NOTE: I wrote and published this article last year (2021) and doubt that I can improve upon it. Only a few details have been changed. It was twenty-one years ago today -- 27 August 2001 -- that my mother passed away following a lengthy illness and problems with her medication. She died at home in … Continue reading Mom: 21 Years Gone
Mark Jochim
R.I.P., Mom
It was twenty years ago today -- 27 August 2001 -- that my mother passed away following a lengthy illness and problems with her medication. She died at home in Shawnee, Kansas, with her faithful husband of 42 years -- my father -- at her side. Even after the passage of one-fifth of a century, … Continue reading R.I.P., Mom
10 Years Ago, Part 1: Albuquerque
This is the first of a series of photographic blogs highlighting my last days in the U.S.A. and my first full year as an expat in southern Thailand. Ten years ago this week, I made my final trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I’d lived since June 1994, along with my brother-in-law. We were there … Continue reading 10 Years Ago, Part 1: Albuquerque
A Year In The Life: 2014
The beginning of a New Year brings the traditional “year in review” post on blogs all over the world. Thus far, I’ve managed to avoid such an annual wrap-up as I’m not certain it serves much of a purpose. Now that I’m blogging much more, and am on the verge of several major changes in … Continue reading A Year In The Life: 2014
Happy New Year 2015!
Another year older, another year wiser? I have to admit that I’m a bit confused – is this the Year of the Sheep or the Year of the Goat. Some breeds of goats and sheep do look similar (the tails being the usual giveaway) but they aren’t exactly the same animal. Most websites detailing the … Continue reading Happy New Year 2015!
Resolutions? I Think Not…
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…
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
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
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
Mark Joseph Jochim 