I guess one of the things that happens when you're dating a woman who works until 2am, and then needs to go out for some after-work chow, is that sleep starts taking a back seat, and no, I'm not complaining. I've been hanging at M's bar for a few hours most nights, usually playing some music at some point, and I've been getting a bit of a following among the regulars. My skill-set fits in quite nicely in a primarily expat bar, and since the focus is often on jamming with others, it's right up my alley.
Couple nights ago was THE BEST night of music there so far, as a French guitarist named Daniel showed up with serious Django Reinhart type chops, but there was no one who could quite keep up with him (except me, natch), so we ended up playing an incredibly fun set of Le Hot Club type jazz, in which he freakin RULED on lead guitar while I held down the rhythm. I said, just show me the progression and I'll play it back for you, so he had a bunch of great stuff to share, some of which I was familiar with, the rest of which I could pick up quickly enough to let him rip it up. It was a blast to have this kind of music going instead of the standard fare of Credence Clearwater, Eagles, Beatles etc, all of which is great, but this was way up there in terms of swing and sophistication, and the audience loved it. For me, it was a cross between a guitar lesson and a performance, so what's better than that. One of the tunes was called Bossa Dorado, after some great player named Dorado something or other, and I'm gonna Youtube it and put it in the reportoire. A super sweet minor bossa, what a tune.
When I'm leading a set, I'll throw in anything from 'int She Sweet'to 'Up on Cripple Creek' to 'You don't know me' to 'Dream' to an original or two... just keep it moving and see what resonates. The owner of the bar is this really sweet Thai woman named Taow. (think of the sound a cat makes when it wants to come in), and she loves the song Dream, so every time I do it, she sings 'I love you so' (and I add, 'that I could cry' etc. I always give her the mic at that point and she sings it and walks away, and I will do some shtick about, 'wait a minute, why do you say, 'I love you so' and then walk away... it's just like a bunch of my relationships'. It always gets a laugh, and that's kind of the point.... that the music is for having fun, not for demonstrating how wonderful the musicians are (insert false modesty here).... cuz actually I think it is wonderful to stop the song in the middle, relate to the audience, let them know that it's a live event, rather than karaoke, and I've been plying that brand of music for decades now. It ain't about the sheen, it's about the being in the moment. (But don't suck as a musician, if you want to try it like that, I'm just sayin')
Yesterday I added a new piece of goodness to the Chiang Mai experience, which is that I asked for, and found a nice park in which to get on the ground and stretch, work out, do yoga etc. There is precious little green space in the city, and it was tremendous to sit under a tree, get a workout in, look around me to see a bunch of people doing the same thing, a group of guys playing soccer, a fellow sparring for an upcoming Thai Boxing match, a few women with hula hoops, some poeple jogging around the little pond. It's a small park, as these things go, but I'm thinking I'm gonna go there on a daily basis, as I've been missing that oportunity to be outdoors and on the ground.
On the way back from working out, I passed by a plaza where dozens and dozens of street food vendors were set up to feed a mostly Thai clientele, with some Farang thrown in. I was 1 for 3 in my choices, kind of like the way I used to bat when I was in high school. O for 1, O for 2, 1 for 3... I can live with that. First try was some grilled squid. I chose some meatier pieces as opposed to the woman who went before me, and when I bit into them... oops, octopus, really thick and chewy, the kind of thing you could choke to death on. couldn't do it, hey here's some little chicken meat grilling on skewers, looks good, I flash 3 fingers and she grabs them, puts them in a plastic bag, and I'm on my way. Damn, they're gizzards, uh, no can do. I'm down to 40 Baht cause I didn't bring my wallet... one last chance for a meal. I go by this stand, and the young woman says 'Khao Soi', which is one of the delicacies of northern Thailand, a smoky, earthy curry dish with noodles and chicken. I see the big pot cooking, and there are the dreaded 'congealed pigs blood cubes' that I had tried up in the mountains. I ask, Khao soi?, and she says, 'no, this one is Khao Soi' and voila, no congealed pigs blood. I ordered a bowl, paid a buck and had a lovely meal, sitting on the plaza, adding some cabbage, and soybean sprouts and pieces of string bean to the curry, which is how they do it here. Delicious, and just in the nick of time... 'Khao soi'rhymes with Cowboy, and I got a feeling that rhyme will make it into a song somewhere down the line.
M has been spending nights with me at my room at the Guest House, not what I expected, but I'm enjoying the 'company'. The first night that she spent there, we went downstairs in the morning, and I sensed some uptightness from the women who work the desk, who had formerly been very fun and friendly. It was as if they thought, 'Oh great, another western dude whoring around Chiang Mai'. I'm sure the assumption was that it was a 'paying gig' on M's part. I was a bit uncomfortable with it, thought about changing Guest houses to a place where you could come and go without passing the desk, but I decided to just let it be and see what would happen. Now that we've been hanging out for more time, that situation has resolved itself and the smiles have returned. I'm sure that there are layers of nuance which I'm not privy to, but it's feeling good there, and that makes me happy. I like to see smiles from people when I walk by.
I see that I'm on a one month tourist visa, which will require me to leave the country for a day in order to get another month to be here. It's a juggling act that the farang have to do, so that's coming up within about 13 days. Everything is still day to day, moment to moment, but I realize that having a lovely person to connect with is a huge draw for me at this point. I mean sure, I could go off and have all kinds of road experience (which I likely will), but is Glauber driven by his physical/sexual desires? Uh yeah, that's right, he is, so here he is. (Why that's written in third person, I don't know) Oh yeah, that's right, observation mode...
Hey I love hearing from any and all of you who care to write. My email is richglauber@yahoo.com if anyone wants to share... Out....
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