Rop's Reflections

Lying in my bed ready to go to sleep. Just reviewed material for tomorrow class. Glad that it’s weekend again. This work week had again tested my patience and tolerance. Sometimes life seems to be about enduring pain.

Going to make the weekend great. Cooking, going out, working out.

Up early again today, 5:30am. Have been sleeping and waking up a tad early. I think it’s good for my body.

Work week has been long. Being in traffic for 5+ hours yesterday took a lot of energy and mental well-being away. I’d rather be outside Bangkok, where air is cleaner and traffic is less evil. Oh well, it is what it is. No use to complain. I can’t expect life to turn out as I want. It involves too many people. Must make the best of what I have. Taking it one day at a time.

Got a slight stomach ache. No idea what food causes it.

Good weekend. Taught on Saturday morning and relaxed in the afternoon. On Sunday we enjoyed Chinese ceremonial meals and then went for a run in the Navamin Park (สวนพฤกษชาติ).

Another week begins. Taught a radiation lab in the afternoon. Good to have students around. Repetitive classes are a bit of a bore though. I need to find new ways of approaching the subject to keep myself on alert. Otherwise, it’s just about going through the motion.

Sad news about a passing of a relative in England. Quite a shock to everybody.

Life is short, don’t wait till tomorrow. Don’t go through the motion. Choose your path and follow it. Find the meaning.

Ran in the evening, still a bit of pain in the ankle but was able to maintain a sub-10 min/mi pace for about 4 miles. Little by little. Don’t go too hard when your body is in pain. Listen to your body.

Drove home. A cold shower and a nice meal after a nice workout give such a good feeling.

Surely glad it’s Friday. Watching Federer winning 3rd round of Aussie Open against Safin. Good match.

Teaching an early class tomorrow. Hoping the students are studying hard for the quiz.

After class, I’m just gonna drive home and relax. May go for an easy run, depending on how my leg feels. Eagerly waiting for my achilles tendon to heal completely.

Went to a meeting at Siam Tower in Pathumwan. Traffic was horrible. Meeting lasted for 2 hours. Not too long. So, it was not bad. No time to look around afterwards. Early lecture tomorrow again.

Took BTS Skytrain straight back to Mo Chit, and changed clothes before heading to Chatuchak park for a run. It is a nice place to run. Better than running in sois and street pavements (like I did yesterday). There are distance markings and there are people of all ages out there running. Seeing other people running is always a good motivation for me to keep pushing on.

One loop is 3 km. I ran 6 km in about 35 minutes, with a bad ankle, in Bangkok heat. Good workout.

Encountered a shady character in the park. I was sitting on a bench, then this guy came to sit next to me. He pretended to ask what time it was, and then asked for money while his eyes fixated on my phone. Reminded me of the Geneva pickpocketer a few months back. I think it’s sad for a grown person, with good arms and legs, to beg for money or try to acquire it in dubious ways. Anyway, one should not go anywhere by yourself at night in this city. It’s really unsafe.

Drove home. Over an hour in the car. Horrible traffic as usual. To run somewhere in Bangkok, it takes more time to travel there than to actually run.

Monday began with a long, all-day meeting. Not a good way to start the work week. A long meeting, in a room with no internet access, is a sure way to ensure that many people are not working at the same time.

Anyhow, got to run for a couple miles in the evening. I still cannot do anything more than easy, slow runs at this point, as the achilles tendon is still hurting. As always, can’t rush the recovery. Must take one small step at a time.

Out for another run this evening. Maybe going for a bit longer than yesterday. Won’t push too hard. I’ll just see how my body feels.

A cool morning to wake up to. Drove to SAT on Ramkamhaeng to get my run in. Ran around the track for 4 km. Right ankle still is not completely healed. But it’s okay enough. Only building up strength now.

The weather got pretty hot quickly. There are young kids practicing football on the field. Several runners on the track.

Had a bowl of warm pork porridge afterward. Quite nice.

After a nice active week to start off the year, i have been struggling with my leg/achilles/ankle injuries this week. So my training is really cut back. My next race is projected to be one month from now. A 10k. Hoping that i will recover and be ready in time.

Killing time by following Barcelona. Messi is playing some masterful football. Too bad i don’t get to follow la liga live, as the matches come on late in Thailand.

It’s cold in bangkok this week. I like it. Just need to wear warm clothes to avoid getting a cold. My dogs maybe don’t like it too much, especially the tiny one, as he is always shivering. He’s been given extra blankets.

After a nice weekend (tennis, baking cookies, dinner with friends), it is work time again. Yesterday I gave two lectures. First one was given to radiation workers. The topic was basic nuclear science. Second one was on particle accelerators to a small group of graduate students. Both went well enough.

In the evening, I went running in Kaset. 30 minutes. There were other people out to exercise (aerobics, walking, running) so it was nice. My right calf and Achilles tendon are still hurting.

In Nov 2008, I ran my first marathon just to test my determination. I finished with pain. Experienced massive cramps. This year I will improve, via better training. One more lap, one more kilo, one more mile, a few more miles… It’s hard, but nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.

Had dinner with Mona, an old friend, tonight. The place, located in Soi Ari, is called Baan Pung Chom (บ้านพึงชม), a Thai restaurant. A thrill to see her again.

For the food, we ordered เนื้อนึ่ง แจ่วแมงดา (steamed beef steak with chili paste) ไก่ตะเกียบ (fried chicken wings) and น้ำพริกมะม่วง กับปลาทู และชะอมทอด (mango chili paste with fish and fried vegetables). Yummy.

I knew Mona since 1998. It’s been many years since we last met. We updated each other on lives. She’s working on a film in Thailand. Will be going back to the US after it’s done.

Happy time. She is lovely as always. Good food, good friend.