Been a while since I last signed-in. So long, in fact that I have been classified as a board "Newbie" though I go back to 2001 or 2. Seems most of my post history has been whiped out. Too bad: it would have been humbling to read some of the dumber things I carried on about way back then. I read through this entire thread and it was nice to see some familiar board names still active.
Brought to the board this day by the sad passing of Suadum who along with "Lao Hu Li "(Frank Truman) met me at Cathouse my first night ever in Bangkok (April, 2002; 1st day of Songkran) and impressed upon me the local rules of the game, every one of which I immediately broke. It was through both of them that I was introduced to the many who became friends, a few of whom are still around.
Dan was a good friend to me. There were epic parties at his apartment along with epic visits to Washington Square, Soi Cowboy, Soi 33 and some hidden spots in between. He was fun to be with.
The discussion of the difficulty arranging board get-togethers brought to mind the ill-fated attempt, Christmas of 2002 (or was it 2003?) for what was supposed to be the first Nanaplaza.com Annual General Meeting, arranged by Lao Hu Li.
Hundreds from all over pledged to attend. Frank hired a hall, a catering crew and a decent band. Buffalo Bill put up a bunch of door prizes (one of which I won but never cashed-in, damn it)
Frank stood by the door waiting for the crowd to start showing...but they never did. Maybe 30 showed-up but not the hundreds that had pledged to attend. It was pretty much a bust and Frank took a financial hit because he hadn't asked for advance deposits which in those days, was not an easy thing to do. I remember that KS dug in and helped him out.
Those were good years back then and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it.