afternoon version of me

26 Feb, 2026

Today was a really nice walk. Ended at this shoe store to get new walking shoes since it’s been about a year and a few pair of cheap shoes that failed. My wife had insisted on trying these $10 sneakers that she thought was a better deal. I could just replace them as they wore out. Problem was they wore out fast. Sometimes after one walk in. This meant I could never get used to a pair of shoes. Feel comfortable with how they fit. Establish a relationship with them.

So she finally relented and let me go buy the shoes I wanted. Enter Guys Sneakers. The place I have had the best luck. This time I went and found some Hoka shoes that I think will be good for six months. The salesperson said most people get about that length of wear walking or playing sports in them. I don’t do sports so I want a shoe that will do 5 miles a day give or take. Let me find some time with them. Feel good wearing them.

I kinda knew this morning I would not just sit at the house. I felt kinda stretched thin there. Like the house exerted this pressure that just made me want less. I’m not good when it comes to that. Needed a change. So after a nice dinner and some time pondering I decided to just go. This second blog post is the result.

First off I wanted to go sit somewhere different. Some place where there was comfort and I really knew no one. Enter Temple coffee and bakery downtown.

Here I can sit with the hot latte and puzzle the forever unknowns. Well I don’t do that. I do like looking at the cute Khmer waitresses. There are a friendly bunch and a few are rather flirtatious. So coming here first off seemed a thing.

Wifi is particularly good here. WiFi is good in Cambodia for the most part. Most places I go to eat or drink or do nothing have free WiFi.

So here I will sit until I don’t sit here anymore. Of course it’s not terribly far from viva! and the $0.75 draft beers. That’s just a given since I came all the way here and just going back after the latte seems so wrong. The house now seems so far away. Like this little mark. A pimple of sorts. Obnoxious at times. Okay at others. But no matter what, like a pimple, it’s better when it’s gone from sight.

I think my wife knows the house wears thin most days. I ended up sitting there this time 5 days. I was a good boy. I found some time there I liked.

Then today came. Anyways first is this place. I love temple coffee.

Next is the place for beer. I guess that’s a coping mechanism. My way to escape what one Thailand expat called the isolation and sometimes being alone. His answer was similar. I think with him his motto was have a beer when in doubt.

So the day was divided into parts. And that’s ok. I’m in parts sometimes too. There’s this little barang me. Then there’s this piece that thinks some assimilation works. I realize neither really happens. So I don’t take either. I’m not graced with the wonderful understanding and metaphysical acceptance of some barang that live here. I cannot cross that bridge. So instead life is in parts ¹.

Perhaps it makes it more interesting to write my daily journal and this blog with life being this way.