News Flash: Xerarch Asian Tour commences with a CD release party at a Korean BBQ in downtown Sriracha, Thailand!

I begin this post by letting you know where I am right now.
Thailand!!!!!!
More specifically, I'm sitting in the living room of my friends Chinnatas and Ta, and their daughter Tammy. Here I sit listening to Thrice, The Artist In The Ambulance, and typing on a laptop that is on the top of my lap. My friend Andrea sits 10 feet away watching a movie with Bum, (pronounced Boom) a friend of ours who is also staying with the Taksirisab family. I love it here, it's great, and now I will commence with the news.
I have taken a little over 300 photos since my arrival, but I have a lot more to take. There's so many interesting faces and interesting places to document, I am glad for a 1Gb card in my digiton, and the ability to burn CD's here since I'm already half done that card. HAHAHA, Ding-Dong, mai khap?
Last night I went to church at VBCI, the school I once attended here in Sriracha, and it was freaking AWESOME to see all my Thailand friends together in one place. It felt like a party, and church was very upbeat and amazing. I forgot how good it is there... I quite enjoyed the worship and the message and just being there in bare feet on the 4th floor of a building 300 meters from the gulf of Siam, overlooking a picturesque island temple just offshore. The sun was setting, and the lighting was incredible!! Unfortunately my camera was sorely incapable of capturing the majesty of the setting, but I tried regardless.
After church I talked to my friend Fee who showed up late. (An aside: 'Stare at the Sun' by Thrice is a great song). Fee along with a few others planned a trip to a Korean BBQ for supper after church, and I found out about it after it was official plans because I was in absentia; talking to more friends I suppose. Seven of us went. What fun! seriously, if you've ever been to a Korean BBQ you know what I mean. The last time I was at one of these things was my last time in Thailand, and I was forced by the two Thai gentlemen I was with to eat all sorts of unnatural meat products, all BBQed by yours truly on a hot plate in front of me at a table. So I figured that this time I could maybe get out of eating things like pig lung or goat liver or whatever else you could imagine... (yes I am sparing you some of the details about some of the 'meat' options; and yes meat is in quotations for a reason). My companions were feeling generous, and I was allowed to get away with eating primarily chicken and pork. ('Hoods on Peregrine' is also a good song... now you know how fast I am typing, or slow...). While eating and BBQing, the topic of good music came up. We talked about all sorts of bands, both American and Thai, and somone brought up the fact that I had brought along a bunch of Xerarch CD's to give to my friends. Aua was sitting beside me and I was obligated to give him one as well. I gave him one and we talked some more as a group, and suddenly a familiar sound was being thrown from various loudspeakers around the open-air restaurant. Yes, that's right. Downtown Sriracha got to listen to Xerarch: Overhead There Floats a Cumulonimbus. I'm not gonna lie to you, I was feeling a bit odd. Not odd as in sick, though some of that meat was fairly - how to say... - unique, but more odd like conscious off all the beady little Thai eyes pointed in my direction. I can't really call it embarrasment, or even modesty, it was just odd. Odd. Yeah, there's no proper word for it. Interesting.
So yeah, and elephant was there. Yup. Just standing on the sidewalk, gremmin' to the sounds of 'A Concise Apology'. How Bizzare!?! (not how bizzare like that cheesy song from a few years ago, more the legit bizzare. I think looking at that elephant induced one of those dreamlike states where you almost realize that you are actually in a completely foreign place, and saying that things are different is kinda like saying that the sun is kinda sorta far away a bit. It just cannot be described. I love that about this place, and I love that about that elephant. Sorry Mom, I didn't get a photo. Next time.
So yeah, after we finished eating we walked across the road to the Night Market, and man, what an amazing experience. Now, I'm talking mostly about the phenomenal t-shirt designs. 'Dog so sad' was probably my favorite. There's a black dog on the front, and it says 'Dog so Sad', and the dog kinda looks dejected, and it's all in black, and the dog is sad, and it SAYS that. Ok, I totally can't even describe it to you, I'll have to just go buy it. Probably there's another 15 amazing designs, all Engrish, all amazing, and if I decide not to buy them all, I'll have to take pictures of them for you. Then we found these shoe-painter people, and I was very tempted to order a pair of fake chucks and get them to paint Bubbles (the powerpuff girl) on the side, but I think maybe I've decided not to let that happen. I'm still in this city for another week though, so maybe I will change my mind by then, and come home sporting mad kicks!... I will be cool then for sure, oh yes, I will be cool.
Thrice rules, but listening to this kinda makes me miss Hamish, my roommate back home. He likes them too, you see... and so I... you know. Hamish, wherever you are, my friend, this one goes out to you: ROCK-ON MAN!!!!!!!! Do the dishes and clean the tub before I come home or I'll destroy-ificate your face-head. Joking!!! Love you!!!
So yeah, the night ended with me making plans with a 17 yr old Thai girl to take me shopping and buy me some wicked-awesome jeans. I'm gonna look like the hot Asian guy at UCFV. Hey, Bryce and the Vball ladies, ya'll know what I mean. Man that guy is hot!!! And with my Thai pants and 'Dog So Sad' tshirt, I'll be able to hang out with him!!! ROCK!!!!!!!!!
Ok, I guess I'll end the post with that... or maybe this. I went to Koh Sichang today, an island close to Sriracha, and we hung out on the beach, chillin' mad styles. So relaxing, and then we came home to Sriracha (Dear Mom, sorry for calling it 'home', it just kinda feels that way right now) and I went to EA Sriracha and had an Ice Blended Mocha and took an insane moto-cycle taxi ride back to Teddy's house where I now am. Seriously, I kinda thought I was going to die on that ride here, we were swerving in and out of rush-hour traffic on the highway doing a good 80 km/h. I kinda sat on the back, trying my hardest to look non-chalant, just sucking on my mocha, all the while praying for safety; fight or flight juices flowing like water on the side of the road during the worst storm of the year. Seriously, I think if it came down to an accident, I would have dug up some sort of super-power adrenaline move and jump onto the roof of a passing car, Tony Jaa style, cause hey, I'm in Thailand, chai-mai?? But anyways, I'm here, I'm safe until the next adventure.
So, until the next adventure, take care, and always brush your teeth. But never swallow the water cause you'll get sick.
later.