shamash says...

Jungle Jane Meets Dumbo

Dragon Queen and I in the "jungles" of northern Thailand.Since a turkey was nowhere to be found, and since an attempt to bring the Thanksgiving tradition into Y. would be futile without an oven or a bird that Uncle Larry just shot out in the corn field, I decided to simply forget the bird and all the trimmings. Instead, I was grateful to spend part of my Thanksgiving holidays on the back of a beautiful, gray, lumbersome jungle beast.

Jimi Hendrix in Thailand

My first night in Chaing Mai: too many Mai Tais, not enough tuk-tuks, just enough Italian wine by the river.

Best of all? Jimi Hendrix songs and R and B.

Mr. Pesto and I couldn’t have been happier to be out of Y. and in a town where there was decent, live music and restaurants we’d never visited. We were like two kids in a candy shop.

Turkey-Day in Thailand

Well, folks, I'm off to Chaing Mai with the sole intent to ride an elephant.

Happy Thanksgiving, Confederates and Yanks alike!

:-)

For a Laugh

The people over there at Google sure do have a sense of humor. God love 'em.  :-)

Google the word "failure" (without the quotation marks).

Click "I feel lucky."

[Update: via Michiel's comment below, I see that this is a googlebomb. Who knew? Fascinating read!]

Things My Mother Taught Me

Over at We are NOT amused, I found this list, which made me laugh. Add your own, if you like. :-)

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

In the End, It Could Be the Coconut That Gets Ya!

Sometimes,

the greatest wisdom

isn't found in

the teaching of the

great spiritual masters, but

right out there in your front yard.

 

 

Sometimes

wisdom speaks as loud as falling coconut, and you

can't do anything more than

laugh and laugh and laugh.

 

 

On Twin Towers, Bird Flu, and Quarantine

quarantine: from Merriam-Webster

a : a restraint upon the activities or communication of persons or the transport of goods designed to prevent the spread of disease or pests

b : a state of enforced isolation 

Today, expat teachers at the international school where I work received contracts for the upcoming school year. We have six days to sign, indicating whether we will return for the next academic year. This time around, there’s a bit of a glitch, and it has to do with a word in our director’s cover letter: “quarantine.”

A Year in the Life of Shamash

This week, "Shamash Says" turned one year old. There was no candle on a cake, but instead a birth: to twins! Shamash stayed up till the wee hours of the morning creating two sister professional blogs, and they have all their fingers and toes.

"Shamash Says" began as an experiment to see if a non-tech-geek English teacher could maintain a personal blog. A year ago, Shamash barely knew what the word “blog” meant, yet alone how to act on one. So she entered the blogosphere a bit naïve, and completely unprepared for how blogging would revolutionize her life.

To this day, Shamash knows the names and faces of but two friends who blog. The rest: she met in the blogosphere.

Here’s what happened this past year.

Spotted

Sometimes, it pays to go out.

Or at least go to a good bakery.

Here's why.

Talk Doesn't Cook Rice

The real writer is one
who really writes…

Work is its own cure...

You have to
like it better than being loved.

- Marge Piercy

Shamash did a lot of talking this weekend when she summoned up the energy to break out of hermit-mode and re-introduce herself back into the tepid waters of Y. social life.

But, she quickly learned that “talk doesn’t cook rice”.