23 years...

Woke up yesterday at about 7:30 for the 8:30 start of PD day. On my way to the staff room I passed the the Thai library where all the Thai staff were meeting. They asked me to come in and stand in front of them and I wasn't really sure what they wanted, then they started singing happy birthday and gave me a cake with a candle on it. I had forgotten that it was my birthday. Kru Nong gave me a book that she and some other staff and grades 6-7 students had written in. It was fun to see what the students had written. One girl, Kaimook, said I was a good teacher for her, but I don't even teach her so I got a kick out of that. Another kid, Yuji, said that even if some students don't like me he wanted me to know that grade 7 still wants to learn from me. So the day got off to a good start. We talked with Mr. Paul, a British guy who has been working in Thailand for 20 years for about 3 hours. Went to lunch at Sohm Baht's (the usual place). Some people told him it was my birthday so he brought out some Tom Yum Goong for us. In the afternoon we went around and shared areas we had improved in and areas we still needed improvement in. Spent the late afternoon and early evening getting ready for the Thanksgiving dinner. Went over to Craig and Michelle's and helped peel potatoes and stuff. Every staff member signed up to bring something and it turned out pretty good. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salads, casseroles, deserts, drinks, etc. Tim and Nathan got out some of their fireworks and we had fun watching that. All in all a very memorable birthday. This morning I went to Big C and got a month and a half's worth of contact lenses. Then after lunch went downtown to pick up my suit. I got a dark grey suit with a blue shirt with a diamond-like pattern and a white shirt plus a red tie. Looking forward to trying it out for the Christmas program.