Well, much has happened since I last updated the site! Here’s a brief chronology:

August 1999

I started to seriously study Thai language. Specificly, I broke down the alphabet into consonents and vowels leaving aside the tones. I also went back to relearning old vocabulary and building up a list of new basic words to learn. The Lexicon here is a result of that initial work.

September 1999

This month will endup being of historical importance!

My friend at work (who was born in Northern Thailand) suggested that I study at a temple in L.A. I started taking classes at Wat Thai L.A. in North Hollywood.

Equally important for SIENG THAI is that I started practicing drums! My approach has been fairly similar to studying Thai as a matter of fact. Initially, I just tried to see what I could do. I just tried to get famaliar with various aspects of the drum set. I was pleasantly surprised that I could do quite a bit without the benefit of experience. (Maybe all these years of writing drums with sequencers is starting to carryover??!?)

October 1999

This month could be considered the "kick-in" month. At this point I’m starting to really recognize and remember the Thai alphabet. Previously, I was playing drums for less than an hour at a time during practice, and my soloing went about to 2 minutes. Eventually, this month I was soloing for much longer, maybe 5 or 6 minutes. I think I really established a basic feel for how the instrument worked.

November 1999

My SIENG THAI cohort once again visits Thailand! He literally went all over the country. He was there for less than a month, but in that time he spent over a week in the Isan territory. He started his trip down south around Phuket though. He wrote to me by e-mail from the huge computer mall which he says is bigger than "The Mall" in uptown Bangkok.