The FARANG Speaks 2 Much

Famously been written about here is my bad phone karma and my in-ability to spell in Thai. I tried to explain the spelling issue here but I think it is time this phone thing gets discussed plus I thought I would toss in a movie mention and introduce the new phone since I figure it might help with the phone karma.

When I first moved to Thailand I carried with me my Palm based Treo smartphone - I don’t do windows. Was a little bit of an overkill for my new life of leisure but I did find the smart phone book to come in handy especially given my filing system. I had names of Thai girls from multiple countries and cities so I organized everything by city - that way I would type HK into my phone and I would see all the names from HK - thus making sure I was not calling or texting the wrong girl. Now that I am not in Hong Kong I preface the phone numbers with nicknames for Bangkok. SC, NP, PP, S33, RC and others come to mind. Anyway the Treo was cool but about 6 months into moving to Bangkok I got home one night and noticed I no longer was in possession of my phone and had no idea where it was.

I had a girlfriend at the time, ouch, and I had promised to buy her a phone so I got her old Nokia phone which was okay but never my favorite. The phone did stay on my person longer than the relationship though so when I was out prowling for fresh meat I had the phone to remind me of my past gf blunders. One night while out with this girl I realized that when I got home I was again no longer with my phone. Nice. I was pissed since this was with a real SIM card - not 1-2 Call so I needed to call DTAC and ge my SIM shut off but I was also happy I had lost that particular phone. U win some and u lose some.

So this time when I went to get a new SIM card I picked up a cheap(1000 baht) but new dorky Nokia bargirl phone. Nothing but calls and texting with a non-color LCD screen. Old school. Then who cares if I lose it. About 2 months later I gave that phone to our cook without a phone and upgraded to a 1200 baht phone with a color screen. I probably should not have done this since maybe I would still have the cheap ass phone(which BTW my friend points out is not a bargirl phone since most bargirls have better phones than that) but u can read about how I lost that one here.

So after returning from Full Moon I went to DTAC, got another SIM, and purchased the cheap ass non-color phone again. Figuring it would be my best hope of keeping a phone longer than a few months. Right. 2 nights into the new phone I was coming back from Silom by taxi, carrying some boxes and once I had exited the taxi I heard a thud just as I closed the taxi door. I thought something had fallen out of my boxes I was carrying but just as the taxi was speeding away, I think he knew, I realized I had dropped my phone just inside the door as I shut it. I quickly grabbed my friend’s phone to call my phone. It rang, the taxi asshole picked up the phone and then shut it off. I started running after him but it was too late. Another one gone - this time lasting only 2 days. So pathetic! Plus it has severely dented any sense of goodness I once shared for taxi drivers.
So this time I went to another DTAC office since I could not bear to explain to the same girls again that after 2 days I had lost my phone. So I picked up a new SIM and decided that I would change tactics and look for a new, cool phone that I might actually care so much about that I would die if I lost it.

I used to have this phone when I first started traveling the globe for work:

This was one of the first multiband GSM phones, worked everywhere but Japan, and was small with a good battery life. Also one of the first with bluetooth. This was back when Ericsson was making money because they actually made some amazing phones. Honestly I can’t remember what happened to that phone but my guess is I lost it?

Okay so I am cruising around MBK and I see this:

Well. I just had to have it. This thing is tiny, very thin, has a built in MP3 player, possible storage of up to 8 gigs, a groovy interface, camera and email/plus RSS. Done. I got it and the phone number of the cute girl selling it. I love the phone. Once I found this hack to sync my iTunes and podcasts to it I feel like I am in heaven and no longer iPhone envious. I think Sony (Ericsson) is making some cool kit but I still plan on going with a Wii once I get around to it.

Let’s see how long I keep this phone. Enuff said.

On to the movie. U gotta see 300 while it is at the movies. Don’t pick up a lame DVD copy for this one. It begs to be seen on the big screen. The story, the visuals, the dialogue and the fact that one the “girls” from Cassanova in NEP got a staring role ensure that this movie will remain a hit.

It was a bummer that all the nude scenes were chopped up because I think there were some hotties but the movie is just amazing. I personally don’t care whether it is factually correct or not since I go to movies for entertainment and 300 won’t let u down.