Why 42?

I know weird title but hey. Alright here we go for another post time. It's Friday and I am very happy about this I must say. It has not been a long week or anything, I was sick and that sucked the big beans but I am just happy it is Friday and the weekend.Alright things that happend in Phnom Penh that were news worthy. This story is rather sad and has shocked many people. A 65 year old man on Wednesday went down to a small shrine on the street near Hun Sen's home. He poured gasoline all over himself, knelt at the shrine, prayed and then lit himself on fire. No one knows why he did it or even why he chose to do it there. Though people are very shocked by it. There have been many protests over land here, and some have been very violent. Unfortunatly there have been areas where land mines have been relaid now. It is a very messy time in Cambodia. Because of the drought rice crops will not be good, so farmers are being urged to give up on the rice and grow potatoes. What do I have planned for the weekend, well tonight I have dinner plans with some of my Khmer friends. I love these nights, I really enjoy hanging out with these guys that I go with. Then at the Ginger Monkey there is a Carnival Party tonight... So lots of fun tonight. I should have a Khmer lesson tommorow morning, but other then that I have no really solid plans until Sunday afternoon. There is a bunch of us heading out to the countryside to have a picnic and just chill-out. Oh yeah I'm going to learn to drive a motorcycle! I'm actually really excited about this as it means I will be able to have freedom to get out of the city on weekends if I want to. YEAH! It really is a nice city but if you ask anyone, you need to escape even if it is just for a short while. Hence I am going to Kep/Bokor for New Years/My birthday. There is a huge Rave happening, and it is apparently great. Bokor is a ghost town that over looks the jungle very nice!Hmm... one thing. Weaselking, I love you sweetie but can you please keep your post numbers down or tell me how to make it that I don't loose everyone elses posts. I am able to see 20 of my friends posts and right now 2 are not your posts. This is really my main means of keeping in touch and seeing what is new with people... please don't stop as they are interesting... but could you mabey keep it to 1 or 2 a day? Please!Okay I need to go back for my last hour of work today. Ahhhh... I like Fridays. It's speaking/Conversation day. When all I need to do is talk! It's rather loverly! Okay post more soon, hopefully I can get some pictures up soon. Hugs and kisses, ME!

Sickness and life

I would like to start this post in a bit of a disgusting way. I HATE THROWING UP! So when I got my first case of food poisoning I got to reaffirm that thought in my mind. I'm on the mend now after a trip to the doctors and a crud load of Tiger Balm. Though the first night was HELL! Oh well these are the risks you take when you move to a country like this.OKay what's new since the last time I posted not to much. Although I think I am going to tell you all about a wonderful girl named Sarah that I have met here. She is kinda like my North American rock... (she says she is Slate or Limestone. Solid but soft)here. She lives in the same guest house as I do and we do alot together. It's weird though if we had met back at home we would never have been friends, well maybe friends but never would have hung out together. She is very sweet though and I care for her lots. We look out for each other! It's a nice feeling to have honestly, you can only take hanging out with UKer's and Aussies for so long. It's weird too as all the Canadians I know here are either from Edmonton or Calgary. Oh sorry there is one guy that I have met from London. I don't get it...Okay I have to finish later as I need to run for food now that I can eat again and stores open soon. I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HUNGRY!!!!Hugs and Kisses, Me of course!

Lady of the Rings!

You Are From Saturn
You're steady, organizes, and determined to achieve your dreams.You tend to play it conservative, going by the rules (at least the practical ones).You'll likely reach the top. And when you do, you'll be honorable and responsible.Focus on happiness. Don't let your goals distract you from fun!Don't be too set in your ways, and you'll be more of a success than you ever dreamed of. What Planet Are You From?

Life and Times

Hey all, It's me again and I know that I am not very good at keeping up my journal but a few things have been happening here. Firstly I no longer work at Western, it was a good school but to much stress and shit! So I have left there. I do however have another job teaching part time at the moment which is bringing in a good income for me. Though in December I should be moving up to full time which will bring a much nicer salary. Life here is good I have many friends and things seem to be finnally settling into a daily routine of actual life not just someone who is travelling around for a short term. Funny note: When asked by someone who my Prime Ministers name was I replied Hun Sen, as I truly didn't remember Paul Martin's name til my mom told me on the phone. We have a new King in Cambodia, he's a very handsome man though many have wonders about his gender preferance. The people seem to like him and so far the only gossip going on is when the King is going to get married. There has been more talk lately of how to address the OLD king, there was an article in the paper saying what he can be called. Though he has asked not to be called Hero or there is one other name and I will look it up it's rather funny actually. The rainy season was not as rainy as it should have been so there is alot of fears over food shortages this year. It is on everyone's minds. Not to mention that many US clothing factories are closing and moving to Vietnam, that is causing a stir too! Firstly it is leaving many unemployed, secondly they are moving to Vietnam. For those that don't know many but not all Cambodians blame the Vietnam people for ALOT almost everything.Oh right I have been seeing a Khmer guy for a little bit now. He is VERY sweet, kind, educated ... oh lets not forget HANDSOME!!!!! I'm going to post a picture of a bunch of us soon so you can all see him for yourselves. It's sweet to court someone, though I think soon I would like to be able to spend sometime with him and not have about 4 chaperones. Well I need to head out now but I will write more later, oh and I will post a new address where people can get mail to me. Anyways off to go spend the afternoon in the countryside. Hugs and Kisses to everyone!!!!

Everyone else is jumping from the bridge...

Borrowed from so many of you ... A book you own that no one on your friends list does:Khmer-English DictionaryA CD/LP you own that no one on your friends list does:Midnight at the Playboy Mansion A DVD/VHS/whatever you own that no one on your friends list does:BakaraA place you've been that no one on your friends list has been:I live in Phnom Pehn does that count? If not Kratie, Cambodia

This is kinda funny!

Take the What High SchoolStereotype Are You? quiz.

Helpful Tips on living or visiting Phnom Pehn

1. Traffic in Phenom Pehn -- Like watching a fast paced game of Frogger. Sometimes Frogger looses. 2. Driving in Phenom Pehn -- Like being in a game of Frogger...But you only have 1 life to play with. Use it well young tadpole! 3. Eating in Phenom Pehn -- There are all types of food here. Pizzas are awesome! Just becareful to specify Happy and Not Happy. Then there are 3 types of happy: Little, Medium and lay it on thick. 4. Walking in Phenom Pehn -- What is this walking thing people talk of? Motos all the way. Walking can be fun and actually it is probably the safest... as long as you can avoid the motos on the side walk.5. People of Phenom Pehn -- A mix of used car sales men and an innocent child. I love the Khmer people, honestly I have more Khmer friends then western friends. Though you do have to becareful when making friends that you make the RIGHT friends.6. Bugs in P.P. -- Unlike in Taiwan where I saw cockroaches on the streets almost everywhere. I have only had the pleasure of being checked out by 4 here. There are very few mosquitos and LOTS of ants. (a) Ants -- Natures trash men! (b) Mosquitos -- Really annoying as you don't see them and don't know you have been bitten until you are scratching your skin off. (c) Cockroaches -- F**KING HUGE!!!!!!!!!!! It is not a pleasure to run into one of these. They do size you up and fly right at you. The other night Uncle (guesthouse family that has adopted me) laughed so hard at me, just because I was so happy to have killed a cockroach all by myself!So to conclude the bug section, if you don't like them it shouldn't be to much of a problem just be warned. 7. Weather in P.P. -- Well we get about an hour of HARD rain a day then it is just hot and humid. Hence I am not looking forward to returning home to -40. 8. Dating a Khmer Man – Not recommended! But occationally you find a good one that turns out. Though most of them just want one thing… 9. Holidays in Cambodia – Well Cambodia is second in the world for the amount of holidays that you get. They also tend to be right when you need a holiday. A lot of them are just long weekends, but like the one I have coming up you can get almost a full week.10. Friends in Cambodia – As I said above I do have a lot of Khmer friends, this is because it is hard to get attached to any western friends as they come and go. Today I’m having to say good bye to Leslie, she is going to Poland to get engaged. It was a rather last minute and sudden decision on her part. I’m going to miss her quite a lot. Another girl that I have met is Liby, a nice Aussie girl who talks a lot, but again she is leaving in a few weeks.11. Learning Khmer – Rather easy surprisingly! I have quite the extensive vocabulary of words now and am learning more and more each day. 12. Internet in Cambodia – All over the place for a price. Although I do get free internet through the school, here I have to deal with the slow networks!! At Internet shops you can pay anywhere from 600R – 1.50$/hour. So you do have to watch yourself when you go in.13. Moto Accidents – I’ve been in a few near misses, never my drivers fault. I have also been in one very, very minor accident where my knee got banged up. Although there are quite a few maniacs on the roads so you just have to be careful. Thing is though is that it is a fact of life here, accidents DO happen. 14. Choosing your Moto – Choosing the right moto is much like playing the game of Life. Your life to be exact. I have a driver that I pay monthly now, as well as a night time moto (very nice soldier). He is always on time, he never drives to fast, and he never, never drinks, answers his phone or tries to gun it across the yellow lights. Although when out on the weekends if I need to take another moto then my regular guys, don’t be afraid to smell them and ask them questions. If they don’t drive well, don’t be afraid to hit them either and yell “STOP!”. You always have to remember it is your life in question, so if you do not feel safe, stop the ride.15. Clothing – HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Do not try and find anything in the markets to wear unless you are a size 4 or less. Although! Materials are very cheap and tailors are great. If you can sketch them what you want they will make it to fit. I already have lots of clothes that I have had made. 16. DVDs – What movie do you want. There is everything, even things that haven’t even come out in North America yet, or even things that have JUST come out in North America. It’s great and now I have far to many. So if people want me to look for DVDs for them just tell me the name and I will see what I can do. Most DVDs are only $2.50 - $3.0017. CDs – Again I can get anything! I now have over 100 now and the number keeps going up. CDs run $2 or for double CDs it is $2.50-$3. 18. Food – Khmer food (once you get the nerve to try it) is some of the best food you can get. It’s oily and sometimes doesn’t look good, but it is so good. Plus a huge take away of Noodles, Beef, Veggies and a fried egg is only 2500R (about 0.60$) It really is the only way I eat now. Heck I think I’ve even eaten dog. Not that I ever want to know if I am but I think I have. Sorry puppies that I know.This concludes this lesson on Cambodia please stay tuned for more when I think of more.Love and Miss you all, Jax