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Published: July 31st 2013
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Okay so the job sucked. I trained with them for like four days and I would have felt like a complete dick if I had done it. Basically they pretend to be a talent agency and prey on broke people who really want to be actors and actress. They tell them they can make all this money doing extra work they just need to get some professional photos done….by one of their studios of course. T is all just a lie to get them to buy photos. The company never gets anybody a job. So I bailed on that.
On the flip side, I have been hired as a freelance content writer for websites. It doesn’t pay well, but that’s okay I am happy to be paid to write. Eventually after you have a portfolio you can start charging more. I can’t believe that I am actually getting into writing. I have always wanted to be paid to write. The subject matter sucks but eventually I can probably write about stuff I like more, if not, as long as I can get paid more I’m good. So far I have written a blog promoting a tv show, a financial blog
Homemade Dinner
Cambodian Style explaining the benefits of interest only home mortgages, and all the content for a new website being built including press releases, business introduction letters. And you only get paid like $30 for all that. It’s a good thing I am living in a third world country because I am getting paid third world country rates to do it. I wouldn’t be able to have the time to focus on something like this in the states.
I have gotten myself all moved into my house with just one two minor hiccups along the way. The internet, which was supposed to take 5 or 6 days to hook up wound up taking over 15 days. I kept calling them and giving them hell. Finally the manager at the store gave me her wifi usb stick to use at my house until they got the problem sorted out. I’ve also had to have like 5 things fixed in my house already since moving in. The quality of all the building here is so shitty the houses are basically falling apart around you, but hey they look nice and I don’t own it so I don’t care. I got some screens installed as
Drooling
Wow! look at him drool. well so that I could keep the windows open at night and the house is nice and breezy. Unfortunately the screens on two of the sliding glass doors broke after one night and I am still waiting for them to be fixed 5 days later. It just so happens that this happened over the weekend of the Cambodian national election. So nothing has got done in Cambodia for 3 days.
Which brings me to my next section….The Cambodian national elections. There were two main parties running. The Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), led by Hun Sen, which has been in power for the last 30 years and the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP). There are a few other minor parties around and the CNRP is a combination of two of the more influential of these, the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party.
There was a lot of national spirit in the air when I was staying in Phnom Penh. It was evident. People spoke about the election and who they wanted to win. But many people were also worried about what would happen if the CPP lost. You see last time they lost an election Hun Sen would
Welcome Home
The Entrance to my community not step down and, since he controls the military, nobody was able to force him to. There wound up being riots broken up by the military. They tanks in the streets of the capital and gunfire at night. It seemed like there was a chance the CNRP might actually win. Basically the common man was voting for the CNRP and the mid to upper class and higher were voting for the CPP. The wealthy wanted to stay that way and the poor were tired of being poor. But it wasn’t just that. The young really wanted some change and many of them would cheer for the CNRP when the parades came around town. That could make a lot of difference if they vote.
So the vote has come out and no surprise the CPP won again. I think that is probably good for now in regards to the stability of the country. As much as it would be nice to curb some of the corruption here and see if the country could prosper a bit more, the truth is that it could have caused a lot of violence and bloodshed that would have been pointless because the powers that
My Street
Mine is the one with the clothes hanging on the balcony in the upper right be would stay. In my humble opinion Cambodia is at least 5 to 10 years away from being ready to handle and force the change. Once there is enough direct foreign investment here the international community will take a little more notice and that can make all the difference in the world.
So back to the house. It has been nice living in a house again. No more running Ikelos through hotel hallways hoping he would not pee. I am finally able to cook for both of us which seems to be helping Ikelos. He is pretty skinny but at least he has finally stopped throwing up for the most part. I cook him a big pot of chicken and rice every three days and mix in a little dog food or some egg and vegetables. He did get an ear infection but that is all cleared up now. I am getting used to buying things at the market and communicating in Khmer while I do it. I had to buy a lot of things for my house which got tiring. Just a lot of little stupid things you know? Mats, glasses, plates, cleaning supplies, some basic seasonings, a
My Bike
Its a piece of shit, but a good piece of shit. Hasn't let me down yet. fan, etc, etc. Some of the things I bought at the local market to save some money, but sometimes I just didn’t have the energy for all the hassle just to save a quarter here or a dollar there and I bought it at the fancy supermarket. I know I paid $0.65 for something I paid $0.50 for at the market, but I didn’t have to spend 3 minutes bargaining for it.
I also bought some cool bamboo furniture for relatively cheap. I got a stand with shelves and hooks for hanging, a cool couch, two small tables, a shoe rack, two chairs with cushions and delivery all for under $100 bucks. Seemed like a good enough deal to me. I do wish I could find some nice sheets and pillows though. The quality of most of the ones here suck and they want a lot of money for those already. Sometimes you just miss a store like Homegoods or Ross.
Oh, I have also started taking Khmer lessons now three times a week. So hopefully in three more months I will be to have some decent conversations. We’ll see.
I drove around town one day taking
Hillton Park Villa
Notice the extra l they tried to hide? photos because some of you have been asking to see where I live and what it’s like. So here they are. The photos might not be too interesting I tried to show just some basic things around town, but hey at least I actually took them with the nice camera this time. Step by step right. One day I might even take a good photo of an interesting subject with a good camera. Wow that just sounds like a lot of work already.
Below you get an in-depth view of what $400 a month gets you in Cambodia. I am sure if I wanted to wait longer or look harder I could have got an even better deal. I am about a 5 minute drive from two of the seven beaches and 5 minutes from the main market. Many people consider it too far outside of town but I love the peace and quiet. I leave my windows open all night and I don't hear a peep.
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mommy gail
non-member comment
can I come over and eat with you
Wow..what a beautiful meal and area you are living in...amazing. I could actually eat there...such heatlhy meals..no garbage at your dinner or is it breakfast....no matter.lookin real yummy love you me