miss-informed

July 2009 Update

2009-07-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive. And this update is long overdue! Wow, what a time it's been, I swear! Is it really July?

I've made some significant decisions and changes in my life in the last year, that's for sure. Even in the last month. It's been a whirlwind, but it finally led me to the perfect place for me to accomplish the next chapter in my life goals - and that place is HOME, ironically enough. Who woulda thought? Certainly not me. The universe works in mysterious ways.

After Thailand, I went back to Oregon and was preparing to teach english in South Korea after realizing I didn't want to struggle to work in Thailand and that it wasn't perhaps the greatest match. It's easy to romanticize living and working in Thailand. I wanted a steady income, and not to struggle financially, but to continue being of service. And I wanted to travel more, which teaching english would easily allow one to do.

Then I answered a call for work in southern Indiana, working with an old aquaintance, teaching raw food prep weekends at a center in the country, and decided to give the raw food health world ONE last whirl. It was a tough call, but I'm told that's where I belong and that's where my strengths are - and I do know my field well - but I have found it to be quite a toxic industry, overall. It was unexpected, and I took that as a sign.

In Indiana I learned some, taught some, and like most other life experiences, I found out what I was REALLY there for: to value my true potential. All along I've been running myself ragged, stressing out, and for people that ultimately stab you in the back or drop you when they have used what they want from you, it seems. And here I've made great strides, but I jumped in full-throttle (very "Erica-esque") and my own healing went on the backburner. It's been an eye-opening, delightful, and at times very painful journey - one that I wouldn't trade for the world. But it was time to take a step back and really examine what I was doing, if it was working for me, and if my needs were being met. It was important for me to leave my position in Indiana on good terms, and I did. But it was just as important for me to stand up for myself when the time came, and I did that too!

I firmly believe we are always right where we are supposed to be, and that we are always surrounded by the perfect people to teach us what we need to learn (not necessarily what we always want to learn, mind you!) Thanks to some wonderful, amazing people and some shocking twists and turns, I have surprisingly ended up right back in Chicago, my HOME, and home of the blues --- my favorite live music scene, hands down.

I was unemployed for all of 12 hours or so - the number one raw vegan restaurant in Chicagoland had an opening for a full-time raw chef (isn't the universe amazing?) so I started work immediately. It's an amazing, positive environment where I love going to work every day. I love how physical it is, and just focusing on the food and not the cancer, the stress of keeping a fledgling business afloat, etc. It's a well-organized, thriving vessel, and I'm happy to be on board! That said, the restaurant industry will definitely keep you VERY busy; it's so great to have so much to do! And it's FUN. And the food is FABULOUS.

I definitely have learned a lot, and consider myself a lot wiser. In the last month alone I have roadtripped for two weeks, reconnecting with family and relatives, which reminded me of who I am and where I come from. I voluntarily left my position, in THIS economy, to stand up for myself and what I will and will not allow in my life. I was blessed to finally meet in person my friends Belinda and Julius, in Decatur, Georgia, and to be treated with some of the most outstanding love and respect I have ever felt (which is huge), and to visit the King Center, a tribute to my favorite person in history. I had a job open up for me immediately right in my field, a job of integrity that is a lot of fun, that will teach me the next phase of skills for whatever I'm meant to be doing, plus allow me to share mine. As well, it will feed me optimally. I am also going to be living downtown Chicago in an environment that is ideal in how conducive it is to me reaching my goals, physically and mentally. And I will be in a loving, positive environment in a totally kickass neighborhood in Chicago, living with one of the coolest, most brilliant (and hilarious) chicks I have ever had the honor of knowing. AND I can get the healthcare I truly need right now: chinese medicine. From one of the top professionals in the country. I feel very blessed right now, and absolutely love my life! And I'm always taken care of, I realize. Why do I stress?

I haven't been blogging because life has still felt unsettled, but I also am not happy with blogger, LOL (if the "truth be told"). I have a new website in the works, one that will be employed through wordpress, which is the proper site to use for what I am setting out to do. So, I will be blogging again, but for right now my goals are to successfully move downtown in a month after getting all my ducks in a row, and to build my site correctly and thoroughly. That means not rushing it. I promise you it'll be worth it! I'll also be doing video updates, so stay tuned. I'm really excited about this, it feels "right". I'm just ironing out the details and not rushing myself at this time.

Thank you all for your patience! Here's a few pictures from the last couple of months . . . And sorry my update is so boring, I could have written ten novels on the introspection I've done and the realizations of 2009 thus far, but I chose to spare you and just give a profile of what I'm up to and where I'm at.......

This is me with two of my dearest friends in the country. I miss them and their parents, but we are friends for life, so it's all good! Nice to have my country retreat, especially so I can keep an eye on all the sunflowers I planted!

This is me on the back of my dear friend BJ's bike about a month ago outside of Kingston Mines, before taking off for breakfast. He is the head of security, and one of my guardian angels, I swear! His birthday is the same as MLK, Jr's, in fact!
This is me in Chicago with my dear "sister" Jules, who stayed with us for a couple of months in Indiana. I met some fabulous friends there and wouldn't trade it for the world! I had to take her and Audra to Chicago for the weekend to cut loose - we had a blast!

XO!

Thailand Going-Away Party

2009-03-07T04:52:00.001-08:00

Brody and I

Wes and I

Sam, Wes & I

The Israeli owner of "The Family" restaurant,

which I LOVE! Best Hummus & Falafel EVER!

And do we look related or WHAT? LOL!

He literally stopped me on the street to invite me

to his restaurant; I'm sure that's why he did. I'm glad

he was persistant, geeze it was good!

Poya, me and Tyler. My friends! I hung out with Tyler

(and his dad, lol) my last couple of weeks there. I miss him!

My friend Ashley from Seattle, who teaches at

the international school there and has a great son, Tre.

They were in a horrible scooter accident after I left!

I'm so happy to report they are recovering along nicely,

but how scary!

Ha ha ha, it was a fun night!

Me and my friend Alli from Sweden!

She's such great people!

Namsaknoi & Me

2008-12-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

My friend finally tagged me in this shot. Fun times! Can't wait to get back, more of an update soon, and tons more muay thai shots to come up, including my going away party, as soon as I have access to my *own* computer again, lol! Hope you had all had a great holiday --- I got the new AC/DC cd and dvd, so I'm a happy girl.

Hi Honeys, I'm Home!

2008-12-19T23:48:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!

I'm still so jetlagged, I cannot keep my eyes open at all right now. But I'm back in Oregon, in the states, everything went safely, I have tons of muay thai pictures and even some videos to upload, but please be patient with me the next couple days while I house/couch surf and work on a plan. I have soooo much that has happened since I got home, life is beautiful but always just so unexpected and wild. Above all, it is good. I'm glad to be home, I'm looking forward to returning, blah blah blah, Happy Holidays and I'll be in touch soon.

xo
Mary

Free Hugs Campaign

2008-12-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

Has everybody seen this? It's been around for a bit, but it's really cool and very touching. I love how it goes from black and white to color after the first hug......

SEVA Organization: Great Gift Ideas

2008-12-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

It's gift-giving season. For most people, that means something material. But it occurred to me to write about a great organization called SEVA FOUNDATION. I've gotten gifts of service before for family members and friends, and highly recommend it.

The SEVA FOUNDATION is awesome. Through it, you can pay for tuition for sight restoration for people in places like Cambodia or Nepal, and literally pay for the procedure of restoring sight to a blind person. You can also pay for poor villages to receive clean water or for people to recieve literacy education and materials. Likewise, you can assist in building healthier Native American communities, and diabetes awareness education for them. You can also help mothers and babies in poor and developing countries.

I've paid for the education of young women in Guatemala and have purchased vision surgery for people as gifts. What happens is you are asked what you want to put in the card, and they customize it for you. Then you receive a beautiful card in the mail to give to the person you purchased it for, with their name printed in it and saying what was purchased in their honor.

It's a beautiful gift, and truly what "the season" is all about, to me. Check out their website and their vision and mission; they truly are the real deal and do profound work all over the globe!

Stand By Me: Sung From Around The World

2008-12-04T03:10:00.000-08:00

Just watch this. It's amazing! All different musicians from around the world coming together to perform one song at the same time, via technology. One BEAUTIFUL song. And the musicians are AMAZING and the style and sheer talent in this creation makes me sorely miss the hole-in-the-wall joints I go see Joe Barr and other similar soul singers at in my hometown, "Sweet Home" Chicago. I JUST LOVE THIS. The South African music at the end, as always, gives me goosebumps. I WILL make it to Africa one day, mark my words......

Anybody who's read my AC/DC posts knows how I feel about music. I love it. All different kinds. I know it alone has even kept me alive during periods of my life. In the immortal words of Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone in the song "Man Of Golden Words":

Let's fall in love with music

The driving force in our living

The only international language

Divine glory, the expression

The knees bow, the tongue confesses

The lord of lords, the king of kings

I actually dedicate this post to two people, my dad and my friend Cheryl, a.k.a. "Shmacks".

My dad for blaring all different kinds of music throughout my childhood (some of my first memories are of listening to Blondie, Black Sabbath or The Kinks), for sharing his gift of music appreciation and knowledge of great, great music with both my brother and I, and now on to my nephew via all of us.

and Shmacks for the great and diverse love and excitement we share for music -- and for understanding that car stereos are for loud music, and that voices are for yelling over it; fingers are not for turning down stereos because you feel the need to say something during a great song. So many have it backwards, LOL! We've gone hoarse while bonding over The Doors, Madonna's B-Sides, you name it. Ah, memories.

Playing For Change: Song Around the World "Stand By Me"

From the Youtube post:

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the first of many "songs around the world" being released independently.

Featured is a cover of the Ben E. King classic by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it travelled the globe.

This and other songs such as "One Love" will be released as digital downloads soon; followed by the film soundtrack and DVD early next year.

Sign up at www.playingforchange.com for updates and exclusive content available only to those who...

Join the Movement to help build schools, connect students, and inspire communities in need through music

Namsaknoi, The LEGEND, is at Rawai Gym!

2008-12-02T08:53:00.001-08:00

2 Shots of Namsaknoi, total BAMF!

Championship Souvenirs . . . . .

Hovick, one of our fighters (and a fan) & Namsaknoi

The King of the Wai Kru . . . .

Namsaknoi & his old trainer Ronee,

who works at Rawai Gym and is EXCELLENT (obviously)!

Don't be fooled by Ronee's expression; he's ALWAYS smiling!

Namsaknoi & Pro Canadian MMA Fighter Derek Gauthier

Soooooo, I've been waiting to announce this officially on my blog until I had a copy of a cute picture of he and I that was taken 2 Saturdays ago (since of course it's all about me, lol!), but honestly, I can't wait any longer.....he's going to be gone soon! So the picture will just have to come later, folks.

Namsaknoi, hands down one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters to have ever lived, has been training at our gym last week and this week, and is even doing VIP (one-on-one) sessions. At first, we were like, "Who is this guy going around correcting us?" And then we would do what he would suggest and you'd just feel the improvement immediately, like "Whoooah!" Then Tuk announced who he was, and it made total sense.

Apparently a French photographer, Sophie Martin, who I WISH had her website up and running because she's the bomb, wanted to feature Muay Thai as her next topic of exploration, so she was in touch with Namsaknoi, and they traveled to our gym because it's such a nice facility, and full of muay thai students and fighters. What a TREAT for us!

Namsaknoi is like so many of the Muay Thai fighters I've met: totally funny and kind outside of the ring, utterly lethal inside of it. After a chat about progress and change, and learning I was American, he simply started referring to me as "Obama!" and would just yell that to me and wave when he saw me. Hilarious. Everybody's pretty happy Bush is gone, needless to say, no?

Namsak's known as the "King" of the wai kru, the ceremonial dance fighters do to honor their trainers, and what he has achieved in his Muay Thai career is unprecedented: he held the prestigious Lumpinee world title (for his division) for 6 years. Nobody could beat him, nobody at all.......

This is like Michael Jordan showing up at your basketball camp, man. We're honored! AND having a blast.

The following information is borrowed with permission from the Namsaknoi (NSN) Club MuayThai, a blog where you can keep up on his life and career.

Fighting Name: Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn
Namsuk= the most mighty, Noi = Junior or little
Birth Date: October 13, 1979
Birth place: Surat Thani, Thailand
Style: Muay Thai
Height: 1,77 m
Weight: 61.5kg (135Ibs)
Titles:
Lumpinee Champion 115 lbs
Lumpinee Champion 122 lbs
Lumpinee Champion 135 lbs ( 2000-2006 )
WMC World Champion 115 lbs
PABA Boxing Champion 135 lbs
Ford Ranger Tournament winner
Champion of South of Thailand 95 lbs
Champion of South of Thailand et 126 lbs
Voted Best Fighter of the year 1996 by the Sportswriters Association of Thailand
Voted Best Fighther of the year 1999 by the Sports Authority of Thailand
Best Wai Kru/Ram Muay of the year 2001
Best Wai Kru/Ram Muay of the year 2006

Records: About 300 Fights , 280 Wins, 15 Loses , 5 Draws* (record was until 2004.)

His Story, written by Rob Cox at axkickboxing in 2004 and is shown as featured on NSN Club Muay Thai.
Born in Surat Thani province in the south of Thailand, Namsaknoi started MuayThai like a lot of his fellow countrymen at a very young age. Born to Muslim parents and given the name Mohammud Chaiyama, Namsaknoi started fighting at the age of 9 and soon started to make a name for himself in the MuayThai ring.

After making steady progress his trainer in the South took him to Kiatsingnoi camp in Bangkok where Namsaknoi also started to impress. After a short while though his trainer took him outside Bangkok, to the newly formed Kiatpramuk or Por Pramuk camp. This was around 1994 and Namsaknoi fast established a reputation as a future big name star.

Fighting originally on Sukonesongchai promotions, Namsaknoi won his first major titles when he beat Nungpichit Sityodthong to win the Lumpini and w.m.c world flyweight championship belts. After a very impressive year in 1996 Namsaknoi won the most prestigious award for boxers in Thailand, when he got the vote from the sportswriters association of Thailand for the fighter of the year.

Namsaknoi's next title came after he Knocked out Lamnamoon Sor Sumalee with an elbow in the 3rd round to take the Lumpini stadium Superfeatherweight title. Namsanoi then went on to win the Ford Ranger tournament and 3 years after winning the sportswriters award for fighter of the year, Namsaknoi was again voted fighter of the year this time by the sports authority of Thailand.

Next title for Namsaknoi was the Lumpini lightweight title which he won by beating Kaolan Kaowichit on points in June 2000 and still holds to this present day. After struggling to find credible opponents, Namsaknoi had a brief spell of fighting under International boxing rules, where he knocked out Shuki Rozenweig of Israel in round 5 to win the vacant P.A.B.A lightweight title.

Namsaknoi has shared the ring with many a top name with 3 wins over Samkor Kiatmonthep, 2 wins over Kaolan Kaowichit and 2 wins over Sanchai Sor Kingstar. Both Kaolan and Sanchai also having been former boxers of the year. He has also had the opportunity to fight abroad with fights in Korea and Japan where he stopped the dangerous and highly regarded Kobayashi in two rounds after his elbows opened up some nasty cuts.

In 2001 Namsaknoi also got given a special award for his exceptional Wai Kru. As well as all his stadium titles Namsaknoi was also champion of southern Thailand at 95 and 126 pounds. At the age of 25 Namsaknoi still has a lot of fight in him but the only problem is finding a credible opponent at Lightweight to give him a real test. This has seen him having to fight out of his weight class at Lightwelterweight where despite his obvious class it is sometimes a very difficult weight handicap to overcome.

He kept his Lumpinee belt from 2000 to 2006 remaining undefeated defending his championship. In 2006 he was destitute since he hadn't a promoter anymore. He retired in 2006, living one of the best records in Thailand, and considered one of the best Thai fighters ever. He was in a little island of koh pahngan and teach muay thai for couple of years. He currently moved to Chaweng Stadium in Samui and continue teaching there, till date.

Pro MMA Fighter Derek Gauthier Is Here

2008-12-02T07:29:00.001-08:00

2 Pro Fighters: Derek Gauthier and Muay Thai LEGEND Namsaknoi

Norman (Derek's trainer), his son Kevin & Derek

A picture from Derek doing what MMA Fighters do, borrowed from his website.

For three weeks MMA fans might be interested in knowing that Canadian Pro MMA Fighter Derek Gauthier is training here, along with his trainer, Norman (of SparMAX) and his trainer's son, Kevin. Really nice folks, too.

He came here to work on his stand-up because his groundwork doesn't need any help, it sounds like. So he ended up at our gym, and as a bonus he gets to work privately with Namsaknoi, easily one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters who has ever lived, who just happens to be at our gym for two weeks. Derek's trainer said he has a big fight coming up, so this is ideal training for him here in the tropics.

TKO Extreme says this about Derek:

TKO Championship Fighting has officially announced that undefeated welterweights Derek Gauthier and Yannick Galipeau will meet at TKO 32: Ultimatum.

Derek Gauthier made his mixed martial arts debut at Ring Xtreme Challenge 1 on September 2007 against Joseph Paiquet (0-2). Gauthier scored a knockout victory at 2:34 of the first round.

Two months later, Gauthier appeared at Ring Xtreme Challenge 2 where he scored a TKO victory over Kris Parti (0-2) in just over one minute.

Yannick Galipeau made his respective mixed martial arts debut at TKO 31: Young Guns where he scored a TKO victory over Josh Bitner (0-1) in just under a minute.

I'd send you to his website, but it's all in French.......Still, it's at http://www.derekgauthier.com/ if that works for you, LOL! You can probably google him and find out more about him in English, I know MMA fighting is quite popular even though I don't know a ton about it -- but Derek sounds like he's off to a great career start based on his record, and I wish him the best!

Ute's Beautiful Knockout & Training

2008-12-02T06:31:00.000-08:00

Ute

Tonight I trained with Ute, who I'm told currently holds the Lumpinee boxing title in Thailand, which means he's number one in the country.....for regular boxing, not Muay Thai, although he does Muay Thai, too. He's like twenty years old, in school, and a super, super guy. I've been recommending him to my friend Laura that is coming this summer, because she is a straight boxer. He doesn't train much of the farangs (foreigners) because he gets to the gym so late, but I knew who he was, so I knew he was the guy to go to.

I trained with Ute because of the tear in my calf (even though I have one in my shoulder, LOL), and because it didn't feel so hot doing muay thai pad work in the group training yesterday even though I can kick the bags or walk around on it. Bouncing off of it is different, you know? So I decided to work on my boxing and sparring, and asked Ute for a VIP. Because he's in school, he's only available after 5pm, so we did tonight at 6pm. I was kind of tired going into it, but........

It was EXCELLENT. He taught me some great variations of hooks, worked me totally, and showed me a variety of boxing blocks. Then we got in the ring and sparred, and the footwork is different for boxing so it was a bit different -- and I'm not that interested in learning boxing footwork, etc., anyways -- but it didn't matter, we were just going at it and messing around. It was wild because I was actually hitting him sometimes in the face and head, and I haven't really done that yet. He kept saying it was "okay", but still......?! LOL! He did ask me why I didn't fight, which was just awesome. I told him I would next year, and he was going to help me win them. :-)

He's a niiiiice guy. At least once, though, I just laughed at myself, thinking of who I was in the ring with. And I could tell he was in his happy place, teaching straight boxing (although with some elbows, when we did pads), and so it was a lot of fun as well as educational. I did just laugh outloud once and tell him -- pardon my French -- that he is is quick as shit. Because he IS. Ridiculously so! I may do another one with him before I leave, we'll see. I'd like to. He's amazing!

Seriously, check out his fight from like 2 nights ago at Bangla Stadium. At like 1:34 (I think it is) in the first round his knockout is just gorgeous. Yes, gorgeous. I never thought I'd understand the term "beautiful knockout", but everybody was like gushing about it later. And I watched it. Like 15 times. IT IS. See for yourself...............

It's Official: I'm Making Som Tam!

2008-12-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

I DID it! At the market tonight I bought a larger mortar and pestle, the kind used for making Som Tam. And I bought the vegetable scraper (although probably should get another one since it was soooooo cheap) to make the green papaya and carrot strips with quickly and efficiently. I'm bringing it home and making Som Tam for myself alllll the time!

ALTHOUGH I may use an agave nectar versus palm sugar, and I will surely use a dash of nama shoyu, a raw I(fermented) soy sauce that is fishier in taste, for the fish sauce. And possibly germinate and season my own pine nuts for it, maybe even making them spicy tasting. Who knows? The skies the limit when you are the master of your domain, LOL! I'm STOKED! The rest is just lime juice, chili peppers, garlic, green papaya (usually at Asian markets, otherwise I'll sub that out, too, if I have to!)

Our Deepest Fear.........

2008-11-30T09:20:00.001-08:00

I just love Marianne Williamson although I haven't read a ton of her stuff. This quote is very famous, and for good reason! Thought I'd send it out because it's excellent; nobody can hear it enough (in my opinion). Even Nelson Mandela quoted it!

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Points To Ponder

2008-11-30T09:03:00.000-08:00

I already mentioned I love quotes. My friend Jim sent this one out recently, and it really summed it all up.

The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine,

or the slowest form of poison.

Dr. Ann Wigmore, ND

Obviously, Hippocrates said "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food".

And another favorite one on nutrition is "Most people dig their graves with their fork and their spoon".

However, I find this one to be one of the most brilliant and thought-provoking ever . . . . . .

ISN’T MAN AN AMAZING ANIMAL? He kills wildlife by the million in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the billion and eats them. This in turn kills man by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative and fatal health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently and, once a year, sends out cards praying for 'Peace on Earth.' David C. Coats

Wow. It almost gives me goosebumps how well it sums up the absurdity of man.

Traditional Thai Dancing

2008-11-30T08:15:00.000-08:00

Last night was a huge party, hosted by the landowners. 2 of the granddaughters had birthdays this month. They fed everyone and featured traditional Thai dancing. I included some pictures of it below, as well as some of the Thai instruments they use here for it. Very interesting, as an avid appreciator of music. I'm friends with the uncle of the family who threw the party, and he tried his damnedest to get me to put on a skirt and Thai traditional dance for everyone, but there was just no way, LOL! I do have a picture of me at his club doing (improvised) Thai dance, with a flower headress on that he put together for me, but it's on a friend's camera so it will have to wait. A lot of people who have been to Cambodia or Bali commented that the dancing was virtually "the same". But it's still lovely to watch. Ultimately, I prefer bellydancing, I think, though.......one day I'll learn it, too. But first, Muay Thai.

They do this thing where they drag out two bamboo sticks and you jump in and out of them, fast, to a rhythm. They let crowd-members participate. It reminded me of a double-dutch or hopscotch type thing -- very neat!

Bodhi Fellowship Daily Contemplation

2008-11-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

I'm a quote fiend, an absolute junkie. The same friend that told me about Rawai Muay Thai Gym 4 years ago told me about the Bodhi Fellowship daily contemplation quote service.....and I love it!

Every day or so I receive really profound quotes, and usually they are quite timely. Here are some examples of the last few I've received.

We lift ourselves by our thought. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere.

Orison Swett Marden (1850-1924)

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)

We need not think alike to love alike.

Francis David (1510-1579)

If you want them brightening up your inbox, which I highly recommend, then simply scroll down to the bottom of their page and sign up for the "Daily Contemplation". It's the last box on the page. I literally have an email file just for quotes from here. They're truly inspirational and thought-provoking, and always so loving and peaceful. Gentle reminders. ;-)

I'll Take Bangkok Over Black Friday!

2008-11-29T00:20:00.000-08:00

NOT to make light of the protests going on in Bangkok, but honestly, they are doing it to overthrow a corrupt prime minister, so it's not really a bad thing. Let's not forget that the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. created unrest in the South (USA) when he protested racism on the streets of Birmingham for the advancement and progress of mankind. I'm GLAD people are speaking out and not accepting corruption; I wish more Americans were as concerned about doing the same verses whether their Tivo is programmed right --- not to disrespect Americans, but we've become a very passive society, in general.....unless it's "black Friday", apparently, sheesh!

All I keep seeing is embarrassing Yahoo updates on the behaviors of American shoppers on the most notorious shopping day of the year: Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It's got to be bad enough to be a Wal-Mart employee, sorry, and one who has to be on duty by 5am the day after Thanksgiving, but just to have a mob of ugly Americans stampede you to death just trying to get one of 150 $250 flatscreens or whatever other crap sale they had on sale that day ("and that day only")........that's just unholy, people. And embarrassing. What in the hell is WRONG with people anymore? Americans are SO materialistic, and SO desperate for cheap items; it doesn't matter how many kids in China had to work in a sweatshop to make them....no, they don't care as long as they can add to their collection of cheap crap.

To add to the mix, 2 men pulled out guns and started shooting at each other in a crowded Toys 'R' Us - a friggin children's store - as well, leaving 2 dead. Allegedly this was not "shopping-related", but just because their women started fighting over "something" in the middle of the aisle....

Geeze, I'm glad I'm "just" in Thailand, people, LOL! None of these events are particularly "funny", but it strikes me odd the level of fear people have over things like travelling overseas, when anything is dangerous in these times, people. I personally think a lot of these types of outbursts and behaviors, from "road rage" to "going postal", have to do with nutritional degeneration and demineralization, a SERIOUS problem affecting pretty much all Americans, but either way, you just can't live in fear. Of travelling to Thailand OR going to Toys 'R' Us, even though both can be seen as dangerous.

For the record, I never shop the day after Thanksgiving. You've got to be nuts in the first place.........

Green Smoothies, Part 5: Resources, Info & More

2008-11-28T08:35:00.000-08:00

This article was borrowed from www.eatsprouts.com, an excellent source for sprouting equipment and seeds.

Green Smoothies are simple – take any fresh greens you like and blend them with fruit. My current favorite is spinach with 2 big pears. Spinach builds strong bones! And a clean colon, but Popeye was quiet about that.

Remember the Variety Rule – don’t eat today what you ate yesterday. Blend different fruits and greens each day. Vita-Mix is the best blender, and http://www.ebay.com/ is the best source for the most economical model. HOWEVER, just use a strong blender if it's all you can do.

Living Green Smoothies
Living greens are smoothies made with greens, and ideally sprouts!

LIVING Greens (sprouts) growing FRESH at home give you the most powerful Green Smoothies. .

LIVING greens have all nutrients in perfect balance for high-energy Green Smoothies. Lettuce loses 60% of its vitamin C within 24 hours of picking. Truthfully, only LIVING (sprouted) greens give you enzymes and biophotons. What's a living green? It's still growing in the moment you eat it.

Dr. Gabriel Cousens writes in Conscious Eating:
"The more biophotons we take in through our foods, the better our health."Biophotons are NOT in dead greens from the store. They're light energy emitted by the active DNA in LIVING plants.

Making a Green Smoothie
Green Smoothies are so easy to make, so quick, and taste divine – unless you do something truly stupid, as I did the other day, and mix arugula (rocket), spinach and parsley in one smoothie (talk about bitter).

Reader Paizley writes:
"I would not call that stupid...just not suited for your tastes. I blended up a bunch of green endive this morning with spinach and lemon. It was wonderful. Green endive is more bitter than arugula."

"Suggest to your readers to experiment ... they can add other ingredients to change the flavor. There are no rules or regulations to making your own green smoothie!"

Good point, thank you Paizley!

Green Smoothies are the most nutritious meal on earth. A good Smoothie is 60% fresh fruit mixed with 40% green leafy vegetables.

Children love the taste of Green Smoothie. Sweet fruit takes away the bitter taste of greens. If your Smoothie tastes too bitter, add more fruit.

Energy in Green Smoothies
The late Dr Ann Wigmore invented Green Smoothies in 1988 when traveling in Europe. She called them Energy Soup, and added bean sprouts and avocado too.

Dr Ann spoke of an instant surge in energy and brain focus with her first Green Smoothie. Wow, more energy and clarity when she was already buzzing from 25 years of raw foods – the higher you go, the higher you go! (whoever wrote “the harder you fall” was on cooked food).

Green Smoothies are easy to digest. A blender is the perfect set of teeth. It's a dream come true for your digestive enzymes. Nutrients are absorbed quickly and easily.

The fibrous greens of a Smoothie are blended into a mush. Blending by-passes all digestive problems like sore teeth, peptic ulcer, colitis, and a sick pancreas.

Green Smoothies are a complete food. With their fiber, the fruit sugars are absorbed more slowly. You don't get that blood sugar rush you get from juicing.

Minerals in Green Smoothie
Can you count with your children how many wild animals live on greens alone? Buck, zebra, elephants, hippo, giraffes, apes, ox, the list is endless!

Greens nourish every cell in your body-brain. I blend a quart of Green Smoothie daily.

We humans are losing our connection with Green. Truly we need to GoGreen in our diet. A chlorophyll molecule (the green in leaves) differs from a human blood molecule by only one atom. The late Dr Jensen proved in The Healing Power of Chlorophyll that if you're anemic or tired, Green Smoothies will quickly raise your red blood cell count.

The core atom in Green Smoothie is magnesium (in human blood it's iron). Cravings are often a sign of magnesium deficiency. Green Smoothies are the best food to end your addiction to cakes, cookies and chocolate. When your body gets the nutrients it needs, cravings go.

Green Smoothies are rich in alkaline minerals like calcium. The high-calcium greens are the fibrous ones such as dandelion, kale and collard. Wherever there's a hard shell – as in teeth, bone, or tough-to-chew greens – you will find calcium.

Green Smoothies are a perfect food for children of all ages, including babies when introducing new food after mother's milk. Be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.

Protein in Green Smoothies
How does an elephant get her protein? She weighs 3,000 pounds! How does a gorilla get hers? She can bench-press 4,000 lbs! From eating green leaves.

Did you know, this is the best-kept secret in the capitalized world? That the richest source of protein for humans is green leaves? Leaf protein is easy to digest, easily assimilated into the tissues, and has none of the harmful side effects of flesh protein.

Green Smoothies contain all essential amino acids. If you're moving toward a heart-friendly, earth-friendly vegan diet (non-dairy vegetarian) then it's a good idea to eat Green Smoothie daily to meet all your nutrient needs.

Believe it or not, Green Smoothies are a good source of Omega-3 unsaturated fat. Green leaves are the plant’s food factory where all these nutrients are made. Blend a LOT of greens into a Smoothie, rather than kill the fish in the sea. Fish oil is NOT a good source of Omega-3. Green leaves and flax seeds are far better.

The United Nations reports:
"The livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions than transport." [that's farmed animals, birds + fish] "Livestock are also a major source of land and water degradation ... The major polluting agents are animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and the pesticides used to spray feed crops." (UN Food & Agricultural Organization report, Nov. 2006)

Amazing! Why change our car, when the UN is telling us to change our diet? Go vegan with Green Smoothies! Do you love your children? Then protect their earth. It's the only home they have.

Calories in Green Smoothie
Only problem with Green Smoothie and other vegetable blends – they're nearly calorie-free!
If you weigh 140 lbs, you need 1,400 calories a day to sustain your basal metabolic rate at rest (BMR) – that’s the calories you must eat before you make a single move. Resting BMR is equal to 10 times your ideal body weight.

A cup of spinach is 7 calories. One slice of vegetarian pizza is 670 calories. That’s 96 cups of green leaves! Do you understand WHY you could be buying pizza after a Green Smoothie? Simply because you’ve not eaten 96 cups of greens today!

If you’re addicted to your local bakery, try eating a lot more calories in the form of fruit and lightly cooked starchy vegetables such as butternut, squash and sweet potato.

Eat as much fruit as you like half an hour before your Green Smoothie, or add more to your Smoothie. Fruit reduces hunger pangs because it's rich in carbohydrates.

You may crave sweet after your Green Smoothie. Read why here under Energy Soup. These days I satisfy that craving by sucking on a few pieces of home-dried fruit (banana or apple).

Green Smoothie Healing
Because Green Smoothies are blended, it’s easy to swallow them too quickly. This can result in a runny tummy. Greens are the best food to clean and heal your colon.

If you experience a colon reaction, EAT SLOWER. Chew your Smoothie. If needed, refrigerate it and eat over an hour or two, instead of all at once. Get those GREENS into you!

The incredible density of nutrients in a Green Smoothie will feed every cell in your body-mind. We don’t get enough nutrition from eating the greens whole. I experienced this when on vacation recently. My gums were bleeding within three days, with no green blends, even though I was eating a salad of fresh garden greens daily.

Greens for Smoothies
Be sure to blend DIFFERENT greens every day into a Smoothie. Greens have alkaloids that are good in small quantities but slightly toxic if you eat the same green day-after-day. Greens are a lot like homeopathic remedies.

We should never have any food, drink, herb or supplement seven days a week – always take 1-2 days break.

Some greens are high in oxalic acid which binds with calcium to form calcium oxalate, an insoluble salt. Add these to a Green Smoothie for variety, but do NOT make an entire Smoothie out of them. They are lambsquarters, beet leaves, purslane, spinach, Swiss chard, parsley, amaranth leaves and sorrel. Leave rhubarb leaves alone, they can poison you when eaten in large quantities.

Sweet baby-leaf spinach is fine to eat in quantity. It tastes like the acid has been bred out of it.
LOW in oxalic acid and good to eat in Green Smoothies are: dandelion greens and kale (more calcium than dairy), lettuce, celery, watercress, escarole, mustard greens, turnip greens, carrot tops, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, and most other greens.

Alfalfa is rich in minerals and trace elements – its roots grow more than 100 feet deep – and it has all essential amino acids and all known vitamins. It’s especially good for our kidney-bladder, writes Paul Pitchford in Healing With Whole Foods.

Add a sulfur green often to your Green Smoothies – all the cruciferous vegetables are sulfur-rich. That’s any plant of the Mustard family – broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese celery, collard, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radish, rutabaga, turnip, and watercress.

Cruciferous green sprouts are the highest known source of the phytochemical, sulforaphane, which stimulates the production of cancer-killing enzymes. The sprouts contain 20-50 times more sulforaphane than the mature vegetables – in fact some mature broccoli has no sulforaphane at all.

To protect yourself and your family from heart disease and cancer, eat Green Smoothies made with organic baby greens sprouts!

Fruits for Green Smoothies
For fruit in your Green Smoothie, enjoy apples, pears, bananas, oranges, papaya, and all the summer fruits. Strawberries and raspberries taste good in Green Smoothie when combined with ripe banana. Peel fruit when it's not organic.

Watermelon is perfect, so sweet and quick to blend with greens into a Smoothie. Watermelon is actually a gourd (like squashes) so it's more vegetable than fruit.

It's fine to mix fruit and greens in one Smoothie. I know some books like Fit For Life say don't mix fruit (and especially not melon) with anything but when it's blended, that rule does not apply.

Only with fat, fruit is not a good mixer. Fat is a sticky molecule that clumps together in your blood and blocks the insulin receptors on your cells. As a result, insulin can't shuttle the fruit sugars into your cells. The sugar stays too long in your blood, leading to blood sugar problems and candida. I find avocado is okay to blend into my Green Smoothie when I want more fat.

Preferably don’t rinse any greens you pick yourself, they have healthy microbes, like the ones making Vitamin B12. Fresh-picked greens from the soil are a good source of B12. Cows get their B12 (present in their raw milk) from eating green grass.

Green Smoothie Recipes
Some people add water to their Green Smoothie, but I leave the water out because I seldom drink with meals. Water dilutes our digestive juices. I also tend to use less fruit, about 30% fruit and 70% greens, because I eat so much fruit the rest of the day.

Greens are the perfect food for building strong bones and teeth – nearly every animal on earth has discovered that, except the big cats and polar bears!

Here's my basic Green Smoothie Recipe:
2-3 sweet fruits, e.g. apple or pear – blend first to form your blending base, 1-2 vegetable fruits and/or a celery stalk added next, e.g. summer squash or zucchini, One tray of organic baby greens like sunflower or salad mix from my Sprouter, or one packet of pre-washed organic greens, or a plateful of farm greens.

Here's a variety of Green Smoothie Recipes from Frederic Patenaude
Always blend the fruit first –

2-3 cups any greens of your choice, 2 cups papaya, 2 oranges, 3 dates

1 handful lettuce leaves, 1 handful mint, 4 bananas, 1/2 cup water

1/2 bunch romaine lettuce, 1 cup strawberries, 2 bananas, water

4-5 kale leaves, 4 apples, 1/2 lemon juiced, water

2 big handfuls mixed baby greens, 2 pears, 2 mangoes, 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

choc-mint – 2 cups spinach, 10-12 mint leaves, 3 bananas, 2 Tbs. carob powder, 1 cup water

1 handful of spinach, 2 stalks of celery, 2 bananas, 2 pears, 1 apple, 1 cup water

1 small handful of spinach, 2 cups arugula, 2-3 mangoes, 1 cup water

1/2 head romaine lettuce, 1 small pineapple, 1 large mango, 1-inch fresh ginger

1 handful wild greens (e.g. dandelion), 1 small handful mint leaves, 3 cups honeydew melon
3-4 stalks celery, 2 ripe persimmons, 1 banana

1 handful chard leaves, 5-6 kale leaves, 3 large bananas, 1 cup water

1 handful parsley, 3 cups of peeled papaya

Do you see how anything goes? Buy bunches of greens, a variety of fresh fruits, sprout and CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

The First Step to Health is One Green Smoothie a Day.

How much time and money we save on dental and medical bills when we get the kitchen equipment we need to enjoy Mother Nature's food!

* GREEN SMOOTHIE RESOURCES *

Clent Manich, a Costco employee in Oregon has lost over 200lbs in 8 months on green smoothies, a complete food! Read about it here!

Here's an entire blog dedicated to green smoothies, called The Green Smoothie Blog

Another blog dedicated to green smoothies, called Green Smoothie Girl

Valerie Winters is a woman who lost 127 lbs in 25 weeks strictly on green smoothies. (6 months) Unfortunately her blog, The Green Smoothie Experiment is offline, but it may be worth googling to read about her in other forums.

And my friend Erin at Vegan Done Light has a great forum at Green Smoothie Central

Green Smoothies Part 4: Green Smoothie Recipes

2008-11-28T08:24:00.000-08:00

Green Smoothie Recipes & Ideas

You may like to add more or less water to the recipes depending on how thick or thin you like your smoothies. Feel free to experiment and create your own recipes. The most important thing to add to your smoothies is 2-4 large handfuls of dark, leafy green vegetables. Some of the below just don't appeal to me, and living in Thailand I have access to different kinds of fruits I'd blend, like more pineapple, dragonfruit, jackfruit, guava, some starfruit.

My basic guidelines for starting out is to use some sort of mango (if you are in the United States, Trader Joes sells frozen mango chunks for a very reasonable price all year) or banana as a base, to make the smoothie creamy. Young coconut meat achieves the same effect as well (as does avocado, if you are making a savory smoothie, which can also be eaten as as a soup, often termed "Energy Soup" by the late, great Dr. Ann Wigmore).

I also prefer to freeze bananas first sometimes (peeled, of course!) to make the smoothie more frothy and cold. Freezing only loses a small portion of the enzymes, and in tropical places can be a huge benefit since fruit ripens and spoils so quickly, even in when refrigerated. Experiment, though! Peaches are quite creamy and sweet as well. Use your imagination, there is no right or wrong way to make them, just get them in your body!

When I get home to Oregon, I'll likely do at least one 3-week smoothie fast while doing the Blessed Herbs 21-Day Whole Body Cleanse (Colon, Lung, Parasite, Liver & Kidney), which is available highlighted below and HIGHLY recommended; they offer the top herbal cleanses you can get:

I'll likely stick to my simple spinach, parsley and orange/banana or mango blends, possibly some pear (which are also pretty creamy). BUT I may be experimenting with some sweet and spicy ones, throwing in some spinach, parsley, mango and fresh chili pepper, considering I'm addicted to it now.

The recipes below are just examples of some of the possibilities........which you can see are quite endless. Happy blending!

School Of RAWk's (MY!) Favorite

2 Young Thai Coconuts, Meat and Water

2 Large Handfuls Spinach or Kale

1 Large Handful Parsley

1 Orange, Peeled

1/2 - 1 Cup Frozen or Pitted Cherries

1 Mango

Water

Victoria Boutenko's Favorite

6 leaves of red leaf lettuce

1/4 bunch of fresh basil

1/2 lime (juiced)

1/2 red onion

2 celery sticks

1/4 avocado

2 cups of water

Sergei Boutenko's Favorite

5 kale leaves (green)

1/2 bunch of fresh dill

1/2 lime (juiced)

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes

2 cups of water

3 cups of greens of your choice

2 cups papaya

2 oranges

No water necessary

handful lettuce leaves

1 handful mint

3 bananas

2 cups water

5 kale leaves

3 apples

1/2 lemon juiced

2 cups of water

4 stalks celery

2 ripe persimmons

1 banana1

2 cups water

2 head romaine lettuce

1 cup pineapple

1 large mango

1-inch fresh ginger

3 cups of your favorite grapes

1 handful parsley

2 handfuls of baby Spinach

2 cups of water

1 cup pineapple

1 banana

2 sticks of celery

1 handful of your favourite leafy greens

2 avocado

1/2 capsicum

one small onion

2 cloves garlic

one chilli

2 handfuls black cabbage

2 cups water

2 bananas

a cup of papaya

4 big handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water

2 bananas

1 apple

1 pear

2 handfuls of parsley

2 big handfuls of kale

2 cups of water

1 large dragon fruit

2 bananas

1 handful of parsley

1 small bunch of bok choy

2 cups of water

3 bananas

3 huge handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water

2 bananas

1 dragon fruit

2 huge handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water

2 bananas

1 apple

1 pear

2 handfuls of parsley

2 big handfuls of kale

2 cups of water

1 large dragon fruit

2 bananas

1 handful of parsley

1 small bunch of bok choy

2 cups of water

2 large ripe bananas

2 large handfuls of kale

1 small handful of parsley

1 handful of baby spinach

2 cups of water

1 apple

1 pear

2 bananas

1 1/2 cups of kale

1 stalk of celery

2 cups of water

2 cups of papaya

1 banana

2 cups of leafy greens of your choice

2 cups of water

3 cups of mango

1/2 medium sized romaine lettuce

1 cup of water

1/2 pint rasberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 pint blueberries

2 bananas

3 big handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water

1 apple

1 peach

1 nectarine

1 carrot

1/4 avocado

1 lemon (without peel or seeds)

Then filled the blender (Vita mix) with parsley and romaine, lettuce or chard

1 cup of water

Handful of each of kale and parsley

1 celery stick

1 pineapple

1 banana

2 cups water

1 cup papaya

1 orange

1/2 head romaine

1 big lovely bunch of red grapes

2 stalks of celery

2 cups water

1 bunch coriander (aka cilantro)

1 apple

1"ginger

1 banana

1 cup water

2 handfuls baby spinach

1 celery stick

1 handful parsley

1 Granny Smith apple

1/4 tsp ginger powder

2 cups water

3 handfuls baby spinach

2 celery stalks & leaves

1 cup water

1 green apple

1 frozen lady finger banana

a quarter of fresh pineapple

2 handfuls of carrot tops

2 stalks of celery

1 handful of sunflower sprouts

3 big red lettuce leafs

1 serving of aloe vera dried gel (from "Good Cause Wellness")

3 bananas

2 cups water

2 handfuls of baby spinach

2 kale leaves

1 serving of aloe vera dried gel

1 Granny Smith apple

2 oranges

1 cup of water

3 big green lettuce leaves

1 handful of sunflower sprouts

2 handfuls of baby spinach

1 serving of aloe vera

6-7 big strawberries

1 handful of blueberries

1 cup of water

2 bananas

6-7 strawberries

1 tablespoon of fresh aloe vera

half a head of lettuce

1 cup water

4 large ripe bananas

2 large handfuls of kale

1 small handful of parsley

1 handful of baby spinach

2 cups of water

1 apple

1 pear

2 bananas

1 1/2 cups of kale

1 stalk of celery

2 cups of water

2 cups of papaya

1 banana

2 cups of leafy greens of your choice

2 cups of water

3 cups of mango

1/2 medium sized romaine lettuce

1 cup of water

1/2 pint rasberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 pint blueberries

2 bananas

3 big handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water

3 bananas

3 huge handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water.

2 bananas

1 dragon fruit

2 huge handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water

1 handful dandelion greens

1 handful parsley

1 handful spinach

1 banana

1 orange

1 cup frozen raspberries

Lots of kale

juice from several lemonades (or lemons if unavaiable)

1" square or ginger, finely choppped

big dollop of honey

generous slosh of sugar cane juice

1-3 tsp of coconut oil

bit of water

3 bananas

1 cup of papaya

4 big handfuls of baby spinach

2 cups of water

1 cup spinach

1/2 inch ginger

1 lemon

1 cucumber

2 celery

2 pears

1 cup water

Green Smoothies, Part 3: How They Improve Overall Health

2008-11-28T07:19:00.000-08:00

How Geen Smoothies Can Improve Overall Health

An Interview with Victoria Boutenko

by Kevin Gianni (NaturalNews)

This is an excerpt from Victoria Boutenko's interview for the Raw Summit, a complete interview encyclopedia of cutting edge living and raw food knowledge. You can find the complete transcripts and audios at (http://www.RawSummitArchives.com) and (www.RawSummitArchives.com) . In this excerpt, Victoria reveals what she learned during her study on green smoothies and how they can boost digestion as well as improve overall health.Raw Food World Summit Interview.

Kevin: So tell me a little about your research with green smoothies.

Victoria Boutenko: I started to do research about what humans have been eating and what I discovered, and I placed that in my latest book that’s called 12 Steps to Raw Foods, the 2nd Edition. The discovery is that we actually stopped eating greens as a main dish only 180 years ago. One hundred eighty (180) years ago, we were eating lots of greens every single day. What happened 180 years ago was the industrial progress started and there were several inventions 180 years ago, right at the same time refining of sugar was invented by an English chemist. And then a Swiss miller at the same time invented a metal grinder for the mill and he was able to make white bread, white pasta and this was so easy and so cheap that those factories started to grow like mushrooms everywhere.And then Napoleon decided to go on a war and conquer the world, but his soldiers had to have food. And I have read lots of anthropological books and historical research and I found out that 180 years ago, like 200 years ago, people were really hungry. There was not enough food and everybody was working all summer long collecting, gathering, preparing food for the winter. There was no refrigeration. They would just dig a cellar and put there whatever they could, dried fish, dried grapes, dried mushrooms, dried apples. And people were in the winter eating every other day because they didn’t have enough food. And they would eat molded, spoiled, fermented, it doesn’t matter. There was just not enough food and lots of people died in the winter.So, imagine when Napoleon went to war, his soldiers didn’t have food and he announced a huge sum of money as a reward to somebody who could come up with the idea of how to survive without food. And so, then the French chef came out with the canning process, the very first cans took six hours to make and they would last for over a year. That was such a big invention that it was embraced by everybody. Within several years, the process of canning reduced from six hours to 30 minutes.And now these new cans – the tin foil cans were able to keep more than two years - could be fish, could be meat, and could be vegetables. That was a revolution in the food industry. Everybody was happy. The government was happy. There were no more dead people in the street in the winter. The people were happy they didn’t have to dig cellars and prepare food and they had a backup plan.The merchants were happy. They were making tons of money and at that time there was a turning point. Before that, the humanity was mostly eating raw food and I have lots of proof of that – mostly raw food because they were scarce of fuel. Their only fuel was wood and not everybody could afford to have a stone house. Or not everybody could even afford to have a pot to boil and they just really didn’t care. They were hungry. They were not eating for pleasure. They were eating for survival.Kevin: Yes.Victoria: But at this time, as long as you have a can opener and a few pennies, you could just buy a food.So, people stopped eating what they were eating before and they were eating now white bread preserved confection. Instantly, there were four diseases formed that never existed in such quantities before that resulted from eating predominantly cooked food. There were rickets, scurvy, pellagra, and beriberi.Beriberi and pellagra are poly-vitamin deficiency. And cancer, you can find descriptions before like single cases in history. In 1900, huge number of people died from cancer. Sixty-four (64) people per 100,000 that’s a huge number. Suddenly, and then in 100 years it tripled. The number tripled in 100 years. That never happened before in humanity that degenerative disease resulted from lacking of nutrition. So, what happened, the malnourished mothers gave birth to malnourished children – the whole generation and these children were never even introduced to dandelions and plantain, or any of greens. They were introduced to the can opener.And so, now we could see with our own eyes, you and I, we could observe how the health is really falling apart. Like, when I was in school we had only one girl who had glasses and we had only one girl who was obese. And now you go to school, you see that half of the children in the class wear glasses, they have pimples, they have braces, they are obese and some of them have asthma, some of them have arthritis, some of them have cancer.

Kevin: Yes.

Victoria: So, what can we do to undo the damage? I personally think it’s obvious that nothing could be better than consuming greens and nothing could be faster than consuming blended greens because this way the body stimulates the most. And as people begin to consume blended greens that Ann Wigmore discovered years ago, the only downfall of her blended greens were that they were not very palatable. But, they worked.She was able to reverse cancer. She was the first one who really would major in that, that’s really a tribute - you have to pay tribute for that. So, there could be nothing than blended greens and whoever is doing this, they do have results. And this is wonderful. Isn’t this great?

Kevin: That's amazing.

Victoria: Yes. And like here in Ashland, Oregon where I live now, they sell blended greens in every household store, every juice bar, in some restaurants. You can just go and buy different smoothies.

Kevin: Wow!

Victoria: And, it’s so easy.

Kevin: It’s just an amazing concept and actually pretty easy to add into your diet as long as you have a blender, right?

Victoria: Yes. We actually did one study which we called, Roseburg Study. Well, for one month Dr. Paul Fieber was prescribing to 27 of his patients who were low on hydrochloric acid and they have been taking hydrochloric acid pills for years with every snack. From 16 years old to 80 plus years old for one month they were adding one quart of freshly made green smoothies that my family delivered to them everyday fresh. To their existing diet, we specifically emphasized they do not change their diet to raw food diet. We didn’t want to see what raw food diet makes to that. We wanted just to the results of these green smoothies. And after one month, they improved. Their hydrochloric acid recovered 68.6%.

Kevin: Wow!

Victoria: Which allowed them to absorb better nutrition and in addition to recovering their hydrochloric acid, the younger ones in that group didn’t have to take hydrochloric acid ever.

Kevin: Really?

Victoria: In addition to that, they reported that they also have taken the hypertension medication and headache medication, and insomnia pills, and some of them lost weight, some who wanted to gain, gained weight. Seven out of 27 reported improved sexual performance, and other things. Amazing! Like, one woman, for example, she prays that she stopped craving coffee because now she had so much nutrition in her diet because of the green smoothie that she didn’t really want any – she lost cravings to unhealthy foods.

Green Smoothies, Part 2: Ode To Green Smoothie

2008-11-28T07:16:00.000-08:00

Ode To Green Smoothies

by Victoria Boutenko, author of Green For Life.

What do I mean by green smoothie? Here is one of my favorite recipes: 4 ripe pears, 1 bunch of parsley and 2 cups of water. Blended well. This smoothie looks very green, but it tastes like fruit.

I enjoy green smoothies so much that I bought an extra blender and placed it in my office, so that I could make green smoothies throughout the day. More than half of all the food I’ve had in last several months have been green smoothies.

I have so much more energy and clarity that I have removed green juices from my diet. (Juicing has been something that I’ve been doing regularly for years.) Green smoothies have numerous benefits for human health.

1. Green smoothies are very nutritious. The ratio in them is optimal for human consumption; about 60% ripe organic fruit mixed with about 40% organic greens.

2. Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, most of the cells in the greens and fruits are ruptured, making the valuable nutrients easy for the body to assimilate. Green smoothies literally start to get absorbed in your mouth.

3. Green smoothies, as opposed to juices, are a complete food because they still have fiber. Consuming fiber is important for our elimination system.

4. Green smoothies belong to the most palatable dishes for all humans of all ages. With a ratio of fruits to veggies as 60:40 the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the greens balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding a nice zest to it. People who eat a standard American diet enjoy the taste of green smoothies. T hey are usually quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice.

5. A molecule of chlorophyll closely resembles a molecule of human blood. According to teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, consuming chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion. Many people do not consume enough greens, even those who stay on a raw food diet. By drinking two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough greens for the day to nourish your body, and all of the beneficial nutrients will be well assimilated.

6. Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up after. In contrast, juicing greens is time consuming, messy, and expensive. Many people abandon drinking green juices on a regular basis for those reasons. To prepare a pitcher of green smoothie takes less than 5 minutes, including cleaning.

7. Green smoothies have proven to be loved by children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.

8. When you consume your greens in the form of green smoothies, you can greatly reduce the consumption of oils and salt in your diet.9. Regular consumption of green smoothies forms a good habit of eating greens. After a few weeks of drinking green smoothies, most people start to crave and enjoy eating more greens.

Eating enough greens is often a problem with many people, especially children. While fresh is always best, green smoothies will keep in cool temperatures for up to three days, which can be handy at work and while traveling. Start playing with green smoothies, and discover the many joys and benefits of this wonderful delicious and nutritious addition to your menu.

Green Smoothies, Part 1: An Easy Way To Love Greens

2008-11-28T07:12:00.000-08:00

Green Smoothies: An Easy Way to Love Greens

By Victoria Boutenko

Victoria is a friend of mine, and quite a lovely personality! She's from Russia and incredibly smart. She travels the world lecturing, is the autor of many great books, and speaks totally from the heart. This woman does her homework, and this a great article she wrote on Green Smoothies. I'm going to be posting on them for the next few posts because soooo many people are telling me they are doing them now!

My husband, our two younger children and I have been on the raw food diet for more than eleven years. We were able to heal all of our incurable, life-threatening diseases. However, after several years of being raw, each one of us began to feel like we had reached a plateau where our healing process stopped and even somewhat began to go backwards.

Since then a burning question in my heart grew stronger every day. The question was, "Is there anything missing in our diet?" The answer would come right away: "Nope. Nothing could be better than a raw food diet." Yet, however tiny, the unwanted signs of less than perfect health kept surfacing, in minor but noticeable symptoms like a wart on a hand, a gray hair, etc. that instantly brought doubts and questions about the completeness of the raw food diet. Finally when my children complained about increased sensitivity in their teeth, I reached a state when I couldn't think about anything else.

I drove everybody around me crazy with my constant discussion of what could possibly be missing. In my eager quest, I started looking at every single food that exists for humans. As my grandmother used to say, Seek and ye shall find. After many wrong guesses, I finally found the right one. Whew! I found one food group that particularly matches ALL human nutritional needs: greens.

The truth is, we in my family were not eating enough greens. Moreover, we did not like them. We knew that greens are important, but we never heard anywhere exactly how much greens we need in our diet, just a vague recommendation to eat as much as possible. In order to find out how much greens we need to eat, I decided to study the eating habits of chimpanzees, since they are the closest creatures to human beings.

According to recent scientific research, they share 99.4 % of the same genes with humans.1 I am not trying to say that humans developed from chimpanzees. I am simply grateful for the reality that there is another species in this world that closely resembles us. There are thousands of chimpanzees living in Gombe Valley, Africa.

The most remarkable fact is that majority of those chimps of Gombe, as opposed to humans, have not been touched by civilization. I went online and purchased $300 worth of books and DVDs about chimpanzees and their diet and lifestyle. I wrote a letter with my questions to the Jane Goodall University. I traveled to three big zoos that have chimpanzees and spoke to many people who feed them and take care of them every day.

I discovered so much fascinating information about chimpanzees that I totally changed my view of them. They became one of my favorite beings. My research gave me a solid idea that humans are supposed to eat a lot more greens than I would have guessed. As long as I can remember, in books and pictures I always saw chimpanzees depicted with a banana or an orange in their hands. That definitely misled me to the assumption that they eat only fruit.

To know that greens compose almost half of their diet became a revelation for me. As far as root vegetables are concerned, the chimpanzees don't eat any of them unless there is a famine and nothing green is left. Based on how much fruit we consume in my family (about 4 or 5 pounds per day per person) I estimate that we need to eat about two good sized bunches of dark leafy greens per person per day, and probably reduce the consumption of nuts, seeds and roots. Another thing I noticed is that the chimpanzees really love greens.

I remember watching at the zoos, how excited they became when given fresh acacia branches, young tender palm tree leaves or kale. I was so inspired looking at them that I went to the nearby bushes and tried to eat acacia leaves, but the truth was that the green leaves were not very palateable for me and that presented another problem.

To eat greens was always more like a duty for me. I would think to myself, I have to have my greens. Some days I would "cheat" by juicing my greens. I would quickly drink a cup of green juice and consider myself good for a couple of days. Or I would make a delicious raw dressing and sink my greens into that dressing. That was another way for me to enjoy greens. But I could never imagine sitting and eating two bunches of kale or spinach. The more I read about the nutritional content of greens. the more I became convinced that greens are the most important food for humans.

If I could only find a way to enjoy them enough to consume the optimal quantity needed to become perfectly healthy! I tried countless times to force myself to eat large amounts of greens in the form of salad, or just by itself, only to discover that I was not physically able to do that. After about two cups of shredded greens I would have either heartburn or nausea. All along, I was aware that my body was missing the nutrients that are available only from greens.

One day, while reading a book on biology, I became intrigued by the amazingly tough composition of plants. Apparently cellulose, the main constituent of plants, has one of the strongest molecular structures on the planet, because it is one of the longest and most complex carbohydrate molecules.

From this I understood that in order to assimilate the many needed nutrients from greens, the human body needs to be able to break down these tough structures. However, cellulose is insoluble. That means in order to get nutrients, its structure has to be broken into the tiniest pieces, preferably down to the molecules. In simple words, we need to chew our greens to a creamy consistency in order to get the benefits.

Secondly, in order to digest the released minerals and vitamins, hydrochloric acid in the stomach has to be very strong, pH between 1 and 2. These two conditions are absolutely, vitally, necessary to the assimilation of nutrients from greens. Apparently, I did not chew my greens well enough and possibly did not have a high enough level of hydrochloric acid in my stomach. As a result, I experienced unpleasant signs of indigestion, after pushing myself to eat greater quantities of greens. Hence, I didn't like eating greens altogether!

However, after more than a century of eating mostly heavily proccessed foods, mordern people lost their ability to chew normally. Our jaws became so narrow that even after extracting our wizdom teeth, we still need to wear braces. Our jaw muscles became too weak to thoroughly chew rough fiber. In addition to these compromizing conditions, many people have lots of fillings, fake or missing teeth. These conditions make chewing greens to a necessary consistency virtually impossible. That is why I decided to try to "chew" my greens in the Vitamix blender.

First I blended a bunch of kale with water. I was thinking, I will just close my eyes and nose and drink it. But as soon as I opened the lid, I closed it back again quickly because I felt queasy from the strong, wheatgrassy smell. That dark green, almost black mixture was totally unconsumable. After some brainstorming, I added several bananas and blended it again.

And that was when the magic began! When I slowly and with some trepidation removed the lid and sniffed the air, to my greatest surprise this bright green concoction smelled very pleasant. I cautiously tasted a sip and was exhilerated, because it was better than tasty! Not too sweet, not too bitter, it was the most unusual taste I had ever tried, and I could describe it in one word: freshness. In four hours I emptied all I blended, which was one bunch of kale, four bananas and a quart of water. I felt wonderful and made more.

Triumphantly, this evening I realized that this was the first time in my life that I consumed two good-sized bunches of greens in one day. Plus, I ate them without any oil and salt! And I enjoyed the whole experience. That was in August, 2004. The solution was so unexpectedly simple. To consume greens in these way took so little time that naturally I continued experimenting with blended greens and fruits day after day.

At first I didn't tell anybody. I didn't have any big health problems and I didn't expect any dramatic changes, I just didn't want to age. However, after about a month when a couple of my warts and moles peeled off my body and when I definitely felt more energized than before, I started sharing my experience with my family and friends. The next thing I noticed was that those little cravings I'd had once in a while for heavy foods like nuts or crackers, especially in the evening, had totally disappeared. I noticed that many of my wrinkles on my face went away and I began to hear compliments from other people about my fresh look.

Also my nails became stronger. Another bonus I got was a wonderful taste in the mouth, all the time, even upon waking in the morning. I hadn't had this pleasure since childhood. When my husband Igor saw the noticeable benefits in my health, he joined me in drinking green smoothies. He started to ask for a cup of "that green stuff" whenever I was making it. Let me point out that although I didn't like greens, Igor simply couldn't tolerate them, which is pretty typical of Russian men. Another two months later his mustache and his beard started growing blacker, which made his face look a lot younger. Igor got so excited about this that he became the green smoothie champion of my family.

He would wake up early and make two or three gallons of smoothie every day: one for me, one for him, and one for Sergei and Valya to share. Both of our children enjoyed including this tasty green drink in their daily menu and even though they were already experiencing great health, noticed even more benefits, like the ability to sleep less, more complete elimination, stronger nails, and most of all the improvement in their teeth, which became less sensitive.

One of my fears was that I would get tired of green smoothie one day, and I wouldn't want it any more. Yet, after three months of regular consumption I was enjoying it more than ever. Now I couldn't imagine my life without my green smoothies, as it has become 80% of my diet. In addition to smoothies I eat flax crackers, salad, fruit and occasionally seeds or nuts.

In order to always have the opportunity to make fresh green smoothie for myself I purchased an additional Vitamix blender for my office. Whenever friends or customers came in, they saw a big green cup next to my computer and I treated them to my new discovery. To my great satisfaction, everybody loved it, despite their different dietary habits.

Unexpectedly for me, some of my friends and coworkers started to comment on their health improvements just from the cup of green smoothie they were drinking in my office! No kidding! I can tell you their names. My web designer began to crave more raw foods as a result of rather irregular helpings of smoothie and lost 15 pounds in a couple of months. The woman from the office across the road got rid of her ecsema, drinking a cup of green smoothie almost every day. The UPS guy likes it too.

Inspired by the warm reception, I wrote an article "Ode to Green Smoothie" and emailed it to my entire list. Almost instantly I began to receive strong positive feedback and many detailed testimonials from my friends, students and customers. While I felt compelled to do more research, it looks like the multiple benefits of green smoothie became obvious to everybody who tried them, and the number of people who are drinking green smoothie is growing rapidly every day. This "green wave" makes me more excited than ever! I am busily compiling all the information together with the research into my new book, due out in a few weeks.

Sources:

Chimps belong in the Homo genus? by Michael Matthews and Carl Wieland: http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2003/0521chimps.asp

Nutrition & Degeneration:

http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0203cat/020305ppnf/PPNF.HTML

Note: I would like to explain that the Vitamix is not just a simple blender like the ones you can find at any department store. It is called a high speed blender, because its speed goes up to 240 mph! That means that its blades don't even have to be sharp; even if they were just dull metal sticks they could still liquify something as hard as, for example, blocks of wood. In order to reach such performance, the Vitamix has a 2+ peak horsepower motor. Any simple blender will blend the tough cellulose of greens only so long as its blades are sharp. Unfortunately, when the blades become dull, they just move around pieces of banana and the blender very quickly overheats. Eleven years ago, after burning several blenders, I finally bought myself a Vitamix at the country fair. It still works like new.

Feedback from this article:

Just wanted to say thanks for such a great article I am now using all sorts of greens in my vita mix which I have had 4 years now and I get green grass in powder form from a place called Mother's Kitchen, and I also get the greens juice from there and add my own greens in my smoothies. I also make fresh fruit smoothies and use frozen fruit to fill in and use apple juice and all sorts of fruits juices that are natural I am starting to feel great at 64 years young. Again thanks for such a great story about greens and how we can live longer using them. Keep up the great work for humanity and making them well through eating and juicing greens and fruits. Best regards, Bill Dowd

This was a super interesting and informative article! This might be the ticket to better health that we've been looking for. Thank you so much! Love your site, just found it yesterday. Blessings,Stacy

I really liked your article. I thought it was great that you researched so much. I also drink a green drink. I use Kale, Collard greens, Spinach, Parsley, sometimes Wheat Grass, Celery, almonds, apple, carrots, and to thin it down I use natural apple juice. I just thought that you might like this recipe. I love it. I drink a glass 2-3 times a day. It really does make such a difference in the way that I feel. Thanks again for your article.--Sherri Stephens

I found your article to be very interesting and true. My husband and I have found out about this fact of needing A LOT of greens for about a year now. We found out about a company named innerlight and started to drink their product called "supergreens." Not many people can eat about five pounds of salad a day (we sure can't) so we found this product very interesting. It is in form of a powder which you mix into a liter of water. ONE scoop is compressed to equal five pounds of veggies!!! So drinking 3-4 liters a day equals the amount of eating 15-20 pounds of veggies a day. We love it and so does my one and a half year old daughter! As well as feeling healthy and energized, this product has helped me personally get rid of all my pregnancy weight and some! As well as my anemia. It has helped diabetics cut their insulin in half in three days! Has helped others with cancer and other diseases. You can find out more on www.superphhealth.com. Hopefully it will benefit your family as it has mine. - Vanessa

Random Sights In Phuket

2008-11-27T19:29:00.000-08:00

A lot of students will eat at Don's. Don is from Texas and serves a lot of international foods. Honestly, I prefer Thai food here; it's cheaper and tastes better than a Thai-made mexican burrito, but to each their own, lol!

I love the plants and leaves, some leaves alone are as big as me!

Naturally, there's a lot of development around here, so you see a lot of construction of really nice resorts right next to shacks and street markets.

Lots of random street-side restaurants where you can grab food to go or sometimes sit. They are everywhere and look a lot like this:

A general store or market around town.....

My Calf Being Treated

2008-11-27T17:20:00.000-08:00

Gym staff taking care of a pouting me with the hot boxing oil stuff this morning in the office. Awwww. I was up early because I went to bed so early, LOL! It's good that it's not worse today, but somewhat better, but there's no way I can spring off of it or walk fully on it. I tread lightly, but it's not as bad as last night at least. I'm keeping oil on it and eating optimally for muscles, etc., and resting it, and hopefully by Monday I can at least train, even if my right kick has to be modified a bit. Or something. I want a strong calf again! I'll probably take some valium (which I don't "love" to do) and just pass out tonight, honestly, and hopefully for a long time. Because otherwise I only naturally sleep like 6.5 hours, and that is what that stuff is for. Your body heals in your sleep, ya'll! And otherwise I'm restless and want to hobble around...........

Ashland, Oregon It Is!

2008-11-27T06:00:00.001-08:00

"Crazy" Farmer John

Well, I talked to John tonight, my great friend that I grew quite close to last summer and whom I adore (even though he's crazy, LOL) and who's actually from near my hometown in Illinois although we met on a farm in Oregon, and he told me that his buddy Jimmy already said I could stay with him in Ashland, Oregon as long as I wanted.

Jimmy, John and I often played shuffleboard at the "Tolo Tavern" in Central Point with "the regulars" after a good afternoon of them kayaking while I hiked around, and those two have been buddies since they were college roommates. They're awesome, and no drama. I was quite flattered and surprised, and am excited because they're a lot of fun to be around and while I've lived in Eugene, Oregon and Central Point/Medford, Oregon, I've only visited Ashland . . . . and it's a very cool place with one of the best food co-ops in the country - and Jimmy lives only 1 minute away from it. I'm pretty stoked to try out a new place, even just for a short bit. It's a college town, too (like Eugene).

It's amazing how the Universe responds, I was shocked to hear the phone ring and to hear John at the other end, and to hear of the housing offer. For all who don't know, Oregon is a gorgeous state, and the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon is exceptionally beautiful, not far from Shasta, California. Now I can start applying for jobs online in the Ashland area. . . . .

Below are some shots of Ashland......where I believe there is a boxing gym. Either way, I can maintain my training.

Last but not least, a shuffleboard playing ground. Don't knock it until you've tried it, LOL! We had some good times; I'm not too bad at it if I do say so myself..............

Calf Injury & Self-Revelation

2008-11-27T03:56:00.001-08:00

I went to afternoon training today, truly inspired. It was going great. I had Petsila in Ring One, and I was psyched because I love working with him. He had me do one of the new low-kicks he taught me and was really encouraging of how I was fighting......and then I landed wrong on my left calf, and actually yelped "Ouch!" We both stopped, and I felt it out, and thought I would be fine....maybe. Hovick and Lindsey were over by me by then and I kept fighting because it felt so good to feel better at muay thai. Then again, and worse, a huge "Ouch!" and a hop, and Lindsey and Hovick told me to absolutely get out of the ring, so my rounds got cut short.

I started to cry a bit - NOT from the pain, but because I have three weeks left and am in the middle of learning to run (correctly) with personal training with Lindsey and was deathly terrified I'd be out of commission until I leave.

Fin came over and walked me to one of his friends who trains the kids, and told him in Thai to massage their hot boxing oil stuff into my calf, which felt good. Then I iced it, while crying to Danny again about my fear. Fin came over and massaged it really really well, and I'm remaining very positive that as long as I rest it up well, I'll be fine in a couple days - and it's Friday tomorrow anyways. Danny says I should know more by tomorrow, so I'm going to go to bed early and if I train with Lindsey tomorrow, I'm going to do upper body and ab work.

I know it sounds "ironic" that I just explained my short depressive spell of the morning, then got injured this afternoon, and after including information from "The Secret". But I did try to make it clear that I know I'm blessed and loved and do have gratitude. Plus, and this is the thing, being in the ring was SUCH an anti-depressant! I love hitting pads with Petsila, I love the people at this camp, I felt fit and flexible, and I was on a high when it happened. Let's all just hope it's a very quick recovery.

BECAUSE I've been writing to a friend, "L", who is coming out here next year. And one of the things she's shared with me is how boxing has transformed her life. In her own words, that resonated with me:

"Let me tell you about something.I have already mentioned that I used to party quite a bit. Well, I don't anymore. Boxing has sort of transformed my life, well, at least it's a big factor. If I have a training session, I have a training session and it's in my diary weeks beforehand and there is almost nothing that will make me not go. It's only three times a week (plus other training but then I can be more flexible). I no longer go to parties, I don't drink BECAUSE I do not anjoy bars anymore and they interfere with my training."

And I could see really getting into this as my fitness improves even more. And fighting when I come back, eventually. Or at least giving it a go. Fight training is hard, but I can see how it's a high. I'm not there yet, and I'll probably always enjoy a party here and there, but I do find myself wanting to run and do sit-ups and push-ups NOT to look good and fit into a more fashionable pair of jeans, but because I want to box (Thai box) better, and that is a totally new and different perspective for me, and one that I am loving.

When I go home to the states, I intend on keeping up on the cardio and the strength-training, regardless if I can do Muay Thai during that time, so that when I come back I'm even better in the ring. That's a huge revelation for me, whether I fight or not, ever. (Although anyone can fight at some point, and it's worth it just to be able to get into the fights for free, LOL!) Sometimes as women it's easy to get bitter about working out or getting fit because we're told to do it for alllllll the wrong reasons: there's something wrong with how we look, we're not thin or small enough, guys won't accept us if we're not perfect, etc. And nothing is ever of course good enough. But honestly, this feels entirely different, and much healthier and exciting. I'm EXCITED about it.

I'll be fine, this I know. I always am. And I'm strong. And I'm excited. And my calf is going to heal quickly. I'll even do some self-reiki tonight (I'm a Reiki Master). I have love and support, and everybody in my life is doing the best they can from where they are at to show it, and I'm appreciative. I'm allowed to question things, I'm allowed to feel sad at times, and some of my concerns and questions and upsets are valid, but still temporary in the long run. Life is good.

Thanks-Giving

2008-11-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

A message from Rhonda Byrne, Creator of The Secret:

The greatest thief of human happiness and abundance is ungratefulness. Any lack in our lives - whether in money, health, or relationships - is simply the evidence of a lack of gratitude. If you focus on lack you are not being grateful, and that will bring more lack into your life. Yet the simple state of radiating gratitude summons everything to you.

No matter who you are or where you are, you can change your life with gratitude, but you must feel it with your whole heart and radiate it from every cell. Gratitude is not a mental exercise, and in fact, if you simply use your mind for gratitude it will have little or no power. True gratitude comes from your heart! You must think gratitude through your heart, speak gratitude through your heart, and feel it intensely in your heart.

Then practice gratitude relentlessly. As you practice gratitude you will attract more thoughts and feelings of gratitude. In a short time your entire being will be saturated with it, and you will experience a happiness that is beyond what you can imagine. This is what is ahead for you when you choose gratitude as your way of life. And if you can really live in this highest state of gratitude, you will never have to ask for anything. Everything you want will be given to you before you even ask, because gratitude is the magnetic substance that opens every single door in the Universe.

I know some people don't believe that thought is creative and all that, but I do. In The Molecule Of Emotion, Dr. Candace Pert - who discovered the opiate receptor in the 1970's, proves it.

Right now, sitting here in hot, tropical Phuket where Thanksgiving is any other day, it seems wierd that everybody at home is about to celebrate a major holiday, I must admit.

And I really want to point out that I'm grateful for my friends, my family, the fact that I'm here in Thailand right now, and for all the experiences that have made me who I am today. I wanted to go through each and every person and experience, and express my gratitude, and maybe I will soon, but right now I am just not feeling it. I really hope it's hormonal, but part of it is because I try to be a really generous and giving friend to others, and right now I feel pretty alone in the world, and pretty frightened in terms of shelter and finances upon my return to the states, quite frankly.

Before coming here, some of the people I trusted most in this world and whom I gave everything to --- we were virtually FAMILY and I quit my jobs, health benefits and home to help them with their dream ---- pretty much used me and mistreated me after 4 years of devotion and friendship, along with others, and it was a shock and a heartbreaking experience. A knife in the heart. I give so much, it feels, and earnestly. I'm the fool who would do anything for anybody, bend over backwards, give the shirt off my back, etc.

And I don't run around expecting stuff from others, but when I see people who have a million friends who would do the same for them or who have family members who support their dreams and don't judge them, just love them and offer support, I'm a bit envious, I freakin admit it. I see so many young adults here because their parents think it's so important that they have life experiences and see the world, and I'm already working towards the day my nephew can share such a cool experience, and then some, because it's true. But I don't come from that background at all, and so I feel like a late-bloomer although there are many thirty-year olds out here (and hey, even if there weren't, I look twenty-four, lol!) But that's okay and I understand that; they didn't come from that background either, and I grew up with a lot of other amenities that most of the world doesn't have, which I appreciate. And there's something awesome about earning your trip yourself, nothing against anybody who has been given the opportunity and wasn't dumb enough to pass it up, LOL!

But what doesn't kill me makes me stronger and I certainly am not going to start being less warm or friendly because even if I try, I honestly can't. I need to remember not to rely on others, period, it seems. And yet no man is or can be an island. I meet and connect with people, whether online or in person, a lot. And I know it's a gift. But right now, I feel totally alone for some reason and like I'm living life all wrong, apparently, a feeling that I hate.

As of right now and recent updates, I'm pretty much now broke (in a morbid twist of fate, although my grandpa actually surprisingly insisted on helping me out with my dreams twenty times in just one conversation, his dementia caused him to forget, doh! But absolutely forgiveable - just ironic!), I'm homeless/crash-padless upon returning to the states, jobless (which I knew I would be and can hopefully manage; but my resume is stuck on MS Word and my computer's version is frozen, which ISN'T GOOD), and now I'm even Christmasless, meaning nowhere to even spend the friggin Holidays, which is just fine, I suppose, but kind of sucks, yeah, I admit.

Hell, I even had to finally invite myself to my own relative's Christmas, even though it's in New York so I likely won't be taking the train so soon after arriving to Oregon but very well could and was excited about the possibility because it could be quite doable, but then when I mentioned visiting around then at least three separate times, saying I was likely moving out of the country indefinitely shortly thereafter and wanted to see my grandpa for likely the last time, no later than Januaryish, nobody could even say "Hey, we're ALL going to be having Christmas here, your brother and nephew are flying out, why don't you come too?!" I had no idea until someone else told me......

Isn't that what family does? Then when you invite yourself, like I finally did, it's all, "Of course you'd be welcome to come", but nobody just tells you about it to even begin with, and by then you just feel like a dipshit for having to invite yourself. WTF? I could cry right now just thinking of that alone. How humiliating, honestly. And I'd still go in a heartbeat if I could, because I really DO want to have stronger family relationships - I'm tired of the past, too. But I'm just so tired of doing whatever I'm doing in my friendships and family relationships wrong, because I clearly am, and yet I don't know what it even is.

I sent out a 3-line email to my family in light of the whole Jennifer Hudson family murder just telling my immediate family that life is precious and that I love them. My aunt, my cousin, my brother, my mom and my dad. And nobody responded at all. Is that normal? I feel like such a leper even though I KNOW that they do in fact love me, and I know that just because people don't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you. So, it's all good and I don't want anyone to take this personally and maybe this is all because I'm so many thousands of miles away (right now and when I wrote that email) but I'm just trying to understand some things here about life is all, some things I just don't get. It takes two seconds to respond with an "I love you too", you know? Am I wrong?

I'm happy to be in Thailand, and am hopeful I'll be returning soon. I honestly cannot wait, its just a matter of finances. I found a sport I love that is mentally and physically challenging, and I want to continue working on my health and can do so here, especially with the abundance of fresh foods and sunshine. Moreover, I feel inspired to do so here. I want to work on my running and I can eat healthier here. I love muay thai, and I want to continue building on the strength I've acquired while here. I've had my ups and downs here, and faced some demons, but I've grown from them and you can expect that to happen when you do something like this - it's a good thing; a topic I'll write more about at a separate time. Honestly, I've spent so much time feeling like death, which lead me to such important information and powerful lessons but was pretty rough to go through, to be honest, that I know I need to do this for myself. I'm not finished yet in Thailand.

I am grateful for so much, but am just not feeling it today, oddly enough. So I'm sad. I feel really fat and bloated so I don't want to eat anything, and I just wish I had my Vitamix and a sink right now so I could at least make a shake easily enough; or could do my 3 week Blessed Herbs whole body cleanse - which now I cannot do until I have a place to at least crash for a few weeks, so I guess it'll have to wait.

I feel tired so I don't want to train but I will, especially considering I slept through yesterday and the day before's afternoon sessions, which stinks and makes me feel like shit but is clearly what my body needed. Besides, it's not like I did nothing on those days, either. Maybe I can nap. If I can and do now, I doubt I'll train, though.

AND all this will pass. It always does, and everything happens just as it should even if we don't know why yet. And at least I'm thankful for that. And thanks of course for reading, if you did. I'm not looking for a pity party or anything, trust me, I'm just being honest and sometimes I just need to write it out. I'm not asking for anything, trust me!

I can figure out the job and finances, I'm a smart girl, and even from living in my car and on foodstamps if I have to if it means getting back here sooner; It's just the people thing that gets me every time. Maybe we're all just so screwed up from first-world society, you know? I've pondered that. Certainly feels that way at times, I must say, and Lord knows I'm not perfect. But I'm very self-aware, to the point of being very hard on myself. And I do treat my friends and loved ones like gold, I know that. Maybe too good. And not good enough to myself. Who knows. Too much thinking at this point, and not feeling like a very warm and fuzzy topic.

To all my loved ones, just know I love you. Even if we're way different, whatever. It's all good, deep down, and the rest will figure itself out. I'm still grateful...............and know that I'm lucky to have you all in my life, because every single one of them is a hero of mine, from my Aunt to Aubrieanne to Ti to Shmacks, Lisa, Sharon Mullin & my mom ("my 2 moms") to my brother, nephew and allllllllll the rest of you. This post is not about you, it's about me. Know that. And have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Peace.

Rawai Gym Video: I'm In It (live!)

2008-11-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday morning I roll out of bed with the feeling that I could sleep another 5 hours. I strictly got out of bed, groggy as hell, for my VIP with Petsila, which I regretted sheduling so early, to be perfectly honest. I've just been so tired lately it's RIDICULOUS, and I know it's because the new interval/circuit-training I'm doing with Lindsey is shocking my body the same way the Muay Thai does when you first arrive, so I'm glad for it overall, it's just been hard for me.

Danny, the internet manager, tells me that people have emailed him asking about me and what I'm like in person, so he asks if I want to say some words at the end of a slideshow he's putting together from the students trip to Phi-Phi Island (that I didn't go on but all my friends did) and of Lisa's Birthday Party last weekend.

Of course, I didn't want to. I couldn't even think and looked like hell. I had JUST woken up, was totally groggy and in Tuesday morning training clothes that I threw on for my VIP with Petsila, and couldn't put two words together. Honestly, I kept asking him what I should say. He would tell me, and then I'd be like, "So...what should I say, then?" (LOL!) Normally I'm not at a loss for words, but this was a little bit different, LOL!

BUT I love Danny, his energy is amazing, and hell, why not, right? So I filmed a minute or two, as a first take, and then we say we'll do one more go at it.....

I see Fin, our head trainer/coordinator, and Namsaknoi, 6 time Lumpinee World Champion who is visiting our gym for two weeks, over at the fruit cart, and tell Danny I should go stand with them. Of course he agrees. What I DIDN'T know the second time around is that Danny was filming me walking over, then me asking him "if he was filming yet", LOL! Plus he said he was filming me from the chest up the first time, as I requested, so I had my hand across my stomach the whole time out of nerves and because I didn't think it was being filmed (and it doesn't help that I was pms-ing big time, sorry fellas!) I mean, I generally don't even like being in pictures, let alone videos!

BUT I did have a fun time introducing everyone and saying Hi to Bob. Naturally I forgot to say hi to Chia-Chi, Mona and a million others, so to all my dear friends whom I forgot to mention, please just remember that I had just rolled out of bed. I mean, I didn't even mention Namsaknoi's accomplishments, lol! Danny is the one who suggested Bob, otherwise I probably wouldn't have thought of his name either in the state that I was in!

All in all, it did inspire me to do some video blogs in the future, because it IS nice to see people's personalities (when they are awake, lol!) Lindsey, my good friend who is brutally honest, said I looked a bit rough, but hey, I'm sharing it with you all anyways because Danny did a brilliant job on the slideshow and it was a huge compliment to be asked to participate in it to begin with, regardless of my self-consciousness in front of the camera! I promise my future video blogs will be a lot better, guys! My eyes will be open and everything...... ha ha ha.

Featured in the video also is a huge array of my friends here as well. I truly love this gym and the beautiful personalities it attracts! I feel so lucky to be here and cannot wait to get back.

So, without further ado..............

Danny's excellent slideshow, full of my friends (er, including some of me from Lisa's birthday party - a total blur for most of us!) and then complete with me, Fin (one of my favorite trainers) and the very famous six-time Muay Thai world champion, Namsaknoi, at the end, live and in the flesh. Enjoy! And go easy on me, guys, LOL! I just watched it again and I'm dying....argh!

I will say my favorite parts are like at 1:23, of Noi and her baby Nathan (TOO PRECIOUS!) and then like at 2:20 (or something like that) of Lisa pouring her Tequila shot at her birthday party. HILARIOUS!

P.S. Even though it was only a few minutes later after the video, my VIP training with Petsila was among the best Muay Thai instruction I've had yet. I mean, amazing. He taught me tons, I went full-on, and the best part is that I KNOW I wasn't punching like a girl; I was punching harder than ever and I felt it and he knew it, too. It felt GREAT (despite whatever I did to my shoulder a few weeks ago that is still bothering me). I'm doing another Saturday, and cannot wait. It's AMAZING how quickly you progress around here, and I want to be sure I remember everything he showed me........

Lisa's Birthday Party

2008-11-23T08:09:00.001-08:00

Last night we had a HUGE party at the Muay Thai gym bar for Lisa's birthday. Everybody partied there, then went to Freedom Bar, then Laguna dance club. I stopped at Candy Bar for a short bit, too. Oh, and Manao, another bar that my Thai friend Ping-Poong manages (hence a guaranteed free whiskey). It was a lovely time, especially since Lisa and Viola were my previous roommates and we had some lifestyle differences even though we had some fun times and good laughs, too. Since I moved out, we haven't seen each other much and have just respected each other's space. Since everybody here gets along so well and the gym attracts such lovely energy, I really felt bad about any possible bad feelings. But part of life is learning that not everybody is a great match in terms of living together, and that everybody doesn't have to be best friends.

So, since we hadn't spoken much since I moved out, when Lisa and Viola called me over to do a shot with them it really was a highlight of my evening - and a big surprise to me. We talked a bit, and the energy is definitely better, which is wonderful. Especially since we are living in a paradise and are all here to better ourselves; why waste any of our precious energy on unnecessary drama? We're all adults, you know? And we all make mistakes. I always feel that everybody, no matter what their differences, has more in common than not, and I have always gotten along with a broad variety of people, and prefer life that way. Like I said, I don't believe in having to apologize for who I am (nor do I expect others to), just for actions or mistakes. I do my best not to judge others, but I have a strong personality and I'm okay with the fact that maybe I'm not "for everybody". Plus, you're living 3 to a room here in the shared housing; there's always going to be some sort of issue, it seems, LOL! That's just life!

So, in a nutshell, everybody had a wonderful time, and the party was a raging success with a huge turnout. Lisa appeared to have a blast as the belle of the ball, and I'm happy she enjoyed her night because she's been working hard since she got here and deserved every moment . . . . and every shot of Tequila she took. Which was a lot, LOL!

Here's a few shots of the evening . . . . .

So you know I'm being a good sport if I'm doing a shot of Tequila for you.

I'm DEFINITELY not a shots girl, which is fine because then there's more Tequila

for Lisa, LOL! And she's allllllllllll about it, ha ha ha. This was pre-shot, as you can

tell by my smile instead of the look of pain. Although actually, it wasn't that bad. Lisa only drinks the finest Tequila . . . . .

Lindsey and Fahd, one of our trainers, with JoJo, our office girl & my friend in the corner.

Such a cute shot!

Yib partying, me to the right

Lisa, Me & Viola. Lisa almost never smiles for pictures . . .

Aw, me and Viola, LOL! Too cute!

Front-Kicking Petsila

2008-11-23T01:20:00.000-08:00

Me Front-Kicking Petsila during our 5 rounds

Petsila is one of the top trainers here at the gym. He's always in Ring One and he still fights regularly, usually at least once a month. Some of the Farang (foreign) fighters were asking him if he fight trains (runs, etc.) and he said "No. I kill him", and smiled his friendly smile. The next day, after he won against some guy a lot younger and fitter, the guys asked him again, "How come your face still looks so nice? No marks or anything?" and Petsila smiled and said, "I kill him". LOL! He's an absolute sweetheart though (unless you're fighting him, apparently).

Petsila, before "killing him" (LOL)

Although I am out of money almost I am going to do a VIP with him on low kicks only, because we don't practice them enough. And most fights revolve around them (not that I'm fighting). Petsila told me he would "teach me everything he knows". LOL! He said he liked me because I'm always smiling and talk well, he likes my personality. Awwww! I even loaned him my camera the other day to take pictures of fighters for the fight posters they have made --- although the sim card came back with a virus on it, which then transferred to my computer. Thank God Hovick fixed it all up, and now just has to clear out my camera sim card, which means I'll lose a few photos. It's so not Petsila's fault - I didn't even tell him because I don't want him to feel bad, and it all worked out fine in the end.

Pestila's most recent fight . . . . some serious Muay Thai!

Halloween, By The Way......

2008-11-20T08:23:00.000-08:00

The Thais don't celebrate Halloween, but that didn't stop us from partying. We all went to the Reggae Bar 'Yoonique', where the Thai rastas hang out, but it was dead. Then we hit some other bar with some of the trainers, and then Laguna, Rawai's only dance club. It gets busy only after 2am and is open until 6. A fun time! It was a Friday and so there was me, creeping home at 7:30am DURING TRAINING! I was just tired by then but the trainers were teasing me, LOL!

At any rate, this is Matt from Oakland (and me) dressed as Mr. T. Hilarious! He is the only one who dressed up . . . . as you can see, he pulled it off quite well!

Cashew Nut Restaurant

2008-11-19T07:43:00.000-08:00

The Cashew Nut is "the" restaurant that most students eat at from the gym. It's only about 60 meters away, right by the market where everybody buys their water and uses the internet cafe, etc. It's right next to Su's massage, actually. The food is excellent and the family that runs it is simply the best. "Si" (sp?) pronounced "Sigh" (and meaning 'sand' in English) is the daughter, and her parents "Mum" and "Rut" are often around, "Rut' especially. I keep telling them i'm bringing Rut home; I don't think they understand that I'm serious.

You can go there alone and almost always count on running into others from the gym, and sitting with them. The more show up and pull up a chair, and you end up there for a looong time, shooting the breeze. It's a fabulous, laid-back time.

While they actually will prepare fried tofu for me, I generally stick to young coconuts, sometimes fruit plates, and almost always super hot-chili pepper curried sauteed vegetables. The kind that make you break a sweat. I crave foods hotter and hotter by the day here, it's unreal. Fine by me as it's really good or me, but still a shock since I used to think people who ate foods that hot were crazy. Now I cannot get enough, the hotter the better. I'm talking 10 chili peppers per dish, easy, people. Good stuff! Mona tried a bite of mine and just about choked, LOL!

Even at night you can't miss the sign. By the way, the sun goes down around 6:30pm here because we are so close to the equator.

Here is Lindsey, posing under the sign a la "Vanna White"

This is me with my dear friend Si. Isn't she precious? I just love her! She's buddhist, and always so loving and humble. She is helping me out with my Thai lessons as she speaks great english herself (although she doesn't think so). I just love seeing her smiling face every day, and so will you!

Here's a shot of the restaurant. Like I've mentioned before,

all restaurants here are pretty much outside.

Here's a group of students I'm friends with that just happened to be there.

See what I mean?

Precious Rut! I just adore him! :-)

Adorable Si at work!

One of the excellent chefs! (They let me in the kitchen, lol!)

The other incredible chef, always so nice!

Cashew Nut is usually a big part of most student's trips to Rawai Gym. Most get their muesli with fresh fruit and yogurt for breakfast there, but I don't do yogurt as a vegan. Still, all of their dishes are wonderful, and they take every precaution to make sure you know you are welcome there. For example, I usually make up my own dishes, just describing what I'd like since Phuket is surprisingly not as vegan-friendly as I thought it would be, and they always oblige.

Beautiful people, great food, and a wonderful family. The minute I walk in or stop by even just to talk, i'm greeted warmly, with a loving "Sawadeeka, Mary!" (sp?) ("Hello, Mary!) and a bow of respect. So much better than pulling a number at Olive Garden at home, sorry. (LOL!) Experiences like this are one of the reasons I cannot wait to return to Thailand. Cashew Nut and the conversations I've had there and the friends I've met there have been a huge part of my positive experience in Thailand, no doubt!

By all means, eat there!

Introducing My TWIN & The Goose!

2008-11-18T10:20:00.001-08:00

I heard from my twin brother today and so I feel compelled to write about him. Most people are shocked to find out I have a twin brother, Joe. And, unbelievably, I'm often asked if we are identical. Ummm, to which the answer can only scientifically and medically be no, of course. When we are out in public, we often have to drag out our drivers licenses to "prove" that we are indeed related. It's funny, even in our baby pictures he looks like a white kid and I look like somebody plucked me out of Mexico and dropped me off next to my brother, LOL!

ANYhoo, what's awesome is that even though I don't see him or hear from him nearly as often as I'd like, my brother is one of the most hilarious guys I know. He's a great dad as well, which makes me proud. When he got married and had a baby, instead of his friends going out without him they instead all just congregated at his house on the weekends, because he's always the life of the party.

It's hard because I am a bit of what one would call "the black sheep"of the family, so nobody knows what to make of me a lot of the time, which I can appreciate I guess. I'm the one who could be very successful in a business environment, but who would rather help spread the message of how to reverse cancer and other supposedly "irreversible" dis-eases, and do things like come to Thailand to learn muay thai. How many of his friend's sisters are doing that, LOL? What people sometimes DON'T see is that there is a method to my madness, and I've struggled with health personally for quite some time, whether it's acknowledged or not by others. But that's okay, we're each our own people and I respect that it's my own journey.

I'm lucky to have my brother, and I know it. Growing up was a bit intense since we were in a smaller town and were in the same class at school from 1st - 5th grade. Kinda overkill, surely, but we managed. :-)

My brother works in sales, and does extremely well at it due to his amazing personality. He's comfortable with everyone, and can put anybody at ease - even the stuffiest loan officer or grumpiest doorman.

For a couple of years he coached soccer. He taught middle-schoolers and then high-schoolers through the park district. One of my favorite stories about him is when the park district actually called him to see if he would teach soccer that year and he declined due to work issues and personal reasons. The park district literally said that they had never had this happen before, but the kids actually wouldn't play UNLESS he was their coach. Eventually, he agreed. The park district also said his team would be larger because of the amount of kids who wouldn't play for anyone but him; they didn't care if they had less time on the field. What a huge compliment!

While my brother and I have our differences, I try to think we are more alike than different, and realize that as we get older we allllllll mellow out. When people bother enough to get upset with each other, it's only because they care - although that doesn't happen so often anymore since time is so precious when we all DO get to see each other.

His son, my nephew, is named "Joseph", but I have dubbed him "Goose" since day one. The above is a picture of Joe and Goose at a Cubs game in Chicago. I could write forever and forever about the kind of kid my nephew is, but that's another blog entry altogether. Maybe on his birthday......

I will say that we raised my nephew on music from day one, because it's so important (in our family). When he was a baby I played Stevie Ray Vaughan for him all the time when I would lay him down for a nap, and soon enough I was playing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for him (and at his request). Naturally, we introduced him at a young age to the greatest rock and roll band of all time, AC/DC. From the age of 4 I started surfing e-bay for AC/DC shirts for children, and he's received a steady stream since then. Gotta start 'em young!

The beautiful thing is, none of this is forced on him, he genuinely loves it himself. I'll never forget Easter when my brother was sick and went to bed, and Goose and I were hanging out. Goose was trying to get me to stay up later with him, saying "I have caaaanndy", it was hilarious (he was like 5 or 6; like that temptation would have the same effect on me, LOL!) He had received "The Incredibles" DVD in his basket, so I bargained with him and told him I'd watch that if he watched (some of) AC/DC "Live At Donington" with me, which I had just purchased. He was TOTALLY down since he knew who they were already, so over some nerds and starburst we totally rocked out and then watched The Incredibles, which was pretty excellent, I must admit. What a fun night!

Although AC/DC finally responded to the strong intent I kept putting out into the universe, their timing was oh so tragically off. So, they only FINALLY toured the USA during the exact dates while I was here in Thailand, in a move that caused me great and deep personal grief, right here in paradise. But my brother went, and took The Goose to his first concert, and this was his report:

AC/DC were easily the best band I have ever seen live and to share it with Joseph was priceless. He was standing on his chair pumping his fist in the air chanting...Oy, Oy, Oy during "TNT". Easily my proudest moment as a father! Joseph rocked his little face off! I can with no hesitance state that another soul has been sold to rock n' roll.

I love my family. Even if we can't agree always on other stuff, we can ALWAYS agree on music and laugh like crazy when we're together, because we all have sick senses of humor. And even though I didn't choose a corporate route, I'm proud to have their work ethic and to have been around their influence throughout my life, because I know it's had a very positive impact on me - especially as I travel America and see how some others choose to treat their responsibilities. I'm proud of their success in life, too, because nobody handed it to them, everybody earned it on their own, from scratch.

Speaking of the Goose, here's a shot of him I ADORE, with his new baby sister. I know I'm biased, but ISN'T HE JUST PRECIOUS?

And as far as my brother and I sharing a lot more in common, I guess we both can be quite the social animals, LOL! Couldn't help but to feature this, uh, "comparison". Seriously, though, WE LOOK NOTHING ALIKE, huh?

Cigarettes In Thailand

2008-11-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

I was SHOCKED to see the packaging on cigarettes in Thailand. They all depict very graphic photos of damage done by smoking. It's a pretty aggressive, progressive marketing technique, although a lot of Thais still smoke. Smokers are a tough crowd! I should know, I've spent many years as one in my time. . . .

Here's a brief article I found on it:

BANGKOK, Feb. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Cigarette packs will have to carry images of health hazards caused by smoking from Mar. 25, Thai Deputy Public Health Minister Suchai Charoenrattanakul said. The images to be used will represent the dangers of smoking, including hazards to children as passive smokers, bad breath and lung cancer, reported the Thai News Agency Friday. The minister repeated calls for smokers to completely give up smoking. "There is no existing cigarette on earth that is good for health, no matter how low the nicotine content or how mild they have been flavored," he said. The new anti-smoking law recently approved by the cabinet will be strictly enforced, he said. The law bans public advertisements for cigarettes and reduces the areas where cigarettes are sold.

Below is Josh from Nashville modelling a pack of cigarettes,

although he doesn't smoke. (Note: We all love Josh, how can you not? LOL)

Visa Run to Burma, Ug!

2008-11-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

Visa runs to Burma. A necessary evil. I had to do two during my stay, thank GOD my 2nd one is over with.

Visa runs cost 1800 baht and are best done through Goong's service, which you can sign up for 50 meters from the gym. She is a friend of the gym and her service is reputable.

You generally leave at five a.m, and are LUCKY to be home by 5 p.m, like I did my first trip. This second trip, even though my driver drove like a banshee on crack. Quite literally, there were 14 of us in this van and finally, after white-knuckling it for a few hours, I literally just asked everyone - since I was in the back row with my friend Jaz - if it was "just me" or if our driver was speeding ridiculously and totally out of control. Everyone confirmed that they had been on many visa runs and this was by far THE WORST. I guess I was just spoiled the first time, or really unlucky this time.......

At ANY rate, the whole point is to drive 4 hours to the coast, "officially" leave Thailand, take a boat to Burma, be there for like five minutes (if you are lucky) and then get your passport stamped, then take a boat back to Thailand and then drive four hours home after stopping for a quick lunch. They collect your passports when you get on the bus and it's generally a very smooth operation, with the guide/driver telling you where to stand, what to sign, which line to get into and so on. Good thing you don't have to think because you are so freakin TIRED!

On the ride, you just listen to your ipod or read. Sometimes you can write and get things done *IF* your driver isn't insane.

Unfortunately, on this trip, for no rhyme or reason, we had to stay in Burma an hour or so, so we were shuttled to a plush hotel with a casino and some expensive stores and overly kind employees, where we just sat, bored, until we could get shuttled back to the boat to return home. So we didn't get home until 7:30pm. I have to say that it probably would have been much later if not for our driver's lead foot, so I guess MAYBE it was a blessing in disguise because 14+ hours is just TOO LONG. I fantasized about being in the gym, hitting the pads, the whole time I was cramped up on that awful ride.

Obviously, Burma is a country of serious unrest right now. Like, they threatened to kill Sylvester Stallone and his crew for filming Rambo 4 there and if you have a copy of the movie in that country, you can get like 7 years in prison. Apparently they've never watched the Rocky movies or they would know he's indesructible (LOL!). Burma is highly unstable and not a super safe place right now, but the bottom line is, they want tourism still and our visa runs bring in money. Therefore, we are met with the friendliest faces, treated excellently, and only see the most gorgeous hotel in the world during our brief stay, as if to present Burma as this warm and inviting place that you just want to 'be'. And I can't lie, they do have great popcorn (LOL!)

I tried my best to document the boredom of the trip. Unfortunately, I missed the photo opportunity of a lifetime of my buddy Jaz passed out on his bed pillow (which he brought), with his ear plugs in and eye mask on, leaning over and onto some poor old white man.

This is what the van looks like.......

Confusion at the station where we were leaving Thailand.

Walking to the boat, leaving Thailand

The boat you'll ride on

Jaz in the station at Burma

Me in Burma!

Entering Burma and dropping off our passports for stamping

Playing music for us as we enter the hotel in Burma.....nice touch!

The Burma that they want us to see, of course.

Nature in Burma, outside of the station

The bar inside the hotel . . . that served great popcorn

The view outside of the hotel. Not the Burma you hear about on the news......

So, last but not least, a note to my concerned mom:

I survived Burma! No need to worry!

Chalong Temple

2008-11-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

Friday Matt, Bob and I went to a sushi buffet in Phuket town for his last lunch here. We went with Nui and her sister, who run the market 50 meters from the gym; they are good friends of the gym and they also have become good friends with Bob and I. They were the ones who hosted Pooh's birthday party, where they fed EVERYBODY in the neighborhood, and then some.

After we were STUFFED, Nui and her sister took us to Chalong Temple, a very famous temple in Thailand. Most of Thailand is Buddhist, although in southern Thailand there are a good number of Muslims. For instance 90% of our trainers are Muslim. Chalong Temple is a gorgeous Buddhist temple, and it was a real treat to visit it. Even though Nui was wearing a tank top, too, I was given a wrap to wear because apparently my tank top didn't cut it, so I had to cover up while in the temple. Fine because it was turquoise, which is one of "my colors" (LOL!)

From a website:

Chalong temple or Chai tararam temple Muang district, Phuket province is the most famous temple in phuket. It houses the statue of the late highly revered monk, Luang Po Cham. The monk led the people of Phuket to fight against the immigrant Chinese influx to Phuket for tin mining and wanted to capture the city in B. E. 2419 (A.D.1876) before the government sent it's troops to subdue the rebellion. King Rama V appointed Luang Po Cham with the ecclesiastical title of phura Kru wisit wongsacharn. Beside the statue of Luang Po Cham, his other title decorations are also displayed in the temple e. g. his walking stick and his painting on the second floor of the kuti (residence) of the abbot, too.

Below are a bunch of pictures from our day. As you can see for yourself, the temple and grounds surround it are just breathtaking . . . . . It truly was a great day!

I got in trouble for taking the below picture, which was in a

different building. Whooops!

This was us after the sushi buffet. Do we each look 10lbs heavier? Because we were.

I knew my eyes were closed, but there was no time for another, so . . .

Bob is such a ham, LOL!

Everybody Loves Nathan

2008-11-18T02:51:00.000-08:00

Nathan (pronounced "Naht-Hahn") is just the cutest baby in the world. He is the child of Fin, a trainer here, and Noi, the office manager. So he is always around, like literally; you will see him in the gym or office daily.

He is the happiest freakin baby ever. I've never seen him cry. We all adore him, and today I was helping Noi, his mom, research baby english cds that Bob, an ESL teacher in Korea who abandoned me yesterday (kidding, he just went home) & one of the greatest guys I've ever met, recommended for her. I figured out how to do it cheaply, so we're going to download the mp3's and she'll pay me for them, then burn them on to a cd. You see THEN I can talk english with Nathan when he starts speaking, so I very much have a vested interest.

So, for anyone coming to Rawai, be prepared to see this doll around the gym.....

Here's me and Nathan, outside of Ring 1

Nathan sleeping on a mat in the gym, in-between sessions

Here he is again, passed out in the gym

When I say "in the gym", I literally mean it. Check him out!

Bob with Nathan. Bob LOVES kids! Here's some shots of him and Nathan . . . Too cute!

Is There Anybody Out There?

2008-11-17T18:19:00.000-08:00

Nobody leaves me comments anymore. I know there are a bunch of silent readers; people tell me when they get here that they read it all the time and it's usually a big reason why they decided to come, even.

So this blog gets a lot of hits, but I feel like I'm writing to NOBODY anymore because there's no interaction at all. It's feeling wierd, lol! I mean, how do you not comment about "Dive" by Andrea Gibson? That I don't get. I'm going to keep posting of course, it's just kind of wierd-feeling, that's all.

My family? My friends? Rawai Gym Message Boarders? My blog has over 5,000 hits through that alone. Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? Drop me a line, people! I feel like I'm writing to a brick wall anymore over here, LOL!

"Dive" by Andrea Gibson

2008-11-16T00:54:00.000-08:00

I first heard this poem a few years ago when a friend saw her perform live. Recently I felt the urge to hear it again as it is SOOOOOOO powerful. It still gives me goosebumps. I love the message, the delivery, everything is spot on. Andrea Gibson is a super-talented lesbian slam poet and writer. She is awe-inspiring. The way she outlines the paradox that is life is truly genius. Life doesn't rhyme. I wish I could write a lot more on this topic, but I'm dog-tired and don't have it in me. Maybe soon.......

Below are the words - but it REALLY is best heard, so watch the video. I bolded some of the lines I really dig:

i often repeat myself and the second time's a lie

i love you

see what i mean i don't...

and i do

and i'm not talking about a girl i might be kissing on

i'm talking about this world i'm blissing on and hating at the exact same time

see life doesn't rhyme

it's bullets...and wind chimes

it's lynchings...and birthday parties

it's the rope that ties the noose

and the rope that hangs the backyard swing

it's a boy about to take his life and with the knife to his wrist

he's thinking of only two things: his father's fist and his mother's kiss

and he can't stop crying

it's wanting tonight to speak the most honest poem i've ever spoken in my life

not knowing if that poem should bring you closer to living or dying

drowning of flying cause life doesn't rhyme

last night i prayed myself to sleep

woke this morning to find god's obituary scrolled in tears on my sheets

then walked outside to hear my neighbor

erasing ten thousand years of hard labor

with a single note of his violin and the sound of the traffic rang like a hymn

as the holiest leaf of autumn fell from a plastic tree

beautiful ---and ugly

like right now i'm needing nothing more than for you to hug me

and if you do i'm gonna scream like a caged bird

see...life doesn't rhyme

sometimes love is a vulgar word

sometimes hate calls itself peace

on the nightly news i've heard saints preaching truths

that would have burned me at the stake

i've heard poets tellin lies that made me believe in heaven

sometimes i imagine hitler at seven years old

a paint brush in his hand at school

thinkin what color should i paint my soul

sometimes i remember myself with track marks on my tongue

from shooting up convictions that would have hung innocent men from trees

have you ever seen a mother falling to her knees

the day her son dies in a war she voted for

can you imagine how many gay teen-age lives were saved

the day matthew shepherd died

could there have been anything louder

than the noise inside his father's head

when he begged the jury

please don't take the lives of the men

who turned my son's skull to powder

and i know nothing would make my family prouder

than giving up everything i believe in

still nothing keeps me believing

like the sound of my mother breathing

life doesn't rhyme

it's tasting your rapist's breath on the neck of a woman who loves you more

than anyone has loved you before

then feeling holy as jesus

beneath the hands of a one night stand

who's calling somebody else's name

it's you never feelin more greedy

than when you're handing out dollars to the needy

it's my not eating meat for the last seven years

then seeing the kindest eyes i've ever seen in my life

on the face a man with a branding iron in his hand

and a beat down baby calf wailing at his feet

it's choking on your beliefs

it's your worst sin saving your fucking life

it's the devil's knife carving holes into your soul

so angels will have a place to make their way inside

life doesn't rhyme

still life is poetry --- not math

all the world's a stage but the stage is a meditation mat

you tilt your head back you breathe when your heart is broken

you plant seeds in the cracks and you pray for rain

and you teach your sons and daughters

there are sharks in the water

but the only way to survive

is to breathe deep and

dive.

"Cheaper Than" Restauraunt

2008-11-13T07:43:00.003-08:00

Top left and going clockwise, Lotta (pro fighter) from Sweden, me,

Lena (Lotta's friend from Sweden who is here to fight), and Lindsey (pro fighter from Canada)

Most Rawai students hear a lot about the restaurant "Cheap Ass" even before they come here. I have eaten at Cheap Ass a few times, and it's definitely an alright place. I should state here, for the benefit of future students, that's real name is Tams, NOT "Cheap Ass"; we found that out the hard way once driving around for hours trying to find a restaurant named "Cheap Ass". My friend Coolio, who's bike I was riding on, stopped and asked Thai folks "how to find 'Cheap Ass'" and I warned him that they probably were thinking he was asking about something entirely different, considering it was Thailand, and that they were likely going to send us to Patong, LOL!

Without a bike, "Cheap Ass" is a bit far and not very practical. You basically can't walk there from the gym. Plus, a lot (not all) of their meals are like white rice with a slab of pork on it with a fried egg on top of that, which isn't very appealing to me, personally.

Then, through Lindsey, I discovered the restaurant that I found out has been dubbed "Cheaper Than", short for "Cheaper Than Cheap Ass". It's walking distance, although I'm the only person that really walks it, because like noone walks in Thailand. And I walk it pretty much daily, since they serve my favorite foods, and the chef/owner, a darling woman, prepares them just as I like them: Young Thai Coconuts and Som Tam (hold the msg; add extra garlic and extra chili, no shrimp or crab), which is the greatest food in the universe.

All the food here is excellent, and very affordable. I've overheard foreigners telling the owner that she makes "the best green curry in Phuket", and other such compliments. The meals there may cost a slight bit more than "Cheap Ass" but aren't really because they come with larger portions, which balances it out. I can get my Som Tam and a Young Coconut for 70 baht, which is a great, filling and SUPER healthy meal. Sometimes she makes me a larger Som Tam for 60 baht versus 40 baht, a deal I worked out with her since it's usually my main course verses a "side dish".

It's easy to get to, too, from the gym - I'll include directions at the end of this post for all new students, so they can check it out. The staff is small but super friendly, and I love giving them my business. I told her I was taking pictures for my online journal, to let other gym patrons know about her and her great food, and she was very appreciative. The Thais are all very humble and gracious! Here's some pictures so you'll recognize it even easier. . . . .

Here's the sign to look for!

Behind the counter here and at most Thai restaurants, you can see the stove

and pots and pans they are using to cook your meal right in front of you.

Everything is kind of rustic, and meals are made quickly enough, but one at a time.

Usually one person is served, then another, then another. . . in a large group you can

expect for the first person to be almost done by the time the last person is just getting served.

Just something you get used to in Thailand.

Some friends of the restaurant that are usually there during the day. Very kind people!

There's an ice chest and glasses sitting out so you can get your own glass, and there's

free pitchers of water on the table, unlike some places where you have to buy bottled water.

It's L-shaped, so the tables just line the side of the restauraunt,

as shown above.

I went around the side to take a picture of her pounding out my Som Tam with

her mortar and pestle. So cool!

Here she is, taking my order behind the counter.

Like most Thai restaurants, it's "open". There aren't any walls, really,

you are always kind of sitting "outside". You can sit at your

table and see the store next door, or a dog will wander up to you, etc.

Som Tam always comes with a side of fresh beans and a wedge of

green cabbage. Sometimes cucumber slices as well. Yum! Thais are great

about fresh vegetables!

And here's my FAVORITE meal, the one that I eat daily. Som Tam with the

side of extra vegetables, plus a young Thai coconut. DELISH! It's also

perfect for weight loss, energy, nutrition and building the immune system....and FILLING!

The best Som Tam in Phuket, close up! Mmmmm!

Directions from Rawai Gym:

Walking out of the gym, turn Right, heading towards the internet cafe.

Follow the road past the cafe and around the bend up until you reach it's end and can go either left or right. Go Left.

Stay on this road. It is past Don's Restaurant, another popular place, on your left. Continue straight ahead and in about five minutes or so you'll see a blue sign on the right for a place called Mama's and Papa's. Continue straight and very shortly you'll see the sign for "Cheaper Than" shown at the beginning of the post up on your Left.

Stop and eat.

Seriously, don't miss out on this place!

Loy Krathong: Full Moon Festival

2008-11-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

From the left, Ivan from San Diego, Josh from Nashville, and me, holding our krathongs.

Wednesday night I celebrated Loy Krathong, a Thai holiday where you send your worries and wishes out to the water and, with it, renew your karma! It's simple, sweet and felt really good to do! Although my Thai friends invited me to go with them, I could see they were busy at their restaurant and I wasn't sure how late I wanted to be up/out or when they'd be ready, plus it was raining on and off, so I took off with some friends, Ivan and George, to check it out down at Nai Harn beach.

A little bit about Loy Krathong from a site that knows way more about it than me:

As the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (usually in mid-November) lights up the night sky, throughout the Thai kingdom, hundreds of thousands of ornately-decorated krathong or traditional banana leaf floats are set adrift in rivers and waterways in a spell-binding ritual called "Loi Krathong" - the 'festival of lights". This is one of the Kingdom's oldest and best-preserved traditions.

Krathong floats in the shape of lotus blossoms are most popular and are made from materials easily found in each locality. Loi Krathong customs and traditions reflect local beliefs and cultural evolution and interesting regional variations can be seen. In Tak province, the banana-leaf floats are replaced by coconut shells which are threaded together and launched simultaneously so they appear as long chains of hundreds of glittering lights on the Ping River, hence the origin of its name, "Loi Krathong Sai".

There are various accounts about the origins of Loi Krathong. However given the river-based culture that forms the foundation of the traditional Thai way of life, it is widely believed that these are offerings made to Mae Khongkha - Mother of Waters in an act of appeasement. Many also believe that by setting adrift the krathong, one symbollically casts away one's grief, misery and ill-fortunes. Coins are also placed in the krathong as offerings. For the romantic at heart and young couples, Loi Krathong is the time to make wishes for happiness together and success in love.

At dusk, as the full moon begins to rise, the Krathong is decorated with fresh flowers and the candles and incense sticks are placed in the Krathong. The float is then taken to a waterway where the candle and incense sticks are lit and the Krathong set adrift. The floats are carried downstream by the gentle current, candlelight flickering in the wind.

You put like a strand or two of hair, a part of a fingernail and/or a bit of

money in your Krathong. Ivan chewing off a fingernail....hilarious!

Here's me at the end of the pier, trying to light my Krathong.

There is incense and a candle on each one.

Success, even though none of them stayed lit!

It went out, here's Ivan trying to help me.

Me getting ready to set my worries and wishes adrift!

Thar she goes!

The night is kind of a carnival. Here are some (bad) random pictures from the evening as well . . . .

Krathoys sailing off . . . unlit & under an overcast but at least not raining anymore sky.

A ride.

Descending to the pier to set off our Krathoys

Kids on a ride!

A dart game where you win stuffed animals. Pretty standard.

JoJo and Noi making banana leaf/tree Krathons earlier in the day,

Yib hanging out in the background.......

Friendship Beach Resort Pool

2008-11-12T00:09:00.001-08:00

Friendship Beach Waterfront Resort let's non-guests swim at their pool as long as you order something from the bar or restaurant. For me, that is usually a coconut or fresh watermelon juice. They have a detox at their facility so they have some really healthy items, like carrot juice or steamed veggies - they just are a bit costlier. Not many students either know about it or take advantage of it, but their pool is usually empty and although I made a big stink about how incredible the pool is at The Mangosteen Resort that I was lucky enough to sneak into, the pool at Friendship Beach is really nice, too! A few of us decided to go yesterday since it's not very far, maybe a 20 minute walk.

Here's Bob and Mona, preparing to go to hell for mocking Islam.

(KIDDING! They are just having fun!)

The grounds at Friendship Beach Resort

The view from the pool; Thailand is gorgeous!

The bar

I love this statue/fountain that they have . . .

The pool, with the ocean off to the right

And the pool again

My roommate Mona, swimming

Ivan, getting in the water

Gemma, Chris and Dave - all from England!

I love the trees!

The canopied restaurant area

Gemma, basking in the lap of luxury, LOL!

I love Thai architecture!

Lindsey Comes Home Today!

2008-11-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

Lindsey is one of our pro fighters. She's 27 and from Canada and most of you know who she is already from this blog or the Rawai Muay Thai Gym website or just from visiting here. She's been in Australia the last 2 weeks visiting friends and obtaining her 1 year visa to stay in Thailand . . . . but I've MISSED her, so I'm sooooo glad she's coming back tonight! She's a great friend with the most infectious laugh ever, and I cannot wait to see her (and for her to kick my butt training!) Woo hoo!

Meet Mona, My Roommate

2008-11-10T19:12:00.000-08:00

This is Mona, my new roommate, enjoying a bowl of Tom Yam soup at Cashew Nut. She is 24 and from Japan and an absolute gem. She is here for two weeks and has never done Muay Thai before. I especially admire her independence: at 17 she moved to Norway as an "au'pair" (or foreign nanny) and completed her schooling there. Even for her to be here, doing this, as a 24 yr. old chick from Japan, is highly rare and very uncommon.

She's a tough chick, really mature, super-friendly, and a natural muay thai fighter. She is also very curious and a great conversationalist; we ask each other a lot of questions about our countries and their cultures, so I'm learning a lot about Japan which is pretty cool since I've been to Japan before. Although I like sooooo many of the people here, I know I'm lucky to have her as a roommate. I know I'm not alone in thinking that I wish she could stay longer, but she's going to visit her Norwegian friend who is in Bangkok for 10 days after her trip here, and then she's off home to Japan. Hopefully she'll come back soon. Isn't she a doll, though? What a cute picture!

This is interesting, and it's happening more and more frequently:

When Mona met me, she said, "Oh! YOU'RE Mary! I read your blog and it's why I decided to come!" Wow. That is soooo cool, and other chicks have told that to me too. I'm thrilled because I think this is SUCH a wonderful thing to do for yourself, and I know something like this can be kind of intimidating, for guys and girls. I know it was for me! I also think I could do a much better job on this blog, so it's really nice feedback, honestly. I am so flattered, though. What a compliment! A lot of the new students recognize my name (not all) when I introduce myself, which is pretty awesome, though. Keep it coming, guys!

Anyways, as an aside, this is probably a good time to mention that if you have any areas of Thai culture you want me to explore or comment on, please feel free to send any ideas or suggestions and I'll do my best! I'm totally open to suggestion.

Overall, the international aspect of Rawai Gym is just amazing. Here you have the cozyness of the laid-back and friendly, easy Thai culture to immerse yourself in, and yet strong connections with people from all over the entire world who are all here at the same time and for similar reasons. It's truly a magical experience!

Monday Afternoon Training

2008-11-10T02:50:00.001-08:00

I took pictures during afternoon training Monday because I feel under the weather from the air-conditioning I sat in, and so I'm just pounding garlic and young coconuts and am planning on being up and at'em asap. Not gonna let it get me down, and I'm not going to force myself to do anything because that is when I get injured, always. So I thought I'd take some pictures, we have lots of new students.

Ot taught the beginner's class today

Warren from England and Josh from Nashville doing pads

5 rounds on the bags. . . .

Grappling.........

Mia training with Fahd

This is Justin from Australia. He's 18 or so and is experienced in Wing Chen,

another martial art. He will be fighting soon - the trainers just love him!

Petsila, training . . . .

Chris from England, kneeing the bags. He's been traveling for many months all over Asia
and is really into scuba diving. He has lots of great stories to tell about it!

Ryan, or "Big Red" (as we call him) from San Diego! Ryan's great!

Jocinda works at the Atsumi Healing Center, where a lot of our students go to
detox for a week or so before coming here. She's very familiar with raw foods,
from the United States, and is one of the only other people I know who has a vegan tattoo. I'm not the only vegan here, woo hoo! I love this shot of her, so cute!

Leanord from San Diego taking a picture of me taking a picture of him, LOL! He leaves soon. Leanord has trained before at home, but this was his first time in Thailand. The trainers picked up right away that he was no beginner, put him in the ring with Yib to see what he could do, and scheduled his first fight immediately. Super nice guy, too - I'm really happy for him!

The ladies, waiting for their rounds in the ring!

From left to right, Mona from Japan, Eimir from Ireland,

and Angela & Mia from Canada. All four just completed the

Beginner's Clas and are now in Group Training.

Warren from England, training hard. Warren is absolutely HILARIOUS (outside of the ring;

he'll kill me if I don't add that and I don't blame him!)

Fin was playing the role of Bang today, as Bang didn't make it today. That meant he went around blowing the whistle every few minutes right in people's ears, LOL! Nah, he coordinated the whole afternoon, telling everyone where to go and what to do, etc.

Joy being a GOOF!

Mona, my roommate from Japan, training!

Jocinda wrapping her hands......

Ivan training with Yib.

Chris from England showing off his mouth guard, LOL! Chris is a REALLY nice guy, and has been traveling around and has done various martial arts in China, too.

He has his first muay thai fight coming up soon.

Eva, who's a medical doctor in Europe, training with Joy

See? I'm not the only one taking pictures of training.....

Gemma from England, doing some weight-training. She has a motorbike injury

but is still doing what she can. Good for her! She's definitely going to reach her goals while here . . . .

My Room

2008-11-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

When I first got here, I lived in the shared housing at the gym. They sleep 3 to a room, have a small kitchen (no stove) and a bathroom (uh, obviously). There's pretty much 3 rooms in a row, and out front is what we have dubbed The Front Porch, where many congregate. The shared housing is about 50 feet from the gym. For all you non-Americans, that's like....er....16 meters (or something). You can see from all the pictures that we are very serious about our fans around here, LOL! There is one at the foot of every bed, but rest assured (no pun intended) it gets pretty cool here at night.

This is the front of the Shared Housing from inside the gym, looking out. See? Very close!

Last weekend I made the decision to move INTO the gym, where there are 3 rooms that each house two students. This is what the inside of my new room looks like.

As you can see below, I'm not lying about "living in the gym". Literally, when I open my door, there is the ring. I have to share a bathroom/shower and I have a fridge but no kitchen counter or sink, but it's not that big of an issue, honestly. And it's the best way to make sure you stay on track with your training. You literally will wake up to yelling, bags being punched, the whistle being blown, and Petsila saying "Jab! Jab!" right outside your door. It's great, though, and I couldn't be happier with the decision!

Cheap & Easy Ways To Not Get Sick While Training

2008-11-09T03:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, so of course I cannot promise that you won't get sick or anything, but I thought I'd share some of my natural health knowledge here on this topic because it's easy to get a cold while you're here. And when one person gets something, you can literally watch it fly through the gym or their group of friends, etc.

I'm not trying to scare anyone here, it's not like everybody is always sick, but in my six weeks here I've seen at least three different "bugs" go around, this most recent one being more uh, "digestive" in nature, with people up all night going to the bathroom every ten minutes. Not fun stuff, people. AND it interferes with their training. If you're only here three weeks, you hardly want to be out four days with a fever, headache, a cough, etc. I've seen some people be out of commission or feel like crap, right here in the middle of paradise, for 7 - 10 days. You really don't want that to happen to you.....

When you get here and see the sweat flying through the gym, into your eyes and stuff, you see why things spread so easily. Furthermore, you touch the ground with your wraps or gloves, you touch the pads and bags with your gloves, then you wipe the sweat from your brow with your gloves or wraps....it's really quite disgusting when you think about it, and allllll the germs that have touched those pads and gloves. Even though our gym is regularly cleaned, there's no denying it's a cesspool of germs and bacteria from people from all over the world, and in a foreign country to boot. Trust me, you think about these things when you're doing push-ups . . . .

Whenever I start to feel something like a cold coming on, for me, I immediately take action, and I neverseem to get it. Here are some simple tips for how NOT to get bogged down with a bug during your visit.

Take Probiotics. As Danny, our Internet Manager, so wisely suggests on the website, take probiotics before you come, and even during your stay. When purchasing probiotics, you would do best to find some that indicate they are enteric-coated, meaning they are guaranteed to make it through your stomach acid; otherwise your stomach acid can just kill the living organisms before it reaches your gut and you just wasted your money. Probiotics will help strengthen your immune system as most of us are deficient in the good bacteria that is supposed to populate our gut. Antibiotics and coffee are two of the biggest threats to it. Fermented foods like yogurt or sauerkraut do not supply a therapuetic amount, plus most have been pasteurized, which would kill the probiotics. Probiotics directly combat disease and promote health. Renew Life makes a great one.

Eat Garlic. Garlic is POWERFUL stuff and tastes great. It is used as a natural antibiotic. Here's a GREAT review of how it can work wonders on infections and germs. It has natural anti-fungal, anti-viral and antibacterial properties. I personally have a hard time with raw garlic, but I find that with Som Tam, my favorite Thai food, I am okay with it, and so I specifically order Som Tam with extra garlic in it, or I order Tom Yam soup (vegetarian) and get extra garlic in the soup (although they say it's really more potent when eaten raw so I'd stick with the Som Tam, honestly). Eat at least a few cloves a day - I easily do more, but then again, I'm Italian. Dr. Richard Schulze, famous for curing incurable diseases, says the 3 cloves of garlic a day he has patients eat is among the most crucial aspects of the program. As well, you could eat raw white onion, too. It has similar benefits. Garlic is anti-parasitic, which is very important when traveling to foreign countries.

Eat Chili Peppers. If you can handle it, eat food here as spicy as you can handle it. Those hot chili peppers, a.k.a. cayenne pepper, offer a zillion health benefits, and will blast the germs right out of you. Cayenne has been known to stop a heart attack on the spot it is so powerful. Yes, you read that right. When you order food here, try to go as spicy as you can, if you can. I used to HATE cayenne pepper and couldn't understand why anybody would torture themselves with it. Now I crave it, and even when I order it extra hot, it's never hot enough it seems. Wierd, huh? So, never say never! If it feels uncomfortable, just remember that one time my ex-boyfriend could feel a little piece of glass in his eye that he couldn't get out and that I gave him a cayenne eye rinse to solve the problem. It worked, but he was white-knuckling the counter top. Not a fun time, people, but we can't have glass in our eye, either, can we? All things aside from hero stories where I saved the day, cayenne pepper is phenomenal for you. And it will of course clear your sinuses, and then some.

Som Tam is an EXCELLENT food to eat when you're struggling with something (or to keep your immune system up) because of the massive health benefits of green papaya, the chili peppers and the garlic factor. Its almost all raw, almost all vegan (if you get it without the shrimp or crab), and filling. Just be sure to order it without the MSG, or glutamate. That means it is very easy on your body to digest as it is loaded with enyzymes, vitamin C and powerful nutrition, plus is a tasty way to eat some chili pepper and garlic. And they are usually happy to add more garlic and pepper for you.

Note: If the thought of eating either of these is too much, you would do well to stop by your local health store to buy a couple bottles of garlic capsules or cayenne capsules, and to take them while you are here. Just remember to bring them here sealed, not opened, because if your bags are checked and they are not sealed, they will be confiscated.

Bring Grapefruit Seed Extract. Sealed, of course. Grapefruit Seed Extract can be taken internally or used externally, for cleaning the house, food, or just about anything else. Internally, it has very powerful antibiotic qualities. You can get it as a gel and use it by the drop, or you can get it in tablet form, to bring. It's uses are more versatile as a gel, for sure, but do it however you can. GSE is being used in hospitals to kill the "supergerms" that have sprung about that regular antibacterials can no longer kill. It's powerful stuff, and a little goes a long way. The gel tastes awful; it is only disguised in citrus drinks, orange juice or grapefruit juice. Obviously, the healthiest way to drink orange juice is for it to be fresh-squeezed, and my friends at Cashew Nut, the local restaurant, were happy to oblige when I requested it. Nutribiotic makes a great one.

Get Your YOUNG THAI COCONUT On, People. Seriously, folks, these are ridiculously healthy for you. The coconut water inside is so close to human blood plasma that it can be, and is sometimes, used for blood transfusions. They are anti-fungal, anti-viral and antibacterial, are loaded with electrolytes (forget "Gatorade"!) and they even contains lauric acid, which is found in human breast milk. The benefits are astounding, this is the food of champions. They are easy to get here, I usually eat one while waiting for my Som Tam to be ready. What a phenomenal meal, and they are my two favorite foods in the world! Somebody pinch me....

Some herbs that may come in handy are Echinacha, a powerful immune builder, and Cat's Claw (aka Samento), which is a powerful killer, too. I had Cat's Claw with me, but it's not necessary to bring these, really, just an option. Echinacha is a strong immune-builder, though, for sure. Not an "awful" idea. . . .

Eat Lighter

Yeah, you heard me. Don't panic, that doesn't mean "don't eat at all", it means drink smoothies, even protein drinks, and try not to eat huge servings of heavy foods like chicken and rice. White rice just converts to sugar and sugar will feed the cold/illness. Don't drink soda and coffee, etc. as they are acid-forming and disease flourishes in an acid pH, go for alkalizing foods like greens and vegetables. Tom Yam soup is one of Thailand's more famous foods, and it's easy to see why. Eat a lot of it in-between your fruit smoothies.

Eating lighter, or more simpler, is a matter of just giving your body a break versus taxing it by having it digest a heavy, complex cooked meal. At the Tessco Lotus they even have fresh juices pre-bottled, or just find the closest juice bar and make it your friend (if you're willing to go that far). Otherwise, just stick to coconuts and water, vegetables (Som Tam!) and eating simpler and wiser than usual. You can still eat often and you'll still get everything you need.

Some Other Useful Stuff

Also, maybe Disinfect Your Gloves. I actually have not done this yet because I am super lazy (and gross, apparently), but it's a really good idea to do. This won't prevent you from getting other people's sweat and germs on/in you during training, though, when you are using your gloves and surely wiping your face, etc. This is one area where something like the Grapefruit Seed Extract gel would come in handy; just dilute it in water and wipe them down. You could also put a few drops in on your dirty laundry, so when it's washed it disinfects everything too. I do this at home a lot, but haven't remembered to do it here yet. Still, it's a good idea.

A Word On External Injuries

My friend warned me of this after moving to Belize and having a mosquito bite get infected.... When you are in a foreign country, even your own sweat can infect you. Things are a bit different. So, while you will surely be fine, just know that if you have an open blister or sore, you must keep it covered and properly cleaned. The people at the pharmacies are very, very helpful, and everything is really cheap. Don't just throw a bandaid on it or assume you'll be fine. I've seen many people out of commission here for injuries and scrapes, and it's easy for them to get infected. Be careful, especially on your motorbikes, lest you forget my toe injury. And I got off easy, folks..........

Last But Not Least: Do A Parasite Cleanse When You Get Home!

Honestly, it's a really good idea, people. While garlic and Cayenne and GSE are antiparasitic, you can never be too careful about these things, especially because most have never done one in their lives. Parasites are a fact of nature, but they are also the precursor to a ton of different health maladies. Migraines, Colitis, IBS and so much more have all been linked to parasites. The last time I was tested, they asked if I had been overseas, to the Orient. Yeah, I had been to Japan ten years prior. NASTY! Anyways, needless to say, I have a great whole body, including parasites, cleanse from BLESSED HERBS for when I get back, and it's the top of the line. Otherwise, there are other good products out there, too.

Blessed Herbs Cleansing Kits

Obviously, get plenty of quality sleep, drink a lot of clean water, eat your peas and all that good stuff, but the above cheap, easy and effective tips should truly help protect you from whatever is going around. It's a shame to miss training because you're sick, it's such a great opportunity just being here, you know? You just want to maximize the experience as much as possible.

One last thing . . .

Right now I am sniffling from the air-conditioning system at a massage parlor. Sigh. Not much I can do about that; it's not really "germ-related", but I'm doing all the above and it's just annoying more than anything. I did take a light decongestent to dry me up because I'm not going to let something like this interfere with my training, no way. I'm not "sick", it just messed with my sinuses. One more reason, outside of it making the weather adjustment more difficult, to avoid air-conditioning!

Facebook - Are You On It?

2008-11-09T01:48:00.000-08:00

I have never liked Facebook, I must confess. I just never found the site very user-friendly, and hate all the gimmicky stuff, like sending people good luck charms, Christmas tree ornaments or dumb quizzes. Myspace is far more corrupt, but at least people can blog and stuff.

I begrudgingly joined as a way of promoting my raw foods business (at the time). Same for Myspace, which I hated joining.

Turns out a lot of the people here at this international gym are on Facebook, so now I'm checking it daily and am getting used to the fact that Facebook is just going to have to be one of those things you just accept in this world. It's worth it to me to be on it because as "the thinking man's 'myspace'", everybody cool that I know is on Facebook, it seems.

I now have become quite the believer, I must say, and my friend list is growing rapidly being here at Rawai Gym. I love how easy it is to stay in touch and share photos on it, especially with everybody going home to places all over the world.

Oddly enough, the most interesting connections I've made, outside of my friends in high school (a given) and allllll my friends at Rawai Gym, are the connections I've made with friends from junior high. I lived in Connecticut for 2 years -- 6th and 7th grade -- and one of my old classmates found me. Through him, I am now in touch with a bunch of people from those years. It's crazy! Who would have thought? It's excellent to see how they turned out, and to find out how well they are doing. Such great people!

Anyways, some people who read this blog have contacted me already on Facebook, people who have not even come here yet. And there's lots more people here right now I'd love to connect with, too. So, if you're reading this or are here already and we haven't connected yet, please add me as a friend. You can find me at Erica Mary Albanese on Facebook.

I Can Do It!

2008-11-07T19:41:00.001-08:00

I have 5 1/2 more weeks, about. Just shy of, actually. But I can tell my body is changing and I'm building muscle. And I weighed in lower than ever this morning. Felt great! I am looking forward to really stepping it up this last 5 weeks, too.

My alarm clock is fixed so I can get up and run again, thank God. I moved from my housing 50 feet away from the gym into the actual gym, which is awesome and a great, great decision!

The last month I am here I am going to do personal training with Lindsey 3x a week for 4 weeks, on top of running in the mornings and doing my daily training.

My big goal would be to lose 8 kilos in the next 5 1/2 weeks, which is about 3lbs a week. But I'd be thrilled with even 6 or 7 considering the muscle I'm building. Plus, I'm confident I'll run and train at home, too.

My diet has been fine-tuned and is excellent. I am 90% raw, and...fruitarian, considering that the green papaya in my Som Tam is fruit, although a nutritional powerhouse. I eat young coconuts, Som Tam, fruit and a lot of water daily, and it suits me. I'm full, I'm content, I feel great, I LOVE the foods so much that it feels like they should be "bad" for me, so I'm in my own little heaven here, LOL! How NICE to be addicted to and craving the best foods for me, the ones that will help me achieve my goals? Nice, I tell you.

This morning my throat was sore and last night I sneezed a bit and then got sniffly, and was still lightly sniffly this morning. I slept light as a result, which I'm not thrilled about, but honestly, I think it is all due to being in the air-conditioning a few hours yesterday. I pound a lot of garlic and chili pepper daily, like tons, and it doesn't feel like a bug.

Regardless, this morning, for breakfast, I had a large young coconut, which is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal......plus they are laden with major nutrition and electrolytes. I had the water and meat out of it, then had a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice that I added 20 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract in it. This will kill ANYthing in it's path, and is powerful stuff. Here's a great list of just some of it's uses, and why I chose to travel with it. Then, I had mainly the broth of a beautiful bowl of Tom Yam soup, a Thai classic, with loads of extra garlic and some extra chili in it. Now I am resting. For lunch I'll have - you guessed it - Som Tam. And I'll probably buy a spare one to bring home to eat later or tomorrow. With loads of extra garlic. I'm going to do a whole post on defeating the colds and stuff that go around here, because it's very easy to get stuff and foreigners are more susceptible to doing so. When one person gets something, you can watch students start falling like Dominoes....and it doesn't need to be that way! Look for that post soon, it's going to be important.

We are almost 2 weeks into The Biggest Loser competition and I am down 4 kilos from my original weigh-in; but I had gained 2 from water weight when I started, so I am down 6 from when I arrived (keeping in mind that I'm gaining muscle, which weighs a lot more than fat). I likened the water weight to my "Estrogen Advantage", LOL, but still, I'm glad it's gone. If it HAS to happen, I'm glad it helped me in a contest, but other than that, good riddance!

There's lots of new, great students here that I'm really enjoying meeting. A lot of really good, friendly people! We're having a great time. This gym is a phenomenal place to be!

More Candids of Fights & Training

2008-11-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some more great pictures from my friend's collection . . . . .

Ah, the sign from the road so you know that you're HOME!

Lotta, our fighter from Sweden, in between training rounds.

She is an AMAZING fighter!

Nick and Carol, both of whom which have left at this point.

Two of our younger fighters, and an even younger fan!

Our trainer Petsila before his fight.

Nom before his fight, and what a great fight it was.

Our trainer Deng before his fight.

JoJo, a staff member we adore, Hovick, a "fighting farang",

Nom, after he won his fight, and Tuk, our manager/co-owner/head trainer

A fight shot at Bangla Stadium

Random fight shot that I love

A fight flyer

Fin grappling with a student

"Bau", Bang Man's son and a fighter for the gym. What a DOLL!