"I just want a good sandwich."

I just had my first meal without rice or noodles for the first time in 21 days.

It was a veggie pesto sandwich... and it was fucking delicious.

(not to mention the mango lassi I had with it!)

My last partner used to make fun of me because he knew what the answer would be every time he asked what I wanted to eat..

"I just..want...a good sandwich." [add some hand gestures in there that look like I'm measuring a basketball] 

I'm happy to have found the restaurant after an emotional up down day of dealing with a newly developed face skin rash thing and tiny little black ants making me wonder how quickly I could go insane. I'm happy I got to see my brotha Khushbir Singh today though! He made the day a lot better and turned situations into something comical.

I moved to an apartment in the heart of Chiang Mai city. 

I like it so far except for the black ants. They are so so tiny, you think you are going crazy when you feel them. Also.. I saw them climbing into my little bluetooth iPad keyboard..so, I hit it out and sure enough, 10+ little buggers fell out. I hope they are getting squished as a write this blog. 

Hopefully I can find a way to kill them and get some kind of peace throughout the night. 

On the bright-side, I'm grateful they are not cockroaches. (if you are wondering, yes I have dealt with cockroaches already. One climbed up my leg the first night I spent at Ban Bon Doi) 

To keep it short, summary of awesomeness/hardness that has happened:

--local fair with Thai Boxing in Mae Wang. We were the first foreigners to attend and we got to sit in the 'VIP' section. We were even announced as special guests. I was really embarrassed and stared at a lot.

--Connected with old locals with Fonne (the girl who was hosting me) and an American couple (some new friends) at Mae Wang waterfall. Accepting a whiskey shot from a local seems to be the way to make a friendship around here. 

--Getting to follow two Karen hill tribe women up into the forest to forage for mushrooms for their dinner. They have never taken foreigners up with them. They showed us their wild buffalo, took us back to their village, offered to let us stay with them, and we harvested vegetables with them. 

--Moved to an apartment in the city

--Consider it a success when I don't itch a mosquito bite until it bleeds

--Felt more alone than I ever have in my whole life

--Felt complete bliss

--Read 'The Alchemist' by Paul Coelho and have fallen head over heels for that book. It has kept me going.

--'You're Not Alone' by Mavis Staples is sometimes the only thing that keeps me sane during hard times. I play it at least 5 times a day because I love it so much. 

Yep.

To cheer me up tonight, I took myself out to dinner. 

I'm convinced, Mango lassis cure anything.

Black Ant Destroyer,

Jeni Peni 

p.s. I just got my first 1 hour foot massage. It was fantastic and I am going back tomorrow morning for a thai massage. I'm excited to get so much worked out of my body. If you have ever had the pleasure of trying to fix the anatomy of my shoulders, you understand what I am talking about. Plus human contact is so appreciated. I've hugged maybe 5 times since I've been here.