On the Move Again

Please don't kill me, but after checking out Baba's brand-spanking new blog at Wordpress, I'm moving...AGAIN.

I'm sorry, but Wordpress's features are just too cool to ignore! Hopefully I'll see you there:

http://bkksoul.wordpress.com

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Hua Hin 2006

Last August, during Arwen's visit to Thailand, we woke up at the crack ass of dawn to drive down to Hua Hin for the weekend.


So please excuse the bleary eyes and drowsy smiles.


But then we started talking about the demented things we used to do in high school (all of which require a separate entry of its own), and pretty soon the sleepy faces were gone. :)


When we finally arrived in Hua Hin, we found this quaint flower pot
in the condo lobby and decided to pose with it.


While waiting for the elevator, my eye wandered.


And although it was a cloudy day...


...the view from the condo was pretty fab nonetheless.


After settling in, we finally made our way to Marukhathaiyawan Palace, the former royal residence of King Rama VI, and rented some bikes to do some exploring.
(Please ignore my hand -- the wind was blowing and I was trying to brush my hair away, not do the moonwalk or whatever.)


We eventually came across this lovely section of the palace...


...which had an even lovelier view of the sea.


We decided to check it out...the view, that is.


I really, really love this photo, but unfortunately, thanks to my bag,
my already large ass is amplified to ten times its normal size.
*sigh*


Later, we decided to turn the camera on ourselves...


...although obviously we have to work on honing our self-photography skills.
(Off center, much?)


Caro, being her usual charming self. ;D


Later, we came across this stream...


...and naturally, being the camera whores that we are, we posed beside it.


And above it.
(But sorry, not below it.)


Later, it started raining...


...so we went ducking for cover under a gazebo where Arwen proceeded to
tell us about the awesomeness of yoga balls.
(Arwen, please don't kill me!!! :P)


The rain started to come down pretty hard, so we piled into the car
in search of food at this charming seaside restaurant.


Everyone, meet P'Geng, who SO deserves a medal
for putting up with so much estrogen, giggling, and squealing the entire weekend!


The next day, we kicked off the morning with some java, Thai iced tea, and sugar-teeming roti.
(Aren't we such healthy people?)


The roti caused quite a scuffle as everyone lunged to get first dibs of it.


Aferwards, we drove up to Pa-La U Waterfall,
which was about 60 kilometers away from Hua Hin.
Fortunately, the iced tea kept me entertained for a good chunk of the trip, if not for its delectable taste then for its container which thanked me for being so very "thoughRful."

We should all aspire to be thoughRful people, everyone.


Unfortunately, the Engrish on the other side of the cup wasn't any better.
Poaned milk, anyone?
=X


The trail leading up to the waterfall was HORRIBLE, thanks to the rain.
We decided to park our car and trek the rest of the way up.


EWWW!
More iced tea, anyone?


Fortunately, the view on the way up was nice.


The rain couldn't stop us from whipping out our cameras.
My girls, they are lovely, yes? :)

On the way into the watefall area, poor Arwen was rendered mute lest she be forced to pay the ridiculous 200 baht tourist fee, which Caro, Siri, and I thought was total daylight robbery considering we were allowed free entrance.
Fortunately, we resorted to our teenage ways -- like when we used to smuggle in snacks and drinks into the school library -- and she hid behind us and slipped in scot-free!


Still, that didn't stop some of us natives (me) from acting like total tourists.


But at least I wasn't as bad as some OTHER natives. ;)


Everyone, meet Pa-La U waterfall.


It has a total of 15 levels.
We were determined to climb all 15 of them.
And so we started our journey...


...But got about 5 steps away before whipping out the camera again.
We decided to go artsy-fartsy this time with the black and white.


FINALLY we got around to crossing the first part of the waterfall
that would take us deeper into the woods.
When we were about halfway across, Caro called out from the opposite shore and insisted that we all turn around and pose, which was kind of hard to do considering we were teetering on a FLIMSY SLAB OF POORLY PUT-TOGETHER WOOD THAT SAT OVER SOME VERY SCARY RUSHING RAPIDS.


The very scary rushing rapids.


You should have heard the sigh of relief when we all made it safely to the other side.


But it was totally worth it in the end, because the view?
It was verra awesome. :)


We started climbing the very rocky terrain in search of level 2.


And came across some funky-looking trees.


Not to mention some wild creatures.


Okay, make that VERY wild creatures!


Please tell me I'm not crazy and that you see the sleeping face, too.
You see it, right?
RIGHT?


Reaching level 2 proved to be quite the arduous task.
When we finally reached it, we were sweaty, tired, and plain glad to have not fallen to our death while scaling the slippery rocks on our way up.
We decided 2 levels was enough and that we'd try level 15 next time around.
So we headed back down...


...But not before taking one last picture, of course!
(Note the llama in her natural element, people.)
Hua Hin with Arwen, Caro, Siri, and P'Geng was fantabulously fun. I so can't wait to go back again!

P.S. And thanks Arwen and Caro for letting me post some of your pics. :)

EDIT: I just realized I look like ET. And Jesus Christ, what is up with my forehead? You can shine a freaking projector on that thing!!!

***

Currently Reading: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, which is one of those rare novels that you literally cannot put down. This surprised me, because normally I'm not all that crazy about vampire stories. But this one proved me wrong; I found myself totally glued to it till the end as I drank (hah, pardon the pun) down every last word. Now, I'm desperately searching the city for the sequel, which apparently has yet to arrive to BKK. Boo!

Currently Playing: Wish I by the uber talented Jem. This is another one of my favorite songs of all time. It's just so chill and summery; every time I listen to it, I get this sudden urge to buy a tiny hut out by the ocean and live out the rest of my days sipping on baby coconuts or whatever.

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Mi Piace Tanto l'Italia!

So, last night as I was stuffing my poor fried brain with last minute info on Amelogenin and Streptococcus mutans, my mom called from Italy and said, in Thai, "I was in Verona yesterday and took a picture of Romeo and Juliet's balcony like I promised I would. But I'm in Venice now. I took a gondola ride like in that Casanova movie you forced me to watch at the cinema, and they got a guy to play a violin and everything; too bad your dad isn't here (aww!). Oh, and I'm going to Milan the day after tomorrow. Do you want anything?"

:D!!!

Oh, happy day!

Talk about music to my ears.

Still, as much as I covet those lovely Italian handbags, I have to say they tend to lose their glamour and appeal very quickly here in Thailand, especially since everyone and their mother can get scarily perfect replicas of them from Siam Square or Jatujak for about a tenth of their original price.

But with that in mind, I must say that I'm only human. And as much as I like to harp on those khun yings and their LV/Gucci/Fendi monogrammed bags, I still love me some designerware. In other words, I want this SO VERY BADLY. I know it's not Italian, but they have to have it in Milan, because hello, this is MILAN we're talking about here.

***
Anyway, Italian bags aside, I had a very weird moment last week. Seriously. This ranks way up there with my encounter with Mr. Handlebar Mustasche, as you will soon see...

[While walking out of Kinokuniya at Paragon, a guy in a NYU shirt comes up from behind me]
NYU GUY: Excuse me, do I know you?
ME: [too engrossed with sending Goi a text message to notice that said question was being directed at me]
NYU GUY: Excuse me?
ME: [still too engrossed]
NYU GUY: [tapping me on the shoulder]
ME: [looking up, surprised as hell]
NYU GUY: Hi. Sorry, but do I know you from somewhere?
ME: Um, I don't think so.
NYU GUY: [frowning] Yeah, I do...I swear I've seen you before somewhere.
ME: [taking a step back, slightly skeeved] No, really. I'm pretty sure I've never seen you before in my entire life.
NYU GUY: [brow furrowed, clearly certain he's seen me before] No, wait. Now I remember! You have that blog!
ME: [Still in a daze, thanks to my Embryology final] Huh?
NYU GUY: Yeah, your blog -- brain farts, or something?
ME: [turning about a million shades of red] Oh. THAT.

Anyway, NYU Guy turned out to be Riley, a grad student at NYU who's currently trekking through Thailand, Asia, and in his words, "as far as his wallet will allow him." He found my blog while googling for Thai blogs in preparation for his trip, and said that he only meant to read a few entries, but ended up reading everything even though he doesn't give one fig about hot phantoms, British boy bands, or medical dorkiness...which I thought was very nice of him, all things considered. He said I should blog more often, and I totally intend to, now that finals are finally coming to a close.

Speaking of which, thank you, Finals, it's all because of you that my biological clock is now officially screwed. One week of getting 2-3 hours of sleep/night will do that to you. I mean, look at me -- it's 4:49 in the am and here I am hitting up blogger. Oh, the sadness!

Currently Playing: I Don't Feel Like Dancing by the Scissor Sisters. Justin might have brought SexyBack, but the Sisters have totally brought DiscoBack. It's like sitting in a time warp; their stuff seriously reminds me of the old 70's disco songs my dad used to play on our old record player when I was a kid, except better, even. I mean, their stuff is so ridiculously catchy, it's not even funny. So with that said, I dare you to listen to this song and NOT dance. Go on, I dare you!

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Audio Pimpage

Official Finals Tally: 2 down, 6 more to go. :(

So the Anatomy lab exam today (well, technically yesterday) wasn't as bad as I originally thought it'd be. First off, the much hated salpingopharyngeus didn't even appear on the exam -- AT ALL -- meaning that the A I had my eye on at the beginning of the term is still mine. Quelle surprise! So much fingernail-biting over nothing. This makes me wonder if all that last minute praying/pleading/begging ("Are you there God? It's me, Lynn.") had something to do with it. Who knows? Like my girl Caroline always says, "It's interesting how we all suddenly become real chummy with God during exam time."

Gee, no kidding.

Anyway, before I send you all spiraling into a coma with my rants on Academia, I thought I'd divulge on another one of my biggest loves ever...

MUSIC.

(Why, what did you THINK I was referring to?)

Lately I've found myself stumbling across some seriously stellar musicians. Some of them are already relatively well-known in certain parts of the world, others not so much. But who cares, because either way, they've all been a great breakaway from contemporary radio muzak...

I keed, I keed! I love the top 40's just as much as the next person, but sometimes it's nice to immerse the ears in something a little different, ya know? Cleanse the palate, so to speak. So, without further ado, here's a list of musicians who have piqued my interest these past few months...plus links to noteworthy video performances.

• Tristan Prettyman, whose chill and laid-back tunes are perfect for kicking back to after a really long day. Her range isn't anything to be mesmerized by, but her velvety voice definitely is. Check her music out if you're looking for something with more of a indie folk/indie pop feel. [1] [2]

• If, however, you're craving for some jazz and blues, you can't go wrong with the way talented Katie Melua, who's definitely a much more interesting alternative to Snorah -- oops, I mean Norah -- Jones. She must be doing something right; after all, her first album went 6 x platinum. Oh, and get this -- the girl's only 21. [1] [2] [3]

• I don't know how else to describe Mattafix, other than as a creative duo whose music ranges from all ends of the spectrum. Either way, the result is damn refreshing, thanks to their clever fusion of reggae, trip-hop, soul, and dancehall, giving them an uber urban and uniquely distinctive sound. The guys are relatively unheard of in the US, but are hot, hot, hot here in Asia and Europe. Listen to their tunes while driving down an open highway and you'll see why. [1] [2]

• KT Tunstall -- oh, my God, I cannot rave about this girl enough. Chica is a genius on the guitar and just about everything she sets her hands on, not to mention the clever looping techniques she uses during her live performances. If I could be one female artist for a day, I'd seriously choose her. But I'll shut up and let the music speak for itself! [1] [2] [3]

• As for the artist whose music has just about conquered every minute of my day (his music spins in my car, iPod, laptop, and stereo), don't let his boyish good looks fool you -- Howie Day, who is the epitome of the angsty, tortured, heartbroken singer/songwriter that all girls love to fall for, goes to dark places with his poignant yet brutally honest lyrics and gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS voice. It's no wonder he's almost managed to conquer that spot in my heart reserved solely for my teenage obsession (key word here being almost, because no matter what, the prepubescent Hanson fangirl inside of me will always live on). [1] [2] [3]

• Not only am I a fan of Sandi Thom's music (Human Jukebox and Sunset Borderline being personal faves), but I also admire her overall internet prowess and marketing savvy. I mean, concert webcasting from your basement? Who would've thought it could land you a fancy schmancy record deal?! [1] [2]

• And finally, being the bona fide celtophile that I am, it's no surprise I'm including Celtic Woman in this here list. Partly it's because their harmonies are, as cliched as it sounds, flawlessly angelic, but mostly it's because their voices evoke lush images of Ireland that make me want to pack my bags for the Emerald Isle tout de suite. Éirinn go Brách! [1] [2] [3]

Wow, those picks are all over the place...kind of like my blog entries and general train of thought. Heh, no surprise, though. I mean, I never like to pigeon-hole myself, and my musical tastes are no exception...

So, that said, what are YOU currently listening to?

Currently Reading: About how babies are formed. And don't even ask me why a future dentist needs to know about embryology and organogenesis -- I'm still trying to figure that out myself.

Currently Playing: Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls, because sometimes we all need a little Top 40's muzak in our lives. (Also, um, because it's really fun to dance to.)

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My cousin, Wonderwoman

Exclamation marks are in order: Meet my cousin, P'Ju, aka Wonderwoman.


She just won the Young Investigators Award from the University of Texas Research Council for her research on chlorinated polyethylene elastomer (CPE) in the use of extraoral facial prostheses.

And she did all that while being 39-weeks pregnant!!!

I told you the lady's a freaking Wonderwoman, not to mention one of my biggest role models.

This is going to change the lives of so many cancer patients. I think it's no wonder why I'm totally beaming with pride for her. :D

Plus, in a few days time, I'm going to have a new baby niece, Teresa, whom her parents just so happened to have named the same name as one of my best friends from high school. How awesome is that?

Congratulations na ka, P'Ju!

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Grey's vs. Gray's

"I don't want to read Gray's Anatomy, dammit. I want to WATCH Grey's Anatomy!!!!"
--Lynn, as her brother sat watching the entire 2nd season of Grey's Anatomy, much to her personal torment.

I wish my brain were a thumb drive. I wish I could download my entire Gray's Anatomy book, float into the exam room, pencil in those bubbles with my eyes closed, and float right on out. I wish the muscles of the head, like the salpingopharyngeus, weren't so miniscule and hard to find, leaving me with no other option than to probe and squint at my poor cadaver as my formaldehyde-stung eyes weep in protest to the clanging buzz of the timer behind me (how, I ask you, is it possible to locate the itty bitty, teeny tiny salpingopharyngeus in under 40 seconds???).

On the other hand, I guess I could wish for a personal McDreamy to whisper the answers over my shoulder to me. Hmmm. Yeah, I think I'd like that best. :)

Anyway, despite the magnitude of ill will I harbor for the salpingopharyngeus, I must say that none of it compares to the trigeminal nerve. Nor the brachial plexus, which is probably the worst of them all.

Why?

Well, the brachial plexus looks all nice and pretty and orderly in pictures, right? Nuh-uh. SO not the case in real life. I mean, hello! Talk about getting youreslf tangled in one hell of a knot.

Which is why I have concluded that the brachial plexus was personally invented by God so he could torture me and my poor perplexed brain. And, well, okay, I guess so we can also move our arms and hands and fingers and all that good stuff.

Still, I kind of wouldn't mind giving all that up if it meant the brachial plexus would be erased from Anatomy for good...

Just kidding!

Sort of.

In the meantime, I will survive till the 11th!

(I hope.)


Currently Reading: What else WOULD I be reading?

Currently Playing: Rosas and La Esperanza Debida by La Oreja de Van Gogh. I cannot stress how much I love these songs, and pretty much everything else by them.

"Por eso esperaba con la carita empapada
a que llegaras con rosas, con mil rosas para mí,
porque ya sabes que me encantan esas cosas
que no importa si es muy tonto, soy así.
Y aún me parece mentira que se escape mi vida
imaginando que vuelves a pasarte por aquí,
donde los viernes cada tarde, como siempre,
la esperanza dice 'quieta, hoy quizás sí...'"

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Wrong Name

If you don't mind the emoticons and dizzying font, my brother's friend has an interesting story to tell:

Her grandmother's house was raided and destroyed because her house had the wrong name.

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And that's All She Wrote...

I'm off to bed now, folks. Now that the major media networks are up and running again (with their lovely celebrity montages, but back nonetheless), there's little point in me carrying on with the live blogging. Thanks for stopping by, though -- all 2,354 of you. I mean, really, that figure has left me reeling; that's how many visitors I get in a month. Still, if there's one thing I've learned during the past 24 hours, it's that blog networking and the internet are seriously powerful tools. You may take away our TV, but you sure has hell can't shut us up!

In the meantime, if you're craving for some fantastically thorough updates, definitely stop by and visit blogger extraordinaire, Bangkok Pundit. The guy is simply the best.

As for me, I'll return to my usual brain fart-esque blogging soon. Or at least once finals are over, I will.

Sigh. I am so gonna die, it's not even funny. :(

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Coup D'Etat Part Deux

I just dropped my dad off at the airport, and contrary to rumors, cars, planes, and trains are still very much on the move. Well, sort of. There was literally nada traffic along Viphavadee-Rangsit, which, under normal circumstances, is almost unheard of at this time of hour. In general, the scenes on the streets are calm and, with the exception of the eerie absence of traffic, everything seems perfectly normal.

The latest rumors say that Thaksin and his family have been reunited in England, and General Sondhi will be making a televised statement at 2 PM.

I'll try to keep updating as, ahem, rumors/news become available. Might be a bit sporadic, though, as I have other things to do today.

EDIT @ 10:18 AM: Thai TV is back on air. At least their regular programming is. News has yet to make an appearance, except for ITV which is currently airing a newscast of an event. CNN, BBC et al are still MIA.

EDIT @ 10:29 AM: The Nation will be updating continuously throughout the day.

EDIT @ 10:33 AM: The popular forum, Ratchadamnern, at Pantip.com has been suspended. Also, many Thai sites have been difficult to access, probably due to the sudden surge of visitors overnight.

EDIT @ 10:46 AM: I forgot to mention this earlier, but on my way back from the airport, I flipped on the radio to 102.5 and SexyBack by Justin Timberlake was on, followed by silence, then Nelly Furtado's Maneater, and then...more silence. For some reason I have this mental image of a military dude sitting in a closed radio booth trying to decide on what to turn on next -- Stars are Blind by Paris Hilton or Buttons by the Pussycat Dolls? Oh, the dilemma!

In the meantime, all other radio stations have resorted to playing hotel elevator music.

EDIT @ 11:06 AM: New Mandala talks about the importance of the number nine, since the coup occured on 9/19 at 9 pm.

EDIT @ 11:15 AM: Thai New Yorkers speak out -- New York City Network for the Defense of the People's Constitution of Thailand.

EDIT @ 11:21 AM: To whoever posted this and this, thanks so much for the shout-out! This is insane -- I have gotten over 500 hits in the past three hours; normally I only get 100 a day. In the meantime, I'll try to keep the updates going as regularly as I can.

EDIT @ 11:21 AM: I just saw my uncle on Thai TV (channel 3), which is weird because my mom just called him last night at his hotel in Italy. Like all ministry senior officers, he was called back to report in at the army headquarters.

EDIT @ 11:31 AM: Check out live pictures at Bee's flickr page.

EDIT @ 11:34 AM: According to latest updates from The Nation, "An AMC spokesman reads an order of AMC leader Gen Sonthi for the Information and Communication Technology Ministry to check and censor any type of information dissemination that could affect the works of the AMC."

If my blog suddenly disappears, you'll know why.

EDIT @ 11:43 AM: Make way for the "new prime minister."

EDIT @ 11:54 AM: Let me reiterate that so far this has been a bloodless revolution. While both anti and pro-coup supporters have taken to the streets, there hasn't been any apparent violence as of yet.

EDIT @ 12:01 PM: Looks like the rumors were correct -- Thaksin has taken up residence in London, though the whereabouts of his children is still unknown.

EDIT @ 12:17 PM: My friend just called saying that he's spotted a humvee parked in front of the Shinawatra building along Viphavadee Rangsit. Also, another friend heard that General Sondhi is asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to revoke Thaksin and Potjaman's passports.

EDIT @ 1:21 PM: Sorry for disappearing; I couldn't log onto blogger for almost an hour. Latest rumors say tanks are rolling in not far from where I live along Viphavadee Rangsit Rd. Also, the Don Muang airforce military base I use as a short-cut on my way to uni everyday has set up check-points upon entering and exiting. And finally, a friend who lives around Sanam Bin Nam says that oodles of soldiers have taken over the streets right outside her house.

EDIT @ 1:26 PM: I'm off to find some lunch. If I can get onto blogger when I return, then I'll definitely try to continue updating. In the meantime, Bkkpundit, take it away! :)

EDIT @ 2:01 PM: CNN, BBC, et al are BACK!!! Now if only we could just get the tanks off the streets...

Oh, and I just found out that uni's going to be up and running again tomorrow. Le sigh.

EDIT @ 2:09 PM: Is anybody else in BKK having phone troubles? I'm having problems contacting people and vice versa. Also, I can't seem to log onto MSN at all...

EDIT @ 2:12 PM: Check out Steve's comment on the current happenings here in Thailand.

EDIT @ 2:27 PM: CNN and BBC may be back on air, but strange things are going on here: just now, a reporter was analyzing the current situation in Bangkok when all of a sudden UBC cut them off due to another "sun *cough* bullshit *cough* outage." When I switched over to BBC, another similar "sun outage" occured the second the reporter started talking about Thaksin's cancelled UN speech. A quick switch back to CNN showed that UBC had replaced the sun outage notice with video clips of... CELEBRITIES. (!!!!!) No, I'm not even kidding. I wish I were making this stuff up, folks, but alas, looks like this is how it's gonna be until things blow over. Anyway, CNN coverage is finally back now that they're talking about, um, stocks.

EDIT @ 3:28 PM: Some dude just made an announcement on TV saying that meetings or get-togethers with five people or more discussing anything political are banned. I want to say something really catty now, but will refrain from doing so; I think I stand enough risk of getting my ass censored as it is. Still, 1984, anyone?

EDIT @ 11:00 PM: Sorry for disappearing, but I was busy, uh, studying. (Hey, I have a really scary Biochem exam this Friday, okay?) Anyway, moving on. My dad, who's in Phuket, says that things are as normal as can be down there. Here, on the streets of Bangkok, things have remained relatively peaceful in what CNN has dubbed a "bloodless revolution." I wish I could say more, but we're still getting the lovely celebrity montages whenever clips about Thaksin's popularity in the provinces comes on. In the meantime, Thai TV says that the internet is to be approached with caution since malicious content and rumors are most likely to be found there, as opposed to Thai TV, which says it has only been reporting "the truth."

Oh, and in case you were wondering, UBC's now infamous celebrity montage includes the likes of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson, and Scarlett Johansson. Oh, and Joshua Jackson, too. Again, I'm not even kidding. I wish I were, because, dude, if you're going to make a cheesy celebrity montage, why oh why would you ever think of including a now defunct Dawson's Creek star?

I'm just saying. That's all.

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Blast to the Past

[LATEST UPDATES HAVE BEEN ADDED HERE]

***
The tanks have taken to the streets.

Jesus Christ, we've gone back in time twenty years.

(Maybe this is inappropriate, but I wonder if this means finals are cancelled...)

EDIT @ 12:16 AM: CNN, BBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg news have all been suspended due to a "sun outage." I smell bullshit; lots of it. Interesting how the "sun outage" should happen just in time for Thaksin's speech at the UN General Assembly.

They better not "suspend" the internet. If I wanted to be cut off from the rest of the world, I'd live in North Korea.

EDIT @ 12:29 AM: Apparently, all schools and universities in the country have been ordered to close. (I ask again, does this mean finals are cancelled?)

EDIT @ 12:56 AM: There are rumors that all cell phone networks are going to be cut off in the next hour. Hopefully this is just that -- rumors.

EDIT @ 1:01 AM: Rumors are swirling like crazy. I have been getting phone calls and text messages that say a new prime minister, Akrathorn Jurarat, has been appointed.

EDIT @ 1:22 AM: Apparently Thaksin's headed back to Thailand (by commando, natch), and according to rumors, he might not be allowed to land.

EDIT @ 1:29 AM: Troops have moved in closer to home -- Changwattana Road -- which isn't far from the major military base I use as a short-cut on my way to uni everyday.

EDIT @ 1:58 AM: According to 2bangkok.com, troops have moved into the Communications Authority of Thailand, which is located on Changwattana Road. This explains their sudden appearance so close to home...

EDIT @ 2:14 AM: Rumors (and I strongly emphasize this because rumors are going around like crazy) say Pantongtae has been detained at the airport while trying to leave the country.

EDIT @ 2:20 AM: Trains, planes, and cars are all halted. Looks like we're stuck here, folks.

EDIT @ 2:22 AM: Internet's going to be cut down in a few hours. I'm trying to get as much down here while I can. With access to CNN, BBC, and CNBC down, who knows how we're going to find out what's going on now?

EDIT @ 2:24 AM: Bush to make a statement soon (not like we're going to be able to hear it, but you folks outside Thailand will) about the US's relationship with Thailand political and international affairs.

EDIT @ 2:38 AM: Thailand's officially constitutionless and tomorrow's officially a "holiday." What we're commemorating, I have no idea.

EDIT @ 2:48 AM: A friend has told me of rumors of a shooting around the Rattanatibet area.

EDIT @ 2:53 AM: Popular Thai message boards are being shut down all over the place. The Thai blogs are still going strong, though. If you can read Thai, definitely check out http://revolution.blogrevo.com/.

EDIT @ 3:02 AM: My friend's dad, who's a member of Thai Rak Thai, is unreachable and nowhere to be found. I'm still waiting for all of this to sink in; this is supposed to be in the history books, not on my front door, for f*ck's sake.

EDIT @ 3:18 AM: I'm sorry, but I just had to post this: My brother just said, and I quote, "Does this mean I don't have to go to ROTC class this Friday? And if I do, are they going to make me join in on the coup???" XD

EDIT @ 3:29 AM: In light of everything that's been going on, suddenly I'm reminded of a book I read a few months back by Meg Rosoff called "How I Live Now." It features a teenage protagonist, but no matter what your age, I cannot recommend this enough. Run to your local bookstore and check it out.

EDIT @ 3:39 AM: Thaksin's scheduled UN address has apparently been cancelled.

EDIT @ 4:48 AM: My phone has finally stopped ringing, so I'm off to get some shut-eye now. Things seem to have calmed down around the city; hopefully it stays that way when dawn breaks in a few hours...

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