Feeling so very, very old ...

Forgot to mention that the minute I got home from my "outing" Will met me and said "I thought you were upstairs in the shower, there's a FLOOD."  Toilet tank connection died.

Good and bad ... the bathroom is a half inch lower than the bedrooms on either side and has two small drains in the floor.  That's good.

Tank, not bowl.  That's good. 

The leak was much faster than the drains could handle.  That's bad.

Water went out into a bedroom.  That's bad.

Floor is wood, which ain't great but much better than carpet.

It was Jane and my bedroom.  That's bad, no .. that's good.  If it had gone the other way into Mary's bedroom, we'd still be taking out the "mulch" that is on her floor.

Had to move bed and closet that are flush with the floor and would soak up water. Not good with a bad shoulder, but good in that it's a heck of a way to get dust off one's floor!

Ok ... went out on my cycle today for the first time since "the accident."  Speed bumps are not cool, and if you were to visit here you'd realize how much the Thai people rely on speedbumps in lieu of police. 

I gingerly went to the closest grocery store and sort of just marveled at ... shopping.  I hate shopping, but I hate even more not having the ability to shop if I ever wanted to.  Got daughter some spicy cheese (only if you have lived in Asia will you understand how special "cheese" is!) and she's almost like she was 10 years old again, speaking to me, human, you know? Not 14.  I could almost overlook the bright red hair (I say orange, but she's says "red").

I'm not ready for real riding in heavy traffic, believe me, either emotionally or physically.  I drove gingerly ... very gingerly.  Didn't go far, either.  It's going to be a LONG time before I ever have a rider, too, because I know very well that if a rider starts leaning too much to the left, I simply don't have the strength to balance the bike.  It's either that, or I'll react without thinking and I'm going to be in a world of hurt.

I go back to the doctor on Saturday.  Still wearing the brace, although I can actually take it off to shower now (or have someone take it off, because it's worse than wearing a bra would be, I think, and I'd be lost with one of them without the problem of the arm).  I'd look pretty odd, too, but that's a whole 'nother story.

I know the collarbone is healing, and I also know it's healing a bit crooked.  I've got a spur of bone just west of my neck that isn't matched by a spur on the east side.  Unless that disappears in time, it's going to be a big problem trying to carry a backpack, because it's barely covered by skin and is a problem already with just the brace riding over it.

I can't lift my left arm above the shoulder -- just barely can touch the top of my head with my left hand.  It's not painful, it ... just ... won't ... go.  I'll have to talk to the doctor about physiotherapy and see what I can, and should do, to change that.

Temps are supposed to be almost unbearably cold tomorrow, too.  Highs should only be about 20C or ... low 70's F.  I wish I had my electric blanket, but I suppose I could get some bricks, heat them in the toaster oven, and have them put into bed, right?

Bombings in Bangkok and a fake bomb was found just a few blocks from where we live here in Chiangmai.  I really don't know what's going on, and to be honest, I don't think anyone here does.  Muslim separatists from the south?  Supporters of the ousted prime minister?  The present rulers trying to pin something on the ex PM?  Idiots who are just plain jerks?  Who knows.

What probably disturbs me most about the bombings is that the police in Bangkok didn't allow the forensic investigators onto the site until after the street cleaners had been there.  Seems the police and forensic bomb squads are not on the same side, and considering those same police "lost" all the papers on their "investigations" into the former PM within 12 hours of the coup last fall, that's ... scary.  No matter what you might feel about the "establishment" (and yes, I was a child of the sixties and seventies), they are a whole lot more "clean" than most people, including Michael Moore, like to think.  And when push comes to shove, it's nice to know they're there.

Instead of speed bumps.

Ok .. moving along in the recuperation process.  Saturday went to the Christmas party thing at the church and felt a bit sorry I did.  Deep bruise on leg was acting up and then got my shoulder bumped.  Spent the couple days before it and then Sunday and much of Monday in bed reading.  Have used up just about all the books in the house so am stumbling through War & Peace.  I've probably tried to read this a dozen times, but will finally succeed.  Am on page 1247 at the moment, and there are a couple hundred more to go.

Saturday, went to the doctor and the x-ray showed that the collarbone is healing, a bit crooked, but that's pretty normal for collarbones in that you can't just put a cast on them.  Net research and talking to the doctors indicates it's better for the bones to be a bit misaligned and healed than going the surgery and steel pin route.

This evening went to teach my evening English classes, but this was one of those wars that were held and no one showed up.  Jane and Liz are teaching, and I walked down to one of the nearby farang (foreigner) watering holes which also has free internet, and voila, here I am!  They should be here any moment and I'll tell them I'm on my first beer. Which is true, in a way, because it's the first beer of THIS brand, anyway.