Has it really been a week since I have endeavored to recount the minutiae of my extremely boring pandemic-period life? Well, I cannot think of a single thing really worth documenting as it is pretty much the same all day long, each and every day. Perhaps the only major change is that I have not had a look at the local news in the past couple of days. I just got too depressed with all the bad news last week that I am trying to avoid knowing of any further developments. At some point, I will need to do the responsible thing and subject myself to the latest. I am just not ready yet.

I don’t think I have mentioned my rash in any of these blogs. So, now is a good enough time to get that out of the way. I have been suffering from red itchiness on the right part of my stomach and the upper portion of my right leg for more than a week now. The middle portion of my right arm has been affected as well. These rashes are not connected and do not appear to be spreading. It is probably just prickly heat as it has been downright hot lately and I seem to be coated in a film of sweat at most given moments throughout the day. It could also be a form of eczema as well (are they related?). At any rate, I have been taking around four or five cold showers a day as a result after which I rub aloe vera lotion over the bad spots. I found it funny that it was so difficult to spot some sort of moisturizing lotion at the local shop but there were shelves and shelves full of whitening cream. I’m white enough, thank you very much.

Most of each day sees me sat at my desk tapping away on the keys of my laptop. The “E” is beginning to stick which can drive one crazy at times. I have been adding a lot of “New Issue” articles to my stamp site lately. I have been alternating those articles with some school work in recent days. This means that I have not only written several weeks of lesson plans but have also created materials for each of those lessons. Some of these are summaries to paste into the students’ notebooks (at least for M2 and M3) while others are matching cards for various classroom activities (in game form) as well as a few new flashcards. I always feel great when I begin creating these types of things, particularly after procrastinating for weeks. Once you get started, it can be difficult to stop.

I finished another book the other day — Bill Bryson’s The Body: A Guide for Occupants which was utterly fascinating in parts — and started two on Sunday, one an account on how to create joy in a classroom using the Finnish teaching model and the other a new thriller by David Baldacci.

With all the writing and reading, this was yet another weekend without opening my stamp album so I may try to do some of that tomorrow or Wednesday. I did receive some international mail on Friday but it is unclear whether they were held somewhere when the Bangkok processing center was shutdown or if these envelopes indicate the resumption of mail service. The postmarks on all (mostly from the U.S.A. but one from Singapore) were either non-existent or completely unclear so I cannot determine when they were mailed. There was also one Postcrossing card that was mailed from Turkey around mid-March so who knows how long it has been in Thailand?

Today’s photo is of my main source of groceries now. This is the Tops at Limelight, about a three-minute walk from my home. The selection is rather minimal and some things that their parent supermarket at Central has on sale never get discounted here. I am very happy that they carry Heinz ketchup but they seem to have stopped stocking mustard of any kind. It is rare that I can get a salad here but I am very happy when I find one. I think I just need to go shopping earlier in the day. They also teased me a couple of months ago with mango ice cream and this one I cannot describe but is the best that I ever had. Sort of vanilla that wasn’t vanilla (or coconut, either) but with these big candied nuts throughout. I haven’t seen either since those first purchases. They seemingly have been replaced by a very expensive cookies and cream that has a thick shell of white chocolate on the top and the bottom. This is my usual splurge now but I resisted last week and tonight. My next visit will see it in my tote bag once again, I can assure you.

I apologize for the blurriness of the photo. I was a bit shy about standing in front of a mini-mart taking a photo and didn’t take the time to focus (the phone on my camera takes longer and longer to do any task). Plus, it was nighttime. Anyway….

And that’s the end of whatever I have to say. Which isn’t a whole lot but I tend to do it with a flurry of words. Hopefully, something new (and exciting) will break in the next days or else it may be another week before I visit Asian Meanderings for another account of…. nothing new.

Cheers.