A colleague and I were both fired by the Third Reich (ehem, Thai big knobs) at a very modest Thai university.

Now the thing is, we were individually called to a meeting with "the boss" + one witness (our Thai line manager) and were told that they were firing us just as the semester was ending/ the paid holidays were beginning but that we should sign a form to say that we were resigning because it would "BE EASIER FOR YOU TO GET A NEW JOB".

Now they obviously think we are stupid and they followed that up with an intimidating email but obviously neither me or my colleague have agreed to sign the form. What are they up to exactly?

The contract reads "only upon recission of the agreement with three months notice by either party". In the case of my colleague, he has done nothing wrong whatsoever, has been the model employee and only sent a couple of cheeky emails when our line manager was giving him unwarranted flack.

They have said that they want the work permits returned by 8th April and the resignation letter signed. That is the deadline according to them. Do they need the actual WP to cancel it/ cancel our visas? They have conceded that they have to pay us until the end of April (one month - we were fired on 31/03/14). Where do we stand exactly regarding our visas?


I suppose that in my case I did things that could have warranted getting fired (late to the office, grades submitted late, etc.) - but at the same time they justified their decision by saying the students gave me poor evaluations. I was shown the envelopes and told that they contained the "students' assessment" of me; I told the Thais that they were... [Read More]

Breakfast x 4 days: check
Lunch x 4 days: check
Dinner x 4 days: check
Snacks x 4 days: check
Alpo, dog meats, dog treats x 4 days: check
Internet topped up: check
Phone topped up: check
Toiletries and paper products: check
6 jugs of drinking water: check

Goodbye, outside world! I will re-emerge Wednesday, after you have exorcised your demons.

[Sound of heavy doors closing and bolted]

I just chatted with my Indo gf and it seems that a young mixed boy got gang-raped at a very well known international school in Jakarta.

This is just a friendly reminder to watch your own kids, and if you are a teacher and don't have good policies in place at your school...for kids attending the bathrooms in at least pairs...try to push for them.

What a terrible thing to happen to the little kid, and his father especially will suffer every day for the rest of his life I imagine; caught between wanting to kill some of these people, but knowing he will go to jail of he ever does...

Quote:

---

Six-year-old allegedly

abused at int’l school

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Tue, April 15 2014, 9:20 AM
http://www.thejakartapost.com/livefyre/notify_pageview



An alleged sexual abuse case was revealed on Monday in an international school in South Jakarta involving the alleged gang rape of a six-year-old student by cleaning service staff.

The victim was reportedly subjected to rape by several members of the school’s outsourced cleaning staff on two

... [Read More]

Wow. He must be one hell of a campaigner.

"This is an expression of all the service personnel and people's absolute support and profound trust in supreme leader Kim Jong Un as they single-mindedly remain loyal to him"

Kim Jong Un 'elected' with 100% of the vote
April 09, 2014

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — With no one else on the ballot, state media reported Monday that supreme leader Kim Jong Un was not only elected to the highest legislative body in North Korea, he won with the unanimous approval of his district, which had 100% turnout.

North Koreans went to the polls on Sunday to approve the new roster of deputies for the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's legislature. The vote, more a political ritual than an election by Western standards, is generally held once every five years.

Attachment 2246

Though results for the other seats in the assembly had not yet been announced, North Korea's media quickly reported Kim had won in his district — located on the symbolic Mount Paekdu — without a single dissenting ballot.

In the previous elections, 687 deputies were chosen. This is first time the election had been held since Kim inherited power after the... [Read More]

Peaches Geldof Dead: Daughter Of Musician Bob Geldof & Paula Yates Dies At 25

The Huffington Post | by Stephanie Marcus
Posted: 04/07/2014 1:22 pm EDT Updated: 04/07/2014 5:59 pm EDT

Peaches Geldof DeadPeaches GeldofPeaches Geldof DiesPeaches Geldof Dead at 25Celebrity News


Peaches Geldof, British TV presenter, model, and daughter of musician Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates, has died at the age of 25, reports the BBC.
The 25-year-old was reportedly found dead at her home in Kent Monday afternoon,reports TMZ. Details surrounding the death are still unclear. Kent Police are treating the death as "unexplained and sudden."
Geldof is survived by her husband Thomas Cohen, her two children Astala Geldof–Cohen and Phaedra Geldof-Cohen, her father, and her sisters, Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, Pixie Geldof, and half-sister... [Read More]

It might be a year from now, it might be 30 years from now, but this is what is going to kill me if I stay here.

Red Ruby cigarettes. Taste about the same as L&M Daeng. 750 Kyats (25 Baht).

http://www.tttt.ru/40728.jpg

Mandalay rum. Rum! Imagine that. There ain't no rum in Thailand. I often talked about my enjoyment of Hong Thong. It was a sweet whiskey, a la Southern Comfort. Great blended with an ice cold M-150. Mandalay rum is, like rums are, sweet. Goes with mixers outstandingly. Hong Thong was 70 proof. Mandalay is 86 proof. At 1400 Kyat (47 Baht) a fifth, it's as easy on the wallet as it is on the pallet (not saying how easy it is on the liver).

http://www.victorymyanmar.com/sites/...de-image-2.jpg

Since 1886!

Finally, the fried potato.

Oh, how delicious you are.

http://render.fineartamerica.com/ima...edergerber.jpg

I hate living with others and resent not having my own space. Market prices of the big smoke back in Blight mean I have to share.
Anyone enjoy living with others?
I like having friends over, I'd just rather they don't stay

Except for the French ones, of course.

I figure if we have threads about Australia and America we ought to have one about Canadia. So, why are Canadians so polite?

If I book a first class special express sleeper train will I be sharing the carriage with a stranger or are they private?

I just watched Caddyshack for the first time. Took me about 32-3 years to get to it.

Lot of people have said this is a good flick.

I thought it was not only well done but captured a lot of good things quickly. Witty movie.

Does Caddyshack deserves "Classic" status?

So it seems very basic. 30k baht to be paid on last day of the month. 5k baht accommodation allowance (they said it's included in monthly pay). 10 days of business/holiday leave. 15 sick days, doctor note required if it's more than 5 consecutive days. Have to give 3 months notice to terminate contract. I forfeit final month salary to "cover all fees" if contract is terminated.

One of my first hesitations is that it doesn't say anything about a work visa and who covers those costs. I emailed asked about that yesterday and am waiting on a response. I also mean to ask about HOW I will be paid (i.e. direct deposit). Are there any other big red flags to be looking for?

For me it was Jean Michel Jarre live in Docklands, London. Would have been about 3 years old . I had a cool childhood all in all; plenty of new age/ liberal/ hippy festivals

Whoever it was that recently mentioned here how to make toast without a toaster using a skillet and a little olive oil, thanks! I can't remember or locate the thread at the moment, but I just enjoyed two pieces of toast made that way.

I have sullenly avoided buying a toaster all my life (never owned one myself), just because it's another thing to clean, another thing to take up space and haul around when moving, and in Thailand I would think the inevitable crumbs would attract ants.

And the skillet thing should be sort of a no-brainer. I mean people toast sandwiches in a pan all the time. But it never occurred to me. Just like it never occurred to me to steam my morning egg in the rice cooker until I had gone through three of those specialty egg steamers over the years. Duh! :- )

Anyway, thank you! Was it Gungchang maybe? Don't remember. The toast is tasty!

I usually look at jobs ads on ajarn.com to check out jobs thatare available in my area if I ever wanted to move. Boy! What is going on? An adcaught my eyes this morning at a vocational college.
Natives only: Ok I’m out but generally when they can’t getNatives they take lookalike like me.
Starting salary 25 to 28k: Really! To teach 18 years old andover, you must be kidding.
Length: 10 Months! So, it’s 250000 a year.
The Killer point: After probation, you might get to 30k. You’reso generous, thank you!
Conclusion: If I need to find a new job, I’ll use theconnections I have. This ad is a joke and I know there are many like this oneout there, but this is starting to be utterly ridiculous!
Good luck to the people who are looking for jobs right now.

The cheapest flights from Bangkok to LAX I've found are from China Air and China Southern and they include short layovers in China.

Why do you think that is?

...something to go with your morning drink:

Book review: ‘Why Science Does Not Disprove God’ by Amir D. Aczel
By Alan Lightman (WP)

Alan Lightman is a physicist, novelist and professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT. His latest book is “The Accidental Universe.”

In “Einstein, God, and the Big Bang,” a colorful chapter of his new book, Amir D. Aczel maintains that Albert Einstein truly believed in God. He points out that Einstein attended synagogue during his year in Prague (1913). He repeats several famous Einstein utterances mentioning the Deity: “Subtle is the Lord, but malicious he is not” and “I want to know God’s thoughts — the rest are details.” And he quotes from a letter the great physicist wrote to a little girl in January 1936: “Everyone who is seriously interested in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man.”

Aczel goes on to express strong displeasure with such people as physicist Lawrence Krauss and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins (who, in his bestseller “The God Delusion,” says that Einstein “didn’t really mean it”) when they cast Einstein as an atheist in support of their diatribes against religious belief.

Dawkins; Krauss, with his bestseller “A Universe From Nothing”; and Sam Harris, with his bestseller “The End of Faith,” are prominent New Atheists, who use modern science to argue that God is not only unnecessary but unlikely to exist at all, even behind the curtains. There’s a certain religious fervor in all these books. Atheists, unite.

Aczel, trained as a... [Read More]

Now Songkran is an annual tragedy in with hundreds of lives are needlessly lost. Who could have the insensitivity and bad taste find entertainment in betting on the number of deaths?

....

Well, I must confess that I could, so here is the annual Songkran Death Pool.

The number of traffic deaths in 7 average days in Thailand is about 266. The number of deaths in the past few years (according to Richard Barrow) are:

Songkran 2007: 361 deaths,
Songkran 2008: 368 deaths,
Songkran 2009: 373 deaths,
Songkran 2010: 361 deaths,
Songkran 2011: 271 deaths,
Songkran 2012: 320 deaths,
Songkran 2013: 321 deaths,

So I think that going from 275 on up in increments of 25 would give us a reasonable spread. The current count for the first two days is 102.