Well, it's over for this round.   I'm back home in Pennsylania.

I started out by cleaning out my apartment and throwing away and giving away piles of stuff. But if you haven't worn it or used it in 6 months, how necessary is it anyway? And most everything I own is worth less than the shipping fees, so why bother? I have very little sentimental attachments to anything, just move on.

I flew to Bangkok from Khon Kaen last Thursday. Noon, a lecturer from MSU, gave me a ride to the airport and we had lunch before I left with a slightly overweight suitcase. The bus to Bangkok is 12$US , a flight is 70, and that 9 hour bus ride on an often smelly bus (even the VIP busses) just doesn't cut it anymore.

My dear friend Jim picked me up at the airport and I am so glad I didn't have to hoss those bags any farther. I was pampered at Jim's lovely home in Ban Kapi for 2 nights, then I went down to Pattaya and on to Ban Saen to spend 2 days with my friend Ji at her home.

We got a fish pedicure in Pattaya! Oh my God, what an experience! It feels like you have electric socks on while hundreds of these little Japanese fish suck the dead skin cells off your feet. What a feeling!

I had a job offer at Anglo Singapore International School in Bangkok, which was lovely. At $55,000 B/month, the salary was almost double MSU but still not great for an International school. I debated a long time and decided that if I couldn't decide that was a sign that I wasn't thoroughly into it.

Ji and I visited Rose Marie Academy in Nonthaburi and were very impressed. The kids were beautiful, the school lovely and everyone was so gracious, right down to giving us a ride home on the school bus! I think I would like to work there but enrollment is down so prospects may be iffy. It would be great to have my own classroom again and I could employ many of the little tricks you perfect over the years. I miss telling my stories, among other things.

I spent 2 lazy days shopping and schleping around Bangkok,staying at Bangkok Christian Guest House, mailing yet another box of junk home and spending 1/2 a day out at the Immigration office doing my 90 day reporting.

I was reading some pretty disturbing things in the paper and online about the upcoming political rally in Bangkok. Schools were closing, animals being moved from the zoo, medical tents set up, ammunition stolen from an army installation, and so on. I don't think that any violence will erupt (but who knows?) but the last time this happened they closed Suvarnabhumi airport for 9 days! So I moved to a gorgeous hotel, Thong Ta, 5 minutes aways from the airport, thinking that if the Red Shirts gridlock the city, at least I can get to the airport Friday morning. ( Since I always buy the cheapest possible ticket (with a seat on the wing), I have virtually no chance of any kid of changes whatsoever.)

I shopped some more, went to the night market by motorcycle taxi, ate too much, watched some pirated movies,read, and generally lolled around.

The trip home was long and butt painful, a couple hours' delay in Newark, but here I am!

Hope to see all my friends soon and catch up. This house is a ghetto, I don't think anyone picked up a broom since I left. So between that and income taxes, I've got my days planned.