Fort Minor...

Last night was the 50 Cent / Fort Minor concert. I left at about 5 with Melisa and Karen and met up with Linz at the venue, which was outdoors. A couple of Thai rapppers played first. The real show started at about 8 with Fort Minor. I went into the concert knowing only one Fort Minor tune, but I was excited because I've enjoyed Mike Shinoda's stuff with Linkin' Park. His show was very entertain with lots of live instruments. There were two guys playing violin and one on the cello, 3 rappers, a dj, a drummer, 3 guys on vocals, and all were pretty sweet. 50 cent was not as interesting as it was just him and G-Unit rapping to music played by a dj with no other instruments. Here's my favourite song I heard that night by Fort Minor. It was a slower song and the 3 vocalists belted the chorus and it was awesome. Here it is.

______________________
"Where'd You Go?"

Where'd you go?
I miss you so
Seems like its been forever that you've been gone

She said somedays I feel like shit
Somedays I wanna quit and just be normal for a bit
I don't understand why you have to always be gone
I get along but your trips always feel so long
And I find myself trying to stay by the phone
'Cause your voice always helps me to not feel so alone
But I feel like an idiot, working my day around a call
And when I pick up I don't have much to say, so

I want you to know its a little [messed] up that
I'm stuck here waiting, at times debatin'
Telling you that I've had it with you and your career
Me and the rest of the family here singing

Where'd you go?
I miss you so
Seems like its been forever that you've been gone
Where'd you go?
I miss you so
Seems like its been forever that you've been gone
Please come back home

You know, the place you used to live
Used to barbeque with burgers and ribs
Used to have a little party every halloween
With candy by the pile but now
You only stop by every once in a while
I find myself just filling my time
With anything to keep the thought of you from my mind
I'm doing fine and I'm plannin' to keep it that way
You can call me if you find that you have something to say
And I'll tell you

I want you to know its a little [messed] up that
I'm stuck here waiting, at times debatin'
Telling you that I've had it with you and your career
Me and the rest of the family here singing

Where'd you go?
I miss you so
Seems like its been forever that you've been gone
Where'd you go?
I miss you so
Seems like its been forever that you've been gone
Please come back home

I want you to know its a little [messed] up that
I'm stuck here waiting, no longer debatin'
Tired of sittin' and hatin' and making these excuses
For why you're not around, and feeling sorta useless
It seems that one thing has been true all along
You don't really know what you've got till its gone
I guess I've had it with you and your career
When you come back I won't be here and you can sing it

Where'd you go?
I miss you so
Seems like its been forever that you've been gone
Where'd you go?
I miss you so
Seems like its been forever that you've been gone
Please come back home

Please come back home
Please come back home
Please come back home
Please come back home
______________________

Ayuttaya...

Woke up this morning to my third alarm clock at about 4:35. Its a good thing I set three of them or I would have slept in. Met up with Craig and left at about 5. Took a taxi to the train station and then about an hour train ride to Ayuttaya, the former capital of Thailand way back in the day. Its main attraction is various wats and ruins and stuff. We arrived at about 7 and rented a songthaeow/tuk-tuk hybrid. The driver took us around at various highlights of the city. Saw some old wat ruins, as well as some current wats, lots of Buddha dudes etc. One of the wats had probably like a hundred Buddha dudes surrounding it. Kinda interesting. We caught the 11 am train back and were back home by about 1. Most Saturdays I would probably be just getting out of my house by this time so it felt good to make use of a Saturday morning. Later in the afternoon went for a massage with Craig and Michelle. They stopped by Big C on the way back so I'll hook up with them later and make some plans for the evening. Ayuttaya pics should appear on Flickr soon.

Dreamworld...

Ready to Puke
Originally uploaded by Shaggy Z.

Yesterday the junior high went to Dreamworld. We left the school a little before 9 and arrived there at about 10. One thing we noticed were the lax safety standards, which is typical of Thailand. For example, on the hanging coaster, then don't ensure that the bars have locked. Also, you can take whatever you want on the ride with you, and there are no rules saying to keep your feet and head in. Last year, Bank was on this ride and after it started realized that his bars hadn't locked. Another thing you notice that every other ride blasts Dragostea Din Tei by Ozone. And of course they don't censure any of the music they play so you even though the place is designed for kids you hear music with frequent swearing. Another fun ride was the Scorpion, which is one of those that spin so that you get stuck to the side. Mike and I went on opposite sides so we could take video of eachother. Since no one was in line we were on for like 10 minutes, so we heard Dragostea Din Tei 3 times in a row. The Viking was similar to the Flying Galleon from West Ed, basically a boat that swings back in forth. Mike and I were again on opposite sides so we make puking faces for eachother to take pics of. Fun stuff. Another highlight was Snow Town, which features a snow hill that you can ride down on a sled. It felt good to have cold hands! After lunch we did Go Karts but they were a little slow and a grade 8B student crashed right in front of me causing me to T-bone him right off the first curve so I was behind to begin with. Oh, believe it or not, right in the middle of Dreamworld is a lingerie store. Seemed kinda weird to me, but hey, Thailand is the land of weirdness. The bus ride home was uneventful and we got back around 3:20.

Congrats...

I just wanted to say congratulations to Jordan and Erin, who got engaged this morning during flag. Jordan teaches K3 and Erin teaches Grade 5. They are both from Edmonton but met last year here in Thailand. Jordan came back this month at Christmas to teach for the remaining 3 months because we were short a K3 teacher. So we had a bit of excitement to start off our Tuesday!

Oasis...

Left yesterday a little after 4 with P'Sit, Samuel (gr. 8 student) and Art (friend of P'Sit). The concert was outdoors in a giant parking lot, so it wasn't the most comfortable sitting down between bands. Met up with Mike, Vicky, and Carmen later on. Heard a Thai band play, then Deus, then next was Ian Brown. I particularly liked the last song Ian Brown played, F.E.A.R. I wasn't really familiar with Ian Brown before but I had heard this song as a remix by Paul Oakenfold. Next up was Franz Ferdinand. I wasn't familiary with him either until I heard "Take Me Out" which I recognized because it has received a lot of radio play. The last act was Oasis. Considering they were the highlight of the entire concert they were pretty mediocre. They received quite a few boos and jeers from the people in my section because they were boring. Their newer stuff wasn't received well but their well known songs from the 90s were loved by the crowd. A good day but I felt pretty tired when I got home. Decided not to go to the second day of the concert which is happening as I type, but instead gave my ticket to Jordan. Tomorrow the junior high is going on a field trip to Dream World. We were supposed to go last semester but then got hit by a 3 day monsoon which almost caused them to cancel school for a day.

My Deliverer...

Here's a song we sing once in a while in chapel that always touches me. I was looking up the words and learned that the artist who wrote this song, Rich Mullins, died in a car accident shortly after recording this song and some others on a microcassete which was to be part of an album called "Ten Songs About Jesus." This microcassete was the basis for the album "The Jesus Record," recorded by A Ragamuffin Band. Anyways, I thought that was interesting.

______________________
"My Deliverer" ~Rich Mullins

Joseph took his wife and her child and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile,
Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singin'

My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

Through a dry and thirsty land, water from the Kenyon heights
Pours itself out of Lake Sangra's broken heart
There in the Sahara winds Jesus heard the whole world cry
For the healing that would flow from His own scars
The world was singing

My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

He will never break His promise - He has written it upon the sky
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

I will never doubt His promise
Though I doubt my heart, I doubt my eyes
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by

He will never break His promise
Though the stars should break faith with the sky
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming.
______________________

Foxes and Dogs...

Speaking of good times, here's something quite fun that Mr. Craig showed me. Open up MS Word and type =rand(199,99) then hit enter.

Good Times...

Back in the day when we got our new computer (32 MB RAM, 2 GB HD) the Windows 95 cd had a couple music videos and this hovercraft game. I remember watching the videos with Anna and Dave, thinking it was pretty amazing to be able to watch video on a computer. One of those songs was "Good Times" by Edie Brickell. I was reminded of it this afternoon when I turned on the radio to one of my favourite English songs station and heard it playing.
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"Good Times" ~ Edie Brickell

You don't even have to try
It comes easy for you
The way you move is so appealing
It could make me cry
Go out driving with my friends
In Bobby's big old beat up car
I'm with a lot of people then
I wonder where you are

Good times, bad times, give me some of that
Good times, bad times, give me some of that
Good times, bad times

I don't want to say goodbye
Don't want to walk you to the door
I spend a little time with you
I want a little more

Good times, bad times, give me some of that
Good times, bad times, give me some of that
Good times, bad times, give me some of that
______________________

Happy Valentines...

Today we have a new photocopier. The old one would jam pretty much whenever it felt like. Sometimes it would pretend to jam just because it got bored of jamming and then make you open every openable compartment to pretend to remove the pretend jam. The new photocopier looks older then the old photocopier. Today is Valentine's day. Lukpad (gr 8) gave me a few candies, Mac (gr 7) gave me some sort of chocolately looking thing, Tey (gr 7) gave me a heart-shaped pack of Ferrero Rocher's, and Milky (gr 7) gave me Belgian chocolate. Oh, and today I had my first gym class. Normally I would have been teaching gr 6 math but they were on a field trip so I got stuck with the P.E. today. We played capture the flag for an hour which is pretty tiring in this heat.

Third Time's a Charm...

Today is Macha Bucha day. Some sort of Buddhist Thai holiday. Being our last day off until the end of the school year. I headed back to Ko Samet with 10 other teachers and Scott, a former GES teacher from Wisconsin that now teaches at a college. We left a little after 4 on Friday. The trip there was fairly uneventful. Taxi to Mo Chit, Sky Train to Ekkomai, bus to Ban Phe, and Speed Boat to Ko Samet. We arrived at a little after 10 and rented rooms at the Sea Breeze before heading down to the beach for some music and dancing. For the first night we rented two rooms, one for the 6 guys and one for the 6 girls. Saturday morning they decided that they would double our rent so we ended up all staying in 1 room to save money. 3 beds, 1 couch, and 12 people. Saturday afternoon we hung out at the beach. Our customary game of 500 with the frisbee saw Mr. Sammy owning thanks to his new amphibian shoes. Saturday night was the usual hanging out by the beach and dancing. Sunday morning they tried to kick us out of our room but Scott put his foot down and they let us stay. Sunday was cloudy most of the day and it started pouring at around midnight so I got pretty soaked on my way back to the guesthouse. Woke up this morning at 8, caught the 10 o'clock ferry to Ban Phe and the 11:40 bus back to Bangkok. So next weekend just a four day week, then a two day concert this weekend so this week should go by fast. But feeling tired, so I better make sure I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow and then try to catch up on some sleep.

MOE...

Every once in a while the MOE (Ministry of Education) comes to our school. They have the power to shut down a school if they feel it necessary so its turns into a suck up festival. Kids are told to be nice to eachother and tie their hair back and tuck in their uniforms. You walk down the hall and notice that a previously empty room has magically been transformed into a first aid room with 2 beds. Teachers are interviewed and expected to say all kinds of good things about the school. These visits kind of irritate me cause they seem so political and phony.

Today was Bank's birthday, a boy from grade 7. He wanted to buy pizza for the class to have in Math class which is right after lunch. So he asked if he could go to pizza company to order but since we aren't supposed to let the kids leave the school I went with him. The other grade 7 boys came with as well. One of them called me their hero because I went with them and said I was so nice for coming with. That kinda made my day. The grade 7's are a great bunch of kids, and as you can see are fairly easy to please. Anyways, grade 6 math in 15 minutes so I gotta run!

Wonderwall...

Here's an Oasis song. I'll see them in concert in a couple weeks.

______________________
"Wonderwall" ~ Oasis

Today is gonna be the day
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realised what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat the word is on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
But I don't know how

Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day?
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realised what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About vou now

All the roads that lead you there are winding
Ail the lights that Iight the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me?
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
______________________

Mr. Craig...

I've been meaning to add a this link to my blog. Check out my buddy Craig's photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/2tuggies . Good stuff!

Senor Picos...

Its becoming the time of lasts. Every time you do something you wonder if it will be your last time doing it. One thing I don't mind having a last for is speaking at chapel. This past week was my last chapel message. It was the third installment of my chapel-speaking trilogy. Since Christmas we have been doing parables for chapel topics. I spoke about the parable of the unmerciful servant. I spent about 12 hours making a powerpoint animation about "The Unmerciful Teacher." It features Mr. Craig, who wanted to buy his wife a car for her birthday. He arranges a loan from Master Sammy and then goes cruisin' past various landmarks with his wife to the tune of "Cruisin' Together" by Gwyneth Paltro and Huey Lewis. His car gets totalled and a year later Mr. Tim and Mr. Nathan come to collect the money. Mr. Craig can't pay but the master decides to cancel his debt. Mr. Craig then catches Draft, a grade 6 student, littering so he fines him 10 Baht (we're supposed to fine students 10 Baht for littering). Draft can't pay so Mr. Craig beats him with an empty water bottle and puts him in detention for life. Master Sammy finds out and has Mr. Tim and Mr. Nathan break every bone in Mr. Craig's body twice. Anyways, it went over quite well with the students. Craig, Mike, Michelle, and Lindsay all have birthdays in February so we went out to eat last night to celebrate. We went to this fancy Mexican restaurant called Senor Picos of Los Angelos. The food and atmosphere was great. All but two of the North American teachers came so there was about 18 of us. Probably the last time that many of us will all be together for an event. Today I left here at about 3 for downtown with Mike and Craig. They went back to the tailor to get their suits loosened a bit. We then went over to Scott Moody's (former GES teacher, goes to same church as us) and met up with Jordan, Erin, Kari, and Michelle. He lives in a penthouse on the 6th floor of a building so we played Texas Hold'em on his rooftop in downtown Bankok. It was pretty beautiful with the half-moon and the city lights and the planes flying overhead and the Sky Train rushing by. The 13th is our last day off so I plan to go to Koh Chang with a bunch of people. If we can't leave here in time we may end up going to Koh Samet instead. The weekend after that is the Oasis concert and the weekend after that i think is the 50 cent concert to is looking like I have an interesting February ahead of me.