20 December 2020
[Above photo: This blossom just opened in the back yard. You can see why hearing “I’m Dreaming of A White Christmas” as we shop in Citymart Market Place sounds silly, if not jarring, with daytime temperatures in the mid-90’s. The NY Times suggests that in the time it takes to play through once, another 5 Americans have died of Covid-19. I love and miss snow, in truth.]
Our Saturday night poker game collapsed this week. Connor forgot and when Kelly called him, Connor sounded besotted, as his girlfriend was with him. Jose had supper with Irene and another couple. Kelly had also invited his steady tennis partner, whom he has known for years. Andrew is a Canadian from Toronto; he headed Save the Children here when Kelly arrived 8 years ago. He’s raised his kids in Myanmar, having lived here for 15 years.
Andrew claimed he hadn’t played poker for years but he certainly picked up the game quickly, betting aggressively and drawing us all in. Kelly was unprecedentedly lucky and won all of our money. It has never happened to him before, he assures us. Three isn’t enough for a good game, really. But we had some laughs. Kelly made a tasty Thai coconut curry soup with lemon grass and mushrooms, I baked onion-garlic bread and fashioned a kale/balsamic/parmesan/pecan salad. I forgot how long bread must rise and only let this loaf rise once, but it was fine. There will be more bread in our future and I’ll get some proper bread pans next week. We ate the gingerbread cupcakes Irene brought over for dessert, with some mango sorbet.
I’m sniffing around for funding at UN agencies, international NGO’s, and the US Embassy. Kelly helped me fashion an introductory letter and as I looked at the list of my accomplishments over the past 2 years, I felt pleased. To really make a difference I’d have to be here 5, 10, 20 years but I’ve made a good start and hope to continue and consolidate. I am not worried about funding, being in a unique position as the only child psychiatrist in the country. Plus, I have a track record here, having worked within government service and proven I can do what I am proposing to continue. Selling myself is much more fun than selling a car or a house.
I have been watching “The West Wing” when I am running on my elliptical and find it compelling and witty. I am pretty much a TV virgin. There was no TV in our home when I grew up. A set was expensive then and we were all readers. Plus, TV was pretty lame back in the 50’s. Poki didn’t like to go to movies often or to watch TV, except when Joe Montana was taking the 49’ers to the Superbowl year after year or the early years of SNL. I kind of get it, since it is virtual life. As a result of all, I haven’t acquired the habit. When we finally got a set, we were pretty silly in not wanting our kids to get too much exposure. When the excessive viewing time alarms rang, I’d lug our 75# Sony Trinitron to the basement. But then something newsworthy would compel me to lug it back upstairs so we could all watch. The Oakland hills fire was one of those. A neighbor kept his TV in the trunk of his car. But Kelly has no such pincers bedeviling him and I’ve seen some great stuff recently.
Imran is a 3rd generation Pakistani carpet dealer who has a big shop in Bangkok. He met Kelly in Bangladesh years ago. They have an arrangement whereupon Imran brings carpets to Yangon and stores them at the house, having a public show here every 6 months or so and Kelly gets a discount if he buys any. We get to use the carpets of our choice until they sell. Since Imran has been unable to visit Yangon due to Covid restrictions, he recently put the word out and several couples came by and have purchased carpets, including a lovely one I had in my bedroom. I thought if it survived the current sale, I could negotiate a better price. The first buyer bought it. There are many more where that came from.
As a footnote on indoor wildlife, Kelly cut flowers for poker night. Putting them in the 10’ vase sitting on our coffee table, he noticed a dark lump in the bottom. On closer inspection, it was a frog! Probably the same little guy or gal who has been hopping all over our house recently. S/he is an amazing freestyle climber, since the vase is tall and flares outward at the top. What did Kelly do? Put in a little water and the flowers. Then he told me. Having breakfast on the couch this morning, I looked at the vase and flowers and realized I couldn’t bear the thought of the frog in there. I walked down two flights to my room, exited to the yard, pulled out the flowers and a frog wriggled up. Said frog surprised me so that I dropped the vase in the long grass. The frog was liberated, to live his/her life freely among the pleasures and dangers of our jungle. If s/he returns to our home, I’ll name and care for him/her. Some frogs are hermaphrodites, I think, or is that just the result of too many estrogen analogues in our water supply?
Because I “attended” the IACAPAP (International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions) biennial meeting in Singapore last month, I can access all the presentations online until 4 March. I am showing them to my Webinar group of 70 psychiatrists by Zoom every week, after which we have a discussion. It is interesting for me and for them to hear others—-experts, often—-discuss new ideas and observations. The lectures are more relevant for Myanmar’s needs than those at AACAP Annual, since many of the IACAPAP speakers are addressing needs and projects in developing countries. What a fun time I can have even in the middle of this dreadful pandemic!
Vaccines are beginning to roll out across the world. “Pressure” of the vaccines will encourage the emergence of resistant strains. I suspect the first vaccines to get to Myanmar will be from China. Given the intense Chinese government desire to hide bad news, I am reluctant to accept one of theirs. It would be nice if another lethal virus doesn’t emerge and spread during this time.
A Psychiatrist in Myanmar 