Dealing with condo management is an ongoing ordeal in any country, and Thailand is no different. Throw in the language differences and you have a recipe for either disaster or hilarity – thankfully, I was faced with the latter choice a few years ago. I could have sworn I put this up on my blog a long time ago but can’t find it anymore; at any rate, as I’m moving out of my apartment and into a new place at the end of the month, I thought I’d post this again as a send-off to the wacky management of my old condo, and an example of how awesome it can be when frustration gets channeled through a language barrier.
Some backstory: I had a party at my place one night – good drinks, good food, good folks, you know the drill. Anyway, one of my friends – who shall remain nameless and blurry – decided it’d be fun to play with the video camera in the elevator. The next day I found this sheet of paper under my door, written by my helpful condo super Watana. Apparently my friend’s fiddling had broken the camera, and he wanted to let me know how he felt about that.
At least he was honest with his feelings on the matter.
Well, a few weeks later Watana left his job and that’s the last I heard of him. I felt a bit guilty about the whole thing, but I still can’t help but laugh.
that was awesome! I wonder what kind of crazy letters he could spin up in Thai. Shudder.
Don't think the language barrier is an excuse here. Everyone knows F.U. is not exactly the most polite English expression, despite their endearing usage including the first-person-pronoun. Too bad Watana was not a girl, you could have taken her up on the offer.
Dibs on "I am Watana" for a screenplay title.
Yeah, it's not fair that you got blamed for that. But in all fairness, what your friend did was kind of douchey, don't you think? Besides, eventually it's the other residents that will have to cover the expense of replacing the camera. If I were in charge of the building, I'd be pissed too.
Well, yeah, my friend maybe shouldn't have played with the camera. He swears he didn't break it, and when you consider the advanced state of dishevelment my building is in, it very well could have broken on its own, as most things there are wont to do. Although I guess that when one of the elevators finally crashes to the ground due to neglect, a camera inside would come in a bit handy… 😀
you have little reason to laugh – the lift worked, the light in the lift worked, the camera worked, the management guy was working and his letter absolutely GOT the point – be happy that you didnt get beaten up from the office guys … imagine a drunk bunch of asians would do such stupid stuff in your home country – you would sue them like hell, wouldn't you ?
Oh my God, I laughed out loud at Foo's comment about "I am Watana" for a movie title. That would be just about the most apt Thai movie ever.
You've gotta love Thais though. With some of the things they say in English they have no idea how funny they are.
"I am Wattana". Now I'm going to have visions of a little Muay Thai fighter running around Bangkok with his boxing glove in one hand and pen and paper in the other.
Absolutely classic. Thanks for the laugh 🙂
LOL, what a funny story. I have to agree with Chris though, what your friend did was certainly uncalled for. Then again, what your friends do is out of your hands so it's not like it was your fault. Oh well, people make mistakes. Love the photos and the guys message to you.
Not often does the internet genuinely make me lol
So, thanks for the laughs.
Thanks Nathan, glad you got a laugh out of it. I'm now happily ensconced in a new apartment, and hoping to bother the landlord in the same way. 😛