Chill Factor

I am afraid this girl's hearty Midwestern blood has already thinned - I am chilly today!  The temperature is in the upper 70s, but that sea breeze is back and blowing fiercely through the condo. The men are back at work in the bathroom, and tend to leave the front door open while they're here.  With that door opened, the wind howls in from the deck doors and actually makes me chilly.  We have been snickering at the locals who pull out their jackets when the temperature dips below 80°. For the first time since we've been here, I have pulled my long-sleeve shirt out of the drawer, and I am wearing socks.  We normally have to go barefoot in the condo - not just because the owner requested no shoes, but because the wood floors are so slippery that wearing socks becomes a safety issue!  Of course Tim has to wear socks and shoes to work, and when he gets home, he slips around the condo in his "killer" socks.

almost finished!

The men working on the bathroom appear to not speak English, so we greet each other in Thai when they arrive, then not another word is spoken between us.  They quietly go in and out throughout the day, and I never quite know for sure when they are finished.  I'm sure they just don't want to bother me.  They never indicate to me that they're done, they just leave and don't come back. And they never indicate to me whether I should stay off the floor or what.  Today, they finished reseating the toilet, but the floor doesn't have the final coats on it.  I happen to catch one of them when I walked into the back room, and he said something to me in Thai.  I have no idea what he said, but he was pointing to the toilet and shaking his head, while using a gesture similar to an umpire's "safe."  I think I got the picture!

(Next day) The weather is beautiful today - still very windy, but not chilly, and the sun is shining.  We do have our fair share of overcast days, when the harbor across the bay is completely obscured.  Today is not one of those days.

Finished! (Just realized an
awful lot of my pictures are
potty-related.  Hmmm.)

One workman appeared unannounced at the door today just after nine o'clock.  (Luckily, I had already showered and dressed!  Every other time they've come, the condo office has called me to let me know.)  As you can see in the picture above, there are significant gaps between the boards - these exist throughout the condo, and are filled in with some kind of tar-looking caulk.  Having never been on a yacht, I assume this is how the floors are traditionally done, as the interior of our condo is modeled after a yacht or cruise ship.  In this tropical climate, I think the gaps allow for the expansion and contraction of the wood.  So the workman was back today to begin filling in the gaps, as well as adding a finishing coat.  Again he was in the condo, then gone from the condo, then back in the condo.  I had a lunch date, so when he was gone from the condo, I locked the door and headed out.  When I got back, I found all his equipment sitting outside the door.  And about two minutes after walking in the door, he was back in the condo again - he must have been "lurking about."  (I'd called the office downstairs and explained that I was leaving - they said they would let him in while I was gone, but apparently this didn't happen).  When he left for the day, he said, "Not finish."  Then pointed at his watch to indicate what time he would be back tomorrow to finish the job.  Near as I could figure, it's gonna be either nine or ten o'clock :)  (Day 3)  Doorbell rang at 10:02, and the floor is finally done - huzzah!  Of course, we have to wait "about maybe 4, 5 day" before we can use the room.

 The watch thing brings up an interesting point - in Thailand, although people use the same 24-hour military system to talk about time in official capacities, Thais use  their own complicated system of telling time in more casual settings.  They divide the day into six roughly four-hour blocks.  From one to five a.m., the number is preceded by the word "dtee."  From six to eleven a.m., the number is followed by  "mohng."  They use "baai" for early afternoon, and "yen" for late afternoon, then in the evening, they switch to "tum." As you might expect, the "noons" and "midnights" have their own special names.  So glad they use the military times as well - just having two different year designations (2015 and 2558) is enough for me.  (2558 - Does that mean Buck Rogers has already come and gone??)

Favorite Thai English of the day - at the Dairy Queen (yes, they have those here), Tim got a "banana sprit."  I dunno - you figure it out...