Farang mind over Thai matter

[stattointhailand]

TW managed to lock the master bedroom door with all the keys (3) inside again. Not for the first time, or the second for that matter. Previously, by the time I found out, the lock and handles were in a mangled heap, part on the floor and part still attached to the door ...... well it solved the problem didn't it.

This time, 10 mins, a cup of coffee and a smoke were taken to think about the problem.
Q) what needs to be achieved? A) access to the room
Q) How can this be achieved? A) Through the locked door , or through the locked balcony sliding doors.
Q) Which has the weakest lock? A) probably the sliding doors.
Q) How can I unlock the doors? A) By sliding something between the doors, and knocking the locking switch down.

So ......... one broken golf club shaft, a piece of plastic and some twine to attach them together, 5 mins working out where the lock was, and getting the correct angle sorted, and "HEY PRESTO" door open and no need to go to the shop and spend several hundred baht on a new lock.

The above is really just an aside, It got me thinking, why does she always lock the bedroom door when we go out at night?
The reason I was told was that if she didn't, the member of family/friend who was babysitting, would go through all the draws and papers to see how much money we have in the bank, or if we buy land or something and not tell them

It hadn't even dawned on me that anyone, especially mother, or brothers/sisters would sink to that sort of level.
But if the Thai's think that way, then it must be a common occurance for it to happen

DON'T SAY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WARNED

[jackspratt]

Do we all assume you have now taken 1 of the 3 keys and put it in a secure place outside the bedroom, so you can use it if this unfortunate occurrence is repeated

[stattointhailand]

It's attached to my car keys, and in my pocket.
Mind you, if it did happen again, it would only take two mins to get the aleady prepared tool, out of the store room and use it

[38nholding]

Along the lines of people reading your personal stuff and the like. Our inlaws drop over unannounced on occasion, but as soon as papa walks in he makes himself a cup of coffee, then he walks in to living room and reads whatever i happen to have on the table,bills, bank statements personal notes, these are not just glances he is really taking an interest ! He also loves to drink that coffee with a big spoon and long slurps ,ahhh slurrrrp, ah ,slurrrrp ah slurrrp .

[38nholding]

Sht tried to make a pragraph and submitted. Anyway he was here the other day and he and I went to the local "nursery" and i bought a few clay pots ,few bags of dirt,as he prides himself as being a bit of a gardener. So he was really taking some time looking at the large orchids,which run up to 3 to 5000Bhat anyway i purchased a couple of "babies" for 400 bhat ,along with a few other plants ,planning to gift him before he left for all the help.So after about half an hour of repotting i went into the house,and yup, sure enough,when I returned the orchids had disappeared into the trunk of his car. So I called him up on it,yup guess he lost face . have not seen him since.
yeah and whats with taking my shoes off at the front door but eating food so i can see your tonsils ? smack smack smack

[stattointhailand]

Never have a problem with my father in law .......... so long as I've got a few cold beer in the fridge, he wouldn't even notice an open copy of "Penthouse" if it were on the table.
Now the "dragon in law" that's a different matter ........ one day she comes over, and within minutes of arriving, she pinches out the growing shoot at the top of a plant that I'm trying to grow as a "standard" ........... well she didn't want it to grow all leggy did she!!

[BobHelm]

Just a point on the original door locking.
It is all too simple to do accidentally. The doors often open flush to a wall, there are no "skirting boards" & rarely anything like a door stop.
You open the door, it goes flush against the wall which depresses the locking push, close the door again & you are locked out....

[38nholding]

We have a new born here , third day dragon in law is telling me about this and that,as she has raised 5 of them (babies that is ) and she puts a wool hat on our babys' head,mittens for no scratching ,matching booties to look good.long pants and shirt . three blankets and in the crib in the carport with 37 celcius!! 6 hours later the baby has not moved rushed to aek udon with heat exhaustion. We dont see much of her either.
Baby is fine and I have been re-elected to the position of boss.It is my first and the wifes as well.

[laphanphon]

3 meter wall in the front, 2 meter wall around the rest, no doorbell, don't answer the phone...............village life was so nice...............now, suburbis and nobody know where i live........life is good.

[38nholding]

Ah yes country living. Someone has opened a karoke bar about 2000 ft across the rice fields,how lovely sound travels in the still of the evening.THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, till one a.m. Actually took a ride up there and drove by, I couldn't sleep anyway.And there was 4 lovely lady boys sitting there waiting for customers, a sad life.
And the guy who collects for the electric shows up at 7;30 a.m. to collect ! We are also behind a 10 ft gate and a six foot wall, but after 10 minutes with a motorcycle horn blasting it is difficult to remain peaceful.I just got used to the roosters . Who loves Thailand !

[westerby]

The above is really just an aside, It got me thinking, why does she always lock the bedroom door when we go out at night?
The reason I was told was that if she didn't, the member of family/friend who was babysitting, would go through all the draws and papers to see how much money we have in the bank, or if we buy land or something and not tell them

It hadn't even dawned on me that anyone, especially mother, or brothers/sisters would sink to that sort of level.
But if the Thai's think that way, then it must be a common occurance for it to happen

DON'T SAY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WARNED

Yeah, we always lock our bedroom up when we're in country. We've no problems with the brother-in-law and his missus (both a couple of Good Eggs) or the kiddies but there are people on the family peripherals who like to visit and wander around the house (distant cousins, etc.) who I wouldn't trust. I'd say your lady has good security skills, Statto. Better she locks the keys in than pass them on to a family Half Wit.

[beer monkey]

The above is really just an aside, It got me thinking, why does she always lock the bedroom door when we go out at night?
The reason I was told was that if she didn't, the member of family/friend who was babysitting, would go through all the draws and papers to see how much money we have in the bank, or if we buy land or something and not tell them

It hadn't even dawned on me that anyone, especially mother, or brothers/sisters would sink to that sort of level.
But if the Thai's think that way, then it must be a common occurance for it to happen

DON'T SAY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN WARNED

Yes my Mrs does the same, and when we are in UK she puts the Fridge Freezer,TV,DVD,All her Clothes and my Whicker outside lazy chair in the bedroom and locks it with a padlock too.....yes they do sniff through stuff when you are not around, and things get ruined used and abused by 'the others'.

[laphanphon]

Yes my Mrs does the same, and when we are in UK she puts the Fridge Freezer,TV,DVD,All her Clothes and my Whicker outside lazy chair in the bedroom and locks it with a padlock too.....yes they do sniff through stuff when you are not around, and things get ruined used and abused by 'the others'.

not for BM, but was easy to quote. but why are these people even allowed in your houses, if there is a lack of trust. in the old house, old village, if having a get together, i would simply close the 2 bedroom doors, not for security, just my private space and also to keep eye on and stop any roaming kids. if the door is closed, all knew not to enter. rules of the house. all others welcome to roam and look in open areas, and with the exception of some plastic containers, which were extremely late or never returned, since leftovers were taken, nothing was ever missing. tools were not to be borrowed, learned that a couple times when i always had to go get them when i needed them next. but even that was learned by dad, bringing things back promptly, and i the same with his toys. also taught to bring back in same or better condition, which was a plus for me, as he always sharpened anything he borrowed. never a problem, common courtesy, some needed a refresher course, but no real problems.

the only problem i have now is Ree hiding everything, worst, she forgets where she stored it, which is usually on the bottom of the pile of stuff i don't use.

[beer monkey]

When the flag has been hoisted up and i am in residence no outsiders enter the perimeter of the land, a decent ,wall, railings and a nice gate give a signal to 'outsiders'....so if i am around in the sala/beer garden in full view of passersby they know NOT to enter and they never do, family yes, others only enter if they get asked to come in...but they would never go in the house..its the family that my Mrs worries about.when we are far away in the uk, when we have a party the bedroom door is locked...when we go into town the door is locked..people/family can't be fully trusted.So a wall with railings and decent gates will keep the village 'ponces' out(but not some family members.. ), with no boundary markings like a wall,railings and a decent gate they will come as they please.

and worth getting a few extra keys cut for these doors.

[Khun Paul]

I do feel after reading all thes posts some which are faintly amusing, that some where along the line the lines of occupancy and Thai wife expectations has not even been drawn up.
Now that is a basket of worms to deal with, but deal with it one must.
My house is open to all and i have never had any occasion to worry about people looking through rooms or papers.
However having said that, I made it abslutly clear by use of a dictionary, that such activities would result in the perosn concerned being asked to leave even if it was mother or father.
To date i have no incidents no problems and we all get along just fine. Visits whenever people stay or slepp and anything, normal life.
Communication gentlemen is the art of making someone understand what you want or expect. Failure of them understanding is not their lack of intelligence it is your lack of communication and the subject needs to be re-visited to ensure compliance.

Enough said

[westerby]

I do feel after reading all thes posts some which are faintly amusing, that some where along the line the lines of occupancy and Thai wife expectations has not even been drawn up.
Now that is a basket of worms to deal with, but deal with it one must.
My house is open to all and i have never had any occasion to worry about people looking through rooms or papers.
However having said that, I made it abslutly clear by use of a dictionary, that such activities would result in the perosn concerned being asked to leave even if it was mother or father.
To date i have no incidents no problems and we all get along just fine. Visits whenever people stay or slepp and anything, normal life.
Communication gentlemen is the art of making someone understand what you want or expect. Failure of them understanding is not their lack of intelligence it is your lack of communication and the subject needs to be re-visited to ensure compliance.
Enough said

Guns, I have tried to decipher your mispelt posts over previous months in order to determine the meaning and watched you on the Box with increasing perplexity as you've fumbled through your narrative. You really are not one to lecture others on the art of communication.

[BKKSTAN]

I don't have any problems like that either,although there were attempts initally in our marriage when relatives were around.I have always been willing to set boundaries and limits for behavior in my domains.The time a brother opened a drawer and started looking around,I made it very clear that was not acceptable behavior in my house,never had any more problems with relatives!
Wife met a gal that was in our home once, started opening closets and drawers.My wife quickly told her that was not OK.She never came back Probably thought we were rude

[timthebrit]

Westerby said:

'.......your mispelt posts.....'

Classic!!

[Khun Paul]

As for my mis-spellings, there are times when my fingers do not hit the keys correctly and I am too lazy to amend nor do I check.
As for my fumbling in narrative and all that on the TV, when one is talking to a mainly Thai audience and the occasional farang does actually listen then Ok i am not perfect, but then NEITHER do i attempt to correct or poor scorn on those who are not so lucid in the art of communication.
I bring to mind a short phrase. Those in glasshouses should not throw stones.

I take it you have fully understood and will in future glance in the mirror before casting doubts on my abilities in the English language or even this post, which is a minimal success in typing ,with some dexterity and may I say perfection. OK Ya !!!!!

[westerby]

Westerby said:
'.......your mispelt posts.....'
Classic!!

You got me.

I take it you have fully understood and will in future glance in the mirror before casting doubts on my abilities in the English language or even this post, which is a minimal success in typing ,with some dexterity and may I say perfection. OK Ya !!!!!

Quite the opposite. I'd sooner misspell one word (even if it is mispelt!) than type out the supercilious rantings of a person such as yourself.