Free vs My Time

Hmm..."Free" can have many different meanings on the web. Now that I have a few websites, I need to do some offsite seo, so people know they are there. OK, I have the basic idea of what I need to do, like submitting them to search engines, articles, backlinks, etc. I am still no pro, but I have the general idea.

Because of that, I still look for lists of what experts think you should do once you have your site built. Check lists. Everyone seems to have a bit different way of doing this, so I like to see what's out there. I came across a few, that all suggested using a certain free submission site to get listed on like 200 different search engines. Ok, free is good, I will give it a go. I used one of my old sites, just in case. It only took a few minutes to give all the info it needed, and then click "submit". It said "thanks" and asked me if I wanted to add any others. That was easy. I noticed that some of the results were pending an email verification, so I went to the email to do that.

WOAH!!! There were like 153 verification emails there waiting for me! Well, a mobii's gotta do what a mobii's gotta do. I started this, so I had to finish it. What got me, is that every single one of these little SOB's asked me for the same exact info that the original submitter had asked for. Umm...weren't they supposed to pass on this stuff when they submitted my site? Wasn't that the whole point of this "we make it easy for you" operation?

I spent about 2 hours with this mess. I am the first to admit that my time isn't exactly worth gold at this point yet, but it damn sure isn't "FREE"!

The Bangkok Invasion

Much to my dismay, last weekend has come and gone. Last Friday, I had to go take that stupid teacher License test again. I am so glad that that could possibly be the last time I have to do it. But, apart from that hour of my life that I will never get back, the weekend kicked ass!

The only problem I had was when I first got there. I usually time my arrival so that I can stop at the Zeer shopping mall and have lunch at Mickey D's. But, after I had ordered, I reached for my wallet, only to find that it wasn't there. I am now at the point in my life where I don't freak out over such things anymore, I go straight to rage. I feel bad, because I scared the hell out of the poor little girl behind the counter. I spent about 15 minutes searching the car to no avail, and then called Palmiez for help. Sweet as only she can be, she left work and met me at the hotel. She took me to the bank so I could get some money, which turned out to be just about 1 km from the hotel. During which time, Roong called to tell me that I had left my wallet on the bed, so all was OK. (except that now my wife knew exactly how much money I had for this little adventure, never a good thing)

I went to take the test, and was going to stop and apply for a job at the Sarawittiya school that is right across the street from the apartments. But, the test site was like an hour taxi ride from the hotel, and it had started to rain pretty hard, so I couldn't. I will do that next time. So, I took a nap to rest up for the night's festivities.

Good thing I did too, because it was a busy night at The Dubliner. The pub is moving a few km's down the road, and Saturday night was their going away party. I think that everyone that wasn't sure that they could make it on Saturday made damn sure they were there on Friday. Irish guys can drink. I mean to the point that it should be considered a super power or something. Every 5 minutes, one of them would walk up, slap me on the back, buy me a beer, and tell me the most insane stories that I have ever heard. I laughed so hard that it hurt. A free beer just for listening to a story is a pretty good deal, if you ask me. You will occasionally  have to hear one a few times, but that's OK. I met lots of great folks, and had a killer time. After I had hit my limit (and a few more) I strolled down to Subway, got a foot long double everything, and headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

The next day, I met No.1 daughter in the lobby, and we went shopping. Pukky couldn't go because she had a make-up class. First, we stopped at the Bangkok Bank, to see about getting me a credit card. The bank I am with now can't give me a card, and can't explain why not either. I can't even use their ATM card online. With Bangkok Bank, you can. The lady at the bank said I could only get a Mastercard if I deposited 100,000 baht in an account, like a secured card. That sucks, but at least I know what I have to do now. It only took 6 years to get a straight fucking answer out of these dipshits. But, at least I know now.

Since the serious stuff was finally finished, Palmiez and I hit the mall. I found all kinds of things that I wanted, even a very affordable little drawing table. I will try and get that next trip. The highlight for me was when Palmiez told me that she had a surprise for me, and told the taxi driver where to take us, without giving me a clue. What she had found was Villa Supermarket. They specialize in foreign foods. I was in heaven!!!

Man, I spent a weeks pay on stuff I haven't seen in years. They had everything from my fav Kraft Mac and Cheese, to Trisquits, A-1 sauce, and Clausen pickles. They even had Cheese-Whiz! Haaaaaaa! I tried to show some self control, but met with only minimal success. The other thing we got was one of those little internet card thingies for my laptop, so I can get to the internet anywhere I am. This will be fine, because I can use it on any computer, so Roong can use it on her laptop too.

Chew Chew and I wore the day out at about 3pm, so we stopped at Starbucks to recharge and then headed home. Those cappuccino drinks will fire you right up, but it doesn't last long. By the time I got back to my room, it was nap time.

That evening, I headed back to the Dubliner for their closing party. I have to walk over a crossing overpass to get across the street to catch a taxi. This puts me right in front of the large gates of the school that sits there. As I was walking by I heard in a strong, but rather high and nasally voice, "Hey, where you now going?" I turned around and saw that it was this little skinny gate guard with a very serious look on his face. Irritated by his arrogance, I stormed over and was ready to nastily ask him why it was any of his damn business, when he pulled a Jedi mind trick on me, he smiled. Not a "nice to meet you", or "hey, what's up?" smile though. His little face contorted into this huge tight-lipped smile, and he gave me this odd Puss-in-boots "sad kitty eyes" from the Shrek movie kind of look. I can handle either one, but both of them together from this little guy was a 10 on my creepy meter. Then it hit me, I was under a GAY GAURD ATTACK! Ack!!! Run away, run away!

I caught myself though, and knew just what to do. I slowly looked around, and walked up to the gate bars. I then gave him my best impression of the smiling big eyed kitty look that I could, and quietly said "I'm going THAT way. Have you ever been THAT way?" If it was possible for his grin to get bigger, and his eyes to get wider, they did. He took off like a shot towards the other end of the big gate, because it was the only way to get out of there. I could see what he was up too, so I immediately turned and gave a two fingered whistle that could have shattered glass. A taxi that was just going by slammed on his brakes, and I practically dove in. I may have to rethink applying for a job at that school.

As we were pulling off, the little gate guard was just rounding the corner and realizing that I was out of there. I felt sorry for him, so I rolled down the window and gave him a shrug, and a wave. He just gave a small sad smile and waved back. I don't think that this was the first time that such a thing had happened to him. I will spare you the details from Saturday night's debauchery at the Dubliner. Needless to say, it was even worse than Friday's. God, I do love that place.

Sunday, Palmiez and I went and strolled around a different mall, and had lunch. Before I knew it, it was time to go. The Dubliner won't open up at it's new location for almost 2 months, so it will be a while before I go back to Bangkok again. It's going to be a long 2 months. *sigh*