The Art of Disconnecting: Bali Vids Coming Shortly

Politics and religion are among my least favorite topics. War is another subject that irritates me. These days, I avoid all that is painful and irritating and attempt to focus on what I enjoy and what makes me happy. Generally speaking, I love my life. I guess I’m lucky in this regard.

One thing I notice about all of the presidential candidates is that they are more focused on what everyone else is doing as opposed to what they are going to do for the country. They sound like a bunch of gossiping little school girls. What purpose does it serve bashing Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders or whoever happens to be the target of the day?  

Makes no sense to me. I like to think of myself of as a realist. The problem with reality is that it is often at the whim of perception. So my reality might not be in line with someone else's reality. This means disagreements are always possible and in the case of religion and politics, extremely likely. Worst of all, it means negative vibes. 

I have said it often, but for the most part, I am happy with my life and what I have accomplished and what I think the future will bring. More time with the family and friend, more traveling, more books published, more photographs, and more positive, shared experiences. However, notice that nowhere in the previous sentence did I mention more social media and more time on my phone. Or more time with people (aside from my family and friends).

They Call Me Farang - Available in audio, print and Kindle formats 

One thing I am working to get rid of in my life is negative vibes. If I don't like where I live, then I should move. If I don't like who I hang out with, then I shouldn't hang out with them. And if I find politics and religious to be irritating and negative, then at the very least, I should refrain from reading the news on a daily basis. Media releases news that is usually negative or sad and as I see it, news nowadays is self-serving - it's all about the ratings. So this is one more thing to get rid off in my life. Less Trump, Clinton, Cruz, Katich and Sanders and more mellow stuff that I enjoy.

I got a message the other day from a guy telling me how I am a traitor to the United States because I decided to live in Thailand. Seriously? Is this the best you got? Idiotic at best. Like I always say, I'll always be an American. America will always be my number one.

Another guy (who has lived here three years) telling me how it's polite to pass money with the King facing up. I told him that most people don't give a shit about this nor do they practice this. Many years ago, it was considered polite but passing money is such a common occurrence, this has died down to the point where not many even know about this any more. Instead of understanding that I said I would like to know what a Thai historian thinks of this, he called me an idiot. Now I really don't care about someone calling me an idiot, but seeing that I was being civil, there was no reason for it. So he got banned.

​Do I need this or some idiot telling me I'm a traitor or calling me fat and ugly?   Definitely not, but I'm aware enough and secure enough with myself that it has no effect on me. But to be honest, it's nice to be away and to not see this sort of comments. 

If everything comes together, as it should, I hope to put together a little 15-30 minute documentary on my trip to Bali. Why is Bali special for me? What did I hope to accomplish from the trip? Did I accomplish it? Truth is, I'm looking for the same thing on this trip as I did when I first came to Thailand - peace and a life with as little stress as possible - not that my life in Thailand is extremely stressful. I'm looking for a place like Koh Chang in the South of Thailand. A place where I can decompress, be myself and get away. Disconnect. Disconnect. Disconnect.

In case you haven't heard, Thai immigration is cracking down on those who overstay.

Anyhow...The other day I told one of my friends that my YouTube channel was close to reaching 10,000 subscribers. 

“You’re famous,” he said. 

“No I’m not,” I said. “Most people don't know who I am and if I'm stopped because someone knows me from YouTube, it usually only happens once every couple of months. I don’t wanna be famous any way and you saying this is  pretty funny. Famous for what? Telling dudes to not think with their pecker?”

The truth is, I talk about other people while while I live in a foreign country. This is nothing extraordinarily special. Now if I were famous for my photography, or my writing, I might be excited. Nahhh...I just wanna be left alone, in peace, while chillin' on a beautiful beach with my wife and kids. More money might help, but being famous is not for me and is unimportant.

Now...as I said, having more money means something to me. Not because I want a Ferrari and a mansion. Nope, that's not me (unless perhaps I was a billionaire). Our family would be perfectly fine shacked up in some bungalow on a beach somewhere beautiful. As long as we are debt-free and have our health and money to live, life is great. So enough money to live how we want, that's fine. Positive vibes man, positive vibes. 

Nicholas, Alex and the Wife...approximately two years ago