Recovered from 2 days food poisoning of growling in pain......lost 2 lbs :( down to 59 kg now.
Good to eat again~~~~~


Picking Mama in Bangkok tomorrow, no flood at international airport and flying to Chiang Mai to go to massage school, cooking school, do elephant trekking, all touristy stuff.

Talked to M on Skype and he has a nasty Mexican mustache.  Hentai ero oyaji

I have officially graduated beginner's level and no more freakn walking upwind!!!!!! No more walking!!!!  Super super happy to reach this level.

Riding choppy waves, managing little jumps, got the hang of front and back function of putting pressure on foot.  Now working on switching.

9 more days left.
1 day switching.
4 days toe-side turns.
last days review & few jumps.

Been hanging out with Peh's crew with Ming and Jei, just doing BBQ and guitaring by the gym and beach.  Not much to do in Prak Nam Pran.  Love the simplicity.  

My body needs a rest after kitesurfing & Muay Thai-ing for a month.  Even if there is little wind, my body craves to kitesurf.....just so I can improve slightly.  So I decided to get out of the city to go to Bangkok to volunteer with 
Thailand Flood Org.  

Left Pranburi at 11:40 to arrive around 4pm in Bangkok.  Took moto taxi.....doing 80mph....so scary! to Khao San Road, wandered around where a night was 350-400 baht...until found a locally Thai owned clean guest house for 150 B a night.  Stayed there, came back to search the organization in the morning where I am today.  Off to go check out the flooded areas, to deliver EM balls that apparently sanitize the water.  They are mixed with rice bran, some chemicals that past volunteers made here.  

Before yesterday, went to Muay Thai and went to market with Peh and Pang on my moto to buy some dinner.  First time I climbed over fence to enter Toom's house.....and they ate on floor. I wanted to wash my toe which my nail broke during my training....

I figured no one reads this, except for my one loyal reader, Grandma Lenny :D

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.  
Thanks for reading~~~and always great Skyping with you~~~!!!  Skype does wanders~~Talked to Michael two days in a row!!  That happens once every 2 years with that little *&()*&)(**&. 

9:50AM at the kiteschool in front of the beach with Internet.  

Has been light wind the last 2 days, and today seems a little bit stronger wind.  Hoping for bigger wind so that I can master my upwind skills and not walk upwind anymore.  Then after I master that, it's toeside and then I can start jumping and flying!!!!

Yesterday for the first time I got slammed into the water.  Even with a life jacket on, the power of the kite hurt my chests.....no wander why they have impact vests. I think I'll have to invest in one. 

Kite happening #1.  Jens broke his bridle line.  His kite was a 2012 under warantee and the bridle lines can hold up to 1000 kg apparently, and the instructor was really surprised that it just cut off.  And Jens didn't land in rock or crash.  Just his kite let loose.

Kite happening #2.  The German hulk, Dominic walks upwind with his kite towards the trees.  The wind is lighter and I'm so tempted to do that, but rather use more energy and go the safer route and let the kite over water than over trees.  A gust of wind sure enough took his kite down into the construction site.  He was "making friends" with the fishermen, trying to untangle his lines with the fishermen's lines......and then realized he had 2 tears less than 3 cm each on his brand new Airrush kite.  Bummer.....

That's about all the excitement as there is now.  Trying to do double loopty loops with trainer kite on light wind days.  

Finally after over a month I am UP ON THE BOARD!!!!  2 days ago, my body was sore, I had a bad day, bad mood, and just couldn't do it anymore and had a few tears.  But after many hours of sleeping, resting, I got it down!  This week has been such a feat!  I thought it would take a week more to get on board but with determination, I didn't know it would happen in 1 day!  And even went upwind also.  Yesterday I couldn't even go right nor upwind.  2 in half a day.  Wind wasn't strong enough so only kited 2 hours in the morning.

After struggling for the last few weeks, I've mastered to control kite in one hand, body drag upwind, do water launch, go upwind all within a week.  I feel so much more in control the kite.  No more of the kite controlling me.  I know how to use safety release system.  Love love love it.  Still walking upwind, but my goal for the next 3 days is to do enough kiting on board so I don't have to walk anymore.

I even have enough energy to go to Muay Thai today.  Nong Toom is gone to Malaysia to film, so her younger brother will be teaching me.  I haven't gone in a week +++ so super excited.  
Got a 3 cm open wound form stepping on a seashell.  And still healing from slipping by the swimming pool, trying to kick the boxing bag.  All three of my injuries so far are NOT from kitesurfing. Great.....

Then finishing off the night with massage with Pet.  Final session for back, neck, & shoulders and moving on to feet massage today.  

Life can't get any better~

Oct 30: FINALLY up on board!!!! Happy day!
Oct 31: My body was so sore from 6 hours from yesterday.  Horrible day.  1 ride down, tried fetching board.  bad mood. sore body. no focus.....should have taken day off and rested my body.  grumpy me.
Nov 1: Woke up rested, and was excited to try again!  Practiced one hand control.  Board---lost board.....try again....lost board, almost made it riding to right side.
Today's facebook status: ‎2 days in a row of pulling safety leash & lost board 3 times. Jens, Jay, and Yanni found it for me....falling and falling....just need to keep getting up :) don't drown.....ride waves...and run away from the sharks. life ain't hard ♥

Really??? Really??? Losing my board 3 times in 2 days....just cuz i can't go RIGHT.  I can only go LEFT out to sea and I can't go towards the land.  body drag.

Day 2 with Pet teaching me massage....we alternated and wow my posture is so much better.  Soreness disappeared.  

Paying Pet 1800 B to learn 6 types of massages. $58
I not only get massage, I learn♥  Pain pain go away.  Can't wait to massage ojiichama and obachama & Gbob & GLenny


Head & Back & Shoulder   2.5 days  30-45 min each
Foot & Legs
Thai Massage
Aroma Therapy
Herbal Massage
forgot last one....

Frustrating to only get to practice 2 hours....and only do body dragging.  The instructor from Finland arrived, Yanni and I tagged along the German student and him for water start.  Super windy to be flying 15m light blue Airrush, but boy did I feel the rush :D

Today did more body dragging and tried with board, but when the board is 10cm out from you and then kite is crashing down at water, I needed to save kite first.  By time kite was steady at 12 o'clock....the board is 10 m away. :(  No wander I have to master body dragging first.  But luckily I cheated and the German was my board fetcher for 2 walks, about 2 hours, to make my water launch slightly easier.  Danke shak.

Manu took days and days.....just 30 min to get back to board.  And now he's mastered  body dragging and almost water launch.  Pierre today mastered riding upwind so no more walking for him.  Congrats, he surpassed beginner's level!!  Can't wait to get there.  

So for me, water launch doesn't seem hard.  Just body dragging AND walking upwind.  Walking....takes A LOT of energy out of you with the weight of the wind 

AHHHHHHHH So frustrating with salt water up my nose and eyes......can't wait to flyyyyyy...maybe not this trip.

It has been raining mostly at nights.  Then the frogs and toads come out and the next day a swarm of dragonflies take over the school.  During the day, the chickens, baby chicks, ducks, dogs cross the street.  

Living in a village, not much goes on.  A quiet, simple lifestyle and I love it. A Friday and Saturday night is the same as a typical weekday night.  The last two nights, there was a dance concert at the temple.  Cheap great food, and little 5 year old girls all made up in fancy dresses dancing to Thai pop songs.  

Visited Nong Toom again and her brother and her were preparing her chickens for a sparring session against each other.  Put the ankle guards, scrubbed on some water and Thai herb and the cock fight began.  There's even a whole magazine dedicated to breeding chickens.  Vietnamese, Burma, even Japanese chickens. 

No wind for 3 days. 
Helping Fon with her sponsor kit to prepare for her KTA Tour starting in November!!

Here's video of Fon teaching me.  We just kitesurfed downwind. Just walking upwind, learning to control with one hand.

Decided to upgrade from seat harness to waist only harness....graduating diaper style!

I decided to choose this style over other Mystiq and other companies because of comfort.  When I lean back with my instructor holding on to the clamp, I feel absolutely NOTHING. No weight.....so kiting with this should feel amazingly light!  Can't wait to start using this in a few weeks....or maybe days.

I'll still use the school's seat harness until I'm comfortably up riding on board.  

Review of Harness on YouTube here.

Third day in a row of great NorthEast wind!!  Super windy yesterday & today. Pierre managed to get on board :D  Jens already is smoothly on board. Today will be me & Manu to try to get on board.  Super windy maybe 15 knots?

Headed out to beach around 11am, just got back 2pm and super tired. I'm lying on the comfy bean bag and I'm nodding my head, since I can still feel myself in the water.

So......hold your applauses.....I was up on board twice....yayyyyyyy.  Super minor accomplishment, yet so big for me!  I'm exchausted from being in water only 2 times.  The first 1.5 hours trying to control kite with one hand to leave at 12 o'clock then last 30 minutes trying to get on board. 

My fabulous instructor Fan, lost her hat :(