Current Mood: SLEEPY and BLANK (suffering serious brain atrophy here)

Currenly Playing

Elephunk
By Black Eyed Peas

~*~
"People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love?"

Black Eyed Peas [Where Is the Love]
~*~

As I was driving home today, I saw a frail old man sitting on the side of the road with a plastic cup in his hands and his head between his knees. It was absolutely heartbreaking, he looked so tired and so, so fed up with the world. Where are his children? Where is his family? Where are his relatives? Is he really alone in the world? Why can’t Thailand take better care of their senior citizens? He was hardly a special case in Bangkok’s vast, bustling metropolis, but seeing him and his very weary eyes made me want to go out there and give him a big hug. Oodles of people were walking by him, and there he sat, unnoticed, as much a part of the street’s scenery as a trash can or battered bus bench. I sat at the traffic light for about three minutes, and not one single person dropped a coin into his cup, or even bothered to stop and notice him. I know that many Bangkokians are only too aware of the underground businesses that go on around the streets of Bangkok (some people have groups of kids sit and beg on the streets all day long, collect money from unsuspecting sympathizers [usually tourists], and then hand the $$$ over to the evil kidnappers at the end of the day, leaving the kids with zilch).  Partner in shady business or not, on a whim, I did something rather stupid and not very city-smart: With the car running and parked at a red light (I figured no one could drive off with my car since all the cars were jam-packed anyway), I jumped out of my car, emptied all the coins I had in my wallet into his cup (17 measly baht), and then raced back to my car just as he held his hands up in a wai and bowed his head in thanks. Poverty and lavish prosperity sit side by side and come across one another everyday in Bangkok, and it’s not like I’ve never seen a beggar before, but I guess it was the lack of sleep and foggy brain-inducing post-exam syndrome that made me act impulsively and brood moodily over the absolute unfairness in the world.

Gah, how depressing.  Sorrrrie folks.  Have you heard Peacemaker’s “Kit Teung” song?? Ahh, it’s such a pretty song! Nothing but quiet simplicity and a beautiful voice. OK, so the lyrics are a little cliche้ and, if in English, would probably sound a lot like a bad Backstreet Boys song.  In Thai, however, it sounds so heartfelt. I’ll try to find a clip of it and put it up here because it’s such a gorgeous song.

The exam today was yung ngai koh mai roo. It wasn't that difficult for me, but it certainly wasn’t easy peasy either. It was blah, I guess. All I know right now is that I'm going to go take a looong nap and recharge my batteries before hitting the books again for tomorrow's exam. Oy.

Patrick tried to warn me about panda eyes last night... too late, Paddy! 

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