Are You A Winner Or A Loser

[nellyp]

I believe myself to be a winner, the reason being that my family are much happier here. I came over to be a teacher and have succeeded in this. I have a house here that is comfortable, a motorbike and a reasonable pick-up. So that is the assets done. We are happier as a family and spend more time together, we enjoy the weather and the stress free life style we have adopted,every few weeks we go to stay in a hotel to relax even further.I save no money at the moment, but that will change in the future.

These may not seem to be reasons to be a success here, but to me they are good reasons and why I came in the first place. I will stay as long as we feel the same or until I think that the Thai education system is failing my sons to a point that I cannot make up by home tutoring (which is another bonus as it is more time with my son....though he would rather be playing a game)

[Ijustwannateach]

Careerwise, have succeeded 'wildly' (as 'wildly' as teaching gets, anyway)... I teach students who head off in very impressive directions. I've achieved real professional development while living here, and I've even upgraded from my cardboard box to a fruit crate (has that yummy apple smell).

[Heng]

Careerwise, have succeeded 'wildly' (as 'wildly' as teaching gets, anyway)... I teach students who head off in very impressive directions. I've achieved real professional development while living here, and I've even upgraded from my cardboard box to a fruit crate (has that yummy apple smell).

How are your teeth though? One professional quality root canal can cost more than taking care of your teeth for an entire lifetime with regular tartar scrapes and flossing.

[samran]

The tests in a standard health check (just 4,000-6,000 Baht at Samitivej for example) for an adult aged 30-40 with a few extra tests tagged on would probably 'catch' or at least arouse suspicion in most doctors towards more than a small % of things that could be ailing you. Getting a regular health checkup is not a stressful thing at all. IMO it's on par with a typical run to the supermarket to stock up on groceries. Takes a few hours of your time out of an entire year. It's more economical/practical/logical than not getting checked up, that's for sure.

Anyway, the whole point of this tangent is that the 'poor living their blissful life in the ghetto' mosaic that pops up all the time does have this little 'health' issue as its natural (since we're all mortal) Achilles heel.

Yet very few people "waste" their money on these tests. Why is that?

Health economics 101:

People underestimate their need for health care especially when they are younger.

As a result, we reject courses of action which would be seen as preventative whether they be early detection of preventative courses of action(and thus substantially cheaper) and instead wait for the actual ailment becoming painfully obvious and be treated in a manner where the cure is more expensive than the prevention.

Plus all the stuff Heng said.

[samran]

Whatareya?

[samran]

I am happy as long as the Champagne is served precisely 10 degree's C and the Beluga has good consistancy

?

It doesn't grow on trees now does it?

[Ijustwannateach]

Careerwise, have succeeded 'wildly' (as 'wildly' as teaching gets, anyway)... I teach students who head off in very impressive directions. I've achieved real professional development while living here, and I've even upgraded from my cardboard box to a fruit crate (has that yummy apple smell).

How are your teeth though? One professional quality root canal can cost more than taking care of your teeth for an entire lifetime with regular tartar scrapes and flossing.

One kind dentist took pity on me... just recently had a crown replaced, with some surgical complications. It was pricey, but worth it. And much more painless, and better quality, too, I think, than the original root canal (which was done in Japan- wanna talk about expensive?).

Yeah, I've got all the basics covered, and retirement planning, and all that sort of thing- and even some discretionary income on top. That's part of what succeeding 'wildly' as a teacher amounts to anywhere, more or less; until you start publishing textbooks (which is a thought) or unless you score a TV show like Carl Sagan.

[Ijustwannateach]

Although it seems to be getting a bit off topic (Heng, does family life make you obsess about medical issues?), I will add another voice to those encouraging everyone to get their checkups and take things seriously. I've had a couple of older friends carried away by cancer recently, and a friend younger than I (although a bit of a chain smoker) is going to enjoy chemo struggles with malignant intestinal cancer the rest of his life. For teachers, I'd recommend some supplemental insurance even if you're already covered on a basic policy for normal illnesses and accidents.

[poanoi]

So my options are

1] going through the humiliation of dying

2] going through the humiliation of getting old + going through the humiliation of dying

I prefer the former

[Heng]

Although it seems to be getting a bit off topic (Heng, does family life make you obsess about medical issues?), I will add another voice to those encouraging everyone to get their checkups and take things seriously. I've had a couple of older friends carried away by cancer recently, and a friend younger than I (although a bit of a chain smoker) is going to enjoy chemo struggles with malignant intestinal cancer the rest of his life. For teachers, I'd recommend some supplemental insurance even if you're already covered on a basic policy for normal illnesses and accidents.

LOL at this MSN IM: "We get it, (my actual name) (Heng), you're the Thai Tom Brady with perfect teeth, you've got everything."

Little Hengs mean extra bodies to worry about, sure, not to mention the need to stick around to make sure they are ready take the reins one day. No obsession though, Steve, it's really a few times a year thing. Health check takes one day (admittedly to get all of the adults who I'm responsible for checked it takes 10-15 days, some of them have to go to more than one hospital, etc.) and the dentist takes another 1-2 a year (x number of immediate family members).

That's it, I've done enough good here today, I've probably saved a few of you guys a few $100k in health care costs down the road. F--- winter blanket donations this year.

[thaibeachlovers]

The comparison in this situation is someone who undergoes early treatment (which can often just be simple outpatient surgery) to someone who undergoes late stage treatment (from chemo to the misc. exotic and painful treatments, whereas yes, that can be just as bad as someone who lets cancer run its course). If it does run its course though, at no 'early' point do you just 'pop off' unless you do it manually (with a firearm, syringe, gravity, etc.).

In some cases. I was being more specific to the treatment for prostate cancer. So far as I know, it's not possible to only remove a little bit of the prostate. Even radiation, has potentially serious side effects.

Agreed on your last sentence. I know what I'd rather do, but that may not be for everyone. I have the disadvantage of having looked after people dying of cancer, so I know what to expect.

quotes removed to allow posting

[thaibeachlovers]

So my options are

1] going through the humiliation of dying

2] going through the humiliation of getting old + going through the humiliation of dying

I prefer the former

I'm with you on that.

I've been there done that with the surgical option, and regreted it since.

To say it was the worst experience of my life would be an understatement.

It's not like I'm not going to die anyway, and there ARE worse things than death.

[Heng]

The comparison in this situation is someone who undergoes early treatment (which can often just be simple outpatient surgery) to someone who undergoes late stage treatment (from chemo to the misc. exotic and painful treatments, whereas yes, that can be just as bad as someone who lets cancer run its course). If it does run its course though, at no 'early' point do you just 'pop off' unless you do it manually (with a firearm, syringe, gravity, etc.).

In some cases. I was being more specific to the treatment for prostate cancer. So far as I know, it's not possible to only remove a little bit of the prostate. Even radiation, has potentially serious side effects.

Agreed on your last sentence. I know what I'd rather do, but that may not be for everyone. I have the disadvantage of having looked after people dying of cancer, so I know what to expect.

Just FYI, not really relevant to the thread I suppose.... but yes, you can remove just some or even all of your prostate. Again, catching 'it' whatever it is, early is best, even if it's just an enlarged prostate (or again, whatever isn't working right anywhere). And for folks worried about not being able to afford it all... you can always do the diagnose/do checkups in a private hospital but treat in a gov't hospital combination. It's a rougher more affordable road, but like all things in life, you've earned it.

[LandOfSmileys]

they dont have cancer anyway

They probably don't, I'm just saying that's when that 'happiness' can evaporate in a second... and let's not kid ourselves, the more serious diseases are rife at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. This is especially true if their daily routine is something along the lines of 'working long hours at somewhere like a factory that is likely toxic, eating food cooked and then immediately poured or scooped into plastic bags, and then topping the day off with low quality alcohol to dull the 'happiness' of it all.'

I've seen both sides of the coin here and the less well off don't die very 'well' here at all. I've seen some guys try to pull their IV out of their arms with their teeth because they want to end it all, all in plain view of strangers because their 'health plan' means they have to be in a room with 30 other hospital beds, thus no one has the guts to beg a doctor behind the scenes somewhere to help them end the situation with some dignity, which can often be done in a private room.

" cooked and then immediately poured or scooped into plastic bags, " So you are one of the very few that know about plasicizers leeching into foods, esp. hot foods?

[Heng]

they dont have cancer anyway

They probably don't, I'm just saying that's when that 'happiness' can evaporate in a second... and let's not kid ourselves, the more serious diseases are rife at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. This is especially true if their daily routine is something along the lines of 'working long hours at somewhere like a factory that is likely toxic, eating food cooked and then immediately poured or scooped into plastic bags, and then topping the day off with low quality alcohol to dull the 'happiness' of it all.'

I've seen both sides of the coin here and the less well off don't die very 'well' here at all. I've seen some guys try to pull their IV out of their arms with their teeth because they want to end it all, all in plain view of strangers because their 'health plan' means they have to be in a room with 30 other hospital beds, thus no one has the guts to beg a doctor behind the scenes somewhere to help them end the situation with some dignity, which can often be done in a private room.

" cooked and then immediately poured or scooped into plastic bags, " So you are one of the very few that know about plasicizers leeching into foods, esp. hot foods?

I know it's one of the things that doesn't really inconvenience me if I avoid it when possible.

[LandOfSmileys]

they dont have cancer anyway

They probably don't, I'm just saying that's when that 'happiness' can evaporate in a second... and let's not kid ourselves, the more serious diseases are rife at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. This is especially true if their daily routine is something along the lines of 'working long hours at somewhere like a factory that is likely toxic, eating food cooked and then immediately poured or scooped into plastic bags, and then topping the day off with low quality alcohol to dull the 'happiness' of it all.'

I've seen both sides of the coin here and the less well off don't die very 'well' here at all. I've seen some guys try to pull their IV out of their arms with their teeth because they want to end it all, all in plain view of strangers because their 'health plan' means they have to be in a room with 30 other hospital beds, thus no one has the guts to beg a doctor behind the scenes somewhere to help them end the situation with some dignity, which can often be done in a private room.

" cooked and then immediately poured or scooped into plastic bags, " So you are one of the very few that know about plasicizers leeching into foods, esp. hot foods?

I know it's one of the things that doesn't really inconvenience me if I avoid it when possible.

I put plasticizers right in with asbestos. Almost nobody is talking now, but 20 years later.... I read that the asbestos company execs were sending memos back and forth at least 10 years before it was public knowledge that it was cancerous, AND they were calling the few "experts" that were raising red flags: "Kooks". Of course, as you say, here in Asia, try to get food to go, without a plastic container. So anytime I succeed in getting food to go in non-plastic... I consider myself a WINNER!

[tropo]

I put plasticizers right in with asbestos. Almost nobody is talking now, but 20 years later.... I read that the asbestos company execs were sending memos back and forth at least 10 years before it was public knowledge that it was cancerous, AND they were calling the few "experts" that were raising red flags: "Kooks". Of course, as you say, here in Asia, try to get food to go, without a plastic container. So anytime I succeed in getting food to go in non-plastic... I consider myself a WINNER!

If you had to stay away from all the things that are implicated as possible cancer producing agents you'd have a very difficult time living a normal life. Sure, some things seem more likely that others but there are too many to list and the list is growing every day. I'm sure most people just switch off whenever a new one hit the news these days. At the end of the day it comes down to the strength of your immune system and stress weakens it and makes you far more susceptible to cancer.

Now plastic bags for carrying take away food are going to give me cancer - give me a break.

[farang000999]

So are there any tuperware products that you can give the Food preparer that are considered 100% safe or do you avoid takeout altogether?

[farang000999]

So after a bit of googling i presume that the key is the plastic being BPA free?

Does anyone know if those Sprinkle (company) water bottles that are all scratched up and sit in the sun driving around Bangkok all day are also dangerous?

[Sharp]

Ummmmmm

Well I have ups and downs here as everyone but all I would say is

1. Even with the things I don't like here wouldn't live anywhere else so I made the right move = winner in my book.

2. I have more personal money now then I have ever had before due to some good luck and quick thinking all legal and straight forward I might add , so given the horror stories we read and personally heard about here I think = winner.

So all good merry Xmas and happy new year

[tailspin]

funny how a topic on winners/losers by a materialistic OP got transformed into a debate about cancer

sometimes no matter how fit, you may be, you find that the gods above have dealt you a pair of deuces, like this fitness nut who died of a heat attack while running

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx

[JurgenG]

I am happy as long as the Champagne is served precisely 10 degree's C and the Beluga has good consistancy

Champagne should be served a 7 C and caviar is food for mujik.

We definitively don't have the same values.

[LandOfSmileys]

So are there any tuperware products that you can give the Food preparer that are considered 100% safe or do you avoid takeout altogether?

I'm not a fanatic about it, so I made a simple rule for myself to avoid the worst of it. There are way too many types of plastic and you can't know what type it is if it is not labeled. First, water bottles. Clear is good, milky white is bad. You can actually taste (when warm) some nasty residue from the milky white bottles, but NOT from the clear. Next, heat, when heat is applied to many things it speeds up chemical breakdown. So I avoid hot food contact with plastic, cold is fine, and all dry food, rice etc, is fine for plastic storage. Sunlight breaks down plastic as well, so don't leave your containers in the sun on a regular basis. Abrasion, I don't clean plastic storage containers with shotgun pellets, sandpaper, or steel wool, I use a soft sponge. As far as BPA free, plasticizers like adipates and phthalates bisphenol A (BPA) DEHP are just a few of the questionable chemicals known about today. Age is one more factor, old plastic can leak more chemicals. Styrofoam cups for hot coffee/tea: BAD styro is porous, many small beads stuck together= large surface area contact with hot liquid. So to make it simple, clear is good, cold is good, dark storage is good, and don't clean your plastic with a shotgun. Unless you load your own shells and load them with sponges.

[tropo]

funny how a topic on winners/losers by a materialistic OP got transformed into a debate about cancer

sometimes no matter how fit, you may be, you find that the gods above have dealt you a pair of deuces, like this fitness nut who died of a heat attack while running

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx

There's nothing surprising about a very fit person dying. Fit doesn't mean healthy and some of the fittest athletes are very unhealthy because they overtrain and stress their body way past a healthy level.

[tropo]

So are there any tuperware products that you can give the Food preparer that are considered 100% safe or do you avoid takeout altogether?

I'm not a fanatic about it, so I made a simple rule for myself to avoid the worst of it. There are way too many types of plastic and you can't know what type it is if it is not labeled. First, water bottles. Clear is good, milky white is bad. You can actually taste (when warm) some nasty residue from the milky white bottles, but NOT from the clear. Next, heat, when heat is applied to many things it speeds up chemical breakdown. So I avoid hot food contact with plastic, cold is fine, and all dry food, rice etc, is fine for plastic storage. Sunlight breaks down plastic as well, so don't leave your containers in the sun on a regular basis. Abrasion, I don't clean plastic storage containers with shotgun pellets, sandpaper, or steel wool, I use a soft sponge. As far as BPA free, plasticizers like adipates and phthalates bisphenol A (BPA) DEHP are just a few of the questionable chemicals known about today. Age is one more factor, old plastic can leak more chemicals. Styrofoam cups for hot coffee/tea: BAD styro is porous, many small beads stuck together= large surface area contact with hot liquid. So to make it simple, clear is good, cold is good, dark storage is good, and don't clean your plastic with a shotgun. Unless you load your own shells and load them with sponges.

How do you feel about microwave ovens?

BTW, all the milk is sold in milky white plastic containers. Give up milk?

[poanoi]

I am happy as long as the Champagne is served precisely 10 degree's C and the Beluga has good consistancy

Champagne should be served a 7 C and caviar is food for mujik.

We definitively don't have the same values.

So what do you use with boiled egg then ?

and where can i buy it in Pattaya ?

[LandOfSmileys]

So are there any tuperware products that you can give the Food preparer that are considered 100% safe or do you avoid takeout altogether?

I'm not a fanatic about it, so I made a simple rule for myself to avoid the worst of it. There are way too many types of plastic and you can't know what type it is if it is not labeled. First, water bottles. Clear is good, milky white is bad. You can actually taste (when warm) some nasty residue from the milky white bottles, but NOT from the clear. Next, heat, when heat is applied to many things it speeds up chemical breakdown. So I avoid hot food contact with plastic, cold is fine, and all dry food, rice etc, is fine for plastic storage. Sunlight breaks down plastic as well, so don't leave your containers in the sun on a regular basis. Abrasion, I don't clean plastic storage containers with shotgun pellets, sandpaper, or steel wool, I use a soft sponge. As far as BPA free, plasticizers like adipates and phthalates bisphenol A (BPA) DEHP are just a few of the questionable chemicals known about today. Age is one more factor, old plastic can leak more chemicals. Styrofoam cups for hot coffee/tea: BAD styro is porous, many small beads stuck together= large surface area contact with hot liquid. So to make it simple, clear is good, cold is good, dark storage is good, and don't clean your plastic with a shotgun. Unless you load your own shells and load them with sponges.

How do you feel about microwave ovens?

BTW, all the milk is sold in milky white plastic containers. Give up milk?

Yes, give up milk, or the poor excuse of a liquid that is called "milk" by the corporations that push it on the unsuspecting pubic. First, the cows are fed who knows what kind of gruel and injected with whatever to boost "milk" flow. Then the "milk" is pasteurized, homogenized, de-fatted, turned to powder for long term storage and then "reconstituted" when needed. What you get in the container (doesn't matter at this point if it is stored in reshaped dog sh*t) is no longer "food". I know people that had osteoporosis and took Big Pharma drugs for it, with bad side effects, and switched to RAW milk, stopped the bad drugs, and guess what? Got better. Microwaves, nothing too much about that yet. Heard some things, but very little. For reheating and minimal usage, seems to be OK. One quote I like from some old time health guru: "If it's man-made, DON'T eat it" Jack LaLaine sp? Meaning the LESS it is processed, the better for you.

[JurgenG]

When I was a kid, we used to collect the milk from the cheese factory, after it has been processed. All the fat has been removed to make the cheese, it was basically water with a light white color. We used to mix it with flour to feed the pigs. It was given away for free or thrown in the gutter if nobody wanted it. Now they sell it very expensive, actually sometime that the only thing you can find, as "fat free" milk. People are crazy !

[LandOfSmileys]

When I was a kid, we used to collect the milk from the cheese factory, after it has been processed. All the fat has been removed to make the cheese, it was basically water with a light white color. We used to mix it with flour to feed the pigs. It was given away for free or thrown in the gutter if nobody wanted it. Now they sell it very expensive, actually sometime that the only thing you can find, as "fat free" milk. People are crazy !

If you think about it, the pigs are still consuming it, dumb animals, paying for gutter waste

[PattaniMan]

Yes, give up milk, or the poor excuse of a liquid that is called "milk" by the corporations that push it on the unsuspecting pubic. First, the cows are fed who knows what kind of gruel and injected with whatever to boost "milk" flow. Then the "milk" is pasteurized, homogenized, de-fatted, turned to powder for long term storage and then "reconstituted" when needed. What you get in the container (doesn't matter at this point if it is stored in reshaped dog sh*t) is no longer "food". I know people that had osteoporosis and took Big Pharma drugs for it, with bad side effects, and switched to RAW milk, stopped the bad drugs, and guess what? Got better. Microwaves, nothing too much about that yet. Heard some things, but very little. For reheating and minimal usage, seems to be OK. One quote I like from some old time health guru: "If it's man-made, DON'T eat it" Jack LaLaine sp? Meaning the LESS it is processed, the better for you.

Good post.

Avoid beef and chicken, too. Not sure about pork. Goat (here in the south) is probably okay.

At all costs, avoid KFC and those CP chicken BBQ outlets you see next to 7-11.