Daily Report: Packing Up, Saying Goodbye

Today was spent ending my trip to New York. I woke up, called Mike in Thailand to set things up for him to meet me at the airport in Bangkok. I also tried calling Bob and Ray to see if they wanted me to bring anything back for them from America, but I couldn't get through to them for the entire day for some reason. Sorry guys: I thought of you, but couldn't reach you.


Here's a markup for you: Red Bull in
Thailand sells for 25 cents per bottle...
before being watered down to suit
American tastes.I spent the morning out shopping for stuff that I wanted to take back to Thailand with me: Spaghetti-O's of course, a 2-liter of Dr. Pepper, whiskey sour mix and sloe gin (bar resources unable to be obtained in Thailand), spray-on suntan lotion (a new American invention, it seems), a Spiderman dinner set for Pot, chocolate for Maid Go... et cetera and so forth.

Packing to go home was a much easier process: All of my clothes are dirty and not going to be worn again, and in addition I'm taking back two suitcases whereas I only arrived with one. Therefore, I had all kinds of luggage space for the return trip, and instead of folding and packing neatly, everything was thrown in in a jumble.

In the evening, my mother drove me up to a hotel in Rochester. (I have a 6:00 a.m. flight, meaning a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call.) I love my mom: At the end of my visits, when she realizes that I've only cost her an arm... and not a leg... she goes all extra-generous on me — and throws in the leg anyway: She paid for my hotel room, and then proceeded to take me out to Red Lobster for dinner.

I have a visceral, caveman-style reaction to Red Lobster: It's where The Yummy lives. Red Lobster doesn't exist in Thailand; huge crab legs don't exist in Thailand. I ordered a pound-and-a-half of crab legs, a lobster tail, and some shrimp scampi, and proceeded to spend the next hour in seafood serenity. I think my mother was there during the meal... she probably ate something too... I really don't remember anything other than lots of The Yummy.

When I die, heaven will be a Red Lobster... uh... with a Pattaya GoGo Bar in the back.

Anyway, my mother dropped me back off at the hotel. My original plan had been to stay awake all night so that I'd be guaranteed to be going to sleep on the plan the next day at 10:00 p.m. Thai time, but I slept instead.