We're entering our sixth week of 80+ hour-a-week writing. These days our bed (where we do most of our work) feels more like a life-raft trapped in the middle of the ocean than a place to sleep. Our daily routine is slowly driving us crazy—it feels like we're in the movie Groundhog Day! Even so, it feels really good to be putting the finishing touches on this adventure. I can hardly believe it, but we're almost done!
Today, more than two months after it happened, we published our entry about eating dog and rat, entitled Dinner on the Wild Side, and last week, I launched our new journal interface, a project I've been working on in my "spare time" for the last month. Many thanks to my friend Benjamin Running who helped with the design when I got stuck (you too Mike!).
When cabin fever hits, and it often does, we've been going for bike rides, or venturing out to try a new restaurant. Apart from these mini-excursions, most of our time outside has been spent taking care of more practical matters. Last week, we both had opthamologist exams and picked out new glasses, and the week before that we went to the dentist and got cavities filled (Tara) and chipped teeth restored (me). Next week, we're going to have our heavily sunned skin checked by a dermatologist—we both have one or two worrying moles that might have to go.
Our favorite outing in recent memory was going to the movies to see "The King's Speech". After the previews, the audience was required to rise to listen to the national anthem while watching a photo montage of the Thai king! This was a surprise to us, and we giggled a bit, exchanging sidelong glances with other amused foreigners during the proceedings. It was fun to get lost in the magic of the big screen—the movie was fantastic.
I took this photo of Tara during Songkran (Thai New Year), which manifests itself as a giant, communal water fight. With buckets of water as ammunition (squirt guns too), kids and adults alike smear one another, passers-by, tourists, locals, bikes and anything else they can reach with gloopy handfuls of white paste.
It's fun when we're in the mood for celebrating—not so much fun when we're just trying to run across the street for a quick trip to the store. We literally cannot step foot out of our guest-house without being ambushed by big buckets of water and paste!