This past Sunday, elections were held for the Governor of Bangkok, and the position went to the one and only: Number Five! Above is a campaign power of Number 8, all of which lined the streets of Bangkok wherever you went. Number Eight (former brothel owner) was the funniest and craziest, but also punched a reporter in the face last week for insulting his manliness.
These are my parents! They will be arriving in about a week for our adventure through the country. This coming week I will be going scuba diving in the Gulf of Thailand on the island Koh Tao. It will be my first dive since I was certified in the Florida Keys this past May; is there a better place I could have my first dive?
Wtih classes over, this past week was devoted to the visit of Dr. David McNelis from UNC who serves as my advisor for my big research project over here. He's the Director of the Sustainable Energy Department at UNC, and adjunct professor in Nuclear Engineering and NC State, and got his masters in Nuclear Physics. McNelis is one of the authorities on Nuclear Power in the United States and was involved in a lot of the nuclear bomb tests in Nevada in the 1960s. After working with us last week he is off to Japan to visit their nuclear reactors and give advice. Regardless, he's amazing and he is working with us on our final project here: Nuclear Power Feasibility for Thailand. He sat in on the meeting held by the Thai government this weekend on their current Nuclear plans, and reported back to us the official findings. When our report is completed mid-November we will be presenting our findings to the Nuclear Power Program Development Office of Thailand who is in charge of the official plans under the Ministry of Energy. Very legit. Let the work begin!Also, this past week I went to Roadhouse Barbeque in central Bangkok to watch the Vice Presidential Debate. To quote my father, "Joe kicked ass", and I agree. Palin just isn't ready to be that close to such an important position. Everyone in the bar toasted and drank whenever she said "maverick", it was hilarious. After the debate I hit the town with my friend Rick who I met in the airport in Kunming, China. We went to a bar where the Thai waitresses were dressed as belly dancers and the bar was literally made of ice. Chilly!
Also, I've been reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire aloud at night to my roommates. They enjoy the story and I enjoy storytelling so we're all winners. Because I saw the musical a few years ago, I'm glad to finally have time to enjoy the book.
