31 December 2008 - HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year – 2009
31 December 2008

New Years Eve is here and now in Thailand.

In less than 6 hours we will be in the year 2009.

We will be staying home tonight - New Year's Eve has never been one of my favorite holidays. I find that too many people use the night as a sloppy excuse to drink themselves into oblivion.
New Year's Eve in Thailand is similar to it is in the USA. There are organized parties at hotels and restaurants as well as family or friend get togethers.

Some people have jumped the gun already and set off some fireworks this afternoon. I expect that there will be many more later tonight. However I doubt that there will be as many as are set off in Curitiba, Brasil. When I lived in Curitiba, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve were pyrotechnical extravaganzas. Most of the fireworks were set off by private citizens.

Duang and I will have a celebratory toast or two and watch a recent DVD - save and sound from the madness outside.

Duang started the New Year's celebration early this morning. According to her 31 December is a good day - one-half old year and one-half old year. Yesterday she went to the local market and purchased flowers, fruits, and sweets to be used as offerings at our home. First thing this morning, Duang got up, showered, and put on some fine clothes.

Duang went outside to tend to the spirit houses that were placed in our front yard when we moved into our new home in September. Offerings of soft drinks, bananas, mandarin oranges, cookies, and coconuts were placed in front of the spirit houses to appease the spirit of the garden and the spirit of the house. This is not part of Buddhism but remains from original animist beliefs. After lighting candles, incense, and praying at the spirit houses, Duang repeated the ritual at the upstairs shrine in our home.

Newspapers and television shows here go over the past year and speculate at the prospects of the upcoming year. As can be expected most people are very happy that 2008 is over. The prospects of continued political unrest and a world economic crisis have most people very pessimistic over the upcoming new year. Most people are also focusing on the events that made 2008 such a bad year.

2008 was a year of big changes for Duang and me. We started the New Year in Halong Vietnam and yes I was one of the fools that drank themselves into oblivion that New Year's Eve.

In February, I visited the USA on a Rest and Relaxation Leave. Duang returned to Thailand to visit her family since she could not get a Visa to visit the USA. We reunited in Bangkok on my return to Vietnam and travelled back to our home in Vietnam together.

While in the USA I visited my oldest son and his family as well as my parents in Connecticut. I got to play with my grandson and granddaughter which was a treat. I had a quality visit with Mom and Dad back in Connecticut.

No matter how old you get to be, you are still their child and you can't fool Mom for sure. Along with viewing some of the videos, and photographs that I had taken in SE Asia, there were explanations of life choices that I had made. Their love remained true and although they may not have truly understood my actions, they gave me their support.

In March, my assignment in Vietnam was completed. At that time I made another life changing decision. Duang and I relocated to Isaan (Udonthani Thailand). I decided to retire and live in Thailand. In late April we returned to Vietnam as tourists to visit Sapa near the Chinese border. Upon returning to Isaan, I continued to photograph and document rural village life.

I returned to the United States in late May to complete moving out of my home in California, attend a court hearing regarding dissolution of my marriage, and meet my new grandson. On this trip I also was able to see my youngest son. I returned to Thailand with my Thai retirement visa - permission to remain in Thailand for a year.

In July, I started this blog to keep family and friends informed of life and culture in Thailand. Mom and Dad are not able to travel anymore so they will not be able to visit or experience the wonders of SE Asia. Sharing with them the photographs and narratives of this blog is a means for them to learn about life here. For people who are able to travel, the narratives and photos may help motivate them to travel and experience for themselves.

I returned to the USA in August to testify in a trial related to a construction claim. It was a fitting conclusion to closeout a matter that I had been deeply involved with during my last USA assignment.

While away for the trial, Duang had a motorbike accident. Her cheek and chin were scraped and cut. When I returned to Thailand, she greeted me at the airport with large scabs on her cheek and lower jaw. I was so happy that she had not been seriously injured. Her injuries healed without scarring apparently due to the herbal ointments that she applied.

In September we purchased and moved into our new home here in Udonthani.

At the end of December, my divorce was final. On Monday 29 December, Duang and I were married here in Thailand.

There were personal challenges, and personal disappointments during the past year. If we were to concentrate on these, we could become angry or bitter. But that would not change what has happened and would adversely affect the present that we have or the future that we expect. Getting angry or becoming bitter also will not change what has happened.

We do not forget the challenges and disappointments of the past year for they can be lessons learned and are part of our legacy. As I often told people at work "Otto Von Bismark used to state that the finest steel was tempered in the hottest flame".

So it is in life, we can use the challenges and disappointments of the past year to become stronger and better people. The events of the past year can also be used as springboards to a better life. The value of history is to have learned how to avoid the same mistakes from being repeated and knowing that life can and will go on despite the events occurring.

Our sincere hope for everyone is that the events of the past year will serve you well to achieve happiness in the coming year. Challenges and disappointments will occur in the upcoming year but we have the power to use them to our advantage to achieve what we realistically desire.

Happy New Year!