I know old fogies like to belittle the power of the internet and complain about its faceless nature. I have a little bit of that inside myself. Or maybe that's just my Scrooge-style indigestion.

The last six months or so, though, have opened up my eyes to a new perspective. Despite its meanness, baseness, and "America's Funniest Home Videos" style cruelty, the net has brought out the best in people. Thirty years ago, if a person learned a skill or a handy tip, the most he or she could do was to teach it to his children and his friends. Maybe if he was of the writing sort he would write an article to a newspaper or magazine with his new-found information. Most people would be happy, I apparently wrongly assumed, to keep the knowledge to themselves. Against all common sense, people now flock to the internet, not just to soak up information, but to share it. There are countless videos of regular people sharing their experience and knowledge on every topic imaginable, from how to set a proper table or toilet train a cat to how to tell if your E46 BMW subframe has the dreaded crack. Sure, a few people are making some money off ad placement, but most aren't. Most are just sharing their thoughts with the world.

Put another way, a newfangled thing used to be passed around hand to hand, and word would spread by word of mouth. It was limited to the speed of horses, trade routes, and ships. The printing press allowed word to travel to more people and faster, but people still needed to be literate, and that was somewhat restricted to the upper classes. Now a new thing can hit the news cycle or the Reddit cycle and become well known internationally within minutes. Chris Hadfield's Space Oddity rendition went viral instantly and anyone can watch the Mars Rover's newest photos on its own Twitter feed. This is all well and good, but what was unexpected (at least to me) was the desire of the common people to share the minutiae of their lives. The pool of "common knowledge" is growing exponentially, and this is a good thing. Today: 3D printers, tomorrow: Earl Grey, hot?

Last year I bought a bunch of bulbs for my garden. Very cool ones, too, like Calla lillies and purple things and some Irises. I planted them in the winter of 2011-12 in the border of my front driveway-side flower bed. I also planted a bunch of daisy seeds, but since then I've heard they are notoriously difficult to grow, so I have long since given up on seeing any sign of those. Well, in my spring eagerness to weed my garden, I inadvertently weeded out/knocked down all of my bulbs. Imagine my surprise when NONE of them came up last summer! I know it was a cool summer, but none?

So today I was very careful with my weeding of the flower bed. I had done a quick pass with my scuffle hoe before my vacation to get rid of most of the winter mess. But today I found my entire row (minus one) of bulbs ALL peeping up -- from my driveway and lawn! I had lost track of the original border of my flower bed and allowed the gravel and grass to sneak inwards, right over my flower children! So I've fixed that now. The border is back where it should be, all the bulbs except one are accounted for and are sprouting, and what MAY be daisies are even coming up throughout the other plants! They may also be stovepipes (the real name is probably something else,) which we've had a terrible infestation of in the back yard. Only time will tell.

Bring on the summer! I'm ready! 

I have very happy news to report! This weekend I took the plunge and got my SSI scuba Open Water certification! I had such an awesome time, with just one small panicky moment which my instructor talked me through so reassuringly. Really, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. If you're ever in Thailand and want to go scuba, I highly recommend Master Divers on Koh Tao. They were the best outfit in every way.

Yays! 

So far my trip has been just incredible! I've never been to Asia before, so this is all new to me. I've spent three days n Bangkok, three in Siem Reap to see angkor Wat, and now I'm on Koh Samui en route to Koh Tao for some underwater activities. I really, really hope the cold that the two people were hacking all over me from 14c and 14d for 13 hours from Seattle to Taipei alleviates in time for me to try scuba!

Ok, back to packing for the Lomprayah ferry! I will post again when I can!

Bangkok is an amazing city. What a great vibe, full of people making the most of each day. The Saxophone Pub last night had just awesome blues music and great food. I wish we were in the city longer, because I would love to go back! But tomorrow we move on. Say goodbye to the 57th floor :)

And tonight I am away in a jet plane, off to the other side of the world to see just how small our Earth has become! I'll be posting as much as I can from Thailand, but be prepared for some gaps in posts (like there weren't any in the past weeks HAH!) I will have a Chang beer on the beach and think of you, how about that? And a coconut juice. And a nutella crepe. And some red curry crab. Ohhhh I can't wait to eat my way through Thailand! :)

Bon voyage, Elli!

I can't believe I'm leaving for my trip to Thailand on Tuesday! What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been, but all the work will have been so very worthwhile! I just can't wait!

There should be lots of pictures coming to my tumblr and such while I'm away, so stay tuned! Also, my site is fully loaded with TONS of updates, so you won't even notice I'm away from my desk for so long! It's only three weeks, but I intend to enjoy every minute of my vacation!