Doin' Nuthin'

We went for a family holiday at the beach: Koh Samet. Personally, I don't like Koh Samet: no internet, crappy coffee, overpriced everything, miserable water pressure, and sand gets everywhere. But the boys like it and Poo loves it, so we go there for family holidays.

I finally realize why Poo loves the beach: she is a master at the Art of Doing Nothing. I think it's in her genes.

If there were an Olympic event: Doing Nothing, Thailand would sweep the medals. I watched nine Thai adults doing nothing. A woman was inspecting her fingernails and a man was chewing a toothpick; otherwise, there was absolutely zero action. A minute later, two of them exchanged a little joke and a laugh; a couple of minutes on, a woman ran her hand through her hair. That was it.

It is completely alien to me. While Poo is Doing Nothing, I am churning through Sudokus, Jumbles and Crosswords, reading a book, or swimming. Children are not so good at Doing Nothing, either. They usually engage themselves in a constructive industry, such as building sand castles or capturing defenseless crabs.

Actually, Poo is not quite doing nothing. Once, I was watching her do nothing and admiring her contentment, so I asked, "Poo, do like to just sit there and do nothing?"

"I am not doing nothing!," she objected, "I am watching the boys play. Also, do you see that woman with cellulite and a big ass. I see that and it makes me happy, because now I can look in the mirror and think, 'Ahhh, I am still OK!'"