Rebuilding Thailand

Well a little update for you all.

I just got my immunization shots and boy it hurt… not my arm but my bank account. I think the shots were more than what I’ll spend on my plane ticket!!!
But rest assured I could lay on a bed of rusty nails while drinking untreated water from a mosquito infested swamp and not catch a thing. I actually believe I got the shots that make mosquitoes fly away when they see you walking down the street.

So I have had to delay my flight a week to ensure my projects are totally complete. I will gladly take a week in order to have as much integrity intact with myself, my friends, clients etc.
I have made tremendous progress however and each day there are more and more items checked off my list. I had no idea how difficult it is to completely pack up your whole life in 4- weeks. WOW!!!
I haven’t been sleeping a whole lot the last couple of days just to get some extra time to work on and complete my remodel projects. I’ve never been more alive either.

The response from everyone has been just incredible. Friends, family, people I don’t even know have called and emailed with words of encouragement and tales of inspiration. I have had people share about family members that were there in Phuket as the wave hit. Friends have shared with me just what I’ve meant for them in there life and how I had certain impacts on their lives. This has been the toughest…. I hear my friends tell me this and I don’t want to leave that love. I’ve been freaked out, scared and overwhelmed at times and I use the incredible things you all have said as my motivator to accomplish what I set out to do. While I have not earned much as far as aid and sponsorship, the support you all have provided for me has been way more powerful than any amount of money.
Thank you all.

So here were a few items that were left a bit open from my last email:

The Loft
The word about the loft is this: The Landlord is requesting that whoever comes in be a business. They are trying to make this building businesses only due to insurance reasons. So if you are a photographer this is a great location to have a studio. There is a huge space on the first floor for shooting. I built a great darkroom and I’m sorry to see it go. I will be leaving the sink I built and the other darkroom stuff (enlarger, trays, etc).
In return I am going to ask for a $1500 finders/improvement/equipment fee in addition to whatever the landlord will end up charging. We can work out some form of payment so it doesn’t necessarily have to be at once.
You can see a couple images of the darkroom and the rest of the loft here: www.williambay.com/forsale

Stuff for sale
Since I will not be coming back to my loft I have no idea where or how I will be setting myself up when I get back. So there is a lot of stuff I will be selling. I will put together a more formal list in the next few days and may have a Garage(less) Sale this weekend. But for now I have some pictures www.williambay.com/forsale that you can view and if there is something you need let me know and we can work out a price. I of course have lot’s of photos that I do not want to store I will be selling these at a seriously reduced rate from my normal fine art print pricing.

What’s Left?
I am maintaining a checklist of items to get accomplished before I leave here www.williambay.com/checklist.htm . The items in red are complete. Each day the list seems to get larger. What’s great though is that I get something checked off everyday. Those days I get lots of stuff checked off are the really good ones!!!

What the hell is a Blog?
I started a Blog (web log) it’s an online journal to document my journey, to share my thoughs, adventure, photos and to stay close to you all. The Blog is here. www.williambay.com I won’t be sending emails like this in the future, everything will be posted straight to the Blog.

We are still having the party on the 12th. My friend Viviana has been wanting to do a Singles party so we will do that also and have it be Thai theme or something. Look out for the Evite coming to a mailbox near you soon.

I love you all!!!

Dear Family, Friends, Collegues, Clients,

You are receiving this email because you have been in my life to some extent, be it small or great. I would like to share this with you all, thank you for reading.

I have been so moved by the devastation in the Indian Ocean that I want to go do my part for the people. I will be closing both of my businesses and leaving for Thailand to a place called Khao Lak where the damage was the greatest, and they are still looking for missing people. I will be going to help people build their homes. I will also be doing a lot of photography and documentation.

With my Architectural background and just raw physical labor I can help them rebuild.

I will be leaving on or about the 15^th of Feburary and I am uncertain when I will return perhaps up to a year from now. I wish I could leave sooner but there are things I must first focus on and get complete before I leave.

The Plan: Well at this point there is not much of one. So far in my search for an organization to get involved with I haven’t succeeded in finding an American or European organization heading up volunteer efforts. Even the Red Cross is not accepting volunteers!

Since there is not much of a plan right now I could just be flying into Phuket airport and hitching a ride to Khao Lak and asking where to start building and helping.

I am currently trying to contact the U.S. Embassy to find out the best way to go about assisting the rebuild efforts. If you have any ties to someone that can help lpease let me know.

Support for the Thai’s: Of course money always helps, however, since I am not tied to an organization anything you would like to give would not be tax deductable unfortunately. I will be using everything I get in the form of money from supporters for construction materials to build homes and for food supplies. I will not see any of the money as I’m trying to get my travel costs donated and I will look to live with a host family while I am there and work for my share of food.

Any monetary contributions would help out hugely, you can make any checks out to William Bay and send to the address below.

What is also needed is extra clothes, canned foods, bottled water. What would be really great is your sentiments, cards, letters, pictures from people that care. It is a tourist area and there are people that speak English, so don’t worry about your message getting across, (besides compassion and love are like American Express – universally accepted and understood… no translation needed).

I’m not sure how I would get supplies over there if I end up getting a lot, but I will do it, and you can count on the Thai people getting good use from whatever you give.

As far as other help you can give for them, go there… plan a vacation to Phuket. Phuket is totally operational now and the Thai people rely heavily on tourism. And while sending money to Red Cross and the like is great, you are never really sure where that money really goes, and it does nothing to help people keep their jobs. So plan a vacation to Phuket or one of the other resorts, go play golf, go lay out on the beautiful beaches. Most of the areas have been totally cleaned up or not affected at all. Here is a status list of resorts http://www.sawasdee.com/tsunami/hotels.htm the areas in green are the places to go. Let me know if you are coming so we can meet up.

Support for me: Obviously I’ve got quite a bit to do over the next 28 days. I have to complete all my current projects I have going and close up shop for both the Photography and Drafting businesses. I must also either move all of my stuff into storage or give it to somebody, or sublet my loft and leave it furnished in which case I would need permission from my landlord. If you or anyone would be interested it’s 1200 square feet, large downstairs living area/office/full kitchen and dream darkroom, upstairs bedroom area and full bathroom. $1100 plus electric.

I also need a home for my twin orange tabbies (Kazoo and B-Side) they are 6 years old and act just like twin brothers. If you’ve ever been to one of our parties they’re the one that you saw and then the other one that you just saw that you thought just walked out of the room.

Other items I need assistance with:

I need to secure airline tickets to Phuket and would like to have them donated for me and another gentleman that will be going at the same time as me. If you have any information of who to speak to (like P.R. department or sales) on any of the carriers that go to Phuket or Bangkok for that matter it would be of huge significance to me.

I have a number of minor things that need to be taken care of also, things as small as errands, tax stuff, business stuff, personal stuff. If you have any time to spare or would just like to assist me getting these things handled please let me know. I will form a list of everything that needs to be taken care of so that I can be efficient with any time you give me.

I would like to put together a blog to keep people up to date and share photos. I have a domain I would like to host it off of, but I need someone skilled in setting one up to get it functional, if you can donate your time to setting one up I would appreciate a call or email.

I have a few items to lend out while I’m gone:

My 9’0” surfboard needs a good home

I have a Fernandez Jazz Bass and small amp

I also have a lot of CD’s (which reminds me, I am looking for a donated iPod so I can take some of my music with me while I’m there.)

Going Away Party: I want to be with all the people I love and have been aquainted with before I leave. With that said why not have a party!!! On Feburary 12^th I will hold a party here at the loft downtown and you are invited to be here. We will celebrate friendships, as well as Abraham Lincolns birthday and an early Valentines. I will also be sending out an eVite with all the info.

I want to thank you, everyone that gets this email. Whether you were a big part of my life or a tiny one, whether we were best friends or we have our differences… Thank you.

I’ve truly found that it’s times like these that you really find out what it’s like to be human and how much of a difference we can have for people in the world.

If you have any other ideas, resources, or would just like to chat before I leave please feel free to contact me or pass this email along to someone else.

And if you would not like to receive any other correspondence please let me know.

Love,

William