JOHN GALT ASIA.com : aka NOTStickmanBangkok.com
I don't personally believe in Karma, but Stickman seems to believe in it (he writes articles about it).... perhaps this is his own karma?
I also see his admission that only 18 months ago he made a conscious decision to get fit. That means prior, he was slob and unhappy and the alarms bells on his health began to ring?
This would also mean that his publishing comments about "running every day" a few years back were just lies. The guy let himself decay for a decade and then when the walls were closing in on him, he decided to get a grip on his health? Is that the Stickman story?
Not much of a triumph then it's your own laziness and lack of discipline that gets you into trouble in the first place. I'll wager that he is still a partially a slob and over-weight.
Anyone in Thailand who is not retired needs to be actively investing in an exit strategy all the time. I have preached this for many years and sure enough, the day came where I myself decided to move and - I had a pathway all set up. I kept all my money outside of Thailand, I invested in intellectual development (for my business) and had little or no heavy equipment in Thailand. I sold off the non-essential things, shipped the rest, and took my business and my customers with me. (and don't forget, I also "fired myself" long before the move and collected 6 months of unemployment compensation to boot). Over 9 years, Thailand received some benefit and I received some benefit, but I didn't let Thailand rape me. No Thai ever had accessed to my money or to my customers or to my IP.
Stickman, on the other hand, is strictly dependent on the Thailand naughty night life for income and perhaps his retirement. That is not a good place to invest your time unless you want to go the way of Bernard Trink. Nothing wrong with going that way if you want to. I don't foresee that path as being lucrative and full of freedom.
Stickman likes to consider himself "elite" -- (Hey look at me because I speak Thai). So this is probably pretty hard on him. I don't think Stickman is very happy with his prospects. And with the world economy looking very stuck in slow gear, the economics are not going to be changing very quickly in Thailand for a while. Thus, his conundrum.
And Stickman writes:
After more than a decade in Bangkok, I've been gone way too long and experienced way too much to even consider going back.
Just what the hell does this mean? Because he is more experienced he won't fit into New Zealand again?
Or does this mean that he is accustomed to easy pussy and doesn't want to go back to the country that expects him to work for it? I would imagine that there is no pulling the wool over the average New Zealand girl's eyes. No, not at all. They would see right through the Stickman bull shit and put him in his place.
Perhaps Stickman would be wise to move to China and get back into English teaching? -- Ha... just a thought. They are making about $25 an hour here. Some also pick up private lessons for slightly more.
People, I'm still swamped with things to do here in China - business wise. In fact, I have been letting my exercise routine slide a few days here and a few days there. And that isn't good for my 32 inch waistline (I do brag about the results of hard honest work)....
But, I'll squeeze in a few minutes in here to show you how I eat about 40% of time.
This what good food costs here in China. This is the bargain choice of vegetables and some chicken. Fruits tends to be pricey and milk is about 6 dollars a gallon.
But, this assortment of food is a bargain and it's really healthy.
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This entire purchase was only the equivalent of $4.15 USD. The RMB price was right at 29.6. The purchase was at a Wal-Mart and the thin bread in a bag was from a local stand.
There is carrot, green pepper, tomatoes, broccoli, corn, and the single marinated chicken breast. The drinks are iced tea.
I typically steam all these and eat them in small meals over a 12 hour period. That may be during a single day or from one day to the next as the food can be kept in my steamer on a "keep warm" setting over-night.
I don't use any seasonings other than what comes in the chicken. I take the broth from the chicken in the bag and I spoon some of that over the vegetables. Also, the bread helps make the dinner better tasting. The bread is somewhat oily as it is pan fried. And the tea is sweetened so those items are not "Jack LaLane" certified... but that is how it goes. You can't eat bland food all the time. I also take in quite a bit of McDonalds meals and KFC Chicken. But I compensate as best that I can and burn off all the sugars and fat with exercise. Exercise is not always preferred over sex-exercise, but you have to take what you can get when you can get it.
Getting a full night of sleep is important too.
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Anyhow -- people... We'll get through the tough times and we'll bounce back and be better for it. I think we have learned and are learning better lessons about keeping our loans paid off and we need to stick to a tighter fiscal policy.
Who's your favorite in the presidential race so far? I like Perry. I like everything except his evangelical side. Don't like that side of him at all... but I like his guns blazing posturing. I think he'll mix it up in Washington and put some clamps down on all the money and advantage we give away to foreign countries. We need to pull the purse strings tight on some of that nonsense....
Hey - never know, but even I might be able to come home again someday because manufacturing will be to a greater advantage to me there.... Hum....
Thanks for stopping by.
The Galt
I can be contacted at JohnGaltAsia@gmail.com