“Le mariage est comme nue forteresse assiégée; ceux qui sont dehors veulent y entrer, ceux qui sont dedans veulent en sortir” is a French proverb which means “Marriage is like a fortress besieged: those who are outside want to get in, and those who are inside want to get out." 

"Dark recesses within the mind of maleficent man

            I began studying Latin in high school.  We used a textbook which employed Latin proverbs to help teach the language.  The author obviously intended to kill two birds with one stone, teaching us about ancient Roman thought as well as their language.  Among these proverbs were ars gratia artis, "art for the sake of art", amor omnia vincit, "love conquers all", and vestis virum reddit, "clothes make the man".  This last one obviously bore the greatest significance to the subject of this blog, my profile pictures.

That old-fashioned word.....'Love' - what does it REALLY mean ?

This blog is going to be in two parts because one would simply be too long !

'What is Love?' ('Baby don't hurt me....don't hurt me, no more'.....yes, they are song lyrics going round in MY head just like they are going round in yours, lol)

But seriously, does ANYONE really KNOW what 'love' really is?

This may seem a bit 'rash', but I think I have found the answer......YES.....REALLY !

So, why did Ryan's blog hit a 'nerve' with me? Probably because he was talking about his love for a 'hooker'.

OMG......you can't fall-in-love with a bar-girl !!!!!

The Shouting Boy

So I turned to my wife and asked, “Did you hear that shout?”

“What shout?” she asked, sleepy-eyed.

It was Sunday morning in Shenzhen. The streets were quiet, nearly without traffic, cars and pedestrians alike. My wife and I were already up and on our way to the gym. I was very much jet-lagged and about to convince myself that the airplane engines were somehow still roaring in my ears, when there it was again—a bawl. This time, it got my wife's attention as well.

One of the first things I did on arriving back in Phuket was to call Orn. I arranged to meet up near the Jung Ceylon Mall in Patong as I had by now rented a nice newish Isuzu D Max pickup truck. I had also rented a two bedroom condo overlooking a communal swimming pool. Orn sounded pleased to hear from me and a little surprised. She explained she hadn’t really expected to hear from me.

            When I was attending the University of Maryland, one of the classes I took was History and Culture of China.  Naturally, the material covered in the course included Chinese philosophy and Taoism was featured with some prominence.  The main text for the course, An Introduction to Chinese Civilization edited by John T. Meskill, included a brief synopsis of Taoism.  According to the book, one of the central precepts of Taoism was "Do by Not Doing".  I have to admit that this concept completely escaped me.  My ex-wife later assured me that I could not possibly understand Chinese philosophy unless I could read it in the original Chinese.  I came to accept this simply because I could not conceive how one could ever do something by not doing it.  My mind just could not conjure a scenario where that was even remotely possible.

Visiting China always cracks something open inside me. If I want to describe this thing, I close my eyes, and it will appear as a hotel room that has just been put back into operation after being unused for a long while. Its door and windows are wide open to air the place out. Furniture is dusted off, floors swept. After the final once-over, the room is ready to do the only thing it's supposed to do: accommodate fresh memories.

Yes, okay, in some ways I was the author of my own downfall. I am not seeking sympathy. I’m telling you how it was. I don’t have to think too hard to imagine how Noi felt to see me walk away from the bar with Orn and return to my hotel at just after six in the morning. Yet, in light of what had just happened I felt no guilt. Noi had it coming. I felt that at the time and since. The “since?” You will soon discover more when you read on.

My friend Wayne (not his real name) is a medical doctor at a large university hospital.  Twice divorced but ever the optimist, he is currently in search of the woman to spend his remaining years with.  Recently a female researcher from China visited his university.  He was interested, and not only in a scholarly sense, as I deduced from a couple of emails I received from him querying me on matters of Chinese culture. After not hearing from him for a while, I decided to check on  how things were going, and received the following response: