Travelingguy

I find it fascinating that someone who appears to be gay and posts about hookups with university students in Moscow, would consistently defend Putin, in particular his scapegoating gay people which has been going on for more than a decade. There are so many stories about gay Russians who have suffered horribly under Putin’s rule, either at the hands of the government or at the hands of thugs while the government turns a blind eye. Does a gay person living in Russia, posting on gay websites daily, really think that they are safe? And if they really do think that they are safe, are they deluded? Or does their ardent defense of the regime give them protection? Or are they deluded in thinking that their ardent defense of the regime will give them protection? It just makes no sense. I am new to this site and I have wondered if Moses is a Russian citizen who has little choice, but to live in Russia. Or is he an ex-pat living in Russia by choice? On Swatdee, he encouraged someone to move to Moscow for all the sexy foreign exchange students. But what gay person or Westerner would make that choice, particularly in today’s Russia? It all seems so risky and so dangerous. Even oligarchs that were close to Putin at some point routinely “accidentally” fall out of windows. I just don’t get it. I must be missing something

Gays have been persecuted with laws and without laws forever. They have been and are executed and tortured in various societies. Yet none of this repression eliminates homosexuality. It just leads to horrendous suffering for those who get caught up in it. Even the Russian government isn’t stupid enough to believe that this will have any effect on the number of gay people in their society. They don’t care. It is all for show. They also don’t care about the suffering of their gay victims. But why should we be surprised when they consistently show us how little they care for anyone except Putin and whichever oligarchs around him are currently in his good graces.

Antibiotics don’t generally work for upper respiratory infections, since they are mainly caused by viruses.

I cannot imagine anyone in Israel wanted this massacre to happen. And I am saying that as someone who is no fan of Netanyahu

On some guys, the beards accentuate their looks. These guys usually have angular features and the beard is relatively short. Other guys just look unkempt or have these bushy beards that I don’t think is attractive at all.

I realize that for many the massage itself isn’t important, but I also would like to have a quality massage.

Line number does not seem to connect to anything

I guess there are several different lotteries going on there at the same time (money, massage, etc) You don’t have to hit the big jackpot to be a winner

Perhaps, you have already answered your own question. When you are in Thailand, you get bored. Perhaps Thailand is not the place for you to retire. Running a business, even if it is only with the goal of breaking even, is basically a 24 hour job. You could entrust it to someone else, but how does that address your boredom? It also dramatically increases the risk that the business will be run at a loss (perhaps great loss). If you want to just have a place to hang out during the day, you can do that at gyms or cafes by buying a membership, not the whole business. But for that to work, you would probably need to be social, which you said that you struggle with. Someone suggested learning Thai. Taking classes is a great way of scheduling your day, and you can learn a skill. You may not be able to volunteer in Thailand, but I would think that language exchange would not be considered volunteering. You could meet with local Thais in coffee shops and they can speak to you in Thai and in exchange, you can speak with them in English. A win win. It is also informal and could help you form social connections. You say that you like to travel. You could just travel to Thailand regularly for periods that are short enough that you do not get bored and you can schedule many things to do during that time to keep yourself busy. But honestly from a financial point of view for a person at a point in their life where they are “retiring”, I cannot think of a worse reason to start a business than boredom. The answer to boredom is not going to be found in taking on the risk and stress of running a business that your heart really isn’t even into. You might as well keep working in your current job.

There was also this modern dance number, that on its own would have been fine. But it was a complete non sequitor dropped into the middle of this play (either right before or right after intermission).

West Side Story was a modern (at the time) take on Romeo and Juliette. It also tackled issues like race, immigration and the role of women in society. Oh!!!!! The horror!!!!!!! Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I saw this version of Oklahoma and I thought that its’ biggest crime was that it was boring.

No need for racist slurs.

Retiring to a foreign country will require flexibility and patience on a daily basis. Things will not always go as planned or desired. Best of luck.