A Viral State - Rejection

I’m not even sure what this means. Do they only sign LGBT writers? Or do my characters need to be LGBT?

I’m not sure what happened to the US publishing industry, but it seems that genres and writing are no longer the necessary qualifications anymore. You need to be gay, or a minority, or non-white, or raised by handicapped parents, or something to “set you apart.” I understand the woke culture and the need to give voices to those who have long been marginalized, but I’ll always take the side of good writing and interesting stories over who wrote them. I don’t care whose name is on the cover of a novel so long as it’s enjoyable to read. Sadly, I think marketing machines have adopted the diversity angle and straight, white, male authors are no longer what the industry is looking for.

This isn’t every agent, nor every agency or publisher, but after hunting for agents, i can assure you that there are a lot of agents with a checklist for the writers themselves, followed by the genres they want.

Seafood Dinner

Raw shrimp with limes and assorted veggies // Spicy seafood // Random sushi joint // Tom Yum

Degen Is (first shot) Vaccinated!

I got told that McCormick Hospital in Chiangmai, from 12-3 p.m. was giving out free shots of Sinovac for foreigners. So I went and overall, it was pretty well organized. I had registered for the vaccine but wasn’t on the list, so I was given a green piece of paper with a number (3). Others who had been chosen from the registration had blue pieces of paper. The doctor started to call off the blue numbers and they did around 100 in an hour. After that, he started to call green numbers and that was it. I walked in, took a seat, and a lady on a swivel chair just kept going down the line. Got jabbed, waited 30 minutes, and another lady with a cart took my blood pressure and I was out the door.

I was given a piece of paper with the date and time (3 weeks) to come back for my 2nd shot, which will be AstraZeneca. I also got lots of compliments on my shirt, and some laughed that it was fitting since the shot was Sinovac. Glad we were on the same page.

Life In Chiangmai

Dude thinks he’s in Phuket I reckon. Didn’t try the cannabis drinks, but thought it was unusual for a country that’s pretty strict on drugs. Last picture is Korean fried chicken because sometimes, that’s all that will suffice.

COVID-19 Vaccine Registration - Complete

It was a giant mess to get to this point. E-mail would turn up as an “error,” and then when trying to enter the e-mail again, it would say, “That e-mail has already been used.” I finally figured out that Gmail doesn’t recognize periods, so I removed the period in my Gmail address, and luckily, it accepted that one, and I was able to register. I’m not in the high-risk group (over 60, pre-existing conditions), so I don’t expect to get an appointment any time soon, but if registering is the closest I can get, that’s what I’ll take. We’ll see what happens. I have no idea about what vaccine it will be or the cost, but I’m cool with anything despite my preferences.

Another Exciting Weekend in Chiangmai

Thai Temple - Forgot Name

Sorry, can’t remember the name of this temple and having trouble finding it again on Google Maps. Though that’s sort of to be expected, as there are a ton of temples in Chiangmai.

Message - 10/10… Execution 5/10

Buffet Hot Pot

I was looking for one of those sushi places with the conveyor belts, but couldn’t find one. The closest I got was this: a hot pot place that has raw meat/veggies on plates that you put in your hot pot and cook yourself. They also had a self-serve sushi station. Convenience - 10/10. Food - 7/10.

When I paid the bill, waiter looked out at tables, then back at me and said, “Busy tonight.” I looked around, and including myself, there were 5 people in the restaurant, taking up 3 tables. I looked back at the guy and said, “Sure is!” I guess that’s the state of things here in Chiangmai due to COVID – anything over 0 is considered “busy” or “a lot.”

TCM in Thailand

Rotator cuff got busted up at gym, so I thought I’d give Traditional Chinese Medicine a shot. Had acupuncture with electrical stimulus, and then cupping. 350 baht for both. Will see if things improve. I’m skeptical, but who knows…

Shrimp Tom Yum

Unexpected Scooter Buddy

Weekend In Chiangmai

Phat Kaprao

Doing more Thai cooking lately. This is pretty easy, but learning to make Tom yum is proving to be more difficult. Haven’t gone out a lot lately as I’ve been busy with work, and the city is on the brink of another lockdown, so everyone is straddling between wanting to go out, and preparing to stay inside for weeks on end.

New Apartment / Happy 4th!

Cool Commie Art

Not really into the CPC celebrating centenary, but thought the art was cool.

Palm Tree

Things have been pretty quiet lately in Chiangmai. Will head to immigration tomorrow to renew my visa for another two months, and then I move into my new apartment on Friday. Excited to have my own place with a proper kitchen, as well as a big pool. Several international schools in Chiangmai and around the country have cancelled classes or gone online (their choice, not government mandated) though many fear that another lockdown is imminent amidst Thailand’s “third COVID-19 wave.” We’ll see what happens.

Quiet Sunday in Chiangmai

Thai Curry

Quick Lunch

Pad Thai with shrimp, and chicken kebabs with lightly-toasted bread