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Continue reading →: My #iamsubject StoryI am participating in Diane DeBella’s #iamsubject project http://www.iamsubject.com/the-iamsubject-project/. Here is my #iamsubject story. When did I claim my self? Have I claimed my self? What is claiming your self anyway? In the beginning, there was nothing to reclaim. I was happy, bouncing along in a safe and protected childhood.…
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Continue reading →: The Black House Quandary in Chiang RaiWow. There is a lot of conflicting information about the Black House/Museum in Chiang Rai. I almost hesitate to blog about it lest I add to the misinformation in English. First up, is Thawan Duchanee who built the Black House, the teacher or the student of White Temple artist, Chalermchai…
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Continue reading →: Why do we look up?Yesterday, a 6.0-6.3 earthquake struck 26km from Chiang Rai. However, my friends and I didn’t feel it because we were riding in a blue songtaew taxi. We had just finished an invigorating bike ride though my neighborhood along the river, got caught in the rain, and had decided to see…
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Continue reading →: 🇹🇭 How to make your life more Thai!**Other Asians might apply: based on observations and real life experiences. 1. Keep the plastic on your furniture. My mom kept the plastic cover on our lampshades until I think we revolted or something. But maybe I’m remembering incorrectly, they could still be on…
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Continue reading →: Starting over, after the transition…I know why people are afraid of change. It takes them out of their grassy zone of comfort. Hey, it’s comfortable in comfort land, eating at the ground, chewing the cud! Friends and kind folks who write to me about my blog (aka my life) think I’m real good at…
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Continue reading →: Moving to Chiang RaiAfter about 4 years in Chiang Mai, I finally made the move. And what a move! I was so stressed out over our things making it in Kuhn Jan’s truck. I was fretting over the motorbike falling out of the truck as it seemed precariously perched on the tailgate. And…
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Continue reading →: Transitions: Life’s waiting roomI don’t have writer’s block; I just don’t like anything I’m writing now. Part of the problem is I’m in the middle of moving from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai. I’m spending much of my time dealing with logistics, and saying goodbye to friends. I’m packing and planning and waiting…
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Continue reading →: Useful Tips for a Happy Holiday in Thailand (by TAT)While shopping at a handicraft store (popular with the Japanese tourists), I saw this leaflet. As soon as I saw that it was in Chinese, I was amused. Given the recent reputation of the Chinese in Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai I took it, thinking it was in Chinese, English and…
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Continue reading →: DinDee Cafe and CMU Art CenterIf you are perchance wondering where the Japanese hippies hang out, you’ve stumbled upon the right place. DinDee Cafe is the only mudhouse cafe in Chiang Mai (as of this date), and is a lovely place to eat before heading over to the CMU art center gallery (free!) to check…
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Continue reading →: Salad Terrace (from farm to fork)I have my friend JP to thank for organizing both events (farm & fork) because I don’t think there are many folks who have had the opportunity to see where a restaurant’s food originates from. (Except maybe the people at the Food Network) Admittedly, I don’t know much about hydroponic…
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Continue reading →: The Chinese in Chiang Maihttps://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/the-chinese-in-chiang-mai My coworkers were getting fired up about the Mainland Chinese again. “One of them got caught defecating in the moat.” “They also got in trouble for shitting in the hallways at a kanatoke (Thai dancing show).” “I almost ran one over! They just stand there waiting to get hit!”…
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Continue reading →: Seeking balance in a social media world.I’ve been wanting to delete my fb account, but I realized it has become a second email box, and a good way to stay in contact with friends and family while overseas. Then I read Why I Stopped Using Facebook and it made me think about how I can scale…
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Continue reading →: Latchkey kids (or latchkey kids make pizza)Left alone hungry At night We make a pizza In the oven it goes Out the kitchen I leap Age 8 and 5 Stuck to the TV We enjoy Clint Eastwood’s Every Which Way But Loose Rapture The alarm screams We scream Kitchen running Thick smoke goes up out The…
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Continue reading →: Swearing.Swearing was not allowed in the house. But then again, swearing was on the cable TV and in the rooms and behind the words of everyone in the house. I remember the first time I swore in front of my mother. I must have been about 15 years old. We…
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Continue reading →: Another look at Huey Tung TaoI used to frequent this piece of nature when I lived closer to it. I’d walk most mornings around the first loop catching sight of the cows and the farmers. But I moved back into the city for the convenience of it all. During my most recent visit, here’s what…
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Continue reading →: Why I don’t compete with other writers (or teachers, bloggers or women)https://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/why-i-dont-compete-with-other As an American, not competing seems almost blasphemous, but I feel the world is competitive enough. And fighting against each other under this idea of finite resources is overrated, freezing, and frankly part of the reason why we lack compassion. Blogger Lisa Kramer wrote this thought-provoking article and she…
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Continue reading →: ✈️ Stupid travels, too.Don’t assume travelers are smarter, more worldly or better than those who stay at home. Stupid people travel too. I know this is a bit unfair to say because I live in Thailand. I hear foreigners talk to Thais in broken English and I want to “go hit you” in…
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Continue reading →: What NOT to do on Valentine’s DayToday is not a good day to confess your love for someone. Actually, no day is really a good day for this kind of thing. I remember when I lived with 3 other very strange people in Eugene Oregon. (I’m deeply scarred from that experience, particularly from catching my landlady…
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Continue reading →: Why audio blog posts?https://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/why-audio-blog-posts I feel I must explain. Do I need to explain? I’m going to explain. It might seem redundant to record my self reading my blog post, but I assure you it is not. Reading out loud has many benefits. None of which I will mention here. Okay, you’re right,…
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Continue reading →: ✍🏼 What is tone in writing?https://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/what-is-tone-in-writing What is tone? I’ve never really thought about it before – in speaking, yes, in writing, no. In speaking, we listen for tones to understand a language, for tone of voice or inflections; we listen in for intent or the emotion beneath the words. But when it comes to…
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Continue reading →: Make me a better __________.
https://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/make-me-a-better I usually enjoy any opportunity to help me be a better _____. How to be more bedable Cosmo offers. Why not flip to page 56? (Just joking, I didn’t look at that article, but countless others.) Yeah, I’m not sure why or when I got on the self-improvement bandwagon,…
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Continue reading →: Happy Chinese New Year (Year of the Horse)I’ve lived here too long, I fear. The firecrackers no longer agitate me. (Although, it hasn’t really gotten started yet.) But I’m good on lion dances. I’m good for the rest of this lifetime actually. And even though the calendars say the 31st is the official day of the Chinese…
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Continue reading →: American Football, Family and God.https://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/american-football-family-and I like American football. I have fond memories from childhood, when the rest of childhood was more complicated and slippery. People are often surprised to hear that I like American football. I suppose because I don’t announce this, I don’t seem like the type (???) and because after college,…
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Continue reading →: Best of Chiang Mai (great list of things to do here!)*updated 2 Feb 2018 I’ve pretty much lived in CM since 2009, although there was this brief Ecuadorian intermission, and an important 2007 visit that sparked my desire to live here…
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Continue reading →: Bo Sang Umbrella FestivalEvery year the village of Bo Sang have their umbrella festival in January. This year it starts on the 17th and runs to the 19th.
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Continue reading →: 8 Ways Chiang Mai is like the American SouthNow, I know, you’z wonderin how a Hawaii girl like me, gonna tell you somethin ‘bout th South. But after livin there, datin’ a Southerner for 6 cotton pickin’ years, and a-vistin multiple times, I can assure you I know what I’m talkin about. So, let’s begin, shall we? 1.…
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Continue reading →: Trendy Chiang Mai: What’s popular?What is trendy? What is popular? I seem forever behind in these things. My excuse is I was born and raised in Hawaii, and it was the running joke that if something was in fashion in say, late 1989, it would hit the islands a year later or maybe in…
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Continue reading →: Art in Paradise: 3D art in Chiang MaiArt in Paradise is a fun and creative museum experience for Chiang Mai residents and visitors. I heard about it when it opened back in July, but then promptly forgot about it until I had to entertain a friend from Bangkok.
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Continue reading →: 🇹🇭 Ten things Thailand has taught me (so far)Thailand. The football cheer and chant of trapezing travellers. Overrated yet ever popular. An expat port of call, and a backpacker’s paradise for the budget and banana pancake minded. It’s many things to many people, but to me it’s a place that has changed the course of my life, and…
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Continue reading →: My favorite posts from 2013Looking for something to read during your holiday travels and time off? Look no further! Yeah, put down that Kindle, it’s so bourgeois. Instead reach for your favorite proletariat bloggers.
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Continue reading →: Where do Chiang Mai expats like to eat?On the lookout for new places to nosh? (Do people still use the word nosh?) Okay, I asked some friends just for you. Janice, American foodie I like the Salad Terrace for the huge fresh salads and good meat. I also like the Mexican-style popsicles made from fresh fruit juices.…
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Continue reading →: Jing Jai MarketJing Jai Market is located across from JJ flower Market (near Tesco). What do you mean you don’t know where the flower market is? Ag. Okay, not everyone is crazy about plants like I am. Here’s a map to Jing Jai. Jing Jai is not new, but has been recently…
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Continue reading →: ✈️ Coming of Age through TravelJourneys are the midwives of thought. – Alain de Botton In 2009 I packed my belongings into a barn-converted house in Northern Alabama, unsure of when I would return. After 9 months in Thailand, I sold my car to those Northern Alabamans, so I could go to Ecuador. It’s now…
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Continue reading →: Poetry before picturesi like toast, toasted over icicles on a cool relaxing day. i like coffee, caffeinated under toast during most times of the day. i like eggs, farmed on toasters for beginnings of days. i like butter, jam and honey, with toast, coffee and eggs.
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Continue reading →: How to deal with Internet bullies (and trolls, and real bullies too).https://soundcloud.com/lifetheuniverseandlani/how-to-deal-with-internet-bullies-and-real-ones-too I’ve been bullied – online and in person. In high school, a boy, let’s call him R, decided to start off class by giving us a speech. His theme, how flat I was. His insults rolled off like a rap sheet, how I had a flat face, flat nose,…
Hello,
I’m Lani
Welcome to Life, the Universe, and Lani. I’ve been blogging about my experiences living abroad since 2009.
At this point, this site serves as an archive as I’m mostly active at No Girl is an Island 👉https://lanivcox.substack.com/ 🏝️where I have been both newslettering and continuing to craft personal essays on finding freedom in the fringes.
Thanks for stopping by, have a look around, and hope to see you over at No Girl is an Island.
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
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