Coming home

After four gorgeous sunny days I found myself racing from the office to an empty house under a dark sky, flashing with silent lightening. (I haven't officially started working. You can't work unless you have a work permit, which is still hiding in the bureaucratic woodwork of Thailand -- it is illegal to even be doing volunteer work without a work permit.) It was dark and the traffic was more squirrely than normal; I try to remind myself the question isn't when will I get into a crash, but how bad will it be.

Jackie is off on her trip her stunning trip, which is starting in the climbers paradise of Krabi, but I'll let her write about that when she returns. With Jackie gone my social life outside of the people at the Gazette has diminished to "Joe" and tongue-dog.

The house was dark and silent as I pulled into the freshly swept tile drive way. Lights on and the laptop up I smiled when the second half of Avril Lavigne "My Happy Ending" came on, which was quickly followed by Backstreet Boys, Hoobastank, and Shania Twain (http://8tracks.com/blondesouth/you-know-all-the-words-part-two). After a quick shower I grabbed dinner and then stopped in to "hangout" with Joe and tongue-dog. Joe's real name is Jackie Chan, he is a mobile-deep-fried-food vendor that parks his moped and attached food stand in front of "Jackie's and my" 7/11. It's so easy to claim things that you have no claim to. Joe started his business about the same time Jackie and I moved into the house. I actually remember visiting the 7/11 before he arrived. Now his wide smile and delicious skewered food is a daily staple for us. Tongue-dog is a long haired black and white dog that spends its evenings and nights at 7/11. Tongue-dog is a tired looking animal that is usually sprawled out asleep or half asleep on the white tile patio. Tongue-dog's tongue is always unadroitly peaking out of his mouth, a sliver of pink against his black and white muzzle.

Home after making my social rounds I  listen to the storm picking up force. The change in air pressure has put me at ill-ease as it opens and closes doors in the mostly unoccupied house. I find myself checking the locks and locking doors that don't usually get locked (bedroom door).

Though I'm not allowed to legally start work I have signed my contract. My job title is Contributing Editor, though in the official paperwork I am a "language adviser." I will be getting paid 30,000 baht a month during my probation period (3 months), after that I can receive a raise of up to 5,000 baht. I will get public holidays off and will get two weeks paid vacation. I will also get a contract completion bonus, which is a months pay!

The job itself will be "translating" Thai-English into an bastardized American/British English (we have a style guide that dictates when to use British English, such as the use of "mum" instead of "mom" and "learnt" instead of "learned.") I will also be doing layout for the paper and writing articles when needed. Though I am part of the news team we are encouraged to occasionally write features -- just doing news will fuck up your perspective of the world when you get headlines like this on a daily bases: Burmese crew's mutiny-murder run ends in Phuket, Dutch tourist slashed by deranged vagrant in Krabi, Phuket woman takes life by hanging, Phuket Prison warden hangs himself. All of those headlines have hit the website after I signed my contract about a week and half ago. So, to keep me cheery I'm going to be writing a diving column!