Melancholia : a feeling of deep sadness; melancholy.
A memoria of a former AR of Bas Suradet.
See the beautiful and passionate life of Bas Suradet through the eyes of a stranger.
~ Sitting next to the window of my suburban-type home in the United S...
Sitting next to the window of my suburban-type home in the United States on a late Saturday morning, sipping on my bitter coffee, eyes following the kids riding mini bicycles, I couldn't help thinking about my time in Thailand. Wind ruffled the maple leaves, fallen down as tribute to Autumn and my heart would throb with this familiar heartbreak. The strangest thing is, the heartbreak is not even mine. It belongs to one giant child with a tender heart and an iron will.
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I was in this difficult situation. A foreign student, stuck in a strange country, in between jobs, trying to make ends meet while my Visa application to USA was being proceeded through. I sometimes curse myself for choosing Buddhism and Thai Monarchy for my thesis.
It was when my friend called up.
"Ji, there's an opening for a temp job, nothing much. To be honest, you're over qualified--" I stopped him in mid sentence.
"I don't care, Jay. I'd do anything." Yes, I was that desperate.
"Okay, I'll text you the address. Pay a visit first. The job is a sure thing though because they're in a bit of a hurry to find a person who's good in both Thai and English."
"Jay, you're a lifesaver. I owe you big."
"Just don't forget me when you get to USA."
"I won't."
I pushed my glasses up my nose gazing at the building the address Jay gave me led to. I pushed the glass door and entered the vibrant hallway. The place was full of posters of beautiful people, pasted alongside the walls. Where the hell am I?
It was stupid of me, I didn't even ask what kind of a company it was. How pathetic and desperate had I been? I almost dialed up his number.
"Are you here for the job?" A short man with a heavily accented English asked me. He looked harassed and in a hurry.
"Ka." I did a wai at him. "Sawadee Ka P', I'm Ji Martin." I switched into Thai. His face brightened with relief. "Good. Your Thai is very good for a foreigner." He gestured me to follow him to an office room.
"Nong Ji, this will be a temp job." He started flipping files on his desk and throwing things here and there without even looking at me. "Why can't I find anything in this hell hole." He muttered angrily.
I hugged my file full of certificates to my chest and stared at him in dismay. I had this sinking feeling that working for this man was going to be horrendous. But I had no other choice.
"I'm aware P." I said in a small voice. He lifted his eyes to give me a look.
"Don't worry Nong Ji, our office is not always chaotic like this. It's just that we're terribly under staffed, and the work had piled up." He finally fished a paper from among the disaster of paperwork on his desk.
