INTERVIEW with MALCOLM

Well, can you believe it , someone has done a interview with me on thier blog: Steve along with his friend Golf write a blog called Thailand Musings , It's about Thailand . People ,Places , and Thing. It's a great blog and always full of good stories and information , fresh and current and , stuff that most expates and visitors alike will relate to and find of great interest. The project at hand at the moment going on at Thailand Musing is interviews with various Thailand bloogers and their likes and dislikes and views on expate living in the LOS , this week was my turn and I hope that you the readers of Retired In Thailand and Loving It will take a moment or two and give Steve's blog a look-see and read an interview with your's truly , all this can be found by simply clicking on this link ---http://www.thailandmusings.com/malcolm-retired-in-thailand-and-loving-it/ hope you enjoy the interview and Most of all a new blog to follow if you haven't found it before . Malcolm

"UP TO YOU"

I'm sure if you live in the LOS or have visited for any length of time, you have heard this expression. For those of you married ,or living with a Thai lady , it is an all to common and many times frustrating statement. Where do you want to eat ? " UP TO YOU" , what do you want to eat for dinner ? " UP TO YOU", what do you want to do this week-in " UP TO YOU" do you like this shirt, ? should I buy it ? "UP TO YOU . how much money do you need to give to your folks this month ? UP TO YOU . How much money do you want to put in the envelop for the merit making ? UP TO YOU". It seems like me that the Thai's are sooooo afraid of loosing face , that almost anything you ask them ,that would cause them to take responsibilty for the decision made ,will always ,( 99%) get a" UP TO YOU ". Now this (when I first moved to the LOS) use to bother and upset me to no end , but after a while, you just go with the flow and say to yourself "Mai Pen Rai ". It works wonders and certainly keeps your blood pressure down to normal and causes a lot less stress in your life. It also keeps you from making a snap decision , because if you are wrong or, it was not what they wanted you to do or say and it doesn't go the way you planned, and turns out to be a mistake, you will get THE LOOK and sometimes a critical "SOM NAM NA" roughly translated "I TOLD YOU SO" or " I KNEW YOU WERE WRONG" .SOOOO after a while I have learned ,when you hear these words " UP TO YOU" , that sometimes (most) it's best to change the subject and move on to something else or wait 15 min and give them a chance to think about it and come up with a way to make it look like it was their suggestion or their question in the first place . If you are honest, you know that they ( the Thais ) have to be right. I give them a few hints and facts and let them come up with the decision and that seems to save face and also get the answer that I wanted in the first place .
Have you ever experienced this sort of thing ? What do you do or answer when you hear these famous Thai words "UP TO YOU" ?
This was just a thought that ran thru my head as I was having my coffee this morning and was sitting there thinking ,where should I plant the new tree we bought at the market ?and all the time knowing that if I ask Ciejay that I would hear the words "UP TO YOU" Sooooo to say face and act like the BIG BOSS of the yard ,I planted it where I thought was a good place , only to have to dig it up and plant it somewhere else and this time I said (very quitely) to myself "Som Nam Na". Ha Ha Ha.
Malcolm

GROWING OLD

Getting old is not all bad and there are lots of pluses and benefits to getting older , and if I can remember some of them I'll share them with you , just can't think of any right off the top of my head . ha ha ha

A friend of mine, Stan found these somewhere and sent them to me , I laughed a little and then relaized that most were true and good advise , hope you get a laugh or two also , after all whats a day without a little laughter. See if you can relate to any of them (just for fun )

First ~ Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Second ~ The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Third ~ Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

Fourth ~ When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra,and carrying out the garbage , and cleaning the yard every Saturday , before your folks would let you go to the Sat. movie picture show(as we use to call them ) .

Fifth ~ You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

Sixth ~ I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

Seventh ~ One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Eighth ~ One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

Ninth ~ Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Tenth ~ Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf

And finally ~ If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old. Whats a day without a little laughter.

I'm sooooo glad that Ciejay is younger than me and tells me all the time that I'm not getting older , "I'm getting better" and she plans on keeping me around for a long time , and thats just one of the reasons why , I'm RETIRED IN THAILAND AND LOVING IT . Malcolm

GOOD RULES TO LIVE BY

A REAL CHEROKEE INDIAN and AMERICAN COWBOY

Will Rogers , All American- Cherokee Indian, His father was a judge and a senator and one of the writers of the Oklahoma Constitution, His Mother Mary American Schrimsher Rogers was descended from a Cherokee Chief ,he was truly an All American Indian and American Cowboy.

WILL ROGERS---- He was always one of my favorite real life cowboys and he like Ben Franklin and Mark Twain are remember for some of his funny quotes and humor. I hope you enjoy reading them .Malcolm

Will Rogers used to say, “My ancestors didn’t come over on the Mayflower, but they met the boat.” Will was proud, button-poppin’ proud, of his Indian heritage. His father, Clement Vann Rogers, was a Cherokee senator and judge who helped to write the Oklahoma Constitution. Mary America Schrimsher Rogers, Will’s mother, descended from a Cherokee chief, easily mastered modern society, music, literature, etiquette and good humor. Trained by a freed slave to rope and ride, Will became a hard-riding Indian-cowboy. He rode the range and joined the long, dusty cattle drives from Texas to the Kansas rail heads. His physical prowess in precisely and expertly flipping heavy rope coils demonstrated his training, fitness and strength. And it was with that same deft touch with a lasso that he created a top vaudeville and cinema persona, “The Cherokee Kid."

from a site on the WWW.

Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was probably the greatest political sage the USA has ever known. Enjoy the following Quotes about how to live your life, I think some good advise for Most of us. Me again


1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.
2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
3. There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works.
4. Never miss a good chance to shut up.
5. Always drink upstream from the herd.
6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.
8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation.The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.
9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
11. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back..
12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral:When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

BACK TO NORMAL

It's not like I don't enjoy the HOLIDAYS ,and all the excitement and food and visitors and family dropping by , without calling and all the folks you have to leave home to go visit to keep peace in the family and to keep your wife happy and all the shopping and money spent for gifts for folks and family that I never see or hear from except at the holidays , and relatives that I never knew existed , who just happened to be in the area and dropped by for a meal and a place to spend the night and shower and be on their way and I never understood a word they said , but " they my relatives" and that is all that matters . Oh and I almost forgot the elected officals that came by for the holidays with their little moon cake , to be sure that my Thai wife votes for them next year . I LOVE IT ALL buttttt, I'm so glad that it's over(THE HOLIDAYS), for another year, and I always look foward to next year , but, for now, I can get back to my normal life here in the LOS. I really missed my hammock time and all the honey do list and that make up a large part of my day.

Malcolm

In reality I had a great holiday and enjoyed every minute of it , and it was fun to see all the folks we only see once a year and hear stories of their lives where they live and what they do during the year. I was writing the post above , from the way I use to think and feel , I was BAA HUMBUG sometimes , but that was before RETIRED IN THAILAND and LOVING IT

Malcolm and Ciejay