And the Imagination Runs WILD!!

(Currently in Koh Tao, and the internet pricing seems to be standard for all islands so I'm going to type this one out real fast.)

The imagination was running wild last night, blame it on watching (yeah! there was a TV in my overpriced room!) a violent episode of "Criminal Minds" (not even a good one, though I haven't seen any but this and another so maybe they all suck - there was no guessing whodunit because they showed you right off the bat... is that how the show works? d-u-m-b if you ask me.) right before bed and then hearing 7-8 consecutive loud bangs (gun shots?! fireworks? gun shots?!!) out in the distance. I imagined a group of rebel forces was sweeping the island, ridding it of all the tourists, and if that was the case, from the sound of the shots I only had 15 minutes - 20 minutes max - to make my move or hide. Because the door was one that had the padlock on the outside, they'd know I was there, and there was nothing I could do but wait because c'mon, if I ran where would I run? All hotels being targeted and all locals being suspicious of rebel allegiance. I prayed for my safety through the night - for my family's sake, and I supposed it wouldn't be so good for me either if I died. (Nothing like the potential threat of imminent doom to put the fear of God in a girl.)

I went to bed clutching my pillow and facing the door enabling me to act quickly if necessary - and that was sleeping on my left and I always sleep on my right, so you know the level of paranoia was high.

Sometime after midnight a massive storm started raging, enough to startle me awake, followed by another succession of loud gun-like bangs (fireworks in this weather - no way!) - dazed and confused, thinking it a part of a dream I went back to sleep.

A few hours later and the storm was still going strong and it seemed mightier as well. The power went out - not that it matter so much what with it being the dead of night and all, and me being used to no air con anyway. I just slid out from under the sheet and attempted to go back to sleep, but as my eyelids were fluttering closed I thought I saw - no I saw, I saw! - a shadow person pass by my window; I stopped breathing, my eyes widened and my mouth moved rapidly in silent prayer. I thought about my friend Sophie and how when she was staying on a beach bungalow during a stormy night a small Thai man had come to try and break in but she scared him away by going to the door and pushing it back on him. Wide-eyed and terrified she sat in the corner of her room, too scared to go to sleep when not more then 20 minutes later she heard him outside again. I forget if she had anything to hit him with just in case, but she did stand at the door and when he opened it she went on the porch and screamed bloody murder in his face. He ran away and neighbors came to the rescue.

My mind raced through my belongings for things I could use as a shield and a weapon, because I was the only one at my "resort" (read: motel) and screaming seemed useless with the howling storm still holding steady.

Needless to say, despite the rebels' activity around my location and them (not the storm, yo - shadow was too perfect on the timing) cutting my power and although I tossed and turned from a number of bad dream I came out of the night unscathed (physically).

All is well and good in the world. It's really hot here, really, really, and it's kind of nice because you spend all your time in the water, but then I wanted to read a book and I couldn't because I was sweating all over it. I even got the beads on the face sweat and that's never happened before. HOT - h-o-t!! I start my dive orientation this evening and the next three days will be spent learning and practicing, mastering and testing. BLAM!