the guy below in the photos is kind of my hero...

i stand on my balcony all the time, but i have never seen anyone up on that ledge like i did just now. and it's not the fact that this guy is actually up there, but that he found one of the best reading spots i've ever seen in my life.

i'd really like to give him a high-five---thanks, guy.

dignity.

lately, i've been thinking about this word a lot.

walking through the streets of bangkok and having the opportunity to take in the daily lives of some of its honest, hardworking, everyday people has taught me so much about the meaning of dignity, and what it takes to truly posess and bestow the word.

i need to channel my irritation into more positive outlets...

thank god for phone calls with friends in NYC to put things into perspective.

my front yard.

"i thought about you.
i think about you.
you and me."

dexter from the movie one day.

i like the quote's simplicity.

when cooking shows no longer tell you the measurements of ingredients, does it mean its intention is purely entertainment?

"---nice and glittery and gorgeous.."

sandra lee on "food network holiday's holiday party episode."

this was free on itunes this week.

sometimes, when i'm walking alone at night through the streets of bangkok, all i can think is "what the fuck am i doing with my life??"

i'm heading to cambodia again in a few hours to acquire a new visa.

i'll be going to the same thai/cambodian border-town that i went to last time (link HERE and HERE), poipet, and will be spending a few days there while i wait for all the paperwork to go through at the thai embassy, which is a few hours away.

poipet is a major border checkpoint for people traveling through southeast asia. even when i went to visit all the temples in angkor-wat, cambodia, my friends and i passed through poipet to get to our destination (link HERE). i've been told that it's also where large quantities of drugs and whatnot are also smuggled into thailand. in addition, this is where new york times journalist, nicholas kristof, once deliberately purchased an underaged cambodian prostitute for about $200 in order free her from the brothel where she was forcibly working as a sex slave.

anyway, having to go here alone isn't the most exciting thing because there's not much to see or do, and there's pretty much no internet service anywhere. on my last visa run there, my hotel had one communal computer with internet, and it was an inconvenience for the workers to set it up for me. even when i did manage to sign on, i swear it was like going online in 1998.

but alas, i need me my visa and will make the best of my 3-day excursion by staying in my hotel room and hopefully getting some work done. plus, i'll have access to a tv, which is a rarity for me so i'm sorta excited (it's the little things in life that count!).

have a great rest-of-the-week.

all i need is a goddamn chance.

the weather here is heavenly during its winter. there's no humidity, rain is non-existent, and the skies sometimes goes for days without seeing a single cloud.

i have the nice breeze coming through my open balcony-door and window in addition to the sun and sound of traffic on petchaburi---it's making it impossible to not enjoy the day.

happy monday.

gratitude.

this bar will always be very special to me here in bangkok.

i've got to stop drunk dialing.

i'd rather have thai amphibians over nyc cockroaches ANYDAY.

here's a mini dogs-of-bangkok update with a special guest appearance from mr. frog.