#so the fact that i finished this in 2 days is crazy!!!! yippee.

[rebornrosess]

THE BEAR: and when i’m back in chicago, i feel it.

[noballls]

YAYYYYY more edgy Project Ven content because I'm bored!!!

Aight bros, today imma get into the differences between Gwens symbiotic suit and Eddies/the Venom suit let's goo. (This post will mention spoilers for TSSM so if you wanna avoid that click away!!)

Oh yeah also I did not check to see if any of these sentences made sense, it's 3 am I'm sorry. (Oh yeah it's pretty edgy too lol)

The first thing we gotta talk about is the fact that Gwens suit isn't exactly organic like Eddie's, it uses remains of the symbiote that was found in webs all over the city and as well whatever remained in its containment. The suit Gwen uses mixes technology and organic stuff. Why? To create a weapon that can protect the host, that's why. To put it short, since a company known as V.E.N knows about Miles Warren's lab and the whole symbiote situation they entrust him to make a mercenary suit, mainly because they trust him more than the Connors. I'm not gonna get into detail on who collected the webs the symbiote produced, because I don't want this to be too long.

Oh yeah, there's also the difference in how connected they are to their hosts. Gwens symbiote is basically connected to her blood and nervous system while Eddie's is skin, so.. not a very yippee situation.

Anyways, next is the suits symbiotes themselves. Eddie's symbiote is of course more of a person compared to Gwens, that thing actually has its own personality. Meanwhile, Gwens symbiote is more like a human still developing its personality. Gwen had gotten the suit via it getting out of its containment while it's still in development, sure it's smart enough to open the containment door, but it doesn't really have its own personality. All it knows is that it wants to bond with someone or something.

Over time, of course, it'll develop its own personality. But it won't exactly be a nice and friendly personality, to get you caught up Gwens going through the grief of her father's death, she's specifically feeling a lot of anger and hate. She's also not the most mentally stable at the moment, she isn't insane but she definitely needs some kind of therapist or maybe someone to vent to. But, anyway, the suit gains its personality from someone who's angry, grieving, and not really mentally well. So, you know, the suits are not exactly gonna be a good person. Not like Eddie's suit is any better though.

Alright, now we have how the suit affects the host. We know Eddie/the Venom suit doesn't really affect the host in a good way, the symbiote kind of makes the host more aggressive or, you know, crazy in Eddie's case. It also seems to exhaust its host, we literally see Eddie collapse when it leaves him the first time.

Gwens suit is a little different, like with Peter the effects start slowly, very slowly in this case. At first for Gwen, the suit doesn't change her personality too much, she's actually having some fun experimenting with it. But, after 2 days of using the suit she begins to feel more irritable, the world all of a sudden feels too loud and everyone feels so annoying. It's the type of annoying that makes you want to tear out your ears.

Slowly but surely she starts to snap more like how Peter did. She didn't snap often, maybe if someone asked if she was fine or not too many times she would, but usually she felt pretty guilty and apologized afterwards. But as the symbiote begins to develop its own personality from hidden anger and as well grief, the guilt begins to fade, her lashing out becomes more frequent, not only that but she also begins to isolate herself.

Personality changes aren't the only thing that's happening too. The suit can also damage her body, the suit isn't completely finished, its weakness to heat and vibrations is still present. Usually, the symbiote will only be affected, but since it's a lot more connected to Gwen it also harms her. It's very much an ouchie moment.

And finally, we have the suit's capabilities. Gwens suit is more capable of using its goo as a weapon, it can create arm blades with the goo, of course it won't be as effective as an actual blade but it'll still be pretty damn harmful. Eddie's suit doesn't really produce a weapon like that, he can make tendrils though so that's pretty cool.

Their suits are sort of different but they're still really cool, I might post about Gwens relationships with the other characters and what's happening in her life soon.

[stephfights]

First post...waiting for my fate

You have a lump.  Wait, what?  My entire life was about to change.  But let me back up and tell you what has led me to this point.  At 38 years old I have been relatively healthy my whole life.  Mean as a snake, country as cornbread and loyal to a fault....that’s me.  But not sick.  I married my soulmate, Chris, in 2003 and had our son (my angel), Clayton, in 2007.  I was a stay at home mom for the first 8 years of Clayton’s life.  I then decided it was time for me to get out of the house and I have now been working at Kroger for over 4 years.  I have a wonderful family, the BEST friends ever and the most awesome customers anyone could ask for. 

In the last couple of years my hair seems to be thinning more that it always has.  I am always hot...not warm....HOT!  I sweat uncontrollably...mostly from my head/face/neck by just doing simple tasks.  I don’t sleep well.  I have gained quite a bit of weight that will not go away.  And I have more acne now than I ever had in high school!  But...I am that person....that person who doesn’t really care for doctors and thinks nothing bad will ever happen to them.  I am the strong one.  I take care of everyone else.  I guess that is what has gotten me to where I am today.  I have spent so many years taking care of everyone else that I put myself on the back burner.

Fast forward to May 2019.  I wake up with a horrible case of vertigo.  Drunk as pet monkey and vomiting I go to the local family physician’s office that I have been going to for 5 years (only for small things like the flu)  Of course...there was a new nurse practitioner.  This was about the 5th different one in the last 3 years.  He started asking me questions about my medical history...and wanted to know why I hadn’t had a well care check up in years.  I told him I didn’t have time...and I didn’t really see the point. At this time my husband shows up at the office.  He has left work because he thinks his wife, who never gets sick, must be on her last leg.  He made me promise before I left that I would come back and have that visit.  Then he lectured me about smoking.  That’s right, I have been a cigarette smoker for 22 years.  I smiled and thanked him and went on my way.

Over the summer Chris starts riding my ass about my promise to the NP to have a well care check up.  He then proceeds to tell my best friend, Amber, who also rides my ass.  After getting tired of listening to them I finally agree just to get them to shut up!

August 2019.  I go for my well care visit.  I decide if I’m going to do this I might as well tell him every little thing that I think is “wrong” with me.  I have had a large thyroid for many years (thanks Dad) but never had any problems with it.  I haven’t had a thyroid ultrasound or blood work in 10 years.  He thinks that may be the cause of some of the symptoms I am having.  So I agree to do both.  The blood work comes back perfectly normal.  The ultrasound shows a goiter and 2 small cysts.  No big deal really.  He didn’t do anything else.  He doesn’t do pap smears or breast exams.  So I think I am home free!  But he wants me to see a specialist.  Just to see what they think.  I am referred by one of my customers to an Endochronologist at Vanderbilt.  Of course I can’t get in until November 4th.  I was pissed but what could I do.  I wanted to see the best.

November 4th comes.  Chris takes off work to go with me.  I have to admit...I was SO nervous.  I don’t know why.  I just don’t like doctors.  After self diagnosing on the internet (don’t EVER do that)  I was convinced I had a brain tumor.  Dr. Craig Sussman comes in and is the nicest man I have ever met.  Like Mr. Rogers nice.  I was totally at ease.  He asked about a million questions and answered any questions I had.  He wants to do an exam from the waste up.  I’m like okay...whatever floats your boat.  So I put on a lovely (enter sarcasm) gown and he comes back in to do a breast and thyroid exam.  Right breast...all good.  Left breast....he finds a lump.  I couldn’t believe it!  I made him show me where it was.  Then he showed Chris where it was.  Damn, it was large!  Where did that come from and how did we miss that?  Even though I had not been to a female doctor in about 8 years I still did a self breast exam.  A lot of times at night while I was laying in bed watching TV.  Dr. S then does a thyroid exam but doesn’t really feel anything worrisome.  I can tell his worry is about that lump.  He wants to schedule a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound.  Of course...he tells me it is probably a cyst.  I still had a super uneasy feeling.  My mom has had several breast cysts and I think maybe I have inherited it from her.  So I schedule the tests....and wait for 2 weeks until that appointment.

November 18th.  I have dreaded this for 2 weeks.  I have heard all of the horror stories about how horrible and painful a mammogram is.  I do not like pain...in fact...I’m kind of a wuss.  I ask Chris what if the scans do show something.  But he doesn’t really want to think about that.  I am hoping he can come back with me for the tests....of course they will not let him.  I am literally shivering with tears in my eyes waiting for my mamm.  The tech, Jessica, is so wonderful.  She tries to calm my nerves and gets me in position for the first picture.  Beep...that’s it?  Yep....a mammogram is nothing.  I thought they were going to try to squeeze my boobies as flat as a pancake.  I knew that wasn’t going to work!  But it is literally as easy as an xray.  Jessica laughs and we go on and finish all of the scans.  You have to have a lot more pictures with a diagnostic mammogram as opposed to a screening mammogram.  Then onto the ultrasound.  It’s your typical u/s with the sticky gel and them pushing on you with the little flat scope.  I watch as she measures and pauses.  Then she goes up into my arm pit.  I’m thinking hey...I know my boobs are not perky anymore and they ain’t way up there, but I let her do what she’s doing.  Trying not focus on the weird position she has me in and the cramp that is developing in my shoulder.  She then goes and gets the radiologist.  I know something must be up...but maybe it’s just my fat non perky boobs not cooperating.  She pushes and pauses, pushes and pauses and they whisper back and forth.  Telling me that they are just looking for certain things.  After they finally get done...they ask if my husband is with me.  They are going to give me my results today.  Yippee...I don’t have to wait another flipping week and worry about this!  They go get him and put us in a little room and I tell him that it was “easy peasy” and I don’t know why I was so worked up over it.  We sit there and laugh about how dumb I was and how crazy I had been leading up to this appointment.  Then the radiologist comes in.  I swear she must be some kind of angel.  Her name is Dr. Sara Harvey.  She is sweet, kind and gentle.  She sits down, looks me in the eye, and says you do have a mass and it is solid.  Solid?  Cysts aren’t solid?  She continues with you need a biopsy ASAP.  Do they biopsy cysts?  Nothing is making any sense.   I look up at her and ask is it cancer.  She says yes...I am 90% sure it is.  At this moment my whole world changes.  I can’t look at my husband.  I can’t look at her.  I can only look at the ground and think wow, so this is how I’m going to die.  Chris takes over and asks if we can do the biopsy that day.  She leaves the room to go see what can be done.  As she walks out and the door clicks shut I lose it.  I am sobbing uncontrollably.  Begging my husband to tell me what I am suppose to do now.  He has no words.  He just holds me.  Dr. Harvey comes back in and says the biopsy can be done at 1:30 that afternoon....or the following Monday.  Again, I can’t speak.  So Chris tells her we are going to do it that day.  I finally find my voice and ask her who would be doing the procedure.  She says there are a number of radiologist who can do it.  I don’t want them.  I want her.  I don’t know why but I feel this weird connection with her.  She tells me if I want her to do it then she will change her schedule around and do it.  We leave the office and have an hour and half to wait before I have to go back for the biopsies.  I can’t eat, I can’t think, I can only sit and cry.  Chris starts making phone calls.  To my dad so he can pick up Clayton from school.  To my best friend, who is absolutely beside her self.  To my boss, who is not only my boss but a wonderful friend.  To my brother, who lives 9 hours away.

That was the shortest hour and a half in my life.  As I said before, I do not like pain.  But I REALLY do not like needles!  I have no tattoos, I refuse to take shots, IV’s send me into a panic attack.  But I know I am fixing to have a huge needle suck in my left breast.  And again my husband cannot go back with me.  I have to do this by myself.  I am taken back to a room and the nurse goes over exactly what they are going to do and any complications that could arise after.  Dr. Harvey comes in....and wraps me in a big hug.  I cry and cry.  And she just keeps on hugging me.  I lay down on a gurney and they put a warm blanket on me.  Dr. Harvey explains that she will tell me every little thing she is doing before she does it.  First things first is another ultrasound the see exactly where she wants to start.  Then it’s time to numb me up.  I have expressed my fear of needles and they both tell me how great I am doing.  She says it will be a little bee sting and BAM....that is one big ass bee!  I’m not going to lie and tell you that it didn’t hurt....because it did.  But it slowly became numb.  Then BAM....there’s that damn big ass bee again.  She continues over and over until she thinks we are good.  Here comes the biopsy needle.  Which I learn is a core biopsy so it is a much larger needle.  It is so large that she has to cut a slit in my breast with a scalpel to insert it.  She puts it in and it doesn’t really hurt.  It doesn’t feel good but it is tolerable.  She tells me I will hear a click....CLICK....she’s got it.  I am thinking that I am so glad this is over.  Then she tells me that she needs more.  She wants to make sure she has enough so there are no questions later.  I tell her to get extra.  I do not want to do this again!  Click, click.  Okay I’m going to make it.  When she inserts the needle for #4 I feel a sharp stab.  Seems she has to go very deep for this one.  So more numbing meds for me.  Click, click.  She ends up doing 5 total biopsies.  They are telling me how proud they are of me and how strong I am.  I don’t feel very strong.  In fact I feel like I have been beat down.  Both emotionally and physically.  I will get the results in 2-4 business days.  So guess what....more waiting.

Chris stays home with me on Tuesday to make sure I am okay.  My mom comes down and stays with me Wednesday and Thursday.  And we sit and wait.  Every time the phone rings I am looking at the caller ID wondering if this will be the call.  At 2:45 my mom leaves to go pick up Clayton at school.  At 2:48 the phone rings.  It is the call I have been waiting for and I am here by myself.  The lady on the phone must be a saint.  There is no way I could do her job.  “Mrs. Preston I am so sorry to tell you that your biopsies have come back and it is malignant.  You do have cancer”  And just like that.  I am now a cancer patient.  I start trying to ask questions but she doesn’t know any more details.  I am set up with an appt on November 26 with an oncology surgeon and a medical oncologist.  Wow, I get 2 specialist.  She tells me I will find out exactly what type of cancer I have and what stage it is at those appointments.  So once again....we wait.

The worst part of this was having to tell my 12 year old son.  The first thing he said was “But Mom I don’t want you to die”  Yeah...try not to cry after that!

It is a very weird feeling waiting to see if you are going to live or die.  Can this be treated or are they going to give me a certain amount of time to do the things I have always wanted to do?  I do know that I am a fighter.  I have went thru being scared and sad...and now I am just pissed off!  Breast cancer will not beat me!  I have to watch my son grow up!  I can’t kick the bucket and have my husband bring some hoe up in my house!  My parents are not going to have to bury a child!  And my brother will not be an only child!

I am ready for the news tomorrow.  Let’s get going on get this done so I can get on with my life!  Cancer can kiss my ass!

Love to all,

Stephanie Preston

[endwalkr]

this is an ask based thingy but im really in the mood to infodump so im just gonna answer them all under the cut !

Favorite video game?

starting off with the absolute hardest question huh? i can’t possibly name ONE favorite game of mine because i adore my favorites for many different reasons. my overall favorite video game is ffxv or botw. ffxv because it has brought me so much joy for such a long time, and because i have such a connection with the characters. botw because i was actually in the fandom when it first got announced in 2016 so i got to be there when the hype was at an all time high– and finally being able to play the game after waiting for so long was an unforgettable experience. i have more favorite games but ill talk more about them in the ‘’special place in ur heart’’ question.

First console you owned?

my first console wasn’t a console. my friend and i used to play on her nintendo dsi all the time and at one point tiny little me reeeally wanted one of my own so i saved up and got one in [redacted] when i was 7. my first actual console was a wii though, we got that around the same time.

A game that holds a special place in your heart?

ffxv and botw mean the absolute world to me, but super mario galaxy and skyward sword are very important to me too. skyward sword is the game that got me into zelda which got me into anime which got me into final fantasy etc etc etc.  super mario galaxy was the first non-mini game collection and more adventure story-ish game i played. i was so proud when i beat it for the first time and mario was my first ever ‘’fandom’’ :’) 

Favorite video game character?

bro. i cant pick just one so i’ll choose one per game : prompto, ryuji and link. they were all my comfort characters at some point and i projected like crazy onto them. this doesnt mean that i wouldnt absolutely die for noct or zelda. 

Least favorite video game character?

i dont think theres anyone i distinctly dislike? i always talk about hating ardyn but that’s because he’s just a salty bitch. as a character i think he’s a great villain and i rly love him. i honestly always end up liking everyone somehow, maybe there is someone i just forgot about but i cant remember at all. 

Favorite genre?

adventure games, or action rpgs. 

Video game character you’ve had a crush on?

every character ever, but i distinctly remember the moment i fell in love with prompto sjghfkshd i was watching a playthrough of xv in december 2016 because i didnt have a ps4, and the guy got to the scene in galdin quay where the bros learn insomnia fell. i had watched about 6 hours of the game by that time and wasn’t particularly interested in the characters but not uninterested enough to drop it. i hadnt even gotten a good look at the characters faces yet, so when the camera zoomed in on prompto when he said ‘’might not be save for us here!’’ i noticed he had freckles. oh god. oh fuck. oh my god hes fucking cute. oh my god better watch 30 hours of this game now

First video game you remember playing?

wayyy before i got my own gaming systems, my then-best friend had a gamecube in her attic. i was around 5 or 6 at the time. whenever i was over at her house and we didnt know what to do, she’d sometimes propose to play ‘’mario kart’’. important is that we are dutch, and i was a literal child. i thought mario KART meant it was a fucking card game, so i always declined whenever she asked. on one fateful day, i finally gave in and was pleasantly surprised it was in fact not a card game, but a viddy game. so we played mario kart double dash. (…i had never played a video game in my life besides browser flash games and was Very Very bad)

Age you started gaming?

so i played my first video game that i didnt own when i was about 5 or 6. then i got my first supply of games at age 7/8, but i dont really consider that time to be when i started ‘’gaming’’. i’d say that was when i started mario galaxy, so i’ve been playing video games for real (ie. story adventure games with boss battles) for about 6 years now.

Hardest video game you’ve played?

this is gonna sound stupid, but the witcher 3. there’s like 7 difficulties and i played on the EASIEST and still had a hard time, i just couldnt get used to the combat. i had the same problem with assassin’s creed syndicate, but after about 10 hours i actually knew what i was doing, and ive played the witcher longer than that and still am clueless. this is kind of an unpopular opinion but i dont particularly like that game

Video game you’ve spent the most time on?

i guess i am what you’d call a casual gamer; i really like video games but during a normal school week i only game for like 2-6 hours. most of the time i dont play for like 2 weeks if im busy. gaming has kind of taken over my life not because i play so much but because i get so emotionally invested lol i’m currently on summer break and even now im not playing a lot because of exhaustion and executive dysfunction. this derailed slightly but the game i’ve played the most despite my casual gamer status is …. … …. ffxv. surprise, right? the runner up is botw, but xv wins by a landslide. 630+ hours. botw is 350. my main save in ffxv is almost 200 hours i think. damn. i really managed to keep myself entertained with that game… (………i was thinking recently, since the loading screens in xv are so long, how much of this total amount was spent watching screens. i imagine it’s several hours, especially if you fast travel a lot.)

Most embarrassing gaming moment?

many moments in my gaming experience are embarrassing, but a more recent one: i was in xv’s postgame, beating some dungeons on my new save file. i had just finished daurell caverns and hadn’t saved in about 2 hours. (uh oh) i was driving around in the regalia type d and got to the big cliff near lestallum, and remembered someone made a gif of jumping in there so i wanted to try it too. i imagined the game would just put me back on the road, like it does when you crash into something. except it didnt. i got a game over. where was my last save? 2 hours back all the way in hammerhead. yippee.

Scariest video game you’ve played?

i never play horror games, cuz for me games are supposed to be relaxing experiences. no hate towards horror games of course, they just stress me out. the only time ive played horror is when friday the 13th was for free on ps+, and my friends really wanted to play it. (theyre kinda addicted to it now. huh) they had already gotten over the initial fear of having jason chase you, but i was still terrified. i can play the game without getting scared now tho. the horror sound effects just rly freaked me out at first jhsdkghsd

Most memorable gaming moment?

playing breath of the wild for the first time, or beating it for the first time. both experiences were filled to the brim with excitement and nostalgia. seeing botw as a blank slate, a world for you to explore, having no idea where you’re going… that was pretty incredible. now i know every nook and cranny of the map, so i wish i could play it for the first time again. i was so incredibly immersed. beating it was insane. i cried for 30 minutes and the end wasnt even sad, i was just so amazed at the fact that i was really here, playing breath of the wild, it was really real. the fucking main theme in the background (which i cannot for the life of me listen to without crying) didnt help with my emotions sgkdjh

Video game character you wish you could meet in real life?

…………..its prompto again. maybe 2017 me …. was .. kind of a kinnie

PC, Xbox, Playstation, or Nintendo?

i dont care about console wars at all, but i think hardware-wise, pc is the best, because if you have a good pc you can basically do anything. i however do not, so i just play on consoles. ive never particularly liked xbox, so i only play ps4 and nintendo. not the switch though. its kinda petty, but my best friend and i really dont like the switch djghks

Gaming company you’re most loyal to?

none. i used to call myself a nintendo nerd (oh my god…. i m. gonna die) in like 2015 but since the switch came out and since i got a ps4 they kinda lost me. i still like their game series of course, but as a company i don’t care for them. the only reason i see square enix as one of ‘’my’’ gaming companies is because ffxv took up like 70% of my gaming experience, but besides final fantasy i don’t really love them too much either.

If you could only play one video game for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

atm i’m really into ffxiv because theres just so much to do, but that’s just a new, possibly temporary interest. if i had to choose, i’d say botw. maybe i’d say ffxv, but i feel like running around doing nothing in that game isnt very fun, because the world is sorta empty after completing every quest and getting to level 120. in botw, just fucking around on your horse is still really relaxing and nice. 

Do you use strategy guides?

yup. in certain games i try to avoid them but i usually end up stuck or in need of advice. i couldn’t have gotten so many p5 trophies if not for the internet lol

How often do you use cheats?

never, simply because the games i play often do not have cheats. unless im playing the sims and are in need of a motherlode, i dont use them.

Competitive or single player?

single player. im bad at video games and like to do stuff at my own pace. online multiplayer can be fun every now and then in games like mario kart 8 or splatoon, and i also like teamwork stuff like ffxiv or comrades. but ultimately, i prefer playing on my own.

Video game character you want to/have cosplayed?

have never cosplayed, dont have plans to either, but it would be fun to cosplay link. omg. i just remembered i have that fucking chocomoogle shirt… sorry link im gonna slap on some sasuke hair, black jeans and ugly sneakers 

Ever go to a video game convention?

i have not, i have however gone to three (3) video game concerts which is basically the same thing. 

Hardest boss fight you’ve been in?

the hardest bosses for me are usually the ones with a gimmick. you have to use a certain item or tactic to beat them or something. other hard fights for me are when you fight someone with a similar skill set. (in ffxv, this happens twice, once with the iggy-noct sparring match and once against ardyn. somehow, the final boss was easier than getting the prince to eat vegetables.) i don’t know an actual example of THE hardest boss fight ive been in though. at the time, the first bowser battle in mario galaxy was the hardest thing in the universe and i got stuck for like a month. currently, i’m having trouble with the riku-ansem fight in kh1. 

Video game you wish you could burn from your memory?

the zelda cdi games? no, i dont really know. i dont hate a game so much that i’d want to forget about it altogether, but i dont exactly love ocarina of time that much. it hasnt aged well and playing it on the gamecube for the first time in 2015 wasnt a good idea. im sure it was revolutionary at the time, but i cant handle the outdated controls gsdgksjs 

Favorite gaming series?

see, i love ffxv itself more than the entirety of the zelda series, but i dont love ff as a SERIES more than the zelda games. so if were talking series, zelda for sure. i fucking love those games and they mean a lot to me. 

Do you skip tutorials, or find them useful?

i often skip them because i cant pay attention, but then find that i need them anyway. so i usually do skim through them. 

Best online gaming experience?

one really good one happened a few days ago in ffxiv, some guy and i exchanged emotes for like 30 minutes and it ended with us becoming friends on psn :’) ppl dont usually emote back at me in that game so this was really wholesome and nice gjshksdj 

Worst online gaming experience?

i dont really have a worst? theyre more annoying. think try harders in gta online killing you 15 times in a row because they want to show you how good they are or something. magically, online gaming hasnt been too hard on me (mainly because i dont game online that much)

Why do you game?

it brings me joy. it’s a fun way of relaxing, while being stimulated at the same time. games have meant a great deal to me the past 6 years and i wouldnt want to lose them for the world.

[thewanderlees]

Tambon Hua Hin, Chang Wat Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

We decided to move to Hua Hin for our time here from May 5th to June 5th. When we left the Khon Kaen condo it kind of felt like we were leaving home after being there for 2 months. Our friends (The Sims) who live in a house across the street, own a songthaew truck and kindly drove us and our 16 bags to the train station. We had 4 more bags than since we've arrived but we brought all the house hold supplies we purchased, like broom, dustpan, frying pan, etc incase we needed it at the town house we are moving to. The day we checked out, our train didn't leave until 8pm so we packed sandwiches and spent most of the day at the pool. The 3 older girls went to the Sims house to play board games and bake cookies with their friends Hannah age 12, and Ahleah age 11, for part of the afternoon. We managed to get some takeout food for supper from the Indian restaurant at the pool(after lots of confusion and charades to explain the order) and the Sims invited us to their place to eat it together in the A/C. They dropped us off at the train at 7pm. We enjoyed getting to know the Sims, there were some tears as they left. The train was running half an hour late. Unfortunately it was very hot this particular evening at 38 degrees in the dark. We bought some refrigerated wet face cloths to try and help feel cool (but it didn't really help). A few tourist police came over to us to see if we needed help and asked us to take a photo with them. Whenever any Thai people ask where we are from and we say Canada they love saying " oh......Canadian..... " in a tone that sounds very envious", and it seems like they just like saying the word Canadian for some reason, lol. When we were at the train station a monk came up to me and the girls and was having fun using the little English he knew to say "Miss Canada!" He said it a few times with different names after, which we assumed were names of women who must have won the title in different years. It was a little bizarre....

We had to take two trains to get to Hua Hin. The first train was 10 hours to Bangkok. It had air conditioning which was good but it wasn't exactly what we were expecting as far as "niceness". It was old looking, kinda vintage I guess. We thought there would be a dining car from reviews we had read about train travel but were told just before boarding by a man who was translating for the police that there wasn't. He also said I should run and take Hailey to the bathroom before getting onboard as it wasn't easy to use on the train. Erik told him we were going by train as an adventure and he laughed and said " well......It will be an interesting....experience for you..." That was our first tip that we were in for an experience that might not be as comfortable as we had thought. He did say though that there are way more bus accidents than train accidents so it was safer travel in that aspect. Once on board it didn't take long to discover that there was in fact no bathroom in our rail car! And that to get to the next car we would have to walk outside while the train was moving and cross/step over to the next car! Yikes! Thank goodness we took Hailey before getting on and the rest of us were able to hold it till morning. We arrived at the Bangkok station at 5:30am. Here's a little tidbit of info for you too. Most public places in Thailand have people who sit outside at a table blocking the entrance to the bathroom and kind of lay claim to it, so they can charge you 3-5 baht in order to enter, and most bathrooms have no toilet paper so you have to make sure to remember to have your own with you. We found a cafe that was open in the station and were able to get some ham buns for breakfast and refill our water bottles. Erik purchased our tickets for the next train from Bangkok to Hua Hin with no interpreter around to help this time. He did get the correct location and departure time, but unfortunately he was unable to get them to sell him seats in the air conditioned rail car! This leg of the journey to Hua Hin is 4.5 hours, and by the time we arrived at the Hua Hin station it was 41 degrees outside.

Let's just say.... that train ride was the longest trip of my life!......We went through various stages of uncomfortable.

It didn't help either that we had dressed in warm clothes for the journey thinking both trains would be A/C, and when the Thai use A/C they have it cranked to the max like an ice cooler. Just unreal cold, which is....weird. Some of us had swim bottoms that we were able to find in our bags and managed to change into them out of our pants on the train, not an easy task! And yes we got some looks... Like these white people had noooo idea what they were getting into, lol.

We arrived in Hua Hin at 11am. Erik and the 3 older girls left Hailey and I at the station and took some of the bags with them to find the town house a few blocks away. They found it after some confusion as the addresses here aren't much help at all. The numbers on the houses are all out of order with no apparent rhyme or reason. It didn't help that they were very hot and having trouble thinking too. Thankfully the owner had emailed Erik a photo of the exterior gate and they were able to find it with that.

The owner was there and graciously offered to come pick up Hailey and I with the rest of our bags on their two scooters. Erik was telling them no no, we won't fit the bags but they laughed and insisted. I went on a scooter with the older lady with Hailey sandwiched between us. Erik went on the scooter with the son, who put two large bags in front of him between his legs and Erik had to hold onto 2 large suitcases, one in each hand on each side of the scooter and manage to hold on to the back of the seat behind the driver with his thighs! When we arrived at the house he said those bags were so heavy and was thankful he's been lifting weights at the gym the past couple months! We were extremely impressed with our new accommodations. This town house couldn't be anymore perfect. It's beautifully decorated, and is completely equipped like our home. Wonderfully soft luxurious beds, super clean, and I have yet to find an insect of any kind! Yippee! Also this town house is located in between several others and none of the windows face the sun so it stays a nice temperature inside without having to run the a/c like crazy or live in the darkness durning the day with all the drapes closed. That was one draw back of the Khon Kaen condo. Our unit there was located on a corner of the building that had all windows facing the scorching sun 10am until 7pm. The electric bill for our second month was $400! With temps in the 40's it was unavoidable there. We got settled in our new place today and explored a couple of the streets to find ourselves some lunch, chicken and rice $1.50 each meal and for supper salads $2.50 each. The salads were a bit of an oops as we bought them at the Tesco grocery store and didn't realize the amount they charged per 100grams is twice the cost as buying at the local outdoor market. Oh well not too costly a mistake and that's how you learn when you can't read or speak the language. We also found a couple ladies that have a couple tables set up in a vacant lot one street over that sell fruit. We bought 4 water melons for $1each, 7 mangos for 50 cents each, and a banana bunch for $2. Well it's 9:45pm here, I am going to finish up this blog post, everyone else is watching Captain America, streamed from Erik's iPhone onto the TV in the living room. Goodnight