It Begins Again: New Re-Beginnings

 Welcome Back!

I’ve missed you all dearly. Lucky for me, this blog thing is a bit of a one way street, so I get to just assume you missed me dearly too (which is so sweet of you to say). I’ve got all sorts of juicy tales for you guys, full of intrigue, excitement, and espionage.  Actually, there will be very little espionage involved, if any; I just really wanted to type the word, I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I’ve ever done it; give it a try, what a rush!

So somehow it’s been a full 3 months since my last post, and as you might imagine, a dizzying array of events have transpired in my Thai life, which has paradoxically been the cause of my inability to tell you all about said events. So let’s do a quick recap of this whole thing for any uninitiated folks, plus an update of the last 3 months for erbody to enjoy. After all, knowledge is power:

I left the cozy confines of the USA on February 6^th, 2011, squired by none other than my boon companion, Andrew Liebler. Lubber and I gallivanted around the country for a couple weeks, enjoying ourselves thoroughly, before he returned to The States, leaving me to be consumed by Bangkok. I quickly adapted though, and made this country my home; I stayed for a short time in The Kingdom’s smoggy, congested capital, before traveling briefly but eventfully down to Singapore, then heading due north on March 13^th to settle in what many will tell you is easily the most livable city in this fair land: Chiang Mai, The Rose of The North.
The next 2 months were spent living at a backpacker’s hostel known as Little Bird Guesthouse. During my time there, I lived, laughed, loved, and looked.. for a freaking job that, for a period of time, I was beginning to think didn’t even exist. But I remained optimistic, despite dwindling funds and growing debt to my loving and patient parents, and my optimism was rewarded with that job I was hoping for. Through this job, I met great friends that, on May 14^th, became great roommates. I waved goodbye to Little Bird, thanked it for giving me so many friends and beautiful experiences over our 2 month courtship, and became an honest-to-God resident of Chiang Mai, Thailand. I got an address and erything ya’ll.

That is essentially where my blogging took a little breather. As I began my job and my new life in my house, my writing time was strangled to death by 9+ hour work days and youthful exploits with my roommates and new friends. Since I last posted, I’ve been tearin’ it up over here. I’ve furnished my room and house, I’ve bought a motorbike of my very own, I’ve traveled all over Northern Thailand (including what will likely be some of the most remote places I’ll ever go in my life), I’ve become a real life Kindergarten teacher, and I’ve even added a new “hometown” soccer team to the growing list of teams I love to support. (stick with me here after the jump and we'll wrap this whole thing up for ya)

 But for all the ups, life always has some downs to throw into the mix, just to make sure you keep your head on straight; I’ve dealt with the difficulties of working in a relatively unfamiliar profession in a totally different organizational and social culture, I’ve fought the occasional depression of being away from those I love as their lives continue on without me, I’ve watched from afar as my family has dealt with the loss of both of my Grandmothers in fairly rapid succession, and I’ve done it all in a city where I’m not able to engage in even some of the most basic everyday communication with a substantial majority of the population.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. My life is awesome, where every opportunity to experience something new is just as exciting as the last, and opportunities are plentiful. So if you haven’t done so, go check out some of my earlier posts;  I hope you like them, because there’s plenty more where that came from, if you go to the dance with me stay tuned. Follow me or whatever, I don’t really know how that works for someone who doesn’t have a blog, but I’m sure it’s easy to figure out. Tell your friends, tell your family, and tell me… what you want to hear about. You know me folks, I aim to please.

To summarize my summary: Life is astounding, so let’s talk about it.

Good to see you guys again, let’s do this thing.

ian

aka-ed as Dolinfresh 

(nobody calls me that. but they could if they wanted to..)

P.S. As a special welcome back surprise, I will be posting yet again at 1 PM EST, midnight IST(ian standard time). This one's hot off the presses folks, Be ready for it.