The last few days have been insane. I think I was drugged the other night – I had one beer, went to the bathroom, came back, and 20 minutes later… I wake up in my hotel room, light-headed, wondering what the fuck happened. Hours had passed. 24 hours. It was scary.
I think I’m going to write a story - I’ve had a pretty interesting set of experiences, maybe people will want to read them. All of my Cal experience, I guess. But Prozac Nation has already been done! And so was Lost in the Meritocracy! Both of which spoke to me pretty tremendously.
This stuff is pretty honest. Maybe forthright. Yeah, definitely. The first email is to my Dad, who’s wiring me money to pick up tomorrow.
—
Thank you so much Dad.
I’ve heard you’re pretty pissed about me losing the wallet and
passport, but there’s a story. Normally, when I heard “never leave
your drinks at the table,” I assumed it was just for girls because
some guy would take advantage of them. I never really considered
theft. So I left one drink- _ my first and only drink_ – in a thai
bar, came back, drank it, and my memory cuts out shortly thereafter. I
blacked out for about 20 or 24 hours. I woke up in my room, light
headed, confused, and missing my passport, my wallet, and my money. It
was fucking crazy and upsetting. I went to the hospital to make sure
I’m alright and all, and I’m fine.I’m getting in the process of getting in touch with Ace Travel
Insurance and EAP, who are very generous and helpful. They even gave
me the contact info for EAP Thailand. Also, all my visa cards have
zero liability. Meaning that most of the cost this disaster can be
mitigated.I’m a lot less stressed now that I’ve got a game plan to get that
passport, get some cash, and get the fuck out of here. I will kiss the
fucking ground when I get in the consular grounds and see uniformed
marines with M16s.Thailand is dichotomous – beautiful European women, beautiful beaches,
beautiful tropical weather… but a real, dangerous, seedy
undercurrent.Anyway, my adventures here have been book worthy, but I’m thinking of
trying to make it into an article. Who can you think of that’d
publish? Do I need an angle? Should I just write in my voice? Don’t
worry – I’m not going into journalism – but I need some new projects
now that I’m on the wagon. Getting published before graduation would
be pretty epic and the girls would love it.How’s sunny San Diego?
love,
t
Thomas R York ｜ 杨德民
University of California, Berkeley
tommy.york@gmail.com | (852) 9539-8736
Here’s the second email, the one I sent to my concerned mom about checking out a Thai hospital.
Don’t worry, I already checked with a doctor. The thai medical system
is pretty good (the doctor, like the one in taiwan, had an American
medical degree) but I’m going to do a double check in Hong Kong, just
because it’s free through the insurance system and they’re as
efficient as Kaiser.As for my “friends” – the wallet incident was too recent; they left
for Cambodia days and days ago. They didn’t like Cambodia, and (excuse
the language) fuck them for leaving Koh Pagnon and I’m glad they
didn’t enjoy their experience. But not to be too spiteful – I really
like the Buddhist notion of for kindness. But that being said…The reason they left is somewhat understandable, but merely
acquaintance-worthy, not friend-worthy: I decided to ride a scooter
around Koh Pagnon and it was _incredible_, maybe the funnest and
freest thing I’ve ever done (don’t worry, I’m not getting an M license
in stateside) but I had engine problems far on the other side of the
Island, quite a distance away from where we were going to meet up, so
we didn’t end up meeting at night like we’d planned. So yes, they
left. The are no longer friends.It actually was a complex social situation – there were two guys, Jeff
and Max, both I liked. Max, especially, he’s a fraternity guy from
University of Illinois who transferred after a semester at University
of Chicago. Max is the one who called American Consular Services when
I didn’t show up for 24 hours, then called them again when I
facebooked him. We really clicked – we share a great deal in common
but also a real contrariety that works. I could see him being a good
friend, and I suspect that it wasn’t really his decision to leave me
in Koh Pognan, because…The issue at hand is this girl – the typical social-climbing Berkeley
sorority girl who loves attention and flashy brand names. I think it
stems from some kind of deep insecurity… a chord I managed to strike
HARD during the first 3 days we spent in Hong Kong – we basically
lived together: same flight, same phone, same ikea products, hanging
out together for hours – and perhaps the fact that I didn’t initiate
any physical intimacy with her struck a nerve. Or maybe that’s my ego
and she just doesn’t like me. Another theory: I really think she only
hung out with me because she knew I was in Zeta Psi, which carries
heavy social clout, then when she realized I was more introverted and
thoughtful and not alpha. Nonetheless, she cut me off in Hong Kong and
her coming to Bangkok was unexpected. She intentionally barely
acknowledged me when I was there, so more than once me and Max went
off to check out Koh Pagnon – Jeff was MIA thanks to slipping a
scooter out from under him and scratching himself up. I’m sure that
when I didn’t show up at Haad Rin where we decided to meet, she was
more than happy just to leave.Which brings me to my real realization – I really like travelling
alone. I had this incredibly enlightening conversation withe the 27
year old that I mentioned, and I think it was life changing. I wrote a
lot about it in a journal, so I’ll save it for the blog / potential
magazine article!More good news: David Pon are moving into the same co-op this summer.
We’ll both have singles, but it’s down to Casa Zimbabwe or Euclid.
Northside is much calmer than Southside, and it’ll be the perfect
place to stay on the wagon, read, write, and study that summer-long
Chinese class.http://berkeleystudentcooperative.org/our-co-ops
The co-ops have the liberal, crazy, interesting people I so
desperately need in my social life. I’ll try not to occupy any
buildings, but I hope we reclaim Durant Hall. Try.Love,
tommyp.s. Sorry the email is so long, trying to write more / writing in a
journal too and trying to write longer emails. need to practice the
English!
So, there’s a lot I need to figure out before I start writing. How do I write? What’s my voice? Does anyone even want to read it? Maybe I need a pseudonym.
