cool breezes

Woke up this morning and followed the usual routine: rolled out of bed, got on flip flops, went to bathroom to tame mad hair with an elastic, shuffled to kitchen and put kettle on for Ji's morning cocoa, went to open the patio doors, and - - - an actual cool breeze came through into the apartment. My skin wasn't sticky, the air wasn't humid, the sky wasn't burningly bright. It was a greyish, cloudy, breezy, cool day. I was thrilled. Yesterday, the weather was also stellar. Phet, Ji and I walked to the corner for breakfast (noodles with crunchity bits of pork rind for me, fish 'n sticky rice for Ji) and I exclaimed FIVE times about how great the weather was. Sunny, breezy, cool, lovely. Although I really don't miss having cold hands and feet, there are days when I would pay twenty bucks to have Phet walk in the house with chilly cheeks for me to kiss, or to see Ji wrapped up in a scarf and wearing a toque. I don't want the sun to set at 2:30 pm or to have to endure weeks on end without sunshine, but just a wee nip in the air would be so delightful. We are thinking about going to Hanoi in December and I'm already excitedly anticipating bundling up and snuggling my family on a motorcycle. But for now, I can certainly make do with a little fresh air and not-so-sweaty skin.

Yesterday Alex and I went off on an epic Weekend Market extravaganza. We actually didn't buy that much, but we explored two new sections that I'd never seen before. We found the funky antiques 'n hand-dyed cotton clothes aisles, and made deeper forays into the teeny-sparkly-t-shirts area. Alex bought a teeny tiny adorable haltar top and a wee stuffed lizard; I bought Phet's birthday presents (which will be delivered on Tuesday), some birthday boxes for Ji, and a couple of hand-carved wooden toys for Grampa and Uncle Rob. The toys are very cute: mobiles of little chickens that, when the wind blows, appear to be pecking at the ground. Perhaps hard to imagine - I'll try to take a photo later. Hm, had a dream that Ji and I were watching TV at Uncle Rob's place. The night before last I dreamt I was in Madonna's closet trying on her clothes and found the world's most comfortable pair of warm-up pants. Intriguing.

In the evening we headed out to Moody's restaurant, a great Lebanese place here. We stuffed ourselves with hummus and schwarma, feta salad, falafels, grilled meats, and (as Ji put it) "nicely textured rice". We tried to go see Wallace and Grommit afterwards, but the theatre had changed their schedule. So, Ji and I went home to watch Part 2 of Baby Geniuses. How can Jon Voigt do films like that? Didn't he win an Oscar once? Shame, shame! Meanwhile, Phet and Alex went out dancing and drinking at the RCA club neighbourhood. A great time was had by all. [Bangkok-23-October-2005]