World leaders are usually forcibly removed because of corruption or maybe a sex scandal, but Thailand's Samak Sundaravej is believed to have been the first PM to have lost his job because of his cooking. Illegal bets are now on as to how long his replacement will last – Somchai Wongsawat is the brother-in-law of Thaksin Shiniwatra (ex-Manchester City owner, ex-Prime Minister, currently on the run from the law) and even more under suspicion of just being Thaksin's proxy.
Benji's encounter with Occipital Neuralgia isn't over, but neither did it hang around long. The main symptoms have disappeared remarkably quickly, but she's going for regular assessments.
I'll be having the next two months off work, then working December–April on/off for 28-day periods. Yesterday in Bangkok I was offered a place on a CELTA course, which is basically TEFL for adults. It will run from 6-31 October. It's an intensive month which will mean little or no activity here on LJ, but I might just squeeze in the odd update if I get the chance. The thing I will find hardest, which I must really begin now, is to put away the casual reading for a month and get my head down for some serious study. There is suddenly a mountain of work to do, and I'm still undecided if should get a temporary apartment nearer to the college instead of taking on the commute from Benji's place in Bangkok's suburbs.
The house sale has been dragging on since January, complete with one absolute timewaster at the worst time to sell a house in living memory. But all being well I should complete next week. I've already put a deposit on our new house in Bangkok, so when I complete the paperwork I may be getting the keys to the new place very soon, which will be a huge distraction from what I really ought to be doing.
An even bigger distraction, or worry, will be the constantly declining health of my mother. She has been very close to the edge so many times this year, but then after scaring everyone once more she stages yet another comeback. She's 78, and we joke that she's had more encores than James Brown. The cancer is everywhere but she's not in pain due to a carefully calibrated cocktail of drugs. She can barely get around and is on portable oxygen generators 24 hours a day. If it was anyone else, she wouldn't be here now. She will probably make it through October while I'm away, but, well, you know.
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peteryoung
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Date: 2008-09-19 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-19 08:23 pm (UTC)