smo

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

He never said he deliberately walks into people. They walk into him.

Thank you for answering on my behalf. OP here, yeah, I never said I walked into people. What I armed myself with is passive resistance (now folks will go..."passive resistance" what dya mean?) The  human being (I no longer regard them as my FELLOW human being) on their phone walking toward me has professed a presence of not seeing, not sensing. Well, I can do the same, at any time I choose. The difference is they keep on walking while I freeze (closing my eyes and thinking of Gandhi). They are welcome to walk into me, elbows sticking out and all, at their own peril. Lucky for them, as some posters have mentioned, that I was not transforming myself into an oncoming bus.

To those who think I complained about having to lift a finger to push the button for the dude who didn't bother? That got me laughing out loud. Out of disbelief. All I can say is try to think a little deeper. I remember in "critical thinking" class prof used to tell us to think about what's going on beneath the surface of what we see or do. For a refresher, I'm sure when we first learned how to use an elevator, pressing the "calling" button is step number 1. In this case, what brought about the guy's decision to bypass step number 1 is what will dictate his behavior in a social context and how that will affect those around him, including you and me. Which will in turn alter our own behavior in different ways. To me, like I said before, that makes me stop regarding other people as my fellow human beings. And that means fraying the social DNA of the world I live in in a big way. Got it?

For sometime now I've decided not to yield way to one such when we are both walking head on from opposite direction on the sidewalk. Most of the time right before collision they do "wake up" at the last second and steer away from me. Good for them because I am already bracing myself with elbows sticking out. In my building I stop playing the nice guy holding door open for them when they come up from behind me, or asking for their floor and pushing the button for them in the elevator while they barely glance up from their attachment. I have realized that for this breed, common courtesy is not a concept that features in their everyday life survival manual.

Today I ran into a new height of self-entitlement. Outside the mall there is one elevator tower that goes directly to the top two floors where the gym and the cineplex are. Naturally not many shoppers use this lift. When I got there -on the ground floor- there was already a young guy standing there, presumably "waiting" (you can see where I'm heading) for the elevator. He was tall, standing close to the front where the up button is, so I couldn't see whether it was lit up - but by default of having someone standing there presumably "waiting," I assumed it was. The guy meantime was yakking away on his phone. After a rather long while and the elevator door had yet to open, I stepped up to see whether the up button had been pushed: no, it had not. In short, he merely - emphasis on the adverb - waited (and did nothing else) for the elevator to come down, either by force of nature, or by a third party, but definitely and literally not by his moving one finger to make that happen! So it was up to me to stick my finger out and push the button, and when the door finally opened, of course he was the quickest to jump in.

It is a sad day for me, when I have to stop and double take whether the "person" next to me has any consideration for my personal well being, or is simply poised to take advantage of my innate wish, of a human being, to help others. "Invasion of the body snatchers" is truly happening!

On 9/4/2017 at 5:22 PM, hansnl said:

And if someone, for whatever reason, don't believe in same sex marriages, it simply is his belief.  And he has as many rights to ventilate his beliefs as anybody else.

He can go "ventilate his beliefs" elsewhere, but not here. Since he - the poster in question - supports his anti-gay stance with biblical (or otherwise) nonsense, he IS a bigot. Not only he doesn't believe in same -sex marriage, he thinks being gay is wrong. This is a gay (sub)forum, definitely not a place for homophobic bigotry. Just like you don't go to a black lives matter rally to spout your ideology of white supremacy and expect people will stand still and listen to you. BS, you'll get your ass kicked out in no time.  

I'm all for debate, but I don't waste time debating with a bigot - or people who don't have a clear understanding of what bigotry is: it's more than just having different opinions. (Actually Mods should have filtered out these anti-gay posts right off the bat.)

On 5/31/2017 at 4:44 PM, snooky said:

Actually, it should give you more reason to 'look' and take advantage of a situation when it arises, rather than just say to yourself 'there's nothing there, only a look'.  Not to say that you should be aggressive, but show your interest to the other party and see what happens - you never know!  Not like we are in the US or EU where we would get a punch in the nose for looking and smiling.

You are absolutely right, though Susan Spaulding's poem was a bit "potent" read bleak for me, even though I'm no lonnnnnger spring chicken. Well, it's been half a year now since the incident, and I'm still... learning (ie "looking.") Just the other day, I was at the food court, and another near-hit, and why it was not a hit? (though I was just a tad more alert this time)

I think I find the answer, again from the movies. Here's an excerpt of a review for Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown" which this year got a 20th anniversary celebration in its (and my) hometown in Los Angeles:

"I think that the reason it has been less successful is largely because of the age factor: This is a movie primarily concerned with aging, which can be demonstrated through its characters: Jackie is an unsuccessful middle-aged flight attendant that has to smuggle shit for Ordell in order to make ends meet, Max is a middle-aged bail bondsman who seems pretty lonely, Louis is a middle-aged criminal that has been released from prison.

The last scene, where Max declines to run away to Spain with Jackie and her stolen half-million dollars, is heartbreaking. As he answers the phone to take yet another bail bond order, she walks out of his life forever. Only when he hangs up the phone does his face reveal the pain and remorse of his indecision…he knows he should have taken this chance for a one-of-a-kind love affair. But the inertia of his own lonely existence kept him right where he is. Meanwhile, Jackie’s driving away with tears in her eyes, halfheartedly singing along to one of the most heart-rending soul songs imaginable, Bobby Womack’s “Across 110th Street.” The film opened with that same song, and now it has a new relevance for Jackie as she’s finally found a way out of the “ghetto.” She has a half-million dollars and will be set for life. But she’s alone."

Oh yeah, the theme of aging and loneliness. And Tarantino, of all people, got it when he was just 3 movies into his career. I usually would identify myself with just one side of a romance, but kudos to Quentin for making me feel both Max and Jackie after they parted.

No, they didn't not push any card on me. They simply asked do you want ATM card with your new account and I said yes, that was it. But I missed the display the 6 card catalogue otherwise I would have choosen another one than the standard one they gave me that carries the annual fee. I guess they figured it would be way over their head to explain the different cards to the farang and if so I wholeheartedly agree. Oh well. 

Re the daily purchase limit, I think it was again the language barrier, between my 300 Thai word-vocabulary and their broken English together we did not overcome. I went home and browsed the bank website and sure enough there was the colorful card catalogue along with all the fees and dos and don't for each. I quickly went to the atm machine around the corner and with a couple of keystrokes, managed to lower the limit down to 20K, voila.(you can also call the bank phone center for this).
 
While getting the MTD account open at the bank I also told them I want to add the new account  to my krungsi ibanking (which I already had established via my older thamada account). They proceeded to explain in rapid-fire Thai which left me speechless, all I heard over and over was  the English word "confidential" and the general body gesturing as to do it in the privacy of your home. So I whipped out my tablet, got on ibanking right then and there and within a couple of minutes under the rep watch ful eyes, managed to not only add the new account but also make a token transfer between the new and old. 

Last but not least this morning I came back to Bangkok Bank to sell my money funds. I told the manager that I was able to open a new account at another bank without the 50 dollar-stamp embassy letter that she had insisted on. She asked another Bangkok Bank? I said no, a different bank. She shook her head and said sorry, but Bangkok Bank has gotten very strict since FATCA. I figured she could connect the dots and see where the sale of the money funds would end up so I simply shrugged. At the end we parted amiably, all smiles and wais. 

On 8/28/2017 at 1:27 PM, Pib said:

 

 

And by the way, whenever a fixed account matures it automatically converts/rolls over to a 3 month account and you can leave it alone if desired and get the going 3 month fixed savings account rate.   Everyone of my fixed account automatically converted/rolled over to a 3 month fixed account.

 

 

 

Another (-) for the Bangkok Bank manager for failing to tell me about the automatic rollover to 3-month fixed. That would have rendered my visit moot because that was my intention to begin with. And Bangkok Bank would still have kept my money....

Thanks to Pib's suggestion, I went to Krungsi Bank this morning and opened a Mee Tai Dai saving account with a chip-embedded visa debit card to boot. With very little hassle except the rep was kinda curious about my background, as they hardly see any farang around here, and definitely not in their branch. My still current and older krungsi thammada saving account (at 0.3% interest) plus my retirement stamp in the passport seemed to be enough to satisfy their requirements.

I also am going to follow Pib's and others method of using the MTD account to hold the 800K retirement funds. The only fly in the ointment is the debit card which allows for a total expenditure, including shopping, up to 100k per day. I asked them if possible to put a lower limit than that and they said no. Kinda feel uneasy about that, seeing how swiftly the sale clerk at the mall swipe the card without asking for any id, etc.
         

On 8/6/2017 at 11:25 AM, skatewash said:

The bank staff were apparently requesting 2.2.1 information.  My understanding is that such a document from your embassy will basically state that you live in Thailand (not so much a recommendation) and that would be sufficient to satisfy that requirement.  However, letters from most embassies are notoriously expensive, not to mention inconvenient to obtain for many.  You may instead be able to satisfy the 2.2 requirement by meeting 2.2.2 rather than 2.2.1.

 

 

My fixed one-year term saving account got its first anniversary last week, so this morning I went to Bangkok Bank wanting to close this account and open a new one on fixed 3 month term. Was told by bank manager that I would need a letter of authorization from my (US) embassy to open a new account. 

I told her that last year when I opened the one-year fixed account she did not ask for this letter (based on my retirement extension). She said yeah but now we need it. I have this nagging feeling that she didn't like the fact that I was switching from one year to 3-month term. But then I saw that current edition of guide to Bangkok Bank was of Jan 2017, so maybe that has been enforced? Come to think of it, in Feb this year I did open a money market fund account with them (same branch), and they did not ask for the letter either. So does this come down to the discretion of the bank manager?

It happened to me once, I don't make calls that often but was seeing the strange sms popping up and my money credit going down steadily ('m on prepaid.) So I called dtac. The English speaking rep cheerfully informed me of the state of the affair and readily offered to cancel "it" (whatever that was) on the spot, if I so desired. 

Absolutely no fuss, meaning no explanation given and no voice raised (both parties assumed it's a fact of TIT life.) That took care of it and it has not happened since. In all I lost a hundred baht but that taught me to look out for those dodgy sms ever since.

On 8/13/2017 at 0:36 AM, KittenKong said:

 

Phyathai hospital, Sri Racha.

 

I think their list price is 45,000B now and as far as I know they only have the one implantologist. Her name has been mentioned on here several times but I can look it up if you need it. They have a British rep named Gavin on their international staff who is very helpful and whose details are here:

http://www.phyathai-sriracha.com/pytsweb_eng/index.php?page=contact

 

If the root of your tooth is still sound I see no reason why you should not get many more years out of it.

No I won't get rid of the tooth while it could still be of use. It's just that losing one good front tooth at this late stage in life makes me feel a lot less self-confident (it even had me start thinking maybe I should arrange my own funeral now while I still can...that sort of things, crazy I know). 

Thanks for the link. I'm in BKK so I doubt when the time comes I would make the trek down to Sri Racha to see your specialist, but who knows, I will put the info in my Rolodex for now. 

Thank you for being so helpful and your input is very much appreciated.

On 8/10/2017 at 9:05 AM, KittenKong said:

 

In this particular case as the root seems to be sound it would be a shame to remove it. Plenty of time later to put an implant in if the crown fails in 10-20 years.

 

I think you made the right choice.

Thanks Kittenkong for your input and reassurance, I really appreciated it. If by chance you got your implants done in Bangkok, do you mind sharing the name of the clinic/hospital, and while we're at it, the doc name also?  The info might come in handy...The price (40K or only double of what I'm gonna pay for the crown including root canal) you quoted seems tempting, I might go for it, not right now, but sooner than "10 - 20 years" perhaps? (You are welcome to pm me for the info if you don't want to make it public) Thanks,

(Come to think of it, it must have an English-dubbed soundtrack, all foreign movies released in the US invariably do,)

As far as war movies go, I rank WWB above Apocalypse Now, which even Coppola admitted was a jumbled mess, no matter what a glorious mess it was. What I really dig in WWB is the way memories were depicted as something that only memory should dictate (for its own "purposes" I guess) not as something that truly happened (the older one gets the more certainly one can attest to this effect). I guess some of this must not have been lost on you who have been there in real life. 

I remember reading an memoir excerpt sometime ago by someone growing up in Beirut and recalling fondly an idyllic bourgeois childhood spent on what was considered then the Middle-eastern French riviera before the war. That should make a nice bookend for this movie on the dvd... Anyway hope you would get it as your personal war memento! (and someday someone would remake Apocalypse now a la Bashir!)
 

I used to have a dvd of this movie in my collection, which ultimately went to the local goodwill prior to my departure from the us. I am not sure that it had an English (dubbed) soundtrack. However it has something immensely better which is the director's running commentary throughout the movie, he speaks excellent English and offers great insights into the way he directed the movie.

Absorbing and unusual movie. Since it's not an English-speaking film, if ever it showed up in Thailand, it would certainly be dubbed in Thai and may or may not include English subtitles. Last year on my home visit, I found it aplenty at weekend swapmeets - seemed like a popular film back then in the states - was going to get one, but kept forgetting.

Last resort, if you must have it, get it from amazon uk, and choose sellers that would ship international. I have one movie on  my list that I'm gonna get from there, it's worth the wait and not that expensive (roughly 3 or 4 british pounds for postage).

7 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

She'll likely want to remove the roots and insert posts to act as the structure that will support the crown.

 

On the other hand, there is a smaller side tooth that needs root canal because doc says the cavities have come into the pulp part of the roots. However she emphasizes root canal only, no crown is necessary. So what gives? I always thought that doing root canal is to pave the way for putting on a crown.

Thanks tonray for the numbers. I went in for a check up at Mahidol dental clinic (in bkk) today. Doc says that an implant to cover that ghastly hole where the front tooth used to be would cost around 60K baht, so she grudgingly goes the crown route, in conjunction with a root canal on the remaining base of the tooth, the total cost of which would be 20K. Before anything is done, I came home with a temporary tooth, which makes me feel "human" again.

On 8/6/2017 at 8:15 PM, giddyup said:

A plate is removable, it just fills up the space where teeth have been removed. Better you do a Google search where there will be photos that give you a clearer idea. I just did a tough calculation of 16 molars, 8 top and 8 bottom @ around 75,000 baht each for implants, but I won't be going down that road. Here's a link https://www.google.co.th/search?q=partial+dental+plate&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifhLTS2MLVAhVDv5QKHTp9ALAQsAQIcA&biw=1600&bih=736

Thanks for the link, gyddyup. btw, I went in for a check up at Mahidol dental clinic (in bkk) today. Doc says that an implant to cover that ghastly hole where the front tooth used to be would cost around 60K baht, so she grudgingly goes the crown route, in conjunction with a root canal on the remaining base of the tooth, the total cost of which would be 20K. Before anything is done, I came home with a temporary tooth, which makes me feel "human" again.

I just wonder why a root canal is necessary in this case, kinda "killing" the tooth now that it has become useless?

Thanks tonray for the very clear and informative info, just the kind of knowledge I need to arm myself with when I walk into the dentist's cubicle next Tuesday. btw, do you know  a general figure for the cost of one implant? (the bridge option doesn't sound too good). The place that I'm going to is the Mahidol Dental Hospital off Victory Monument in BKK which I guess is in the mid-range regarding price. 

Thanks,
 

On 8/4/2017 at 1:31 PM, giddyup said:

Just got back from the dentist, needed two adjacent crowned teeth removed (painless) because both were decayed under the crowns, cost 4,600 baht. In a month I can get fitted for a partial plate that will fill the gap. Not something I ever wished for, but another one of the joys of getting old.

May I ask how a partial "plate" works? Like more than one implants installed on a plate and then the plate gets affixed to the gumline? Also how much did they quote you for each implant? (you did mention lately that "escalating to around 800,000 baht if I just had all the molars done" but I don't know how many molars are involved). I just broke one of my front teeth, but in general my teeth have also entered the "decaying" stage for quite sometime now so I kinda look forward to a dental future not unlike yours right now.... I agree that the visual of a pair of dentures clattering in a glass of water by the bedside is not something that can be un-seen! 

I broke one of my two big front teeth last week. Actually at the start was a stupid mistake (one of those instances where you think you're invincible) me trying to crack a (supposedly soft shelled) crab claw. After a couple of tries I managed to crack the claw alright.... Nothing (seemingly) happened but the next morning I woke up with painful swelling sensation on the other side of the upper jaw, where a couple of cavities resided (and were in the process of waiting for fillings), so I thought the cavities had acted up and caused the swelling. I almost went in to see the dentist then, but after a week, the pain went away and I thought that was it. An appointment has been previously made for me going in next week for the fillings anyway.

Then earlier this week, I bit into a skewer stick. Interesting this time, maybe not surprisingly so, no pain, just a loud crunch noise, then the big tooth flew out. Just like that, a sudden rush of air. Only the chipped base remains. I am thinking of the worst scenario where I'd have to get one of those screw-through-the gum implant thing, or the best scenario would be technology is advanced enough to make a sturdy replacement, ie crown. (FYI, it happened in the street and I was walking around rain puddles therefore there was no chance for me to see why it went/recover it.)

So if any TV members have gone down this road before, I'd very much like to hear your input before my upcoming visit to the dentist. I'm sure there are other options available that I'm not aware of..
Thank you much in advance.

ps - I just read a thread about tooth decay a couple of threads down in which a "bridge" was also mentioned...I'm also at retirement age and tooth decay has already occurred here and there, the one I just lost was rather thinned out at the backside.

1 hour ago, NancyL said:

Much ado about nothing.  They'll send a second notice if they don't receive your letter.  

Others might not think so. As newbies (first-year SSA receivers) naturally we tend to fret more than then those who've done it year in year out.  

I'm sure next year's crop of SSA newbies will find this thread - clear, concise account of what-happened-or-not-happened-next from both EMS and regular "registed mail" angles with accompanying screenshots to boot - very helpful comes time for them to send in their fisrt ever DOA letter.  Especially with the warning of a record-breaking 30 day plus delivery time between US and Thailand using registered mail... On the other hand it would probably save them 1300 baht plus change, not bad heh? 

So I for one don't think this was "much ado about nothing."

Ouicha (thai - not french - exclamation!) after all the hue and cry, USPS has finally delivered:

1) interesting that mine and higgy's got delivered at the same time to the minute.

2) all the email alerts/search request etc. were simply for show, in the sense that they did not yield any update or alert. Granted the search request was replied with this tagline "Items that meet the US Postal Service's® search guidelines will be searched for, and if found, forwarded to the address you provided."

3) FYI it took one week to get to us shore, and 4 more to reach its destination = total time 5 weeks, total cost 84 baht via registered mail.
 

At this point I begin to think that the letter has not been lost, but as many have voiced on the thread, probably delivered but tracking has been neglected. Which unfortunately is the case these days with USPS. On another forum that deal with mostly members living in the states, I see people go through a lot of trouble tracking down their registered package, sure thing is to show up at your local post office and have a face to face encounter with the staff!

On the other hand, it seems EMS for the money that you pay, is more diligent in their tracking and therefore can provide you with the privilege of request for proof of delivery as shown by amvet's post. So this is what I feel like doing at this point: just assume my letter has arrived at SSA. If not comes September I will receive a 2nd notice, at which point I will get "proactive" and use EMS. I still wish that SSA has some way for us to check on their site that our DOA (dead or alive) letter has arrived, but that might be just wishful thinking on my part.

On 7/13/2017 at 9:53 AM, MickTurator said:

I don't bother opening the box and checking the contents before payment, I only check that the box is undamaged

When I get indoors I immediately give it a good check that everything works and has no faults.

Much the same as buying in BigC, you can't check it properly in the store.

 

No need to phone for a RMA#, just do it online and select your return method - post office, 7-11 or courier (if it's over 20 kg)

 

If you order any USB flash-drives check them with a proper full capacity checker.

Some sellers are dumping rejects that only hold a fraction of the stated capacity.

A few sellers are dishonest but Lazada is there to help and appear to be fair.

Overall I am happy with the service.  I have placed another three orders this week.

 

 

Thanks for the in and outs in shopping with Lazada, very generous and informative. I really appreciated that. Now ready to place my order #1 

On 7/6/2017 at 9:06 AM, ubonjoe said:

Any update on the form being delivered to the SSA.

I have just filed a claim with USPS. Got an auto reply claim confirmation from them. Let's see where this will lead...

17 hours ago, MickTurator said:

One thing I forgot to mention about returns.

If it is a big item then a courier will collect the return from your house.

The criteria is weight not value, if it's over 20kg then you can request a courier.

 

The return period is either 7 or 14 days depending on the item.

You MUST register for a RMA before that time expires or you will be stuffed so check out the goods as soon as possible.

Hope that helps and happy shopping.

 

In your experience, do you usually open the box and check anything broken before you hand over the cash? Or you trust they are reliable in handling the merchandise and not worth the bother to check before payment. 

Also re registering for an RMA# do you go ahead and do that on your own or do you need to call customer service first and explain the reason for returning?

Thanks for ample explanation as always.

3 hours ago, MickTurator said:

They are listings from different sellers.

Anyone can register to be a seller on Lazada.

 

What can I say, sir, you're a champ (55 orders, 3 returns and counting...)