Every year, I make a list of improvements that I want to work on during the forthcoming twelve months. By the first week of January, these “resolutions” are all but forgotten. Last year, I even made a resolution to not make any more resolutions! I didn’t keep that one, either. So, in 2015, I’ve decided … Continue reading Resolutions? I Think Not…
Month: December 2014
Koong & Andy’s Just Wed Party
I don’t really go to many parties, particularly what I’d classify as the high-society type. But when a good friend gets married, one really has to do what one can to participate. I’ve known Andrew for a few years now; he’s probably the most interesting Englishman I know, a former Special Forces officer in the … Continue reading Koong & Andy’s Just Wed Party
Making A Dream Come True
The top two items remaining in my Bucket List loom like insurmountable mountain peaks. In fact, one of them is just that: Mount Everest. No, I don’t desire to climb to the summit. My dream is to see the great peak from the ground (flying by seems like cheating). A former co-worker of mine made … Continue reading Making A Dream Come True
English Camp – December 2014
Earlier this month, the teaching agency I work for sponsored a two-day English Camp at Wat Sri Sunthorn School in the Thalang Sub-District of Phuket. As are most camps of this type these days, this one revolved around the 2015 initiation of the Asian Economic Community (AEC) and so included plenty of quiz games in … Continue reading English Camp – December 2014
Philatelic Pursuits: December 2014
This past month has (probably) been my most philatelic of the past decade, possibly the past two decades. The reason for my uncertainty is that any records of my pre-Thailand life are long gone and my memory isn’t that keen either. While living in New Mexico, I did attend a few first day of issue … Continue reading Philatelic Pursuits: December 2014
Most Thoughtful Gifts
It took a couple of years of packages that never arrived and frustrations over extremely high shipping costs to convince my sister and I that annual holiday exchanges between Kansas and Thailand were more trouble than they were worth. Since 2008 or so, the majority of our exchanges have been the online variety. But every … Continue reading Most Thoughtful Gifts
Merry Christmas from Phuket, Thailand!
This is my tenth consecutive Christmas in Thailand and they keep getting better. While there were a few stray decorated trees to be seen during my first few holidays here, each year seems to bring more and more signs of Yuletide spirit. The shopping mall where I work has slowly been adding decorations ever since … Continue reading Merry Christmas from Phuket, Thailand!
The 12 Days Of Christmas – Variations
While ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and A Christmas Carol are my favorite pieces of holiday prose, over the past couple of years I’ve found myself accumulating variations on “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. I even attempted to write my own philatelic rendition but gave up after just a few lines: On the first day … Continue reading The 12 Days Of Christmas – Variations
The 12 Days Of Christmas Stamps 2014: Day 12 – Christmas Island
It’s Christmas Eve and we’ve come to the end the “12 Days Of Christmas Stamps” for 2014. I hope that you’ve enjoyed the stamps I’ve selected to highlight this year. For the final installment, I decided that I couldn’t leave out the Australian territory of Christmas Island. Located in the Indian Ocean some 2,600 kilometers … Continue reading The 12 Days Of Christmas Stamps 2014: Day 12 – Christmas Island
First Christmas Card for 2014!
With just two days to go before the holiday, I have just received my first Christmas card for 2014. Appropriately enough, it was sent from the administrators of the only online stamp collectors’ forum that I am a member of, Stamp Bears. The envelope was franked with one of the new Silver Bells Wreath Global … Continue reading First Christmas Card for 2014!
Mark Joseph Jochim 