Jonas and I went on a little trip to Udon Thani, Thailand with one of my friends. We were waiting for Nick to return from his golf trip and we had 2 days to kill, so I decided to take a trip instead of just staying at home and feeling sorry for myself.
We took a bus. It only cost $2.00. Jonas didn't have to pay because he sat in my lap. Hooray for babies!
We hung out with my friend's friends most of the time. Most of them were expatriate men with Thai wives. They called them "wives" but really they weren't officially married. One of the most interesting men was 61 years old and had lived for a long time in Burma and also in Madagaascar. In Burma he trained the Karen minority tribe in special operations. He taught village girls how to be snipers. He extracted venom from King Corba snakes and put it in syringes for them to stab people with. They would walk by and stab someone with the needle, and the person would think they had been bitten by a bug or something. Soon after they would be dead. He had many fascinating stories. He is going to write a book.
One of the men was "married" to a transvestite. I asked my friend, later, "Why is it that transvestites are so beautiful and glamorous...even more so than the average woman?"
My friend very wisely explained, "Because transvestites don't have to raise children, cook dinner, or take care of a house. They just get to go to the beauty salon and then they seduce men who pay for their extravagant lifestyles."
"Oh yeah. So they get to live the lives of movie stars."
"Yes."
"And I guess that is why movie stars age so well too."
So many mysteries of beauty were explained in that conversation.


My friend has plans to move to Udon Thani, so we spent most of the time trying to make arrangements for her, and get her in contact with the right people. She wants to open a bookshop. She is entering her 40's and is despairing that she doesn't have any security in her life. I am excited for her bookshop prospect.


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Look at this picture: doesn't Jonas look like such a little man? He is not a baby anymore. I feel like this picture is looking into the future, what he will look like in 5 years or so.

Monday, Dec. 05, 2005 at 12:19 PM