So American

I overheard someone ask for the time at the airport the other day. "It's half past one" was the girl's reply. No it's not; it's 1:39pm. But that extra nine minutes meant nothing to either the girl responding or the guy who was asking. To me, those nine unaccounted minutes could make or break. It's so American.

I'm doing my best to learn that it's sometimes OK to be only two or three steps ahead rather than fourteen steps ahead. I've been booking hotels, flights, and ferries only a day or two in advance. It's an new thing for me. I'm doing alright with it here. I just wonder if the same mentality will be able to be applied once I'm back in The States.

At the moment I'm checking into a place where I can hear a Scissor Sisters song coming from the bar. Thank goodness. Finally, some good music in this country. On one of the ferries last week, we were inundated with "...until the 12th of never ... and that's a long, long time." I think I heard that song three times over the course of the ninety-minute ferry ride. And it's rare that you'll ever hear the original American artist; it's always a cover.

The best tough, is passing bars and clubs which boast live music. It's always awful covers of easy-listening American music. Most times the (usually Thai,) singer is completely oblivious to the correct lyrics and just sort of mumbles an makes up his own. It's just like when you're singing along to that new song that you hear on the radio. All you know is the chorus so when you come to the bridge, you just play it off like your alternative lyrics are actually a suitable replacement. The only difference is that these guys are on stage!

Something that's not very American is how easy it is to settle the bill at a restaurant. 170 baht for vegetable korma, 50 baht for naan. No tax, no tip. You can simply drop 220, walk out, and call it a day. Easy.