Half a decade, 12/31/2012

It didnt really cross my mind before, until a message from my mom wishing me happy new years said it out loud, but these are my last hours in Asia for the foreseeable near to long term future.  August 1st 2007 I left for Thailand, a month of boxing before heading to Shanghai to meet the people that I would be living and working with for the upcoming year.  For the next 5 years and 5 months I have been abroad.  I think I have returned to the states 2 or 3 times, Australia the same, but I have spent more days in Thailand over the last 5 years (about 120) than I have in the US and AU combined.
My last trip to California in August was a odd experience of reverse culture shock. I felt like a tourist experiencing an alien culture all the more odd because I kept telling myself that it should be normal.  But over the years my definition of normal has changed quite a bit.  In many ways I think that its good that Hawaiian culture is so different from the mainland US (I have been reading about it), it makes me think that at least the experience will be different and not like the reverse culture shock I felt in the states.  Although there will be elements of that as well.
I remember, I think my last trip to AU, I was at the supermarket with my dad buying things for lunch and I went to get cheese.  After a few minutes he came over to get me and I was still standing there looking at all the different kinds. I couldnt choose, I didnt know which one I wanted.  I had become so used to being happy when I found cheese that being given the option to choose between so many different kinds was overwhelming.  How could you only pick one?  Moments like that stand out.  I also remember being in CA and looking at all the different types of cereal and thinking why the fuck do we need so many different kinds of marshmellows in our cereal, there all the same, how can there be a market for that many different brands of the same thing?
In that respect I expect Hawaii to be similar to time in other western places. But at least there will be things distinct to the region to explore and experience.  I have now spent 18.5% of my life living outside the US.  With a strange and wonderful collection of people from around the world. I have realized during this trip that I am horribly out of touch with current pop-culture (something I am actually rather grateful for) and have had to look up slang to check the meaning when reading things online.  Its unsettling to feel disconnected from your own culture.
Now its time for a new adventure.  At least this feeling is something I know well.

The death of a cell phone, 12/31/2012

This trip has tested the durability of the electronics that I have brought with me.  Today I regret that my cell phone has finally succumb to age and wear.  After valiantly sending a final new years greeting to my mother, at 11:45am Bangkok time the power button on my phone ceased to function.  As the screen dimmed there was no way to revive the phone and finally after the 30 second dimmer function expired the phone has lapsed into an unwakeable coma.  While it may be possible through the advances of modern technology available in the US to bring a few more short weeks or months of life to the phone, my htc made it known to me before passing that it did not wish to be brought back.  And so I salute this brave phone, making it all the way from China to its final resting place in Phuket.  My only regret is that it did not make for the lunch in Seoul, the last new country on this trip that I am planning for tomorrow.
This trip has seen several of my electronics, pass.  My dual USB charger blew out in Koh Rong.  At the same time I fear my Ipod nano started its slow decent into mental illness.  First presenting symptoms of voices in its head (at random intervals two different voices will speak over the music to tell me song and track information, they often cut in on each other and then either advance to the next track, play the current track in fast forward or jump randomly through the library) and then moving on to symptoms of catonics states.  For days not being able to play a song, only to come back.  In recent days the voices have not been heard, but the on/off button is a crap shoot as to what will happen when you press it.  Advance to the next track, stop playing, nothing, it has taken a lot of compassion to work with my nano and resist the urge to smash it agains the wall.
And finally three days ago my bike computer was assisted in its jump over board on the ferry from Koh Lanta to Phuket.  After months of tirelessley recording the mileage and speed of my journey and knowing that its pivotal role was coming to end it decided to take its own life rather be forgetten as some extra bike accessory.
I salute my fallen electronics and I hope that through this blog entry you will be remembered.
Any have a recommendation on a new smart phone?

Old Town Phuket, 12/30/2012

From reading the online reviews it seems that most people have a pretty low view of the old town Phuket, and I can see why.  Yet, I am enjoying staying here far more than I think I would from what I remember of Patong 5 years ago.  The old town comes across as a far more normal slow paced Thai city.  It doesnt have a lot of special sites to go see, but then it is not overrun with Swedish families, packs of Germans or drunk Americans.  After all the months of travel I have found that there are times for going out and having a crazy night, but I have no desire to be out every night.  Patong from my memory is a terrible mixture of so many clashing cultures that it comes across as fake or slapped together and dirty.  Boxing stadiums next to starbucks, beautiful beaches but covered in people trying to sell you crap so that they are always blocking the sun.  Seemingly more tourists than locals on the streets.  An almost all white customer base with an almost all Thai set of staff.
Two days ago in old town I was able to go for a run and found a really cool hilltop track.  Just north of where I am staying there is a hill with a set of TV antenna's.  From the maps it looked like a good run so i set off.  Clearly it has been set up for recreation because there were a good number of locals running/walking the trail to the top.  After passing a small temple/altar near the bottom I realized there were dogs everywhere.  Dozens.  I am used to strays in Asia, but the density was impressive.  Then about a third of the way up the dogs gave way to pigs.  One or two dozen.  Mostly small but a few giants among them.  Just chillin on the side of the road. As I continued up the hill the pigs gave way to a troop of monkeys.  Seemed to be about 30 I could see and more in the trees.  Finally as I neared the top there was an amazing viewpoint looking out over the city and a little further right at the top was a small outdoor weight facility.  Now I use the term facility lossely but there were benches with bars and cement blocks on the ends for weight of different sizes.  An ab bench, dip setup and stretching area.  I am not sure if it is paid or open to the public, but I used it for a while and no one said anything to me.  It was a really pleasant place to work out before starting the somewhat uncomfortable steep downhill run to the bottom.  I understand why most people seemed to run up and walk down.
I really like running uphill, the extra work and sense of achievement when you get to the top, but hate the downhill.  Feels like a waste, too easy ruining my hard work on the run.  And hard on the knees to maintain any real speed.  still working on how to only run uphill, it will be great when i can have my driverless car drop me at the bottom and pick me up at the top... hope i can still run then.

Phuket, 12/29/2012

I have been back and forth on my luck lately and had a stroke of good luck today that makes up for the rest over the last couple days.
First I was holidng out at the boxing camp for a package that had been sent a few weeks back.  In the package was a mouth piece that i wanted for my Muay Thai match.  It did not arrive in time for the match. In fact it did not arrive until after I left.  Instead it came 2 hours after I left to catch the ferry to Phuket.  Waiting a few extra days wasnt the worst thing.  The camp was really busy and short trainers so they offered me free stay and some pay to help hold pads for the other students at the camp.  So staying the extra days saved some money as I would have had to pay for lodging somewhere.  but it would have been nice to have the gear I ordered for the match.  (the gym has offered to mail the package on for free for helping out at the gym).
It was also nice to be asked to hold pads at the gym because the day before they yelled at another student who took it on himself to hold pads "because he was licensed".  Now techincally I do have an assistant instructor cert from the US Thai Boxing Association, but they didnt ask about that.  So it was gratifying to be asked to help out and be told that i "was one of the better fighters they have had in a while".  Which means i need to be going to better camps.
Second bit of bad luck was loading on the ferry.  The first thing the boat hand did while loading my bike was knock the bike computer off over board.  I have been having some problems with it, but it seemed to be better and instead of chucking it overboard I would have liked to have finished the trip with all the gear I started with. Otherwise there have been almost nothing lost (spare key and my pocket knife on a bus) on the trip.
But finally I caught a bit of good luck this afternoon.  I went by the bike shop to ensure that we understood each other and check the times they were open tomorrow.  The woman looked at me and said, no closed sunday for 3 days for new years.  I was dead set on coming Sunday afternoon so that I would have an extra day with the bike and had a i missed the shop I would have no way to get my bike boxed for the flight.  So i was able to everything taken care of and my bike is now boxed and ready to go... to Hawaii.
Which as some of you may already know, I have a slight change in plans from AU to Hawaii.  Both islands, more or less, and both kind of in the Pacific.  But i have a chance to pursue a relationship that has eluded me for too long.  So Oahu it is.  I still need a place to stay and a job so if anyone has any ideas, feel free to let me know.

Phuket, 12/27/2012

Its funny how things work out.  I decided to not cut the mohawk for the boxing match because my hair is longer than it has been in a long time.  Because I am going to be interviewing for jobs and want to have hair for that.  Because I finally grew it past the point where the callick fucks everything up.  And it was getting massive, the back was going from ok to mullet.  and the volume was getting a little ridiculous. So I when for a minor trim... and got butchered.  I asked for a haircut and got the back and sides of my head shaved higher than I have ever seen before.  But I couldnt see this till I got home and checked in the mirror because it felt a little strange.  I thought she was going higher than usually, but then i figured it had been so long since my last haircut and the hair was so long that it needed to be taken up.
Now I have to decide what to do.  The only real fix I can think of is to shave everything back to even.  And for that I could have rocked the mohawk for a little while before shaving my head.  Fortunately it is the back of the head and I cant see the barren wasteland that is the back of my head.  Maybe if I can wait someone can fix this.
I asked some people in Koh Lanta where to get a hair cut.  They told me Krabi, the town on the mainland.  So I thought I would wait till hitting the tourist hell hole that is Phuket.  Instead of getting a shit haircut in Koh Lanta, I got one in Phuket.  What luck.

Last night in Koh Lanta, 12/27/2012

Its the last night in Koh Lanta.  Tomorrow I will be heading out to Phuket for a couple of days before taking a flight to Honolulu, with a chance at lunch in Seoul.  One of the few countries that I have wanted to visit, but not had the chance so lunch would be kinda cool.  I have 8 hours to kill, just not sure if it is worth it.  Anyway, I should be asleep right now, but have been worrying about how I am going to get all my stuff with me tomorrow on the ferry.  I seem to have picked up quite a bit in my time here between clothes and gifts.  It doesnt quite fit.
I only have to make it like 10-15k, but there is going to be shit just hanging of everyside of my bike, I just hope that it doesnt rain.  Once I get in to Phuket I dont have to worry, just need to check the baggage allotments for the third time, because either korean air is really generous with baggage or the people who answer the phones dont know shit.  And unfortunately I am leaning toward the latter since the two answers I have gotten so far have been completely different.
The only real lagging injury from the fight is my left thumb.  The only two real injuries I got were from hitting my opponent, not from getting hit by him, which seems odd.  But I dont think it is going to affect my riding (I did 20+k today).
Looking back on this trip it has been a lot more than I was expecting.  I always like looking at the stats on things and when I have some time and the trip is really done I will work out the whole numbers (maybe while at lunch in Seoul) but a quick peek is something like this:
6 countries, ¬105 Days
1700+ km in the saddle
59 in the Penang Bridge Half Marathon, time 1:46
1-0 Professional Muay Thai record
Completed my rescue diver course
Read 18 books
Saw the worlds biggest not flower and not biggest fungus
2 cooking classes

A more complete list to follow once the actual trip is deemed, by me, to be over.

Brian the brian, 12/27/2012

For those of you who watched the boxing match and are wondering about the Brian the brain fight name, it was not entirely by choice.  As I have unfortunately grown accustom, many people tend to spell my name wrong.  Even the west, spell check does not catch the Brian mispelled as brain.  In the east its even worse. So all the fight materials, posters, and flyers given out before the match have a nice photo of me (taken about 5 minutes after I woke up with no knowledge ahead of time) and the name Brain prominently underneath.  So the fight announcer thought it would be better to just run with it and announce me as Brian "the brain" Long.  What can you do?

Something I wrote before the match, 12/23/2012

I wrote this in my travel journal while at dinner before the match.  It is interesting looking back on it the day after.  All the anxiety gone replaced with contentment, a little pride and satisfaction that I actually learned something over these years of training.

Sitting at dinner before the fight, how do I feel?  Anxious, nervous, proud...  What is anxious to me?  In the center of my chest there is a ball, a sphere of unpleasantness.   Like a pressure on my heart and stomach in a way it feels external, unnatural, like it shouldn't be there but is.  It is not nausea, although it could be.  It is not painful.  It is wrong.  It should not be there.  It is a weight, a heaviness, that lean's on the heart making it work a little harder, a little faster.  My hands and muscles are tense despite the almost 2 days of no real exercise, the first time in more than a month.  Breathing is slower, deeper, but slightly strained.  As if to counter the sphere in my chest I have to concentrate more on my breathing to balance out.  The ball in my chest leaning on my lungs.  Not pushing, that to me denotes presence or intent, this is just there existing in a place it shouldn't   Tension across the whole of my body as it prepares for what is coming.  Yet the time has not arrived yet.  There is no need, it should be gone.  Often on the night of my matches in the past a happy calm and a smile come over me.  The tension is gone for a fleeting window before the match starts and then... blank.  I always seem to need to get hit once in the face before I can let go of the tension, forget the fear and just let the training and my body take over for me.  I only hope that happens before my leg gets chopped out. Then again, maybe that will be all I need.  All the hours of training, distilled down into 15 minutes or less  The heart thumbing in bed the night before as endless scenarios go through my head.  Absent through the day only to manifest right when I need the mind to be at ease to drift off.  The ability, the need to control the fear that the fight brings with it, that's one of the main reasons I fight.  To be able to face the anxiety, control it, put it away and know that I can what needs to be done.

VIctory, 12/24/12

Victory.   3rd round knockout by way of elbows to the head.  Fight was a lot different than i was expecting.  All those thoughts go through your head before the fight.  What could happen? all the things that could be hurt or go wrong?  a couple hours before the fight everything cleared and i felt so much better.  it seems after each fight the time before the fight that i start having fun gets longer, from a couple minutes to a couple hours.  It would be nice if it could start from when I accept the fight.
Right now the two most painful things are my thumb from a punch and my elbow from when I bashed against my opponents head a couple times.  I am happy, I should be able to run tomorrow.  Not that im going to, but that the body parts needed are able to function should i wish to do so.
I feel great, but at some level it would have been nice to have a more challenging match.  I felt in control from the start and other than a few moments I felt in control and not worried about what he would do, but thinking about how i wanted to move and how to react to his movements.
Also my first knockout.  a couple in sparring, but usually by way of the body.  All my fights before have either gone the distance or ended by way of submission.  I was starting to wonder if i had it in me to knockout someone.  This is fight number 8.  With a combined MMA and kickboxing record of 5-2 with one exibition that I dont want to talk about.  Now I am looking forward to getting back into the ground game and the MMA game.
I feel great.

Koh Lanta, 12/19/2012

Not much has changed over the last week.  I am still training twice a day, usually.  Last week I was pulled down a bit by what appears to be over-training and fatigue.  I took a day off and tried to get some rest.  But I still dont feel 100%.  I cant shake the sore throat, a result from swollen lymph nodes, or the mild headache.  I think a solid 3 days of rest would do the trick, but I am supposed to fight on Sunday, in 4 days.  So the hope now is that training and skill can overcome a little fatigue.  I know that you never get to fight one hundred percent, the nature of the training guarantees that you will have some injury nagging you when you step into the ring.  Still doesnt make it less frustrating.  This time physically I feell pretty good.  Few bumps and bruises, some stiffness here and there but overall my body is good.  Just my immune system trying to keep up with the pace of the training schedule.

I am still debating whether I want to cut the mohawk back for the fight.  It treated me well through my matches in China.  But this is the first time I have let my hair grow out and would mostly likely have to cut it off if I want to find a job...  With the fatigue from training, it has kind of  put a damper on my enthusiasm to do much else.

After the fight on Sunday I am hoping to be able to put down one more day of diving, but that will be dependent on how I am feeling.  I am pretty sure that my legs are going to be fairly battered after the match, just have to see how much.   My only real concern is my feet.  I have a tendency to kick short and have my foot contact the knee or shin, doing damage to the toes.  Never very severe, but will make riding my bike very unpleasant.  And now that I have  been in one place for almost a month, I have aquired more stuff that I am pretty sure I can fit on the bike, but would be a real pain to have to carry everything including the bike.  The tuk-tuks are very obliging, but i just dont have that many hands.

On another note, some of my job responses are starting to come in.  Since the idea was raised that I might be qualified to take a job in an international affiars type role at a university I have applied for a variety of roles at different schools in the AU and US.  I dont really have much energy after training, sitting around and filling out job applications seemed like a good use of time requiring minimal energy.  Anyway, a few that I was fairly sure were outside my qualifications have born that out.  A few others are now just starting to close their application acceptance period and start the review process.  It seems that universities are not able  to move fast on much.  Its very frustrating considering that my time frame for a decision is very limited.  It would be a real kick in the nuts to get a realy good offer just after have to make a decision that makes acceptance impossible.

Koh Lanta, 12/12/2012

Still boxing...tired but making my way through. I went to help corner one of the fighters from the gym last sunday and it was a good fight.  Jesse won in the 2nd round by knockout.  Nothing real clean, just kind of overwhelmed his opponent and landed a good series of shots that brought him down.
I think one of the trainers was asking me today if I want to go to Bangkok to fight for 20,000 baht.  While tempting, I am still trying to overcome my fear of stepping in the ring with someone local for a basically no money fight.  Going to Bangkok to fight for real money would mean fighting real opponents.  I dont know if I am ready for that or if my legs would be able to take it. I am going to wait for Oscar, the one person who speaks enough Thai and English, to come this afternoon and help me understand a little better what I am being asked.  I really would like to do a professional fight, but I was thinking more in the MMA area, not pro Muay Thai in Bangkok, it just looks painful.  They fight almost every week.  And there legs just take a beating.  Jesse recovered from his 2nd round win and still couldnt walk well for a couple days after the match, and he won.
I think I am going to stay on track to fight locally on the 23rd.  Then I can spend xmas recovery in a hammock on the beach before moving on from Thailand.  There have been some new opportunities presented.  Talk of jobs in various places that I hadnt thought of before.  Seems whatever plan I make it is bound to change.  I keep thinking that it has been a waste of time to plan so much.  The planning always seems to change anyway.
It has been good practice at least to get my resume and job applications together.  It has been a while since I have actually applied for a job.  The last two at Tengda and Study Group were basically handed to me by recommendations from other people.  My first meeting in both cases was with the boss and it felt more like I was deciding if I wanted the job, not so much about whether they wanted me, of course they wanted me (that might be a little arrogant).  Now applying for jobs in places where I dont have any guanxi, its a little strange.  How do you get jobs without someone you now recommending you?  As much as the Chinese way is unfair for those without connections, I seemed to have connections, so it was great for me.  Now that I have sent out a good half dozen to dozen resumes I just hope I can get some interviews.  I like interviews and tend to do well.  I am only concerned that they will want to interview around the fight dates since I am pretty sent on brining back the mohawk for the fight.  Not sure how well that will do on skype.  Maybe voice only calling for a while.

Koh Lanta, 12/06/2012

I dont have the most to update since the last time I wrote.  Things here in Koh Lanta have fallen in the a pattern with training being most of my day.  Between the 2-5 hours a day of training and the resulting drain on my energy, I dont have a lot left for anything else.
Training here has been easier than other places that I have been in the past.  Both good and bad.  I feel a lot better, I have managed to stave off shin splints so far.  They have always plagued my training in the past.  I think now that I am starting to know the trainers a little more my training is going to pick up a little.  I have been "ïnvited" to join some of the others on a jog in the morning. While I appreciate the invite I have had trouble falling asleep and subsequently getting up in the morning.  I am hoping that having others to motivate will at least help me to get up, not sure how it will go with the falling asleep.
Other than training I have been making the most of the hammock that I picked up here.  It has been a great purchase and will continue to travel with me any time I am outside of a city.  Not sure how useful it will be in the city, but on the beaches it has been great.  The island here has trees running most of the beach and with a tiny bit of effort I have been able to stake out a couple of prime spots depending on where I want to go that can support the hammock.  It would be nice if the beach had longer stretches not interrupted by streams and I could run for some real time, but I guess I shouldnt be complaining about where I am.  I was able to find some nice trails that go through the inside of the islands.  Not really trails but dirt roads that service what appear to be giant rubber plantations across the inside of the island.  I will be exploring those a little more for my longer runs (45min+).  They take a little time to get to, but provide a nice surface and good shade.
The only real issue I have been having is staying hydrated.  On days that I train both sessions, I can easily consume 6-8 liters of water, maybe more in a day.  Its hard to find things to drink, the monotany gets kinda boring.   Other than that I cant decide whether to cut my hair.  Mohawk for the fight?  Grow it long for the first time since...maybe ever?  These are the kind of tough decisions that fill parts of my day. That and what kind of curry do I want today?  Threre are a lot of different restaurants, but the local Thai ones are so much cheaper.  Its hard for me to justify spending 300 on Greek or Indian when I can spend 70 on Thai.
I am nervously looking forward to the fight I am taking onthe 23rd.  I am worried that I might have showed to well during my initial assessment and will draw someone really good.  I dont want a stoog.  Some of the opponents I have seen the other foreigners fighting here are pretty pathetic.  It has always struck me that it is really hard to find good match-ups here.  The foreign fighters are training fairly hard and therefore in really good cardio shape, maybe not much ring experience, many doing their first fight, but in good shape. But also big, by Thai standards.  Any Thai fighter in comparable shape has a fight record of something 267-125.  All the trainers here all have over 200 fights a piece.  12 year-olds put down 30-50 fights a year.  Which means the only people that are somewhat of an even match for many foreigners are guys who trained young but never really made it and now are out of the game.  Their out of shape, technically they can be pretty good, but the conditioning really plays a huge factor.  Or the Thai fighter is really good and then you have a real fight.  The main difference I see between active Thai fighters and the foriegners is their hardness.  Its hard to explain, but the more you get hit every day, you grow callus to it.  Leg kicks dont hurt unless right on the nerve cluster.  Going shin to shin is nothing because your shins dont have feeling left.  I was getting close to that point, but 6-8 months of not really training brings the softness back.  I feel my cardio is at a great level.  The race training has really brought me up in that respect.  But I need another couple months kicking bags and being kicked to harden up my shins, thighs and ribs.
Last nights sparring was encouraging.  I scored a minor TKO with a straight kick to the solar plexus, but this morning my left thigh showed the damage.  And we were wearing shin pads.  I dont want to think what color my thigh will be after the match.  And in order to make my flights I might have to do a couple dozen km on the bike to make it the closest bus station.  Doing that the day after a match does not sound appealing.

Koh Lanta, 12/02/2012

This week I have settled into training at the Muay Thai gym.  Training so far has been a little easier than the last gym in Ubon.  However, that could be due to being in better shape (training up for the half-mara before couldnt hurt).  I also have eased myself into to training a little more to try and avoid the almost inevitable shin splints that have plagued me at every camp I have been to so far.  So far so good, but the shin splints dont usually present till week 2 or 3 so still have to wait and see what happens.
Other than training I have not been doing a whole lot.  Trying to make to the beach, seem to be spending a ridiculous amount of time on skype.  I think part of that is the group here is a little more fun-loving than the more serious training crowd I have run into at other camps.  I am not really looking to blow all my money at the bars here.  I am sure my next destination will be expensive enough.
It looks like there are two boxing stadiums on the island, one connected to my gym and another that I dont know who provides the fighters for.  My gym holds fights every Sunday, so I am going to watch some fights tonight and get an idea of what I have gotten myself into.  I am set to step into the ring on Dec 23rd, so marry xmas to me.  Tonight one of the trainers and at least one of the foreigners at the camp are going to be fighting. Last week another foreigner fought and won, and from watching his practice I would say that I am better, but the opponent draw would make a huge difference on the outcome.  Have to see how they match people up.  The trainers so far have been encouraging about my skill level, but I can see that the mish-mash of styles I have put together is at times annoying.  Every school does everything just a little different and getting told to change something and do it this way not that way after spending a few years getting one way down is a litlte frustrating.  It would be nice to find a place where I can train consistently.  Or a gym with a philosphy like my old school in Denver that was very accepting of the different styles as long as they worked well together.
todays my half-day, running in the afternoon and some light stretching and maybe some shadow.  and maybe some more hammock beach time...