Showing 1 - 10 of 96
Four weddings and a lot of romance
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 07/12/2015
» With so much hatred in the world going on at the moment, I think it's time to talk about love.
A question of common sense
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 23/11/2015
» I've been asking the wrong question all my life. From the moment you embark on a professional career, you ask: "How high is my salary going to be?". My starting salary upon graduating was a mere pittance -- a couple of thousand baht for a bachelor's degree entrance level job in government service. That was more than a few years ago, mind you.
Bewitched, bothered and bewildered
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 16/11/2015
» I find it quite amusing and amazing how Thai people live their lives like planets orbiting around various stars. The stars I'm talking about are not the celestial kind, but stars in the entertainment industry. I'm not sure how many people could name any members of the current cabinet apart from the prime minister. But ask them about their favourite actors and actresses, they would come up with an immediate list, and tell you which television series they were in.
The quick fix bane of street food
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 09/11/2015
» Despite the proliferation of som tum carts in every nook and cranny of the city, do you realise how hard it is to find a really delicious som tum nowadays?
Sweeping dust under the carpet
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 26/10/2015
» There's been a lot of effort on the part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to "regulate" streetside vendors. Silom Road was a prime target area, followed by Saphan Lek and various other locations in the city. In some areas, not only were vendors using up pavement space to sell their wares, they had also erected semi-permanent structures with steel reinforcements.
The dying art of courtesy
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 12/10/2015
» Isn't it strange that the careers we once idolised when we were young have somehow lost their aura now.
Log out for life in the slow lane
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 05/10/2015
» It's quite amazing how dependent we are on technology. The other day, the internet was down at the office, making life quite miserable for those working on a deadline. My emails were not coming through, I couldn't download pictures, and I couldn't use Google to check facts. Only the spinning icon seemed to be working.
It isn't all just entertainment
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 21/09/2015
» It's a bit appalling when you wake up to watch the morning news and you find, on what is arguably the country's most watched programme, this sort of content: An offer of five programme T-shirts, emblazoned with a cartoon version of the news anchor's face, to winners of the day's "Viewers' Top Picks".
Rising above greed
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 14/09/2015
» Of the Seven Deadly Sins -- Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride -- I'm quite certain that Greed is the root of most of the depravity that goes on in society today.
Teach our children how to think
Life, Usnisa Sukhsvasti, Published on 07/09/2015
» Politics and religion may be taboo conversation subjects, but the subject of education in Thailand is always a great way to get the ball rolling. Everyone has a story to tell and everyone has an opinion to give. Not much of it is positive. The recent announcement by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) that schools are going to reduce class hours from eight hours a day to six in order to give children time for more extra-curricular activities has caused a lot more concern than praise. I don't think the quantity is going to make any difference, if the quality of teaching is not up to standard and you're not going to get quality teaching in the classroom if you can't pay teachers a reasonable salary. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Just to put things into perspective, according to figures from the 2015 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Switzerland is the country with the most well-paid teachers.