ProThaiExpat

Eggs definitely have a bad name since they are very high in cholesterol. However, the ability of the body to rid itself of chloesterol varies widely among people.

Have the cholesterol tests regularly and your decison will be a easy one.

Do yourself a favor and google USCIS, their pages are very informative, up to date and clearly invite applications for permanent residency/green card to be filed with them, giving you addresses if filing by mail or filing in BKK. Fees are discussed and all the forms and procedures, with instructions, are clear.

They even provide backup and tracking of your application.

The rumors are that your get approval in nine months if you file in BKK but over a year if you file in the US. You might try USCIS Bangkok for more targeted approach. The have an office very close to the Embassy and even take checks drawn on US banks.

Good luck. I will be filing a 130 in February by mail to the BKK office.

Ten years ago, I began to try and get a OA visa in Sydney and after a frustrating week there, the girl who was my main contact at the consulate told me that every counsul general in the Foreign Service of Thailand could set his own rules as to what processes you had to go through to get the visa.

She told me that if was almost impossible in Sydney due to the requirements of the Consul General at the time. I don't know how often they change Consul Generals but if the current one is putting up such absurd requirements, perhaps he is the same one or one who inherited and adopted the requirements from before.

I finally gave up, came to Thailand on a tourist visa and applied in BKK for a non-immigrant O and was not required to have a police report. It took some days for them to process the paperwork and at the time, Chiang Mai wasn't online to BKK so they couldn't follow up. Now you can do the whole thing in Chiang Mai as well.

Tourist visa, to non-immO and then extension.

I was in my late forties knowing nothing but paper for post toilet clean up when an interior designer advised me that if my home remodel was going to appeal to upper eschelon buyers, I needed to buy a bidet to go along with the toilet.

I went with his advice but didn't use the bidet as I usually showered after the toilet on my way to work.

One Saturday befor working in the garden, I used the bidet as showering wasn't in the cards until after my garden work.

I have used bidets, when available ever since. The Japanes sell a toilet seat bidet for thos who don't have room for a free standing bidet. I have installed those as well. I never used the heater, fan dryer or front spray that comes with those bidet seats.

Thailand was the first country I have visited where santitary sprays were almost universally available and sure are an easy way to accomplish a water assisted clean up.

I was raised in Japan, years ago, and never saw a sanitary spray, although small buckets with water were available in their toilets.

My daughters house in Australia has no such water sprays or bidets so there I use a dedicated wash cloth with warm water and soap from the adjacent sink. The dedicated wash cloth hangs on the toilet brush when not in use and it has never wandered by the hands of others.

Wash up with water after toilet vs. paper only, to me, is like a smart cell phone, you don't know how you got along without one once you got it.

Perhaps I suffer from over exposure to nature shows on televisions but it seems to me that nature has something to do with this issue.

The female of the species is the human in a heterosexual coupling who, by nature, are driven to select males who would have the perceived best genes for procreation. Thus the truth behind the assertion that women are more carefull, usually, in choosing a mate.

Further the female psyche seems to be much more emotionally involved in the sex act by nature as well for underlying procreation reasons as well. Of course, generalities are dangerous by their very nature as well.

In nature the male of most species is ready to mate at almost a moments notice while the female only becomes agreeable to sex when she is fertile. Sometimes referred to as the "Guardian of the gate" or words to that effect.

Herterosexual men necessarily must woo a woman or romance her or seduce her in most cases while men on men sex is much less complicated and can occur with limited foreplay for the foregoing reasons.

My obvious point is that humans are driven by nature when it comes to sex, however societal attitudes do temper that activity.

Scott: So right, its called the "full faith and credit" clause of the US Constitution. Each state is supposed to give"full faith and credit" to each other's laws.

However, in practice it often is not enforced as the laws of the rogue state will control until it is taken to a US Federal Court where it should be ruled unconstitutional, not by State Constitution, but by the US Constitution.

JT: Your question regarding "what happens to civil untions when a state adopts same sex marriage" was answered in California, I believe, when a state court ruled that the civil union, being by its own language "has the same rights as a marriage" that for all intents and purposes is a marriage and the court will treat the civil union as a marriage. Merger may be the concept.

Each country and each state on this earth have laws that differ. In the US equal rights is a major issue and as long as any group is treated differently by the majority, there is a basic civil rights issue.

Years ago, many felt the correct and easiest way to treat this issue was to merely change the terminology in all the existing laws from marriage to civil unions, thus whether same sex or opposite sex, one would go to the government office to obtain a license to have a union and once armed with that license, one would go to ones church and have a ceremony, who may use the word marriage or go to a civil entitity like a judge or clerk and have them certify the union permitting that couple to use the word marriage if they chose.

This approach treats all couples equally and keeps government secular. Not possible with the power of the religious orders to give up their claim of devine guidance and control over marriages. Many married couples, religious or otherwise, just don't want to share what they have in their marriages and the legal recognition of that right. Many gays wouldn't marry or unionize no matter what, fear of commitment prevades straights and gays.

Comparing European cultures with that of the US serves no objective purpose as there are almost as many countries in Europe that have changed their laws to permit same sex marriage as their are US states that have done so likewise. In fact it is my perception that European countries preceeded the US in granting same sex couples the right to marry long before a state in the US did?

Traveling in Europe and running into many of the same people at tourist sites. When asked "Is he your Nephew?"

My answer, if I liked them "Yes". If I didn't like them: "No, we are lovers and we have been together since he was eleven!!"

I am in almost an identical legal position as you and your Thai partner, however, I have two more years with my partner than you.

As an "oldie" with a younger partner, my main concern is his care after I reach my expiration date. While I have assets that might be able to generate sufficient income for him to live on in Thailand in the future, if he were to qualify for my pension, my financial assets would be freed up to leave to my grand children.

A five year residency in the US is required for an alien spouse to qualify for SSA survivor benefits. That residency requirement would not apply if the surviving spouse is a US Citizen.

A Thai spouse married to an American can become a US citizen after a residency of three years.

My partner and I are therefore planning to marry in the US in January 2014 and after approximately 9 months to a year, upon his recipt of a green card, move to the US to accomplish the residency for citizenship and then return to Thailand to reside until my demise.

Caveat: My partner is a life long American admirer and couldn't be happier with the promise of a US marriage and honeymoon in 2014 and a three year stint in the US a year thereafter to become a citizen.

While he is integrated into my family and loved by all, he still would feel more comfortable with a government pension once he reaches 65 rather than depend on my executor to come through with a pension funded by my financial assets.

I would not apply the foregoing to anyone else in similar circumstances as every one is different and in different relationships unless that couple has a traditional marriage orientation and similar financial issues.

Your first sentence is False but I am a little tired to go through the rest right now ...... A citizen wife is not entitled to payments without a waiting period, it depends on the situation. A person who marries someone expected to die within 9 months is not eligible under most situations for what I guess are for obvious reasons of people doing it just for the payments. (which is unrelated to the non citizen issue.)

Being tired may explain your missing the point. I am talking about residency requirements for an Alien Spouse, Normally five year residency to be eligible for survivor benefits.however, if after a three year residency and the alien spouse becomes a citizen, there is no further residence requirement. As the below quite indicates, the time to process the naturalization application adds his spouse only waited a few months to get her citizenship. Others may have to wait almost a year so add thatto the residency requirement in this scenario, so in effect you probably only save a year or a bit more off the five rear residency requirement if you spouse becomes a citizen as soon as possible after receiving the green card and US residency immediately after that.

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by UdonExpat » June 19, 2007, 11:05 am

Someone recently told me my wife would need to have resided in the US for at least 5 years to get survivor benefits when she is 60, and I have passed on (we have no children). This is true if she is not a US Citizen, but since she is there is no residency requirement.

Under current naturalization requirements a spouse can become a citizen after only 3 years as a Resident Alien (green card) in the US. My wife became a US Citizen after 3 years and 2 1/2 months in the states.

Admittedly it was a sacrifice to return to the US for a bit over 3 years, but it will provide for her in her old age, and as a dual citizen it is now much easier for us to travel outside of Thailand as she now has a US passport"

My reading of the SSA regs led me to believe that an Alian Spouse resident in the US for three years is eligible to become a citizen, and clearly a citizen wife is entitled to survivors benefits without a waiting period. Thus the five year residence requirement is shortened to three years and makes getting citizenship well worth the effort if one wants to return to Thailand as soon as possible.

I trust those who have an interest in this permutation of the regs will post if they disagree with my belief so I can check it out again if I was misled.

I have also explored what residence in the US means and I have seen some information to indicate that as long as one goes overseas for no more than six months at a time, residency for eligibility for SSA survivor benefits is considered continuous.

I have no knowledge of whether a Thai marriage is valid for SSA purposes, there must be some who read this that have some personal experience in this regard. I would think if in doubt, re-marry in the US while there. I suspect that if one is grandted a green card for your spouse to travel to the US to live and the marriage certificate qualifying for the green card was from Thailand, this is a non-issue.

This is the same form that I get every year for the past 12 years and I am not disabled, just receiving SSA benefits.

My take on the form, which threatens to cut off benefits if not returned, is their way of confirming you are still alive and that the benefits are going to a living person.

I don't believe getting married affects your benefits, but does notify SSA that you have a wife and when you die, they may receive a claim for survivors benefits.

If you do not send the form in, you will get another one to insure it didn't go astray and then I think they will cut off benefits if that one isn't received by them.

Any idea how drapes/curtains compare to venetian blinds wrt practicality, durability, cost ,and ease in keeping them clean of the dust that seems to coat everything in the CMai valley. Cheers.

Personal taste contrils here, however, I have both narrow blinds in my entry way and roman fabrick shades thoughout the rest of the house and the shades win out with me. Perhaps the fact that I have a large Western exposure and am caused to lower and raise the shades every day keeps them from appearing dusty. They have been hanging for ten years and are still quite usable although a mark or two do appear. Maybe I will get them cleaned one of these days.They are light gold in color with white minor hash marks or dots.

Blinds gather dust like a magnet and are really not a viable option if you leave your windows open in CM to get airflow, in my view.

Years ago I tried to get a non-imm-OA from the Sydney Thai Consulate and after road block after road block, the Thai lady who was running things in those days said that each Thai consulate is different, with differeing policies and that I should give up and try in my home country. She was most explicit and forthcoming and advised that the Consul General of each Thai Consulate is given broad authority to issue or not issue visas in accordance with his own interpretation of the guidelines and regulations regarding those matters issued by the Department of Foreign Affiairs in Bangkok.

We purchased curtains from the Indian shop at the rear of BIG C on the Super Highway.

Its a very large shop about one street back from BIG C

The name of this shop is I.S. Curtain, and the Sikh Thai who owns it has a three story penthouse above the multi-story building with parking. He use to work out of a little shop on the one way street downtown, but made a great sucess of his business and built his building the way he wanted.

I have been using him for 12 years and as recently as this week for repairs of hardware. He is excellent with a wide variety of fabrics and other window coverings. I found a heavy dark fabric to my liking that doesn't allow light to penetrate it so I was able to avoid a "blackout lining" at extra cost.

He uses the nickniame "Bob" and he and his four sons speak excellent English. You can't go wrong and I would follow any suggestion he makes if you are undecided. If you want him personally, you may have to make an apointment or ask that he come down from his mansion upstairs. His staff are helpful, but not at the level of Bob. In the old days he actually came out to my home to do the measurements and staff installed. I would let them measure if the fit is important as there are many unseen error opportunities that can be made by the non-expert.

He is located behind the Big C Extra and HomePro on the super highway and he also sells mattresses, childrens clothes and toys in his building.

A really good suit requires superior cutting. A very skilled craft with very few really good ones who demand and get huge salaries at Saville Row and New York. Trickle down to South East Asia and the chances of getting a good cutter at the tailor is next to nil. In my Hong Kong days years ago when it was touted as the place to go for tailored suits, my experience was that the suits made there fit like a glove, but who wants a suit to fit like a glove. One in four suits I bought there came out right.

I have found that buying an imported suit from a major retailor in Chiang Mai and then having it "fitted" or "tailored" for you by a good local "tailor", (translate that to "seamstress") is the way to go. By buying your suit off the rack, you can see what you are getting and can shop the various brands until you find one that fits well. They perfect the fit with a seamstress and your good to go.

In Chiang Mai, I think there is one large clothing factory where most of the cutting and tailoring is done, with a seamstress "tailor" traveling from the factory to each retail shop to conduct the fitting by appointment. The factory uses patterns to do the cutting which is a "made to measure" method, not a tailored suit. If you are not a perfect standard size, the cutting is done for that standard pattern size and then the seamstress struggles to make it fit during the "fitting".

You might check with Dr. Ekachai who works both Ram and Sripat. He did a herniated umbilical for a friend of mine and I don't recall the price but it was reasonable considering it was done at Sripat. I have been going to RAM for ten years and have been happy with them except for their prices. You learn how to reduce your bill with them from experience. However, I have recently incurred an eye problem and have found that Sripat cost me 30% less than Ram and that included the doctor whose procedure price was 3500 baht at Ram but only 2000 Baht at Sripat.

Operating room cost for the eye procedure at ram was 1500 Baht, 700 at Sripat. Likewise, the pharmacy at Sripat charged the same as outside pharmacy charged for antibiotic while Ram charged four times as much as outside pharmacy.

This may not be entirely responsive, however, there are many who are anticipating Google dropping their RSS feed home page feature. I was pointed to Netvibes.com that essentially does the same thing as iGoogle.

There is also a website that makes setting up your netvibes feeds, something like "Three easy steps for refugees from iGoogle" or something like that.

Good luck, it can be done.

My unit is the size of a bread box with a round segmented handle in a lockable box below the unit that allows for manual disingagement of the drive mechanism when there is no power.

I paid 20k ten years ago. Most gate shops, easily recognized by driving past them and viewing the assortment of gates on display at the front of the shop, probably can connect you to a remote electric gate vendor if they don't do them themselves.

The one I used is still there, on the main road eastbound from ring road #2 just before you get to the large AIS building behind Big C Extra on Superhighway. Sorry I don't know the name of the main road that runs all the way into CM central.

The word "tailor" here is an exageration. My experience is that most "tailors" are really seamstresses. They can make great alterations, however, if you can buy a ready made suit and have a local "tailor" alter it to fit well you have the best bet.

For a suit to fit well requires excellent cutting. Good cutters demand and get top wages in London and New York and cut a whole pile of cloth at one cutting.

Buy ready made in London as you will know how well it fits before you pay for it.

I did see a poll result recently that Hispanics favor equal marriage rights for same sex partners in the 50 percentile.

The Supreme Court decision on DOMA in June may make this issue moot.

My life will sure change if DOMA is declared unconstitutional!!!

When I was treated by CMU Ortho Surgeon for my broken leg, he prescribed a US drug that was a combination of Tramadol and Paracetamol. Expensive due to the country of origin.

I looked up the chemical contents of the combination and then went out and bought the two drugs separately and then, of course, took both with excellent results.

Those who have not tried Tramadol in combination with Paracetamol should give it a try, might have positive effects in combination for you.

I woul be surprised if OZ Embassy would not add pages to your passport unless it is due to be expired. OZ Embassy uses courier services from Chiang Mai for most visa and passport issues.

They have a web site. Also a call to the Oz Embassy in BKK would answer if additional pages can be added.

My Thai friend routinely ships bags from BKK to CM via bus when arriving from overseas and flying low cost, low baggage limit flights. Never a problem and it seems many due likewise as there is usuallt a queue at the baggge check in at the bus station and no bags are retrievable without a baggage stub.