Internet and only meeting once for a few weeks does not cut it with the folks passing out visas. They want to see that it will be a long term relationship and you two have known each other for more than a few weeks and various nights of chatting through a computer. When we went for my wife's interview, there were about 10 other girls there on the same day. My wife and only one other were granted visas. The other girls went away from the windows crying. The other girl that was granted the visa also had her fiance with her.

The officer who interviewed us did so separately. He had me sit down while he spoke with and questioned my wife. When he was done with her he had her sit down as he questioned me. When it was all over and she was granted the visa we then went outside. During that time we asked each other what the officer had asked, and we found out he asked us both the exact same questions trying to find out how much we really knew about each other. He asked about the name of the company I worked for. How many times I had came to Thailand. How we met. How many brothers and sisters each of us had. Even what did her sister do for work. Asked if I had met her parents. Asked about her goals in the USA if she were granted a visa. He went as far as asking where I was staying at during that visit and even what room I was in.....(odd) etc. etc. etc....

It was very easy for us because we met about three years prior on one of my many business trips to BKK... I had been to Thailand about 15 times before her interview and each time I spent with her when I was not working. I had met her parents in Surin a few times and spent as much as 45 days during one trip......

Make sure you know the girl and she knows you... This along with being present during the interview will make her chances for a visa much better. Good luck (Choke dee)

ahhh..... I really prefer and miss the annual Colorado vs Texas tomato war! Water is for wussies!!

I am wondering if some of you that have been living in the CM area can help out a newbie moving to the area?? I am interested in finding an auto (prefer a truck) where I could lease on a monthly basis. Anyone have any information on where I could go and estimated costs? Also anyone with any good/bad experinces on this subject please provide input. Thanks in advance for your time.