An Answer!

Time for the answer to our quiz, for those of you who participated:

This man needed sixteen (very small) stitches because … a sudden thunderstorm threw a plastic “Caution – Wet Floor” sign with enough force to shatter a half-inch-thick glass door in his face.


A month ago Patrick decided to go home from work a little early because he was fighting a cold and wanted to get some rest. He was about halfway home when a big thunderstorm blew up – it’s the rainy season here in Thailand. He took shelter under the awning of an office building, which (like most office buildings here) has a glass window façade. Two custodial workers put out extra doormats and a plastic “Caution – Wet Floor” sign. He was facing the building, with his back to the storm, when a gust of wind blew past the building, picked up the sign and threw it into the glass door directly in front of him. The door shattered, and the top two-thirds of the door fell out of the wall and hit Patrick in the face.

After their initial panic, the management of the building where Patrick was hurt were very good about the whole incident. They called a cab for him while he was bleeding all over their lobby and sent someone with him to Bumrungrad Hospital, which is about 10 minutes’ walk from our apartment building’s front door. He was shown immediately into the ER and saw one of the attending physicians within 20 minutes. After the doctor cleaned up Patrick’s forehead, he asked him, “You want to see?” Patrick said he did and was handed a mirror. He figures he must have turned his head at the last moment before the door hit him, because all of the cuts were on the left side of his head. “I think you need some stitch,” the doctor said. Fortunately, they didn't have to shave the side of his head to sew him up. (We don't think Patrick’s the Mohawk type.) The doctor and nurses were excellent and did a fantastic job. The scars will probably be invisible this time next year.

All in all, the whole business cost around $300 – which the building management paid directly to the hospital. They even had someone meet Patrick when he had his stitches out to pay that bill, too. So, if you’re planning on a sudden head injury, we recommend Bangkok.

In all seriousness, it’s scary in retrospect – Patrick could’ve been wearing a non-ironic eyepatch on a permanent basis. The Thais in the office told him he should buy a lottery ticket, in the belief that if something bad happens to a person, the universe makes up for it by granting them good luck immediately afterward. We think he was pretty lucky as it was, so Patrick and the universe have agreed to call it even.

(For the record, Melanie is the big quiz winner. We’ll probably manage to think of an appropriate prize by the next time we see her.)

Angry Devil Vespa Bunny Delivers ... Happiness?

Recently Patrick's office bid farewell to two university interns, Khun Gow and Khun Toffy, who had been working with them for the last couple of months. The interns bought cards for everyone in the office and personalized each of them with pictures and handwritten messages.


They were taken with the fact that Patrick & Jennifer ride to work on the Vespa every day, so they chose an appropriate card for Patrick. We're not really sure what was going through the designer's head when he or she drew this illustration. Maybe LSD?

Bon Voyage, Molly!

One of the bad things about our way of life is having to say farewell to good friends far too often. Last week we sent our friend Molly off to the University of California at Berkeley, where she'll be getting her Ph.D.

Molly had been working as a Fellow for USAID/RDMA since 2006 -- she was our expert in emerging infectious diseases such as bird flu, swine flu, and things people in the U.S. haven't heard of yet (monkey rickets, yak scrofula...). We had a small party for her at home for our small circle of friends, and then a big bash at work -- celebrated in traditional Thai fashion with lots of food.


Molly was a freshman at William & Mary when Patrick was a senior there. She saw him playing guitar every week at the 5:00pm Mass, but they didn't know each other then. Of course, that's all the more reason to be sad about her departure now. She's been a great friend to us here, and we're really going to miss her.

(Which is why we'll be visiting her in California during an upcoming home leave, we're sure!)

Three Hours, Door-to-Door

We spent Memorial Day weekend at the beach in Krabi, Thailand. Although we've lived here for two years, we haven't really been to the beach that often -- strange, when one realizes we live in a country with some of the best beaches on the planet.


This place was three hours' journey from our apartment ... door-to-door. Amazing Thailand, indeed.

A Quiz!

Well, after six months of near-complete dormancy, we're going to try to revive the blog. To celebrate the occasion, we have a quiz for you -- with helpful links -- to test your wits!

Question: Why did this man need sixteen (very small) stitches?

Answers:

a) Because he highsided the Vespa after skidding out on a greasy portion of gai pad med ma-muang that someone spilled on the street.

b) Because a certain personage needed a lesson in manners … a lesson best taught at the point of a blade.

c) Because a sudden thunderstorm threw a plastic "Caution -- Wet Floor" sign with enough force to shatter a half-inch-thick glass door in his face.

d) Because his Muay Thai instructor hadn't yet gotten around to teaching him how to defend against the sok wiang glub strike.

e) Because the crazy cat who has attacked Sarawat four times in the last couple of months has now taken to leaping from trees, ninja-style.

f) Because Professor Nerdlinger finally read one book too many, causing his brain to expand to the point where it burst out of his skull in a transcalvarial herniation.

Do you have a better answer? Send it to us in the Comments!

Update: Maybe it was a meteor!