natalities

and so has another year passed in my macrocosmically insignificant but personally gratifying life. the age of 29 was almost immediately preceded by the purchase of my first ever pair of glasses, which does nothing to ease the feeling of being within a hair's breath of the archetypically dreaded 30 (though i am certainly looking forward to at least the first half of my tercery decade with no small amount of anticipation, sitcom sentiments by and large to the contrary).

this birthday was a multi-tiered affair. the prologue to the natal comemoration (sp?) entailed numerous homemade birthday cards from my homeroom (Tammy supervised the cardmaking). they were beautiful! if i can discover the secrets to putting images on this website, i will certainly scan some of them in to give you a gander. a few students also gave me presents. one was a homemade bookmark and dried goods sculpture, another was a notebook that two students had drawn beautiful pictures in (homemade presents are ALWAYS the best). a few students gave me a bear, and i put it with the menagerie of bestowed stuffed animals behind my desk. the bear's name is Fritz Chocolate, if you are interested, and he has developed a companionship with Fluffy Pink and Ernest Prescott IV.

at the end of the school week we had a get-together. and what a way to bring it in, by golly! it was perhaps one of the loveliest and most unexpected fetes since my brother planned a do for my 16th. Tammy was the author of the whole delectable evening, in cahoots with the other teachers at suratthani school. she had invited Alfy and me to her house for a quiet dinner. we mosied on up to her place and were greeted by a covey of colleagues on her front porch, which was quite a surprise indeed. i then got the scoop on the evening's prep. it had been planned for two weeks and everyone had been most meticulous about keeping me in the dark. three folks had been delayed just before the party due to a speech competition adjudication, so Tammy had asked Alfy to stall. he turned every light on and left every screen door open in the apartment, which he knew would get my goat and prompt one of my little "we need to talk for a second" lectures. once we got to the ground floor, he "suddenly realized" he had forgotten to put on his shoes. masterful.

but the fun didn't stop there! oh no! it turns out i had blindly stepped into the midst of an unfolding murder mystery when i stepped through Tammy's gate. the others were so taken up with their parts during the ensuing few hours that it was difficult to follow the actual clues as they were divulged. it was rampant glory! Alfy and i finally left at about 2:30am after having pledged (drunken) undying love for numerous attendees and, of course, requesting a place in heaven for Tammy.

a few hours later Alfy and i rousted ourselves to phase 2 (yes, you heard me, PHASE II) of the birthday extravaganza. we pulled our sorry selves out of bed and tramped to the bus station to get to ao railay. there were six of us heading over, and it took an interminably long time. after a best forgotten journey, we skidded straight onto that beautiful beach and collected photons for a timeless stretch. there were more tourists there than last time, but the bungalow fares were actually lower than they had previously been. we met up with Judy and her friend Chris, wiling away a languorous evening in good company. i am beginning to second Bruce's sentiments that krabi is the most enchanting area in thailand (though kanchanaburi and kao sok are close seconds, let me tell you!). the next morning, Scott and bruce and i went to the diamond cave (WOW!). the experience was heightened by the fact that Scott, a science teacher at our school, had NEVER been inside a cave before. how cool a weekend is that? we swam some more and eventually headed back to civilization. Jane and Giselle spent a great deal of their time in their room, a swanky affair that was 1/5 its usual price and therefore actually affordable. does life get any better?

so much goodwill and sweet sentiment on and near my birthday has galvanized my love for this little life . . . this wee speck of a thing that gives me so much joy. the greatest success with which this Year of 29 could meet would be to make the people i know and love feel as special as they deserve, if only for a few moments. my greatest birthday present is you. it is a blessing.

blessings to you, wPublishhatever your age (though so far 29 is looking like a very good age. i highly recommend it).

monkeying around

ao railay was the destination of our most recent escapade. the group defining "our" in the previous sentence consisted of neil and bridget visiting from south africa and ajarns bruce, jane, judy, giselle and i. bruce and judy both taught at suratthani school a few years back and have kept in contact with each other since then - bruce from suratthani and judy from krabi. i had not formally met judy prior to this weekend, though i knew her by reputation as a free spirit and very consciencious teacher. she has been volunteering for the tsunami response networks in krabi for two weeks. two weeks of working around the clock within sight/smell distance of exposed corpses in psychologically exhausting conditions would be enough to drive most to distraction, but when we met judy on saturday she seemed imbued with more spunk than most show on their best days. her demeanor was due doubtless to the cocktail of her indomitable spirit and bruce's sagacious presence. with the addition of judy to our suratthani entourage, we were ready to explore whatever awaited us on ao railay.

and good heavens, what a shock! giselle, jane and i were just on ao railay one month ago, and the place has been transformed by its lack of tourists. the beach itself has not seen much obvious damage, mostly stripped vegetation along the beach and limited bungalow damage. but we were struck by the ghost-town ambience. there were so few visitors that bungalows were forced to cut their prices by 50% in some cases during its high season. one month ago it was difficult to find a place at the bar. but saturday three waiters came up simultaneously and asked where we would like to sit. if you are in the area and wondering where to travel next, GO TO KRABI!! it's beautiful and bungalows hurt by the tsunami need your business.

not that we weren't grateful for the beautiful high-season weather, seclusion and sub-low-season room rates! we immediately headed for the beach after checking in to our previously unaffordable rooms. on the way, a number of us bought drinks and chips. this was to prove a futile purchase. a few yards down the path, one monkey appeared into view. everyone stopped to look and bless our good fortune at seeing a monkey so close. then another monkey came. and another and another until they had us surrounded. one monkey started towards dtom and her potato chips. when our hairy cousin got within biting distance, dtom yelped and dropped her bag of chips. the monkey grabbed the chips, and the whole gang bounded up to the treetops. amazing.

almost as amazing, in fact, as the two battered ships awaiting us at the beach. they were two beautiful antique-looking boats docked as annexed restaurants to the audaciously-priced resort nearby. both of the ships' masts and mainsails fell victim to the tsunami and were to be found sticking out of the water some way down. the deck dressings were smashed up ashore, and one of the hulls was topside. given the ready evidence of the tsunami, bruce asked if there had been any casualties or fatalities. amazingly, there was only one fatality, a tourist who was caught in a cave temple along the beach. apparently the guard and three of his coworkers saw the approaching tsunami and blew their whistles, giving everyone enough warning to reach higher ground.

after a quick swim, we headed back for a lovely dinner before heading to the other side of the isthmus for a nightcap. as we were wandering along the boardwalk checking out our bar options, a rather redfaced foreigner sauntered over to us and kindly informed judy and myself that the food around here is good, it's just that the tiramisu (this is what we believe to be his mangling of the word) scared everyone away. we hope he was just very, very drunk. either that, or that's one hell of a frightening dessert menu.

sunday was our pre-appointed day to check out the notorious lagoon which happens to be bruce's favorite place in thailand (and for someone who has lived here for 14 years, that's saying something). we had been warned that the climb was sporadically arduous, but no one managed to tell my legs (they still hurt 24 hours later, by the way). it was the closest thing to rock climbing i had ever experienced, and i might have turned back if it hadn't been for the others. there are three vertical portions of the trail, though there is a rope to help steady oneself.

but can i just say how very WORTH IT the hike was! we emerged into a lagoon shore entirely encircled by cliffs. the lagoon is tidal, so we hit it at the perfect time. the water is just deep enough to swim and float in, and looking up at an encapsulated sky is a requisite experience. i thank my aching legs for taking me into and out of such an enchanting place. i don't even mind losing a pant leg to the adventure (boy, was i a fashion statement as we walked back to the beach!).

my birthday is january 29th, which i hope will be a good enough excuse to get a group together to ao railay again. how can you beat a fantastic weekend at an unprecedented bargain that helps local economies damaged by the recent tsunami? i mean, really! all are welcome, get your bus or plane tickets today, because the 29th is coming up!

until i see all of you on the 29th at ao railay, may the world treat you right, my two devoted readers.