Close Watch on Teens on Day of Love

From The Nation, published 14 February 2008:

As Valentine’s Day unfolds, authorities will be keeping a close watch on teenagers out of concern that their expression of love will turn sexual.

Published on February 14, 2008

“We will check entertainment venues to prevent children from having pre-marital sex,” Akradej Sukrachart, an education official in charge of monitoring student behaviour in Khon Kaen, said yesterday.He said premarital sex could lead to many problems.

The Cost of Love

From Bangkok Post, published 14 February 2008:

Love is in the air - and the cash registers. Young lovers are ignoring the sluggish economy and higher cost of living big time, and will be spending 2.16 billion baht for Valentine’s Day.

The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce says that is up 15 per cent over Valentine’s Day spending last year.

Happy Chinese New Year

Today is the official beginning of Chinese New Year and the fireworks have been going off all over Phuket since last night. I still had to work today but our son’s school had a holiday; my wife is selling barbecue at the Wat Chalong fair all week. It is now the “Year of the Rat.”

Year Of The Rat:
1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2030
People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.

Our Soi

Actually, calling our road a soi ( ซอย) is wrong as that word is typically reserved more for a lane or side-street than a major thoroughfare. Among most farang, however, it’s referred to as a soi. The correct term (and the one on the street sign) is actually thanon (ถนน, pronounced tà-nŏn) which is the word for a “street,” “boulevard,” “avenue,” or “road.” It runs off of Chaofa West Road (which, technically, is a highway — ทางหลวง, taang lŭang). Thanon Luang Por Chuang actually connects Chaofa West with Chaofa East Road, if you follow it long enough, another designated highway.

Temple Fair at Wat Chalong

Once again it’s time for the annual fair at Wat Chalong which is always held in February, usually in conjunction with Chinese New Year. The first night this year was this past Thursday and it will continue until 8 February.

Tonight, my wife is debuting her special barbecue — a variety of meats with Heinz sauce forming the core of the recipe — taking a break from her usual fishballs (lôok chín bplaa). We spent an hour or so this afternoon setting up; she’s off the main concourse and hidden a bit but the location is across from a very popular noodle soup “restaurant” (they paid 184,000 baht for the seven days in that spot and I’m told they do make a profit each year despite such a high rent).

Happier Teachers, Better Education

From The Nation, published 27 January 2008:

Along with better pay, the limits on working hours and class size will give a boost to the ongoing reform

Published on January 27, 2008

An important part of the ongoing education reform is the gradual adjustment of salaries and allowances linked to professional competence and specialised responsibilities, which is aimed at improving the socio-economic standing of government-employed teachers relative to members of other professions, and to keep them motivated.

The rationale is that teachers are at the forefront of the effort to transform the country’s outdated, inefficient and poorly-run educational system into a progressive, adaptable and well-functioning one. As such they deserve to make a decent living that is commensurate with their dedication in educating the young.

Parliament Elect Samak as New Prime Minister

From The Nation, published 28 January 2008:

People Power Party’s leader Samak Sundaravej is elected as the 25 th prime minister of Thailand on Monday.

Samak beat Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, nominated to be the candidate for the premiership by his party’s former leader Banyat Bantatthan, with 310 to 163 in the voting in the Parliament.PPP’s Secretary General Surapong Suebwonglee nominated Samak as the candidate..

The result of the voting showed that three MPs abstained including Samak and Abhisit and one was absent.

The roll call voting was held after MPs disputed for 2 hours and 40 minutes as to whether each candidate for the prime minister, should be allowed to address their policies.

After this, House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat will propose Samak for Royal endorsement. Samak then will form the his government.

Ten Thousand Tracks Played

I just played track number 10,000 according to my account at Last.fm. The song was “Khun pun satarn pandin” (ขุนพันธ์สะท้านแผ่นดิน), the second track on disc 2 of the latest Carabao studio album, 25 Pee Loong Kee Mao (อัลบั้ม 25 ปี ลุงขี้เมา) released in September 2007. What’s especially remarkable is that I logged song number 5,000 just over one month ago on Christmas Day. Those first five thousand took a bit under four months to accomplish.

Passing By My Old Blogs

I’ve been a part of the blogosphere for three-and-a-half years now. I was definitely the most prolific writing my first blog, the original ‘Burque Blog, where I posted 393 entries from June 2004 through the end of February 2005. I resided in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the time hence the name. BTW, I lived in the Northeast Heights section of that city (on the lower slopes of the Sandia Mountains) so that explains the subtitle. The blog received some 2000 hits before I moved it to a new domain.

End of Mourning Sparks New Header

My school has ended it’s mandatory mourning dress code for teachers — yellow shirts can now once again be worn to work on Mondays — with the conclusion of the initial 15-day period of sorrow for the passing of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana. Although we are still within the voluntary 100-day mourning (and the cremation has yet to occur), I have decided to remove the black bands and ribbon from Baan Jochim Phuket and add a more traditional header.