Last night in Vestal.......But I don't want it to be the last night :(

Woke up this morning and went over to Bai's place to hang out. This is my last day in Vestal, NY. Bai gave me a very tasty slice of gluten-free soy cheese and spinach pizza. It was really good! Then we lounged around reading on the new couch that is a little tall but comfy. Eventually Bai got out her netflicks and we watched two interesting and surrealistic films.

La Jette:

A French Sci-fi film from the 60s that is all shot with monochrome still photographs and no dialog except for naration and some audio of whispering in German. The film was about WWIII in Paris and how the survivors have to use time travel to send test subjects (prisoners of war) to the past and the future to get people of another time to bring them supplies. Coicidentally I watched this film for a photography course that I took at HWS when I was a sophomore which was to give us an example of how to make a photo story.
Here's the wiki link to the movie:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Jet%C3%A9e

Sans Soleil:

A documentery mostly about Japan in the early 80s but has other footage from around the world: Africa, France, Iceland. The film was primarily about people and their traditions and societies and memories. If anything this film to me defines geography and was able to make so many connections between my life in Japan as well as Asia. Not only did the movie bring memories of Tokyo but it brought back so many good memories of Bailey and I from our little vacation to Japan in the summer of '08. Nara, Tokyo, Harajuku, Hatchiko the dog in Shibuya, and the shear brilliance of Japan and Japanese culture. Not to mention lots of cats and owls. What really gets me is how similar Tokyo looked in the 80s compared to how it looks today.
Here's the wiki link to this movie:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans_soleil


After the watching the two films. We jumped in the hot tub for a bit. I'm really going to miss the hot tub. We then decided to head out for dinner at Kampai, the local Japanese restaurant with hibatchi (tepanyaki) grill. I went for steak and shrimp, Bai had sashimi. All very entertaining as we watched the chef toss eggs, cooking utensils, shrimp, and make a flamming volcano out of an onion.

After Kampai, we were off on another short after dinner adventure to a fancy little place called Tom's that sells very eclectic and neat stuff. Then next door to the Cyber Cafe for lates and a game of chess. She beat me. I tried to win with just the king and forgot about moving the remainder of my pieces. Oh well. Back to her place all whilst listening to skeptic's guide to the universe podcast in the VW Bug and then again in her room. There was something about the science of utilizing high altitude jet streams with thethered airborne wind turbines to generate electricity efficiently and cheaply. Only problem is that the jet streams are 95% reliable. So what to do about the 5% of the time that they aren't. Not to mention that these would be tethered up to 30,000ft. Could be a hazard to air navigation. Nice idea though and I think if the logistics can be worked out it's worth a try.

Caught a little bit of the Dark Night with Bai's brother Austin and their dog Cooper. Had some tea: maple and honey, and strawbery which Bai had bought at Tom's. Some gluten free crackers and chedder to go with the tea. Waited a while until her parents came home from touring the Finger Lakes Wine country. Then Bai decided to try the wine I had got her for her b-day. Hickory Hollow's Red Hoot, Finger Lakes red table wine.

All in all today was the day that made my year.....

Now officially a graduate!

I did it, I finished my summer course at Binghamton University. So now I'm officially done with undergrad!

Bailey and I went out to see a movie tp celebrate my completion of undergrad. Originally we were going to see The Proposal but opted for Year One instead based on the fact that the former looked like it would be too crowded. Funny movie with Jack Black and Micheal Cerra and the kid who played McLovin' from Super Bad. I didn't get a lot of the jokes but then I only got 2 years of unwanted bible study at a Lutheran middle school. Still funny though. It makes fun of religion in general and I feel that's a good thing.

Then I went out for some Thai food with Bailey and got to speak some Thai to the staff. Also taught Bailey some very useful Thai phrases.


If you ever find yourself stuck in Bangkok for any reason here are some useful phrases and words to know. These will get you outta trouble, food, lodging, and lots of smiles and laughs and hopefully new freinds:

Sawasdee krup/kaa - Hello (formal with extension of krup for males, kaa for females)
Chur a ria mai - what's your name?
Chur ....(your name) - My name is......
Sabai - good/alright
Sabai Sabi - it's all good/i'm very chill (also a popular cocktail made with Mekong, sweet baisil and 7up or seltzer.
Sabai dee mai - are you good/alright?
Mai sabai - no not alright
Mai coi sabai - I don't feel well
Sanuk - fun/enjoyable
Sanuk mai - was it fun?
Sunuk mak! - it was really fun!
Sunuk jing jing - it was fun really...I'm not kidding.
Mai pen rai - no problem
pen a rai mai - what's the matter?
Mai dai pen a rai - nothing's the matter/no it's not that (I don't have that problem)
Dai a rai - What did you get?/How did it go?
Dai a rai mung - Did you get anything?
Mai dai dai a rai - No, I didn't get anything
A rai kho dai - get me whatever, anything's fine, really.
Dai mai - can you do it?/is it possible?
Mai dai - no it's not possible/can't do it
Kho toad - I'm sorry/ I apologize (not to be confused with Kho tot - please fart, tonal languages are oodles of fun aren't they?)
Tao rai - how much?
Pang - expensive
Mai pang - not expensive
Pang mak - very expensive
Oi Pang mak - Holly crap that's really frekin' expensive
Ghee Baht - How many Baht? (Thai currency)
Tang - money
Stang - small change
Ahyu tao rai - how old are you?
Ahyu ....(age) - I'm ... years old
Ghee mong - What time is it?
Heiu mai - are you hungry?
Heiu - yeah I'm hungry
Heiu mak - I'm really hungry
Heiu mak mak - yes, I'm starving, let's go eat!
Arroy mai - does it taste good?
Arroy - yes it's tasty!
Arroy mak - oh yeah it's really really tasty!
Roy jung hoo - yes it's tasty (southern pak-thai dialect)
Sap lai - yes it's tasty (norther issan dialect)
Mai arroy - not it tastes horrible
Hong namm - bathroom
Hong namm yu nai - where is the bathroom?
Namm - water
Satt nam - swimming pool
Wai namm - swimming
Wai namm mai - wann go swimming?
Wai namm mai dai - I can't swimm
Mai wai - I can't take it anymore
Namm kang - water
Sai namm kang - put ice in it
Mai sai namm kang - don't put ice in it
Kang - hard (like hard as a rock)
Namm mun nao soda - lime soda (very refreshing in the Bangkok heat)
Coke - cocca cola
Spite - Sprite or 7up
Pepsi - pepsi
Bia - Beer
Mekong - a type of rice whiskey that tastes like rum named after the Mekong river.
Nom - milk
Khao - food or rice
Gang - curry
Pett - Spicy
Gin Khao - to eat, or is eating
Bai gin khao - going to go eat
Bai gin khao mai - wanna go eat?
gin khao reau - I already ate
Wiee - Wine
Rhon - hot
Rhon mai - is it hot?
Nau - cold
Nau mai - is it cold?
Yen - cold
Phon tok - rain
Maa - dog
Meo - cat
Ling - monkey
Nok - bird
Gai - chicken
Moo - pork
Neur - beef or meat
Gatai - rabbit
Nu - rat
Ngu - snake (you don't want to run into these in Thailand, they are mostly pythons or cobras.)

Banh - home/house
Grap Bahn - go home
Grap Banh mai - wanna go home?
Bai grap banh - let's go home.

Kapp krun kapp/kaa - Thank you very much (kapp for males/kaa for females)

Numbers:

Nurng - 1
Song - 2
Sam - 3
See - 4
Haa - 5
Hokk - 6
Jet - 7
Batt - 8
Gau - 9
Sip - 10

for teens:
Sip ett - 11 and everything else is Sip followed by the one's place number.

20 and beyond: Yee Sip - 20
Yee Sip ett - 21 and all subsequient tens place + one is the ones place + ten and then the ones place holder.

e.g: Sam sip ett - 31, sam sip song - 32.

Roi - 100

Pun - 1,000

Mirn - 10,000

Lann - 100,000 (I think but I may be wrong here.)


And that should be enough to keep you busy for now.......

It's confusing I know. But Vietnamese is more confusing and someday I'll post some useful phrases in that language too.

Have fun with it!

updates in the near future....

Take one interesting picture everyday and post it on my blog along with some description or not. Perhaps also with something written that may be different or not.

Flight Canceled.......no biggy

My flight got canceled. Turns out the instructor forgot to book my in their system so I wound up showing up while he was with another student....an 11 year old one at that. Wow that's so young (must have rich parents....) Here's a fact:

FAA permits anyone to learn how to fly at any age with an instructor provided they can reach the controls; stick, rudder pedals and see out the windscreen. You must be at least 14yrs old before soloing and at least 17yrs old to get the actual license. Damn I wish I had a means of starting while working my summers during high school (if only I had a car) but 11? Like I said, rich parents.....

Better luck next time I guess.

So I'm back and am attempting to practice more GREs and study for Economics of Sports. Two more days to go and then I'm officially done with undergrad!

Tomorrow is Bailey's b-day. Hopefully I can still surprise here even thought she says I'm so predictable.

Planing my first x-country flight...

It's about time, after almost a year of weekends flying around at the same airport, I'm finally going for a legit 'hop.'

Trip: Fly from Tri-Cities Airport, Endicott, NY to Penn Yan Airport, Penn Yan, NY.

Distance: 55 nautical miles.

Aprox. ground speed depending on winds aloft: 105-115kts or aprox. 120-135mph.

Altitude: probably somewhere in the 2,000-4,000ft vicinity.

Hopefully only burn 2-3 gallons of avgas.

Oh and we're doing this with a map, compass and a pair of eyes. No GPS.

Happy landings and will probably be back in time for dinner. Of course make it back in time for dinner and finish studying for Economics of Sports at SUNY Binghamton.

Scary movies and books.

For as long as I can remember, I've always been afraid to watch horror films. As I child lots of movies freaked me out. The idea of the paranormal and supernatural and walking, talking skeletons instilled a phobia of closets, shadows against my window at night, creaky door hinges etc. This is all very amusing since I re watched a few of those movies. Edward Scissor hands really gave me nightmares as a child but after watching it again, It was actually a really funny, dramatic film. I suppose a lot of my fears back then were based on my visual interpretation.

Anyhoo, I finally decided to watch a scary movie with Bailey who happens to be a scary movie buff. We watched Stephen King's "Room 1408" about a haunted hotel room in New York City that stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. (Gotta love Samuel L. Jackson.) Very gripping movie kept me on the edge of the bed. I'm beginning to realize that although the films are scary, they give me a rush that feels pretty good. Definitely better plot development than the comedies that I typically watch. I definitely need to get caught up on scary movies.

The last truely scary movie I never even got half way though was "The Ring" or "Ringu" in Japan that I was trying to watch with some friends while I was in high school when we were on a field trip to the Izu Peninsula for some SCUBA diving. I had nightmares about dead kids in my closet for a while. When I get settled, I'll try to watch it again.

Bailey was kind enough to lend me one of her Stephen King novels: "Pet Sematary." I never really read horror before so she recommended that I start with this. This will be fun and give me something different from my usual futuristic, sci-fi genre.

good luck wiith a claw machine

When Bai and I went to see Star Trek for my second time and her third time, we tried our luck with a few claw machines in front of the ticket vendor. I've never been able to grab anything ever using these machines. After a couple of tries however, I got lucky and manage to grab 2 prizes with the claw. This particular machine had Hanna-Barbera plush characters in it. I won a wally gator and a snagglepus. Couldn't decide which to keep (actully wanted to give them both to Bai, since that's the custom in Japan where I lived, guys win the prizes and give them to their girlfreinds.) After flipping a coin, I gave her wally and I kept snagglepus.

Speaking of Hanna-Barbera, It's been a really long time since I watched anything of that type of animated show. I can remember how funny and relaxed the charecter of snagglepus was with his cool demeaner and sly wit. This prompted me to look up some youtube clips.

On the topic of claw machines, I couldn't help but reminice the hilarious scene from Pixar's Toy Story where Buzz and Woody got stuck in a claw machine with a bunch of rubber aliens. These 3D animated films have come a long way since. I remember the most recent one I saw was Wal-ee last summer in Geneva with Bailey. Gosh, I've seen a lot of movies with Bailey.