I can't be exposed to my thoughts

I just realized I can post to my blog, but not view my own blog while in China. All blogs have to be resistered in China so I'm very surprized they're letting me post at all. So could someone shoot me an email and let me know if this is going through?

Thanks!

The office men's room

While in a stall in the rest room the second week I was in Thailand I suddenly started hearing all women's voices. Knowing the way I am, I immediately feared the worst and decided to wait until they left so I could leave the women's bathroom without having to deal with the combination of the language barrier and an incredibly awkward situation. Well I waited then left and was glad to find out I'm still somewhat sane and was in the men's room after all. But what I couldn't figure out was why I heard women's voices so loudly. This stayed a mystery for the next week or so until one day at a urinal a woman walked right in. Given my circumstance I was sure she was the wrong one, not me, until she began washing the sinks. So mystery solved.

I'm BACK!!!

Sorry for the brief break in posting. I had a crazy week with work and preparing to go to China. Well I'm in China here and despite this blog's name, many Chinese stories will be shared. This is the first time I've had a chance to get online and we have to be up at 4:45. So I just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and write a few quick stories from back in Thailand.

The Great Wall

My revenge

Since Natalie tried to kill me I'm going to let you know something I learned about Natalie. She decided to get her fortune told by this old man on the street. After close examination of her palm by candle light, a numerical analysis of her birthday, and consulting several ancient books he determined Natalie has had many boyfriends. I don't know if Natalie got her money's worth, but I thought it was hilarious.

Summoning the Powers of the Universe

Natalie tried to kill me

Natalie and I were eating dinner at Sudo, or as I like to call it, the expat cafeteria, when I decided to eat something I thought was a green bean. She asked if I was really going to eat that, I said yes, and put two beans in my mouth. They weren't beans; They were chillies. It was possibly the hottest thing I've ever eaten. I was out of water so I tried to order some more while Natalie laughed at me. Well when you pay $8 for a meal for two you're not paying much for service so you don't get a lot. Eventually I asked the guy sitting next to me if I could have some ice. He was nice enough to give me some but then he talked with us for about 20 minutes. Usually the fact that I couldn't speak would put a damper on conversation, but since he was an old man enjoying nothing but a bottle of wiskey, two bottles of tonic water, and a small bucket of ice, he didn't need much input from either of us. I blame Natalie for all of this.

The Expat Cafeteria

The man's got talent

I wish I would have caught more of this on video. I was thoroughly impressed with his spinning while pouring. At least this gives you some idea of this man's pouring talent.

Parking

Believe it or not, this is not a road, it's a parking lot. How do the cars get out, you might ask. Well apparently people feel free to block someone else in if they leave their car in neutral. When the blocked person needs to get out they simply push the car (usually cars) away. I"m very impressed with this system and its overall acceptance.

The parking lot of the Chatuchak market