I do not like cucumbers and other fun things about me and Thailand

I do not like cucumbers.
It's become a problem. As the food is especially spicy here, various foods are used to cool your mouth. Bean sprouts, rice, and of course cucumbers. That's one thing that is particularly nice about Thai food (and Indian food) - they provide something to cool your mouth (as opposed to food in Sierra Leone and New Orleans, where they just let your mouth burn). But, that's where I've run into a problem. Despite cucumbers' apparent lack of flavor (that's what I've been told) and their oh-so-refreshing crispy sound, I do not like cucumbers. I have nothing to cool my mouth after eating a mouthful of spicy curry. So, I drink lots of water, my eyes water, and my colleagues laugh when my face turns red. 

I need a bigger wallet.
The first reason for this is because I tend to collect change. Although I know most of the coins, I'm not comfortable looking for change yet (strange but true). Also, there are tiny coins that I get as change but few vendors take as change - satangs (1 baht = 100 satangs). I have satangs in quarter (worth less than a penny) and half (worth a penny and a half) denominations.

The second reason is that Thais like cards. I have a thick ID card for the TUC (provides access to doors and elevators), one for the BTS (Skytrain), one for the MRT (subway), and one to enter my building. And, those are just the cards I need on a daily basis. I also have cards for VAT discounts at Emporium Mall (good at Paragon, Emporium and The Mall), MBK, and Spot Plus (good at Tops Markets and Central Food Market). I also have paper cards for my health insurance, directions to get to my apartment (one in Thai, one in English), and directions to get to Centre Point.

I have a skewed sense of the temperature.
As I mentioned previously, I walked out of my apartment the other day and felt cool. Of course, a 40% drop in humidity did contribute greatly to this feeling; however, the temperature was still in the mid-80s (Fahrenheit, 30 degrees Celsius). Although, maybe I am just adapting to the Thai way of thinking of temperature (or Sierra Leonean or New Orlinean - both of whom wore winter coats when the temperature dropped below 70F). In Thailand, the cold season has highs in the low 80s.

I do not have enough solid-colored shirts.
Thais are obsessed with wearing specific colors on specific days. On Monday, it's yellow; Tuesday, pink; Wednesday, green; Thursday, orange; Friday, blue; Saturday, purple; Sunday, I don't know. The problem is that I do not own enough sold-color shirts. For example, today I am wearing a very fun African print that is both orange and blue. Maybe I'm celebrating Thursday and Friday (since there is a 12-hour time difference between BKK and Philly, right now it is both Thursday and Friday...). The other problem, however, is that wearing certain colors on certain days can also be a political statement. Yellow is the color of the king (he was born on a Monday) so those people who support the monarchy wear yellow. See this article from Time about some of the politics behind colors (http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1881841,00.html).

So, goals for the weekend are as follows:

1. Like cucumbers (I think it's possible to do in two days, right?)
2. Get a bigger wallet (or give up on organizing my current one)
3. Get a thermometer to carry with me everywhere (or just stop talking about the weather to my sister, who is the one who makes fun of my temperature disorder the most)
4. Buy solid-colored shirts (but not red or yellow ones) 

 

Me and a Sierra Leonean cucumber