luxuries

it is funny that normal everyday stuff can become luxury items when you move to another country with only one bag, limited funds, for a limited amount of time (so it is not worth buying everything). the following are considered luxury items and are things that i do not have in thailand, but i am proud to say that i can live without them!

a toaster, stove, or cooking device other than boiling water
a hairdryer
regular haircuts
a pillow that maintains its proper shape
a couch, or any sort of comfortable seating arrangement
a motorized vehicle (at least not at the moment...or one that i know how to drive!)
a proper blanket
tap water to drink
television other than the news
a proper computer (notice i have adopted the british use of the word proper...it makes so much sense!)
affordable chocolate candy bars
really good wine
beer that is not pilsner
salads
multiple rooms in a house that serve multiple purposes with a variety of furniture
new music
going to the movies, for an actual good movie (sorry thai comedy)
ordering food with ease
carpeted floors
comfortable park benches
a sink large enough to wash dishes in
a coffeemaker
more than one plate

in other news, our charlie brown christmas tree, that we thought was dead, has come back to life! after it served its purpose for christmas, it decided to lose all of its leaves and flowers. we still watered it though. but now it has lots of little baby leaves growing! i think it must have been participating in fall and winter for 2 weeks and now it is spring again in charlie brown tree land!

since it is "winter" and was 83 degrees the other day, luke and i decided to go to the pool. luke got water in his ear, and of course we have no rubbing alcohol (also a luxury item). so i decided that we should try to get the water out with some whiskey. i poured a little bit into the cap and then into his ear - and it worked! hooray for ingenuity!