Trim Factroy New Year Party - Part II

Here's a little encore to the Trim New Year Party. Enjoy.

Trim Factory New Year Party - Part I

Take 750 factory employees, 100 tables filled with fried pork and spicy salads, a bottle of whiskey on every table, add a tower of speakers and a team of dancers, wearing little more than their birthday suits and you get the annual Trim Factory New Year Party.

The theme of the party is always 'Luk Toong' or 'Children of the Fields, which is a type of country/ folk music. It's a style of entertainment popular outside of Bangkok and especially, in Northeast Thailand. It's high-energy, hyper-erotic, and somehow, suitable for the entire family.

My camera wasn't taking pictures properly, so I stuck mainly to videos. I plan to collect some pictures from other people and make a follow-up post next week. Until then, I'll try to paint a picture of what the night was like.

The party was held in the factory parking lot. We finished work at noon, and the party crew set up the stage and tables all by 5 pm, when everyone came back for dinner. This is a quick panoramic view of the stage and tables.

Here is a video of the 'Luk Toong' performers. Someone said they were a group put together by a music teacher from a local high school. The dancers are supposedly her students - all over 18, I'm told.

You may notice the singer and sometimes the dancers reaching into the crowd from time to time. In an attempt to get a phone number or just a little closer, the audience, especially the excited young men, try to give tips. This group of performers made a small fortune that night.

The style of dance by the performers is a fairly standard cabaret/ burlesque. The style of dance by the audience is another story. I guess most people tend to plant their feet in the ground and rock back and forth while shaking their arms. However, there is another style that deserves recognition. I don't know the name of it, but will call it the 'epileptic chicken'. Watch the guy in the foreground. I'm convinced there is true genius behind his movements. There are also other dance moves that resemble plowing a field and harvesting rice - while on amphetamines.

What I showed you earlier was the professional dance team from Miss Nang's Dance Group. We also had entertainment from regular Trim Staffers. This is a team of engineers and production control officers who put on a traditional, though very energetic, northeastern-style performance. I pan back and forth, but try to pay attention to the guy on the far left in the white shirt. His little jump at the end made "Luk Toong" history and should be patented. I think he may have had a shot of "Vigorous Horse" from Santa's Workshop before going on stage.

Every year, one team of Trim performers seems to take the show to the next level - the next level up or next level down, I'm not so sure. But this team of girls from the leather cutting department chose to display their pole-dancing skills during a 'Coyote Dance' performance. Coyote Dance is a popular trend at night clubs and discos. Taken from the movie "Coyote Ugly", Coyote Dance is a style where cute girls (known as Coyote Girls) wearing short skirts and halter tops will dance suggestively on the top of the bar. Recently, coyote girls have achieved a certain level of notoriety in Thailand and have become almost a kind of celebrity - the US equivalent to being a back-up dancer in a Jay-Z video.

But that's not why I chose to show this video. As a prerequisite for all successful Trim Factory New Year Parties, at some time during the show a drunk guy must get on the stage and make an ass of himself. This year was no different.

Sugar Daddy

Being the generous guy I am, I decided to take the factory Managers and Sr. Engineers out for an 'end of the year' lunch.

I had budgeted around 100 USD for the meal, but was a bit concerned because once everything was ordered, it looked like a lot of food - not to mention some extra people showed up who weren't necessarily invited, as typically happens in Thailand. I liked these guys but spending more than my already 'generous' budget was making my food hard to swallow.

But as it turned out, the bill was 1,000 Baht or a little over 30 USD. Now, I feel a little guilty for looking so cheap.

Here they are (one table wasn't big enough)

Death Race 2008

Look who I found on the front page of the Bangkok Post. It's the bobble-head doll I saw on the billboard with Korat's Finest.

Every New Year, millions of people leave Bangkok to visit their families upcountry for the long holiday. Unfortunately, on average five to six hundred people die each year in motor accidents, furing this period. The main reason is riding motorcycles while drunk and not wearing helmets. Another major contributor is many people while heading back to their hometown sit 10 together in the back of a pick-up truck, so when there is an accident it's a real mess.

This year the Thai police have enlisted Mr. and Mrs. Bobble-head to remind drivers to obey traffic laws and drive safely during the holiday season. Looks to be working well, so far. I read where after the first full driving day of Death Race 2008 only 33 people were killed compared 68 last year.

Refrigerator Profiling

So, back from a short Christmas break and time to start blogging again. I was going to wait until our big factory new year party, but I came across Nuch's fridge, and felt it was blog-worthy.

I don't often go into Nuch's kitchen. Not because I don't want to cook, but because Nuch's mother doesn't want me in there. It's her little world. But the other day, I needed some water and ventured in.

As I haven't spent much time in the kitchen, I had never really taken notice of the refrigerator. I think it's safe to say that you can pretty much learn everything you want to know about a family or person (and perhaps, more than you want to know) by looking at their refrigerator, and Nuch's fridge is no exception.

The first thing you notice on Nuch's fridge is all her magnets. Two great things about my wife are that she doesn't buy a lot of shoes, and the only thing she collects are magnets. So, if you're ever at a loss as to what to get her for a gift or souvenir, magnets always do just fine.

As you can see, Nuch gets to travel a lot and has a magnet from almost every place she's ever visited - mostly Thai Air destinations. While creating this blog, I just noticed one from her ex boyfriend's hometown (not a Thai Air destination). We'll have to talk about that.

Look a little closer, and you can see some bills and a note that lists 'Joe's Snacks'. Nuch was out of town a while back and bought some breakfast snacks for me - Chicken Curry Puff, Ham Croissant, and 2 boxes of Milk. For some reason she felt it necessary to take stock and post it on the fridge.

On the front of the fridge you can see magnets that are handed out as promotions/ souvenirs when you go to the movies. You may notice that the most recent movie we've seen is Pirates of the Caribbean part II. We saw that one afternoon last July, and later that evening, after talking to her father, I proposed. I think we've only seen one movie since then. Is that normal for married life???




Also, on the front are Nuch and her brother's phone numbers, as well as directions to their house written out in Thai. That seems a bit strange, since you're already in the house, why would you need directions?

In addition, there's a bit of paper with Nuch and her brother's full names written in Thai. To explain that first you have to know that most Thais go by their nickname. Nuch's real name is Natthakrita, and her nickname, 'Nuch', means little sister. Also, in Thailand it's quite common for people to change their names. A little known fact is that Nuch's name was Chavarnuch, when we first met. Nuch and her brother got their names changed at the same time, so I'm assuming they put a note on the fridge to remind their mom and dad that if someone called asking for a Natthakrita or Patterapol, their parents would know that whoever was calling was looking for their son or daughter.

So, you see, you can learn a lot about a person from what's on their fridge. What you can learn from what's inside the fridge is a whole other story.

Merry Christmas

When I was a kid, I was told that a Christmas gift that you make by yourself is much more valuable than anything that you can buy in a store. I hope that still holds true.

Over the last couple years, I've often thought of keeping a journal or starting a web log. I've read a number of blogs written by expats in Thailand and felt it was a great way of recording and sharing my experiences. However, I never found the motivation to actually sit down and start writing.

Inspiration doesn't necessarily come from one place or another. Quite often it comes from a number of places, seemingly, all at once. For me, I wanted to start a blog, but didn't have the motivation. I was also thinking about Christmas presents for my family, but gift certificates to Amazon.com 4 years in a row is a bit much. At the same time, Nuch and I are considering starting our own family. Somehow each of these factors came together to inspire Letters from Thailand.

My thoughts of starting a family, basically, revolved around the costs and sacrifices I would have to incur, along with questions as to what were the benefits? To start, I looked at my own life through the eyes of my parents who invested 18 years of baby sitting, 4 years of subsidized keg stands and frat parties, and then, at 22 I move to the other side of the world. All that for an Amazon gift card once a year????

Of course, there's much more to it than that, but... there is one thing that I would always hope to get from my kids - the opportunity to share in their lives and experiences. This happens to be the one thing that has been so hard for me to do while living here in Thailand.

So, with that thought in mind, inspiration came me, and I decided to create this blog with the chance to give my parents and family the one gift that I would want from my children - the opportunity to share their life.

Letters from Thailand is the story of my life in Thailand. Hopefully, it is not limited to life's major milestones (job, marriage, children, etc...). My true goal is to focus on the simple moments in life between these 'milestones'. These moments may seem mundane or routine, but they often provide some of life's greatest pleasures, as well as its subtlest joys, its little eurekas, and finally, its ever changing color and flavor - all adding value to life and all worth sharing.

I've worked the last month to create 50 posts, so you'll have an idea of what I have in mind. I plan to continue with at least one a week, but hopefully, I will add more as there's never a shortage of things to write about in Thailand.

I hope you will enjoy it, as much as I have enjoyed living it.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Spirit

Here is a quick pre-christmas look at Nuch's first Christmas Tree and my first Christmas Tree in 7 years that has not been inflatable.

Nuch and her mom helped me pick it out. I have to give them credit - they really got into selecting the ornaments, lights, angel hair, and the color scheme. It took almost 2 hours, but it looks great for a first Christmas Tree. They've already decided that this year it's going to be red and gold, and next year it's going to be white.

It's only 3 feet tall, but it exudes 'Christmas Spirit'.

Introducing Emily

This past Saturday Nuch was in Paris, so on my way into Bangkok I stopped by my friend Carl's house for a quick happy hour and a chance to catch up on recent happenings.

Carl and I were in the Peace Corps together, so we've known each other for almost 13 years. In addition, we both went to Thunderbird and have lived in Thailand for most of the last 8 years, so it's nice for me to be so far away from home, yet still have someone that knew me back when I was relatively normal.

I haven't seen him much lately because he's got a new baby daughter, Emily (i.e. his wife won't let him go out). She's an amazing little girl, and as much as I enjoy happy hours and catching up with Carl, it's been great being able to watch her grow up. Here are some pictures.

She loves the strawberries





Here she is getting a head start on her international business education. When she's not reading The Economist, she prefers Barney and other children's books. A while back I was reading Squash and Squeeze to her, and she was able to finish the last word of every sentence. Now, she has effectively memorized the book, so whenever I stop or pause, she will say the next word in the sentence.

She must get it from her mother.

Safety First

When you have 700+ workers and lots of needles and knives, safety is always first in your mind - even when it comes to the little fishing pond next to your factory.

When I first arrived here 4 years ago, you could actually see the water, and people would fish there on weekends. Some of the fish were caught and served up at yearly parties for all the workers.

Then, about 2 years ago, an alien plant was introduced to the pond by an entrepreneurial fisherman. The plant was supposed to provide additional food and nutrients for the fish and help them multiply. Instead, the plant multiplied, covering the entire pond in less than 2 weeks. I remember standing along the edge of the pond and marveling at the speed at which this plant had reproduced.



But soon after it had filled the pond, we started to notice a smell.

This plant, which was supposed to feed the fish had, in turn, covered the entire surface of the pond and was preventing the fish from getting oxygen to the point where they were slowly dying underneath.

We had a team of guys in the pond, collecting dead fish and trying to scoop out the tons of foliage. It didn't work. The plants were growing back faster than they could get them out, and eventually, all the fish died.

Here's a pic of the failed rescue attempt.




We lived with the plants until the cold season (winter) when they finally disappeared, but since then, there have been no more fish.

A couple months ago, I noticed a thin green film beginning to cover the pond, but it wasn't nearly as threatening as the alien plant. I could still see the water, and I even hoped that one day we would have free fish available again.

That was until today. Perhaps, I had not paid attention, but sometime in the last week or two, the layer of green algae had turned into a thick green carpet and was beginning to smell.




Some guys tried to scoop it up, but to no avail. It simply filled in where it had been taken away.

A worker standing next to me said this was serious, and we needed to do something about it immediately.

I asked if it was poisonous or hazardous to the health of our staff.

No, no it's fine, he told me. However, he did voice his concern that a drunk guy passing by may mistake it for grass, fall in and drown - Safety First.

My Home Away From Home, Away From Home

Since getting married last December, The Marriott Resort & Spa has become my home away from home, away from home.

As the story goes, after I proposed to Nuch, she and her mother went to see a fortuneteller to pick the best day for our wedding. I told her any day in March or April would be fine, since you typically need to book hotel reception halls at least 8 months in advance.

It turned out that 2007 was a bad year for getting married (still not sure what will happen to all those couples who did get married in 2007), and Dec. 24, 2006 was the only option, which gave us about 4 and half months to plan.

I called everywhere and nothing was available. Luckily, one of Nuch's friends with 'connections' was able to get us a hall at the Marriott Resort & Spa. The hall was fine, considering everything else was full, but after visiting the sala (not sure about the English word - like a promenade) alongside the Chao Phraya River, Nuch and I decided this was the place for us - as long as it didn't rain.

It's still a special place for us - besides being the location of our wedding reception, it's also a 10 minute drive from where I live in Bangkok, so we find ourselves back there almost every week, whether it's to enjoy the Sunday brunch at Trader Vic's, workout at the fitness center, spend some time by the pool, or have lunch by the river followed by a massage.

Earlier this month, we went there for Nuch's birthday.

They put on a traditional Thai dance performance on the stage set along the riverside.

Here's Nuch trying some Thai desserts

This is an odd picture. They had a wooden carving of what looked like Gollum from Lord of the Rings peering into the stew.

The following week, we took Nuch's parents to brunch. Please hold any gut comments - I just finished 4 rounds at the buffet.

This is Nuch's dad after brunch. He never misses a chance to pose - even if it's in front of the bathroom.

Just a few random pics from Trader Vic's and their dinner cruise.

Finally, here's a picture of their water taxi that runs between the hotel and the Bangkok Sky Train network across the river. If I don't want to drive to work, I'll catch the water taxi to cross the river and catch the sky train, which runs to my office.

Just a little introduction, as I imagine the Marriott will pop up on occasion in future blogs.

Just When I Thought I Had Heard of Everything...

My HR Manager came to me today with a request for $500 for the local 'sign tax'.

I didn't believe what I had heard, but sure enough there is a local sign tax in Thailand. For any signs visible outside your operation the yearly tax is:

- 5 cents per sq ft for signs that are 100% Thai
- 40 cents per sq ft for signs that are a mix of Thai and a foreign language
and

- 60 cents per sq ft for signs that are 100% in a foreign language

The money goes to help build and improve roads (that lead to the land of govt officials, I imagine).

But why signs??? Why not the size of your roof or the number of pets you have? Here's the answer I was given. If you have a big sign, it means you should have a large profit and therefore, can afford to improve the land value for your local councilman. By the way, we're not paying. Hope I don't get arrested.

P.S. In case you're wondering why the name of my company is Trim International - Initially, my company produced leather seats for cars and Trim is the technical term for automotive seating, I think.

Any Given Saturday

For the last 4 years I've spent my Tuesday and Saturday mornings driving between my factory in Korat and my home in Bangkok - Granted, I spend about 60% of my time in Korat, but I've resisted calling it my new home - In other words, I'm not yet 'Lan Ya Mo'.

I imagine most people would dread the idea of having to drive 6 hours (round trip) on a weekly basis. It took me a while, but I'm used to it and almost enjoy it. The roads are wide (6 lanes) and the traffic is usually light, so it's an easy drive and it gives me time to reflect on the week that has passed and look forward to the days ahead.



By the way, Korat is actually just a nickname. The full name for Korat is Nakhon Ratchasima.

My factory operates 6 days a week, and I'll usually stop by on Saturday morning to make sure everything is in order before I drive to Bangkok. Friday must have been pay day because on this particular morning the Burmese lottery vendors were there. One thing I never understood about lottery sales is that they're usually sold by the most destitute and unlucky people in Thailand - refugees, cripples, the blind...

The lottery tickets are pre-printed, so people usually only pay attention to the last 2 digits when selecting a lucky number - double '0'.

The most important thing about playing the lottery is don't tell anybody if you win. Otherwise, everyone will ask to borrow your money, and you'll be expected to take everyone out for lunch or karaoke and basically, use up all your winnings. Refuse and risk being exiled.

Nuch was visiting me in Korat this weekend and while I was checking in at the factory, she went to fill my car up with gas. She also filled the tires with air, but whatever they did.... I had two flat tires before we could get out of Korat. Fortunately, there was a Goodyear shop nearby. This guy had us in and out of there in 15 minutes - Indy 500 pit stop style. There seems to be some random activities that Thais tend do extremely well - like make things out of old coca cola cans.

Not the most exciting blog entry. I'll come back later to juice it up a bit. I'll try to find some pictures of overturned buses or semis where drivers had fallen asleep during the night. I see at least one a month.

I'll save you from any pictures of the hundreds of dogs strewn along the side of the road. It's not often in the history of life on earth where you can watch Darwin's theory of natural selection play itself out right in front of you. As the weakest links continue to weed themselves out, I assume that before too long Thai dogs will be able to walk and talk and perhaps drive cars themselves.

On this particular day there was a convoy of hundreds, maybe thousands of Honda Dream motorcycle/ scooter enthusiasts. I've seen this a couple times, but before they were Vespa owners. Must be some new trend for thrill seekers and suicidal maniacs - motorcycles are just a step above dogs in the evolutionary chain when it comes to Darwin's Theory and Thai highways.

All Natural Leather

What you may not know or what you may not be clear about is that my company is not a leather tannery. We are not involved in processing raw cow skins and turning them into the material that you find on your leather sofa.

We only purchase finished hides and then, do the cut and sew to turn them into leather sofa covers. However, we do get involved with the leather tanneries when it comes to developing new products or addressing certain quality issues, and I often must visit these tanneries both in Thailand and around the world.

Here I am at a tannery in Thailand.

There are several stages in the tanning process which I will attempt to describe below:


Faces of Death Stage (No Picture)

This is the slaughterhouse stage. Fortunately, I have not seen this stage myself, but some of our customers are asking whether or not the cows killed for our hides are slaughtered in a humane manner. Ask the cows, but don't ask me to take a look at it myself.


Vegetarian Stage

At this stage, raw cow skins come into the tannery that have been purchased from a local slaughterhouse. The hides still have hair and globules of fat hanging off the underside. This is as close as I wanted to get.






In this picture, the guy is cutting off the excessive fat and throwing it into a bin. At this point, you agree never to eat meet again - especially, sausage at the restaurant next door.



The 12 Fingers Stage

At this stage, a toxic recipe of chemicals are added that remove the hair and fat (of the cow hides). These chemicals, also, preserve the hides so they maintain their flexibility, strength, and softness, but don't rot.

These guys aren't wearing shirts or shoes.

This mix of chemicals, in particular the Chrome, have become a growing concern among environmentally-friendly retailers, and a new "Chrome-Free" process has been developed that uses different chemicals. The true benefit of these 'new chemicals' is that we don't yet know what the adverse affects truly are, so what you don't know can't hurt you.

Oddly enough, the mix of these chemicals turns the hides a baby blue color. At this point, they are no longer referred to as hides, but affectionately called "wet blues"

Nothing is wasted. The hair is taken to make brushes, the fat is used to make dog food (I think), and the shavings of the wet blue are used to make more leather. Some less-scrupulous leather suppliers take these shavings, mix it will glue and rubber, and sell it as a leather.

100% All-Natural Leather Stage

Maybe I was a bit naive, but before I started working here, I thought the print on your leather sofa was a natural characteristic of the cow's skin - not so. I even thought that fresh, new car smell came from the leather - not so. Well, it does comes from the leather, but only from all the chemicals and paints that have been applied. And the print can come in any number of designs and styles. A popular one is called a Madras print. Next you're going to tell me there's no Easter Bunny.

In this picture the Wet Blue is being dried and stretched. More stretch = more leather you can sell.

In this picture, the worker is applying stucco to cover any holes, deep scars, or bug bites.

After being soaked in chemicals, shaved, stretched, patched, painted, printed, and sealed, you get something like this.

Or this... (the hole comes from the cow's hump)

Which eventually, becomes this.