First Rain of the Season

In Bangkok, it stops raining around September. October-February are completely dry months. That is why, it gave us immense joy when we experienced today, the first rain of the season.

First Rain of the Season

Although the rains do pose some inconveniences when it comes to commuting or walking the dog, overall, I have missed them.

These are the songs I listen to, when it rains

But where is the dog supposed to poop now?

Books I read in January 2023

As promised, I took up reading again. In this post, I present the books I read in January 2023, in sequence.

When I started reading (after a gap of many years), I was in throes of medication withdrawal. Reading books made things easier.

I went to few of the biggest book stores in the city and was disappointed to see the slim selection of English books available, especially from Indian authors. I was also surprised to see how expensive English books were. Eventually, I decided to buy a Kindle instead.

I was a bit apprehensive and thought that maybe after so many years I may not be able to read after all. but to my relief, it all came back pretty easily. Below are the books I read in January 2023.

BookAuthorMy Rating
The LowlandJhumpa Lahiri9/10
Interpreter of MaladiesJhumpa Lahiri6/10
The NamesakeJhumpa Lahiri8/10
Unaccustomed EarthJhumpa Lahiri9/10
The God of Small ThingsArundhati Roy9/10
Books I read in January 2023

The book I chose to start the year with, turned out to be one of the best books I have ever read. The rest of Jhumpa’s books all had common themes. Expatriate Bengalis in America, cheating Bengali wives, neglected parents, children adjusting to their new lives in America. Also, people who don’t seem to do “real work’ after moving to America, but studying for years, writing thesis and dissertations.

From there, I moved on to Arundhati Roy. Initially I found her writing more complicated and convoluted. The timeline was disjointed. Also I couldn’t keep track of the 20 characters introduced within the first 2 pages. But eventually the novel gripped me and I enjoyed reading it.

Be back next month!

Pathetic Fool-6

Taking my series further, here’s Pathetic Fool 6 from Bangkok.

Pathetic Fool 6

Of all the places, this one works in my own company. And is an Indian to boot, adding to my shame.

Has lost almost all of his hair but has still tried to salvage the situation by doing this very pathetic comb over. Why people just don’t shave their heads before reaching this stage is beyond me.

Bonus points for that fancy orange loop to hang his mask from his neck.

New Year’s Resolutions

I am not one for New Year’s resolutions. Never made them. However, recently I have been quite unhappy with how some aspects of my life have been going. So I decided to make some changes. And now seems like a good time to start as any. So here are my New Year’s Resolutions for 2023. Nothing too ambitious

  1. I will try my best to cut down on my Anxiety medication. No set targets, no time bindings, will just do my best without being miserable and see how it goes.
  2. I will stop wasting money this year. I will spend money as much as I want, within my means, but will stop wasting like here and here. I have made a comprehensive list of the mistakes and lessons learnt from last year. I will also try to start saving some money. No set goals.
  3. I will not consume alcohol except when the occasion calls for it. Not mindlessly when I am getting bored and have nothing else to do.
  4. I will listen to music more. Will give new music a chance.
  5. I will shave my head for good once I get a SIM card replacement and spend 0 effort or money on my hair. Finished.
  6. I will take less sick leaves.
  7. I will be more grateful for what I have in life.
  8. I will cut toxic people out of my life.
  9. I will start reading books again. Again, no set target. Will read as much as I enjoy.
  10. I will lower my time on Social Networks – especially Quora and Reddit. Will replace the time mindlessly scrolling these apps with book reading. Will lower my screen time.
  11. I will close the rings on my watch at least 6 days a week. Will run at least 4 days a week.
  12. I will call my parents, especially my father more.

Let’s see how many I can actually go through with.

Anxiety Medication Withdrawal Fail-3

Continuing my series about my battle with anxiety, this is a new year special. My latest medication withdrawal fail and third in a year.

So I planned a vacation to Hua Hin for new years. I am anyways not completely at ease while travelling, but this time I topped it by forgetting to take my medication with me. Epic fail! when I realized this, I considered scouring the local pharmacies, begging for prescription medication like a junkie. But since it was only 2 days, I decided to swallow the pill.

Night 1/Day 1

I had a decent amount of alcohol to numb me down and delayed my sleep as much as possible. Once I was really sleepy, I went to sleep. Luckily I fell asleep relatively easy. However, I woke up after a few hours drenched in sweat with my heart trying to escape my chest. I tried going back to sleep but the rest of the night I was in an out of sleep. While being acutely aware of my heartbeat.

Woke up the next day tired. The day was better than the night but was jittery throughout. Sometime during late morning, my hands started shaking. After having some Coca Cola and chilling at the beach, I felt much better. By evening I was almost normal.

At night we went to a New Years Eve party on the beach and I consumed alcohol to distract myself from the impending time I have to go to sleep.

Night 2/Day 2

I went to sleep at 11. Luckily, I fell asleep without much issues, but the fireworks at midnight woke me up. I spent the first few hours of 2023 tossing and turning in bed. I was tired and I was sleepy. But I just couldn’t fall asleep. It was like a brick wall. Eventually I fell asleep but most of the night I was in and out of sleep.

Next morning I woke up tired but otherwise OK. Drove back home and went for a run to clear my head as soon as I came back. Feet felt like bricks while running. Resisted the temptation to pounce on my medication immediately.

In the evening, I figured that I am likely already past the worst phase of the withdrawal so why even go back on my earlier full dose? I had half a dose (0.5mg, compared to 1mg original dose) and went to sleep very tired.

Sleep Changes

One thing I noticed is that my sleep had turned very light, especially in the second half of the night. I was able to fall asleep and sleep well for the first few hours, but for the second half, I was in a strange state. It felt as if I am awake, but I am not because time passes too fast. But I have awareness of things around me, daylight etc. I was miserable, but decided to stick to it to avoid another medication withdrawal fail.

Nights 3/4/5

Nights 3/4/5 went equally poorly. I could only sleep for the first few hours each night and woke up mid-way and failed to go back to proper sleep again.

The days also started seeming gloomier and sadder in general. I even gave up alcohol temporarily.

On day 6, I decided to chalk this up as a medication withdrawal fail and upped my dose to 0.75mg, which is still lower than 1mg, my original dose. With 0.75mg, I am doing more or less okay, something I can live with.

Overall, not a complete withdrawal fail, as I was able to reduce my dosage, by a bit. Baby steps, baby steps.

Creative Cannabis Stores

It is somewhat shocking, the rate at which Cannabis stores have popped up in Bangkok, ever since the legalisation. Seemingly overnight. Suddenly I am surrounded by more Cannabis stores than 7 Elevens.

Below are some that I see on a regular basis that I found creative.

High Society Cannabis Club

This is the one closest to my home. This started out as a small nook above a donut shop, but they eventually bought the property next door for their own place.

Kush House

The first time I saw this place, I thought it was a play area for children. But no.

Kush House Cannabis Store
Kush House Cannabis Store

Green Day Dispensary

I see this every day on my way to office. I find the name funny

Green Day Dispensary
Green Day Dispensary

Happy Star CannaBistro

CannaBistro hahaha.

Happy Star CannaBistro
Happy Star CannaBistro

Mary Jane Cannabis Dispensary

Nothing special, just reminds me of my friend’s band in college.

Mary Jane Cannabis Dispensary
Mary Jane Cannabis Dispensary

Sukhumweed

Nice plan on the words Sukhumvit and Weed

Sukhumweed
Sukhumweed

Wonderland

This is my favourite. It has no pretensions about what it is selling. Everything is clearly labelled.

Wonder Land
Wonder Land

As per Google, there are 241 cannabis stores in Sukhumvit area alone. Thais are extremely shy about smoking up, so it remains to be seen how long all these stores last on expat business alone.

How to be an Assamese

Following up on articles on how to be a Tamil, Gurgaon-ite and a Delhi-ite, this one is about how to be an Assamese. Information gleaned from observing many friends from that region.

  1. Wear a goatee.
  2. Listen to heavy metal music.
  3. If you can, grow long hair.
  4. Smoke weed all the time.
  5. Say “Maksudai” and “Kela” to address incidents you don’t agree with.
  6. Go to study engineering/architecture outside Assam and pick fights with groups of Biharis and UP bhaiyas.
  7. Pretend that famous people were born in Jorhat and try to convince people of the fact.
  8. Sleep at 3 AM and wake up close to noon.
  9. Talk to fellow Assamese in Assamese while people standing with you who don’t know the language look befuddled.
  10. Be obsessed with the flesh of pigs.
  11. Pronounce “ch” as “s”.
  12. Shoot water out of your mouth to impress girls.
  13. Look at Bangladeshi migrants with disgust and treat them as filth.
  14. Insult every other type of food except Assamese food.
  15. Relish pigeon meat.

Some fun Manglish words

Last week, I travelled to Malaysia for the second time. Malay is a tough language to crack. But one thing that makes it easy is that they use the same Latin script as English. So you can at least read the words. This is how I came across many Manglish (Malaysian English) words, which seem to be funny variations of standard English words.

Manglish Commuter=Komuter
Manglish Commuter=Komuter

By the way, these Manglish words are not only used as slang. They are part of official communication and signboards everywhere. Below are some of them I found funny

English Word/PhraseManglish Variant
StationStesen
CentralSentral
Minar (Sorry, I know)Menara
RestaurantRestoran
ClinicKlinik
ActionAckshun/Ekseyen
Is it?Izzit?
What to doWatodo
LiftLif
DiscountDiskaun
CylinderSilinder
MailMel
ProjectProjek
OperationOperasi
SecuritySekuriti
AccessAkses
PolicePolis
CabinetKabinet
UtilityUtiliti
SystemSistem
PremisesPremis
ParkingParkir
CanteenKantin
LobbyLobi
PantryPantri
IntercomInterkom
TelephoneTelefon
TrainTren
CommuterKomuter
ProcedureProsidur
CoachKoc
CantonmentKentonmen
ElectricElektrik
GalleryGaleri
RespiratoryRespiratori
PhilharmonicFilharmonik
CalorieKalori
ExpressEkspres
EscalatorEskalator
MuseumMuzium
ZoneZon
ReceiptResit
MotorcycleMotosikal
ExpoEkspo
TheTeh
LorryLori
LampLampu
MonorailMonorel
TicketTiket
MinuteMinit
BrakeBrek
CommercialKomersial
AccessibilityAksesibiliti
CounterKaunter
ImmigrationImigresen
CustomsKastam
BusBas
HoseHos
AccountAkaun
KioskKios
Common English words/phrases and their Manglish variants

Pathetic Fool-5

Taking my series further global, here’s Pathetic Fool 5 from Malaysia.

Pathetic Fool 5
Pathetic Fool 5

I discovered this one at a Skybar in Kuala Lumpur. She brought with her a framed photo of herself and set it on the table before being seated. Throughout her dinner, she kept looking at her own photo and asked her lover to take pictures of her, with her framed photo.

I am not sure whether she was crazy or just vain.

Pathetic Fool 5
Pathetic Fool 5

iPhone 14 Pro first impressions

So I upgraded from my iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 14 Pro. Here’re my takeaways after 1 day:

The camera module is huge. There’s a perceptible slope to the phone when lying flat. The phone looks stupid without a case. Like it has sprouted a tumour.

But the cameras take very nice macro images. Will get creative with this in the days to come.

It is and feels heavier than 12 Pro. I am glad I didn’t get the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which I almost did. My little finger is already suffering.

FaceID is noticeably faster.

The dynamic island is cool. Even the parts with the FaceID sensor and the camera are touch sensitive. Hope more apps develop cool features for it.

Dynamic Island, iPhone 14 Pro
Music, Dynamic Island
Dynamic Island, iPhone 14 Pro
Charging, Dynamic Island
Dynamic Island, iPhone 14 Pro
Lock Screen, Dynamic Island

Although, the notch on the older iPhones had become invisible to me, I still can’t un-see the dynamic island. Also, the Dynamic island sits a bit lower on the screen compared to the older notch, so app content starts even lower. This change is just barely perceptible.

Mail app, iPhone 12 ProMail app, iPhone 14 Pro

The always on display is cool. Time will tell how much battery it uses up.

The display is cooler (as in colour temperature). I think my iPhone 12 Pro Display was unnecessarily warm.

The 120Hz display difference is visible, especially during screen animations and when using the 12 Pro.

Will sell the iPhone 12 Pro once my eSIM situation is sorted out, hopefully in March 2023.

Earth bound misfit, I