Anyhoo, I suppose, YOU are right: I am not a real blogger. That long hiatus is proof enough. Then again, I never made any claims that I was a real blogger anyway, or a blogger even, so there: YOU are not right. Hee!
So where have I been? I suppose, since this is my first blog in, like, months (2?3?) and my first blog for the year, I'll just give a recap of the various shenanigans (I'm sure there's a better word than this, but I like the word 'shenanigans,' I really do, and I really want to use it right now) I managed to get myself into the last few months.
Remember I went to Bangkok for a conference? Well, besides the conference, I also got to do quite a number of things there:
Touch a tiger--well, more of stand there actually with Mel (hehe) while Fama touched it
Ride an elephant--what fun it would have been if the elephant were pink (i know, super obscure reference)
Play with the fish
Swim with the sharks
And get cozy with the jelly fish
There were also amazing sights to behold:
The smaller version of the Reclining Buddha in Ayutthaya--and me
An old wat in Ayutthaya
The Headless Buddhas, also in Ayutthaya
Me with the Headless Buddhas
Wat Arun
Still at Wat Arun
The Golden Mount
Where I went up, up, up
Only to get 'burned' by a bell
Oh, I also got to light an incense in a wat close to the Golden Mount--the name of which I have forgotten
The Reclining Buddha--still can't get over how huge it is!
See how small I am compared to it?
And then there was a whole lot of shopping:
And lots of coffee in the middle of Cha Tu Chak:
And the money shot--and I did it only because of my interest in globalization studies, specifically the McDonaldization of culture, and not because I'm just really, well, juvenile--doing a sawatdee with good ole Ronald
Lest you don't believe now that there was actually a conference, after seeing all these pics, here's some proof:
One of the talks I attended, with other delegates from UP
My talk--hee!
And remember last time I was talking about getting myself a pic with this super big person in cda, Teun van Dijk, who would be at the conference as well? Well, here it is:
He's the guy in the rather-boring-but-very-relaxed-and-laidback-looking brown ensemble. Kinda cute, no?! Hee! I wasn't able to manage a pic with just the two of us. I couldn't get the nerve to ask him. This one actually happened only because of the other people in the pic (shoutout to the beautiful ladies of DECL!). I was so close to him while he was doing his plenary talk, like 2 to 3 feet away, that I could actually touch him if I just extended my arms. (I know, I know, my arms are not that long, but you get what I mean. Hehe.) I was a bit late getting to the conference on the first day (not my fault, ok? the shuttle's!), and as a consequence, I had to sit in front of the hall. His talk? Not great, but it was great to see him deliver it. Or maybe I'm saying this, because I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying, as I was so busy smiling and trying to contain myself. :-)
It's not really a crush or anything like that. No, I don't think so. It's just, you know, meeting someone you never thought you'd meet, that you thought you'd only get to read, and whose works you really liked at some point in your life. That's exciting, right? Does that make sense? I also got to meet Prof Edwin Thumboo (also in the pic, far right) in the conference. I read some of his poems in some Comparative Lit classes when I was an undergrad, and I've heard lots of stories about him being this high profile professor of NUS and buddy of PMM. All I can say is, the man deserves all the glowing things I've heard about him.
Anyway, this is already longer than I thought it would be--and this is only Bangkok. Still so much to cover. I suppose I'll just continue this recap of sorts some other time. Oh, and it's nice to be back in here. :-)
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