hey covered in hello

Hi and or hey covered in hello
mellow
your wit makes me horny for
knowledge
I am all surface, empty, 
casual
like robotic fireflies in monsoon skies
bye.

Dark Matter

What magic exists in a kiss?

Her eyes were plagiarized from

The stars

I saw constellations in her smile

That told future stories

Of the myths we would write

As we traversed the globe

Every strand of hair like

Dark matter

Inexplicable in its gravity

And bereft of earthly calculations

The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes

Like solar rays

At first I circled her like

Cosmic dust falling into a black hole

But when she took my hand,

I became forever lost behind

The event horizon of her soul

Until she expelled me

Like gamma rays

Across the expanse

Left alone to dance

With other phenomena

Obliterated

A cloud of plasma

Glowing dull

With no form.

In an Alley by the Road

Bangkok again. This place is becoming something of second home for me. Recently I made a trip back to the capital of Thailand in order to renew my Saudi Arabia Business Visa. Much of the city is a sprawling maze of Sois (side streets) and highways. Every visit to Bangkok is different from the time before, but there are a few things that remain the same.

My favorite part about being in Bangkok is having the ability to walk outside and venture down any giving Soi and find numerous food vendors with their homemade hawker carts. My ability to speak the Thai language is almost non existent except when it comes to discussing prices and getting what I feel is a good deal. Mostly I just point and order.

About 8 months ago I fell in love with one of the morning staples: uncured pork belly placed on a satay stick and then roasted over an open charcoal fire. There is a slight glaze of sweet spices coupled with the smokey flavor of the fire that makes this dish so enjoyable. These pork sticks are served with sticky rice. It is a common breakfast food for people on the go.

Whenever I am in an alley by the road looking for a morning treat, I find myself gravitating towards this delicious treat. As I sit here in the melancholy office of my job in Saudi Arabia, my mind drifts to the sights and smell of Bangkok's sois.

Life Clock

Tick Tock

So says the clock as life slips 

quietly 

away

We are but a collective collection of 

shared events

The moments spent 

alone

Less real

Less tangible

Than those 

spent in the company

Of others

Tick tock

The remaining number of days in constant shock

Dropping by one with each morning breath of air

Dropping by two with those cigarettes

Dropping by 10 with high cholesterol

Dropping by 6 with this cheeseburger and fries

Dropping by 2 with this glass of beer

Increasing by 4 with this hour a week spent in the gym

Increasing by 12 with the love of a good woman

Increasing by 1 by taking the stairs

Increasing by 20 because I can afford medicine

Dropping by 18 because of that time in the desert

Increasing by 30 because I look forward to seeing you

Dropping by 11 when I fell alone

Tick tock

Time won't stop

If you let it

Life will be good to you

If you let it

We are merely a collection of moments

Centered in an individual and collective

Consciousness

Drifting on planes

In space in time

Every intersection is an opportunity

To make a good moment

To experience the joys

Of waking life

Life will be good to you

If you let it

Never regret

Or worry about missed opportunities

Or broken dreams

Focus on the next

Focus on making better decisions

Life will be good to you

If you let it

Shades of Pale

Sand and stone

Dust and debris

This is my home

Next to the sea

Elusive calm

Fills the air

Home of Islam

And camel’s hair

This life is severe

In fact, extreme

Hope disappears

Leaving only regime

Nothing can explain

The desolate scale

Or certain disdain

For these Shades of pale

Drink More Water

She sends me a message

Every morning wishing me a good day

A selfless act that shows the consistency

Of new love

Her concern for my well being

Is only exceeded by her thoughtfulness

“Drink more water” she utters

As though I am on the verge

Of being consumed and destroyed

By this desolate desert

My provisional home

I know that she really wants to say

Please take care of yourself and

Don’t let that place change you

Stay hydrated and uncontaminated

Keep your youthful spirit

Return to me the same or better

Than when you left

I message her back-

“I’ll drink more water”

Victoria

Her presence – angelic 
A visual representation of music
Every subtle move
A note worthy of Beethoven
And my thoughts are woven
Between the fabric of her dress
And the texture of her smile
She has the hands of a woman
Who has worked hard 
Her life is not
And was not her own
Always the writer of
Another’s song
Sung deep and low
A note held long

That Time I Moved to Bangkok

The June heat of North Carolina had just started to kick in. Humidity was on the rise. Grass needed to be cut. Mosquitoes were swarming, and the call of the road was beckoning once again. I was only in NC 3 weeks since my job in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ended. Yet it seemed like a lifetime.

I love almost everything about Charlotte, NC. But being back home and not working proved to be somewhat difficult for me. I missed life as an expat like a puppy misses its owner. My time in NC was divided between visiting friends and family and looking for the next adventure. Before long, I was offered a job at Saipanya Rangsit School in the suburbs of Bangkok. 

On July 2^nd, I boarded a Singapore Airlines flight with a final destination of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Anyone who has traveled in SE Asia has probably passed through Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. It is the regions cheapest international hub and offers reasonably priced flights to most corners of the globe.  The airport handles around 53 million passengers a year.

After navigating my way down endless corridors and moving sidewalks, I exited customs with my bags and grabbed a taxi for the city. My first week or so in Thailand was just like all of my other visits here. I spent time in the “foreigner ghetto” area of Sukhumvit. 

The area is a mix of expats from all over the world and resourceful Thais who are skillful at making a buck from these foreigners. There are bars, night clubs, street markets, western food places, and numerous hotels from 1 to 5 stars. By American standards, the area is super cheap and exciting.

 However, the following week I started to learn what true Thai life is like. I found an apartment a few km beyond Don Meaung Airport and only 5 minutes from my new job location.  This was my inductions to living in a true Thai lifestyle, albeit with most of the conveniences that locals could not afford.

My apartment was rather simple. There was a queen sized bed, two windows, a bathroom with a shower, a small balcony, lcd tv, a few small tables, a mini fridge, and a breakfast table and chairs by the window. The building is brand new, so everything was in nice working order. My place was on the 6^th floor.  On the first floor there was a 24 hour 7/11. Very convenient.

Just outside my apartment there were about 20 or so food vendors offering the most delicious items I could imagine.

This is a look down my street or Soi in the suburbs of Bangkok.

 I love the Thai use of plants and water.

 No shoes in class!

 Endless supplies of exotic fruits.

 I even had a chance to eat scorpion.

 And I was always eating grilled squid!

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