Chaos

It's been a while since I posted. Is anyone still out there?
This has been a bumpy month. A few weeks ago, Jon had a friend from out of town come to visit from India, where he was volunteering at an AIDS clinic. Not coming from America with dollars, we let him stay in our bed and went to stay at a friend's. A few day's into his stay, he decided to rent a motorbike since that's the only way to get around here. Just as soon, he got in a pretty nasty accident, tearing up his stomach and arms. In a lot of pain, but refusing to go to the hospital, that night he took a sleeping pill to help him sleep.
The next morning, Jon and I got a phone call informing us that the house had been robbed. Since this is Thailand and admittedly not the safest of places, all windows-wherever you go- have bars over them. The burglars, however, carefully and patiently removed the screws of all the bars to the window and entered the house without waking Jaimi. Creeping into the bedroom where he was sleeping, they took the following: 2 ipods, 2 digital cameras, clothes, a backpack, a tapestry and a laptop. The most terrifying thing about it is that since the people who broke in knew someone was home (there was a bike out front and they obviously saw him in the bed), they were most likely armed and ready if Jaimi were to wake up.
In the end, Jon (who lost the most) says it's only material things. He's right, but it doesn't change the feeling of being violated.
In more national news, it's an "interesting" time to be in Thailand. Since the Thai government is exceedingly successful at suppressing news coverage, the little that the international media is broadcasting is not all that is going on. So for a brief glimpse, here's the latest:
The Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is a terrible, corrupt official. He's basically a dick. (I can say that about Thaksin, but if I were to refer to the King as such, I would go to jail. But I like the King, anyway). His term has been filled with corporate filth and illegal transactions. Kind of like Bush, but even worse (if you can imagine)... or maybe Thaksin is just worse at covering up. Anyway, the political turmoil has come to a head and the three political parties in Thailand are fueling more and more anger. The protests and rallies in Bangkok are relentless- all day and all night- every single day. The majority are demanding that he step down from office, but he is refusing, saying that if this continues he will put the country in a State of Emergency.
That's a little bit of what's going on, but what I can say is if you're thinking of going to Bangkok right now (which I doubt many of you are), don't.
Anyway, that's enough of that. It's hot as balls here.