PB #20 Worka Wakka Wakka

My latest obsession is a sex and relationship advice podcast by Dan Savage, called the “Savage Lovecast” (see www.thestranger.com/savagelove). Thanks to Jenna for bringing it to my attention. All of the weekly episodes are available for downloading (back to October 2006). While I was in New York in April and May, I listened to it on the subway on my way into work, and my fellow passengers were probably miffed by my blushing and guffawing in equal measure.

In one episode, a female student called up Dan to get advice because she had just become the sex advice columnist for her college newspaper. That call got me thinking about the jobs that people end up in, sometimes with a lot of choice and sometimes with none. Most of the photos here run along that theme, but with some additional pics peppered in to also update those of you for whom this blog is the main way to update you about life in Patrickland.

By the way, I was in New York for April and May, turned 40 while I was there, and took almost no photos of it. If anyone has photos from that period of my life, please send them my way.















Than Shwe is the dictator in Burma. A group in northern Thailand, Lanna Action for Burma (see http://lannaactionforburma.blogspot.com) has launched the “Panties Power” campaign to send him into early retirement. There is a superstition, common in Burma, that if a man comes in contact with female underwear, the experience magically takes away the men’s power. Playing on this belief, LAB has organized a campaign asking people to send women’s undies to their closest Burmese embassy and they call for panty bombs to be dropped on the new Burmese capital, Naypyidaw.















On New Year’s Eve, I practiced my next profession: Diva. And Diva’s got to have her boa, 'cause that's how I roll. It only lasted a couple of minutes, but give me twenty, thirty years and you know I’ll be fierce.















One of my favorite traditions in Thailand is lighting a paper lantern for good luck – a nice way to start the year.



















Here, the lantern is taking away our regrets from the previous year.



















The boa is now a permanent fixture at Sudsanan – it somehow goes well with the cowboy hat, which I wouldn’t have predicted.



















For most of January, I helped to conduct a training on transitional justice for (mostly) young Burmese activists. It wasn’t all seriousness – here one activist displays some interesting geometric shapes with his limbs in a version of Burmese traditional dancing.















Lindsey was here for about ten weeks, and with an occasional break for Italian food, we spent almost every evening at Sudsanan. The staff and regular customers are still asking about her and hoping she’ll be back soon.















Lindsey was an enthusiastic guest and got excited over the little things.















And she tried to charm my ex-, but he clearly only has eyes for me, or maybe it's just razbliuto (listen to the Savage Lovecast #66 to figure that one out.)



















Lindsey was here to up her game in the massage profession. There was no lack of willing practice bodies, and the general consensus was that Lindsey has the gift for it.















I got a new motorcycle in March and it has taken quite a bit of work to get it in good working condition. I’ve become friends with the mechanic, and the other day he grilled me about whether I have friends in Chiang Mai, how much I socialize, etc.. Then he invited me to come by the shop to have some drinks. I couldn’t quite read what was going on, and then after a beer he said I should come by any time but that I should provide the beer next time: he’s always there but rarely has the cash for drinks.

I found the offer of friendship rather sweet if a bit surprising (especially from a straight guy with tattoos up and down his legs, arms, and back). It occurred to me that he may have met quite a few foreigners in Chiang Mai who are lonely By sitting and having a drink at the shop, I also got a sense for how in-the-moment he lives, and how future-oriented I am, trying to save for retirement, pondering long-term career paths, and such. But maybe he thinks about the future more than I am assuming – a good friend of mine here who makes about $200 per month pays almost half of that on a mortgage for a house outside of Chiang Mai that he doesn’t even stay in. He says he keeps paying on it so that he knows he will always have a place to live, income or not. And the mechanic’s life, with an occasional bottle of beer after a day’s work, probably seems luxurious across the border in Burma, where 90% of the population live on less than $1 a day. By the way, no picture of the motorcycle or the mechanic on this posting.

But this photo got me thinking about my bike. This is just to demonstrate that the lesbians love their Vespas.



















And sticking with the vehicle theme: this is the first emergency medical vehicle I’ve seen that announces on its hood that the driver is also a player.















On a rare evening when I did not end up at Sudsanan, I went to Riverside to hear some live pop music. I ran into a friend who is a clothing designer, and he is responsible for my favorite pair of pants – a sort of denim, Thai fisherman pants design that adds some batik and a row of small white shells down the side. That’s why I call him “Fancy Pants."















On a recent trip to Mae Sot, on the Burma border, I was thinking about the mechanic and subsistence living when I came across this scene of a rice field. On first glance, it looks kind of romantic, with the lush green rice stalks, the mountains in the background, the miles of sky. But when I took a good look, I also saw the soaking wet feet, constant stooping over, and blaring sun in the middle of the day.















And to end … I hope this guy either meditates every morning or has good medication for blood pressure. Can you imagine the stress of being an egg-delivery-person and using this motorcycle with a side-cart to do it?