I woke up around 10 today. I wondered about my fever, but surprisingly it had gone down. It had been more than six hours since I took paracetamol, yet I didn't feel feverish. I felt very relieved.
The reason is that last night my fever rose so high I thought it might hit 40°C, and even after taking 1000 mg of paracetamol I didn't sweat much. My body's temperature threshold had gone up that much. So I was really relieved. But complacency is dangerous. Today is a day to rest.
A Ticket to Ayutthaya and the Resolve for 12 Hours
Tomorrow I'm heading to Ayutthaya; I've arranged to meet a friend. I want to go no matter what. Considering my condition, it seemed okay, so I decided to buy a ticket. It departs tomorrow at 14:00 and arrives at 15:00. When I went before it took about three hours, but this time it's supposedly one hour. Maybe before I bought at the ticket booth, but this time I bought through an app. I plan to stay in Ayutthaya for three days.
After buying the ticket I thought about booking a train to Chiang Mai. But all the sleeper cars were sold out. Reluctantly, I tried to buy a second-class ticket, and that also sold out in real time. I considered flying too, but it seemed like too much hassle, so I decided to bite the bullet and take on the ultimate challenge: spending 12 hours sitting in a seat.
The longest I've ridden a train is eight hours in Vietnam, but 12 hours is really a first for me. It's definitely a new challenge. On the contrary, let's just enjoy the situation.
Because I'm buying last-minute, prices are higher or there might be no tickets. If there aren't any, you just have to choose whatever options are available. That's life, I guess. Sometimes 'acceptance' is important. Even so, spending 12 hours straight on a train feels like some kind of adventure. I wonder what I'll be like afterward. Well, I don't think anything will go terribly wrong.
The Night Yoshinoya Disappeared, Saved by Katsuya
I decided to go to Yoshinoya for dinner. I was really hungry, so I walked toward the area near Siam station. There's one at nearby Central World, but it's boring to always go there. It was raining so I put on a raincoat and left, but the rain stopped quickly. Because I had taken paracetamol and couldn't stop sweating, I took off and folded the raincoat.
Just when I thought I had arrived safely, I found that Yoshinoya had closed. It seems it's being replaced by a different store. So I went to the nearby "Katsuya" instead. It's one of my favorite places. You can eat there at a reasonable price even in Thailand. I love food, but I don't really desire expensive dishes. So I always pick cheap options. Of course, I still consider nutrition.
I ordered the large roast pork cutlet set and some tea. Hot tea is free in Japan, but in Thailand it's 225 yen. Expensive. But I was happy to drink Japanese tea after a long time. I had a refill, but it felt like they were pouring tea from a very small thermos, just like the water bottles from elementary school. It really made me nostalgic to drink tea from a flask back then.
Short-term Gains Are Long-term Losses
I went back to the hotel and worked. Right now I'm partnered with several companies and have contracts to work a fixed amount of time every day. But I feel that's a bit of an obstacle to creating creative work while traveling around the world. Also, I've noticed that that line of work is on a downward trend.
I thought it's time to start thinking for myself. It's hard to keep pushing a business in a shrinking market. It's like struggling within a falling range. I don't think that's my place.
Of course, there are immediate temptations. The short-term plus of earning this much money if I work today. But viewed long-term, it's a loss. Short-term gains are long-term losses. We need to do things that may be a loss or break-even in the short term but profitable in the long term. Even if it's tough and hard in the short term, it becomes much easier in the long term. This is what I think we should choose.
Chiang Mai Is Waiting
Alright, Chiang Mai is almost here. I'll stay here for a month, go to the gym every day, and build my body. This is the thing I want to do most and is one of my goals for the year. I'm getting excited.
At night I studied React a little. Since I'm also an engineer, I don't think React, which is an extension of what I'm already doing, is that difficult. But rather than building everything from scratch, I'll let AI handle what it can and understand the basics. If I can look at AI-generated code and understand what it's doing, that's enough. AI is becoming mainstream—how could I not rely on it? Okay, let's do our best. And enjoy it.
Three Daily Habits
I have three habits: "do jaw exercises while taking a shower," "record and upload a French diary every day," and "spend 30 minutes daily reading or studying React." I continue these every day. Life is consistency and improvement. I believe that just that is enough for everything to go well.
