A wonderful discovery!

I got the most unbelievably wonderful reference this morning from my Internet pal, Sevenwinds.

I did not know this existed. Truly. I didn't.

But it is just unbelievably and so perfectly timely. I try to avoid yammering on and on about being lonely for Thailand, about wanting to be there. It has been intense lately. More intense than usual. Pain in the gut intense. I'm pretty good at sucking it up and dealing with reality ~ but there are times when it truly aches.

There is not a sizeable Thai community in Sacramento. There is a rather large one in Los Angeles but it would take a lot to get me to move back there. I might. It's not off the table but it's not an ideal solution, by any means. I left a lot of baggage in LaLaLand.

So, along comes this bit of information. (Thank God/Goddess/Buddha/Vishnu/Allah for bloggers!)

He wrote a post about Wat Mongkolratanaram, a Buddhist temple, in Berkeley, not all that far from me, where there is a lively, active Thai community. Each Sunday, they have a feast of Thai food and plenty of company. It is a Thaiphile's Disneyland! As we speak, I have a call in to them, waiting to get more information from a live human being.

Initially, my thought was that I would go in the spring. By then, my eye will be (presumably) healed after surgery and I'll be behind the wheel again. As it would happen, there is a car rental place *not 1/4 of a mile from my house*. No car hassles, no eye hassles, no problem. You know, that would be the Ideal Situation.

I'm thinking a few weeks from now would be better, if harder. I'll take a bus. I'll walk. I'll ride a bicycle. (If I have a heart attack, hey, I'll go happy :) I'll hitch a ride. (Yeahm, right!) Still, the point is that I need to get there sooner than spring.

My soul needs to be fed. My spirit needs the uplift ~ and why wait until Spring to do what I need to do sooner? This may be just the resource that will keep me sane until my final departure date. Even if I only go once a month, at least it is a place to be renewed, refreshed and restored.

I can't thank you enough, Sevenwinds. You have no idea how timely this is, how it has lifted my spirits, just knowing this is available.

It seems to be how the universe works, as long as we step out of our own muck enough to see it.

(Thanks for the responses to the previous two posts. They were really more informational than anything. Sometimes I just need to explain things to the people who read here. Still, I do appreciate the nice thoughts and the concern. )


Peace,

~Chani