Welcome back for another monthly recap/photo challenge, thanks to Su. I hope this post finds you well.
January was an unusual month because I traveled, got to spend time with old friends, and enjoyed a better work-life balance. Although, I’m hoping to commit to the latter for the rest of the year.
Rayong to Chiang Mai
Originally, we planned to meet up with a friend who was flying in from London, but because I’m a dingbat, I got the dates wrong, and we ended up missing each other. Has this happened to you? Please tell me I’m not the only moron!
[You’re the only moron.]
Besides seeing old friends, we ate well, and walked around our old neighborhoods, and talked about when we lived in Chiang Mai. I won’t get into the details of how much the city has changed because I might be saving it for a future post. I haven’t decided yet. It’s all written up, but does the world need another post about Chiang Mai?
And now for something different…
Traveling was only a small portion of the month, it also involved going back to work, and working on personal goals. There’s no shortage of distractions in the form of depressing news though. With Trump being Trump, Australia’s fires, and the Wuhan virus giving us enough ammo to keep us down, I decided to continue what I did last month and focus on good news, too.
I was over the moon when I read about Boyan Slat’s efforts to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with his innovative cleanup machines. But this article focuses on his team working towards cleaning up the world’s most polluted rivers. You can read about it, and nominate your river via the link below.
Dutch Guy Famous for Cleaning Up Pacific Garbage Patch is Now Clearing the World’s Rivers Too
I was also happy to hear that there is an AI program that can be used to predict viral outbreaks before the governments let us know about it. This is extremely important when considering Asian culture’s deeply ingrained belief system of ‘saving face’. BlueDot uses an “algorithm that scours foreign-language news reports, animal and plant disease networks, and official proclamations to give its clients (hospitals, airlines, etc) advance warning to avoid danger zones”.
Next up…
Disaster Breeds Invention: Philippine Residents Use Volcanic Ash to Repair Damaged Buildings
And here is 99 positive news stories you most likely didn’t hear about in 2019. Ninety-nine, people! And that’s not even taking into account family and friends getting hitched, knocked up, having babies, or graduating school, and all that other wonderful stuff.
When you start reading, it’s easy to be cynical, but as you continue to read the good changes that the world is making, I hope you will feel better about humanity. By number 43, I got teary eyed. [You’re right, I’m such baby. BTW, don’t ever watch a movie with me.]
One day at a time, right? xo
How was your January?
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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