Lom Jomthong, my father-in-law, passed away yesterday.

My visa has become non-renewable due to new regulations that state three months of unemployment render the visa invalid, or something to that effect. I will return to Thailand on the 19th of October and re-enter Japan on the 26th of the same month. Hopefully, everything will go to plan and I will be back to work at the beginning of November, otherwise I will have some serious recourse to another Visa - the capitalized one.

We are mooving.Sorry I couldn't resist. It looks like we will move out of Khon Kaen to Nong Sao on the 2nd of September if everything goes to plan (which categorically never happens as there is no plan in Thailand). One thing is for sure, today is my last day of work at Be Smart. Yipee! I will be offline for several weeks with the move, but I thought one last post with a picture of our calf would be appropriate. The mother is not pictured, but we bought the pair. Beef futures, baby! - or baby beef futures! It's obvious the stress has gotten to me.

I suppose I will drivel on a bit about my preparations to go back to Japan. Monday the 29th is my last day with Be Smart and had I been I probably never would have taken the job in the first place. There is always a sense of lifted burden when quitting a job, even a good one, but I can tell you that with these guys it will be like the lifting of a curse.

In other news, we have a rental house out in the village. The rent is ridiculously low. Next time you spend thirty dollars consider that we have a two-storey house for that much a month. The downside is that I don't want to be present for this move from Khon Kaen to Nong Sao. My wife assures me that I won't have to lift a finger, but the plan had been that she would move after I had left. "Don't worry, you can just watch." I feel like a mafia Godfather ordering a hit; I don't want to be anywhere near the scene of the crime. Moving, even just watching it done, is something I have done far too much of recently and it gives me great stress. In any case, September 7th is D-day for all Thailand headaches to cease and Japan ones to begin

I could drivel on about my preparations to go back to Japan, but instead I've decided to post a picture of some cute village kids. Kids are kids where ever you go and these guys always seem to be having a great time playing in the dust, dirt and debris. It is hard to imagine what kind of futures they will have given their economic conditions, but for now they are as carefree as little crappers the world over.

Well, the visit was a smashing success. Pictured right is the bemused couple discovering the 'real' Thailand. Right down to the sunny weather on the day were drove out to the country, and overcast, yet comfortably cool weather on the other days, everything went to plan. Dan's back to beating his head against the wall in Japan where I will soon join him for the forehead to mural structure fun.

He cometh...

...my friend Dan, that is. On Monday Dan and his lovely fiancee will touch down in Prathet Thai where they will spend several days being dragged about Khon Kaen and Kalasin provinces. We may even stop at the Buddha on the hill pictured above. The poor couple don't know what they are in for. Dan will be subject to my long-winded pontifications on all things Thailand related as well as summaries to several books I have recently read on the development of human societies. His fiancee, Etsuko will be paraded through the local shops and markets by my wife where she will be pressured into purchasing anything she is unfortunate enough to glance at twice (and I am not talking about pushy vendors - they don't exist up here, my wife will do the shopping and hawking simultaneously). After two nights the miserable couple will undoubtedly regret their decision to come, but will realize that they are completely reliant on us for transportation, accommodation and communication, and therefore doggedly endure two more days of righteous rants and shopping sprees before they are allowed to return to the safety of their residence in Japan. Ha! I will now have the undivided attention of bored adults rather than bored schoolchildren.

Part of living in Thailand is plotting and scheming about getting rich quick. Realize that an income of twenty-thousand dollars a year would be very comfortable in Isaan and you'll understand the relative notion of getting rich. I've spun all sorts of silly ideas through my head on how I could supplement the monthly income. Of course in the end the best I could come up with is hauling my ass (and English speaking mouth) back to Japan. Nonetheless, I plan to be back here some day on a more permanent basis and I have seen the salary ceiling. So, what's my latest entrepreneurial epiphany? - Cattle! Some may poo poo the notion and point to my losses in '29 when all of my assets were tied up in railroads and pork bellies, but I have learned a thing or two in the meanwhile. For one thing, cows in Isaan can graze on public land, meaning free food. As a cow grows, its value increases. Also cows give birth to baby cows, known in ranching circles as 'calves'. These calves also have a certain monetary value, especially if they turn out to be male with big ears (a sure sign of virile apparatus). Finally, the cost of labor is so cheap that I could have me a couple of cattle hands for a song. I don't see how I can lose. Anybody wanting to get in early on the beef buy, just drop me a line.

I don't remember my yellow school bus being anywhere near this cool.