…A continuing series: While teaching during the spring of 2007, I devised a project wherein I asked my third-year students to list ten things about themselves they would like me to know (and that I would find surprising). One of my students exclaimed, "Teacher – I bet you could tell us 100 things about you." Thus, a new blog series was born. I thought it would be relatively easy to do in blocks of five or ten per post. It turns out that coming up with a hundred "interesting" things about myself was fairly difficult after the first dozen or so. It’s now September 2009 and I’m just now thinking about number 70…

70.  I am now a daddy.  My daughter was born on 14 September 2009 at Vachira Hospital in Phuket Town, Thailand.  She was 2660 grams at birth and had increased to 2900 grams within the first week.

71.  My daughter’s nickname is Anda – a name chosen by my girlfriend early in the pregnancy as being good for either a boy or a girl.  It’s short for Andaman Sea, the body of water that surrounds the island of Phuket (at least the west side; the eastern shores of Phuket abut Phang Nga Bay).  She will receive her full Thai name when she becomes 30 days old.  Many families have monks at the local wat choose this name from large books.  This tradition dates from Animist beliefs that if the child is given a nickname, then evil spirits won’t be able to find her in order to do harm.  In reality, many children in early Siam (and even today) don’t survive the first thirty days of live.

72.  The relationship/living arrangements between my partner – Joy – and I may seem a bit odd to “outsiders.”  Although we are madly in love with each other, and now have a baby together, we cannot yet live together.  Her family is very traditional and had all-but-disowned her several years ago when she moved away from their home in Kamphaeng Phet – first to Bangkok, then to Phuket.  She had a rather wild period but late last year she returned back to “good girl” mode when she realized that she was in danger of losing me.  Her family welcomed her back into the fold and a number of restrictions were placed on her with a compromise – she could remain in Phuket provided first her brother then her sister came to “monitor” her.  One or the other usually chaperone us when we go out (although I think that’s more a desire for a free meal than making sure we can’t have any fun).

73.  Joy, Anda, and I have been prevented from living together because I’m still married – on paper – in Thailand.  After some months of trying to get my ex-wife to go to the district office to register for divorce to no avail, she’s now “disappeared.”  Nobody knows if she’s returned to her home province of Lamphun or if she’s still in Phuket – mutual friends haven’t seen her in months and her old phone number no longer works.  In Thailand, both parties in an uncontested divorce can sign a declaration at the district office and end the marriage legally in just a few minutes (for a 50 baht fee).  However, you need to wait for three years if your spouse disappears or is living apart from you.  They then put a notice in the local papers, wait a period of time for the other party to contest, and then grant the divorce.  This process is done through the court system.  I have no idea how much it costs.  So, Joy and I will have to wait another couple of years before we can marry.  Recently (September 2009), it seems that perhaps her family will soon allow us to stay together – provided one of her other relatives also shares the home…

74.  I hate downtime.  I’m not happy unless I have some project in-progress and often have multiple unfinished projects going at any given time. This may be something as simple as making an inventory of my eBooks (I have hundreds scattered among a multitude of backup discs), or as complex as creating the "perfect" term-spanning project book for my Reading or ESL students.   It doesn’t take much to spur a new project – they usually pop into my head as I’m walking between work and home or while watching television.  However, sometimes it does take me a long time to finish these projects…

75. I enjoy beauty in all of it’s forms, whether it be beautiful landscapes, a particularly attractive vehicle/building, or a lovely woman.  I’m always looking around, taking note (which makes me very lucky that I have an understanding partner who says, “You can look but you better not touch”).

76. My favorite city in the entire world remains San Francisco, California.  I have very fond memories of visiting the Bay Area during my childhood and early adulthood – my parents live there when they were courting and the early years of their marriage and I’ve always had relatives in the surrounding towns.  My last lengthy visit was in May 1997 although I did have a several-hours-long layover at the airport on my way to China in 2003.  I miss attractions such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Ghiradelli Square; I long to return someday, perhaps when my daughter is old enough to really appreciate how beautiful the city is.  My father and sister live in Kansas; I’m not as interested in taking my wife and daughter there – not as many things to see and do as in ‘Frisco.

77.  My second-favorite city is London, England, and this would be my third choice in a foreign destination to show my new family (number two is Singapore). 

 

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