You never know ....

Who you might bump into when out and about in Bangkok. I was getting a sandwich at Paragon near Siam Square where I work at the British Council.

As the Asia Cup, or at least part of it, was being held in Bangkok that week, there was some kind of event going on but the heavens had decided to open and give us one of those short, sharp showers of the tropics. So I legged it to find shelter and these guys had had the same idea. I therefore politely asked for a photo with them and here they are.

Yourskool.org

As this is my blog I thought it would be perfectly acceptable to plug my own website, www.yourskool.org

It is in its early stages but basically it is a website for sharing videos, like the ubiquitous YouTube and other copies, like my own. However, you won't find any sex or violence on www.yourskool.org as I am developing it as a resource for sharing learning experiences and cultures. I hope that people will be able to learn a little from watching a Yourskool video and will want to upload those that they have made themselves.

Here's one I made earlier:

What's a few days?

A few days could and probably should be construed as three or four but alas, I have not been here for probably over 14.

What did I say I would write about? Illness - ah yes, here is the abbreviated version as I feel good again and don't wish to dwell.

May 2007

1. I suffer discomfort
2. Discomfort becomes pain
3. Pain is bad so I visit doctor
4. Doctor detects 'mass' in lower colon and wants to take biopsy
5. Pain is too bad for doctor to take biobsy so prescribes antibiotics
6. Antibiotics work - pain improves and doctor can take biopsy of bad bit causing pain
7. Biopsy comes back - bad news - 'well differentiated' adenocarcinoma is detected
8. Doctor sends me for further tests including CT scan to check problem hasn't spread to other parts of body
9. I wait for results while pondering life and what or how much might be left of it
10. Test results are good - except for the original problem, that is.
11.Doctor recommends operation for removal of mass, or else!
12.I take doctor's advice though seek second and third opinions
13.Second opinion from top colorectal surgeon at Bamrungrad Hospital confers with doctor
14.Third opinion confers with others
June 2007
15.I decide to have operation at Bangrumrad - top surgeon, private en-suite room with cable TV
16.June 09 1800 2007 - I start counting to 20, get to 2 then wake up in recovery room
17.June 10-12 - morphine is my friend and makes pain and cable TV programmes bearable
18.June 13 - after 5 days of nil by mouth, rice water actually tastes good
19.June 14 - soft foods again
20.June 17 - I am discharged from hospital - I have a foot-long scar down my lower abdomen but the stitches are out
20.Doctor informs me that operation went well - mass removed with good 'margins' but was in quite an advanced stage, having spread to local lymph nodes. Will need six-months of intensive drug treatment to lower chances of recurrence elsewhere.

June 25 - I return to work. Normally I wouldn't have done this and I will no doubt talk about why later. However, I felt recovered and fit enough to work and really enjoy it, so why not?

It all happened very quickly and I have not really had time to suffer to many emotions or perhaprs it is that I remain extremely positive. I could have been (and still could be!) knocked down by a bus. I could have been blown up on the Tube. I could have not had medical insurance - the total cost of the stay in hospital and operation came to just over 4K. I could have not suffered any pain, as is generally the case in things that are this serious, and my disease could have remained undetected until too late.

All of these things allow me to have a positive attitude and outlook on life, despite the gravity of the situation I found myself in.

Time to move on to the next blog entry!

Samut Songkhram

I was going to Blog about today but I have decided to keep things in chronological order to here's what I was up to Sunday afternoon and most of yesterday.

It was work related but like so much of my job, it really does have a lot of very interesting moments. I drove down to the town of Samut Songkhram Samut Songkhram Province after meeting 5 teachers from England who are going to spend the week there as part of their schools' and Satthasamut School's linking activities that form part of the Dreams+Teams project.

Upon arrival, we were taken to our accommodation which turned out to be a very lovely wooden bungalow each set in lush surroundings in the 'Nam Yen' resort, about a kilometre from the school. Nam Yen means 'cold water', which is very apt as the shower was indeed very cold as we found out in the morning.

We were then taken out for an excellent meal of fresh local seafood, washed down with a few local beers and, after a quick discussion about the following day, we all retired for the night in our comfortable lodgings.

More about the next day in tomorrow, yes tomorrow's post so for now I've put up a photo and here's a link to a little tour of the path leading to my room, the room and back to breakfast!

Check out the video below:

2007 Part II

Well, I haven't posted since April 14th but not for the lack of things happening between then and now.

The end of May - beginning of June were particularly 'trying' times for me with a number of 'ups' and 'downs' to coin a cliche.

Saturday June 9th was a particularly significant day in my life as it was the day I underwent major surgery, courtesy of Bamrungrad International Hospital, a brilliant surgeon and his team, wonderful nursing staff and last but not least, comprehensive medical cover provided by my employers. Don't have good coverage? Get it now!

Anyway, I spent 9 days in my own private en-suite room which made things a little more comfortable although there is only so much cable TV one can watch and be entertained by once the morphine is no longer required!

So, for today I shall simple put up a picture of a typical scene at a Bangkok Hypermarket and come back over the next few days to Blog about my new job, a bit about my illness without dwelling there for too long, starting training for my 3rd Bangkok Marathon and whatever else I get up to and manage to take a picture or video clip of.

Here's a video with a very tentative connection with today's post, but it's great to go back there and see how truly, 'interesting' the 80's were!