Jay

About Me

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My Life Story

Fluent in English and Thai (you may e-mail me in English, Thai, and Simplified Chinese), I used to speak French and have a rudimentary knowledge of ASL, Spanish, Lao, and Vietnamese.
My childhood experiences left me with a life-long love of learning languages. I can say at least a few words (mostly things like "Thank you" and "I don't understand") in Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Russian, Arabic, Swahili, Farsi, Tagalog, and a number of others.
Born September 11th 1960 in Washington DC (back when that was just another day), I spent 3.5 of my formative childhood years in Thailand (including 1+ year in a remote Nakhon Sawan farming community when I was 10), as well as living in the DC Meto area, Chapel Hill NC, Austin TX, attending High School in East Lansing MI (came perilously close to graduating).
In 2000 (BE 2543) I returned to the district town of Krok Phra in Nakhon Sawan Thailand and celebrated my 40th b-day just blocks from the spot where I had turned 10. From that I made plans to follow the Thai coming of age ritual of temporarily becoming a Bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) at the village temple where my family had joined our neighbors in celebrating holidays.
After my ordination June 2001 (BE 2544) my initial plans were to spend one 3 month rainy season (one Buddhist "Lent") in the robes. Due to facination with the philosophy, meditation, and it's influence on my boyhood home, this short stay turned into 3 years in the monkhood (3 rainy seasons and an additional 6 months in the royal Dhammayuta Order) and travel as an ascetic wandering monk in every region of Thailand (including a 500 Km barefoot trek which lasted 2 months and included the practice of eating one meal a day and never accepting or handling money).
I realized that I was not meant to walk that path for "the duration" still having a destiny in the world of a "householder", so I "took leave of the teachings" and returned to the US in June 2004. I moved to Bar Harbor, Maine, on Mount Desert Island and spent my first summer back working and living here. Thanks to the generousity of family and a kind hearted property owner, I am now buying my first home here, just a stone's throw from Acadia National Park (which comprises roughly half the island).

Totally Random Entertainment

Tour of The Opera House Internet Cafe
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 USA
(c)2005 Jay Riley, All rights reserved.
Get this video and more at MySpace.com
"MySpace Mixdown"...Too Funny!
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The Fine Print

Except for friends list or where otherwise noted, all
content, images, and blog entries on this profile are
Copyright © 2005-2007 J. N. Riley Jr.
All rights reserved, Worldwide.

My Interests

My interests include General Aviation (off again on again off again student pilot 20+ hrs in my log and still no sign of my first solo), Music (have played in garage bands before), Buddhist Meditation (one of the cooler things I brought back with me from 3 years following the Thai coming of age ritual of being a Bhikkhu), Hiking (walked 500Km barefoot as a monk, and now live on Mount Desert Island which is 1/3 Acadia National Forest...hiker's paradise), Computers & Internet & Online Community (Duh)

I'd like to meet:

I would love to meet all of the awesome people in my friends list...like who is this Tom guy and what's his secret to making so many friends? :P

Leave A Comment!

Music:

My iTunes collection (now on my new black iPod Video 60gb from Apple Computer ^_^):

With iPodLinux Loaded
(iPod Video is not officially supported
by the current version of iPodLinux)

The Beatles...and...3249 tracks from 297 albums by 618 artists in 38 genres including Alternative, Aternative & Punk, Emo, Blues, Cabaret, Classical, Country, Easy Listening, Electronica/Dance, Hip Hop/Rap, Holiday, Jazz, Latin, Metal, Musical, New Age, Other, Pop, R&B, R&B/Soul, Reggae, Rock, Soft Rock, Soul, Soundtrack, World...and of course The Beatles.

Most recently got:

"Blue" (Third Eye Blind), "Chris Cagle" (self titled), "Loser" (Beck), "Come Out And Play" and "Self Esteem" (The Offspring), "Fallen" (Evanescence), "The Best of The Who" (The Who), "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" (Louis XIV), album "Songs About Jane" (Maroon 5), "Every Day Is Halloween" (Ministry), album "No Doubt: The Singles 1994-2003" (No Doubt), "Thong Song" (Sisqo), and "If You Could Only See" (Tonic)...(from iTunes Music Store )

and

A couple of classical compilations (4 disks total) all for the price of one CD of something more modern, also a CD rip of the Dalai Lama chanting in Sanskrit (freely distributed as a gift of Dharma ^_^).

Movies:

House of Flying Daggers, National Treasure, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire, The Island, Suriyothai, Hero, Minority Report, The Fifth Element, Like Water for Chocolate, Die Hard (all), The Matrix (all), Bug's Life, Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Star Trek (any), Star Wars (any), Toy Story, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Crow, The Lord of the Rings (waited over 30 years to see that made into a movie...worth the wait!),
Almost anything with Jim Carrey, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chang, anything by Wes Craven or Tim Burton, anything from Pixar, also most Sci-Fi, Action, good Comedy, Horror and Supernatural
Not too long ago saw Harry Potter (the first 3 in one sitting...still haven't made time to read the books), Passion of the Christ, The Mask, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Pirates of the Carribean, American Pie (all 3), Bruce Almighty, Ghost Ship, Kill Bill (I & II), The Order...I had to play catch-up after being out of the country 3 years! :P

Television:

I'm a major news junkie (CNN Headline News is a way of life), and I've recently started watching FUSE which is totally awesome (seems to be like MTV during the early years...but with the advantage of computer graphics and the new more sophisticated generation of music vids). I also like movie channels like HBO, ShowTime, and STARZ...love Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy, Horror. Between the broadband internet and my new DirecTV hookup my legs will soon atrophy from lack of use (traded in my Dish Network).

Books:

A Brief History of Time, Chaos: Making a New Science, The The Foundation Triliogy, I Robot, Lord of the Rings, Wrinkle in Time, Ramakian (Thai Ramayana), The Wizard of Oz (series), Cancer Ward, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, The Mayor of Caterbridge, The Tipitaka (Vinaya, Dhamma, Abhidhamma).

Much of what I read these days seems to come from the net.

Heroes:

Those who have the courage to be themselves in the face of adversity and pressure to conform.

You may be one of them! ^_^

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
"I Have A Dream"

My Blog

Tail Of Two Kitties

Whether someone knew I was a former Buddhist monk or he just had some good karma built up, a small grey kitten showed up at my door after a severe rain storm as the snows were melting in March. The fr...
Posted by Jay on Thu, 01 May 2008 02:42:00 PST

Happy Patriots Day

For 41 years September 11th was just my birthday. On my 41st a small group of unhappy madmen tried to intimidate my fellow Americans by blowing a building full of innocent people.Happily it was early ...
Posted by Jay on Mon, 11 Sep 2006 11:33:00 PST

A Sonnet for an Angelic Love

A Sonnet for an Angelic Love I promised to faithfully wait for you, So priorities I have rearranged; To you and your love I have remained true, Because of this faith my whole life has changed; ...
Posted by Jay on Mon, 27 Feb 2006 02:47:00 PST

A Sonnet for My Valentine Love

Conceived in love on Valentines Day, she is one of God's great gifts to the world. She has compassion for all who are in need, and is the bane of any who would harm others...I pray this simple sonnet ...
Posted by Jay on Thu, 16 Feb 2006 03:41:00 PST

A Sonnet for a Star-Crossed Love

I believe that the awesome person who inspired this (and the other sonnets I've posted here) knows I still love her and think of her often (even when we're not able to be together). I pray that all my...
Posted by Jay on Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:15:00 PST

A Sonnet for a Love Worth Keeping

A Sonnet for a Love Worth Keeping If you can find a sweeter love than ours, Don't hesitate to leave this one behind; And tho' I'll miss our kisses 'neath the stars, If you are happy, somehow I w...
Posted by Jay on Sat, 04 Feb 2006 02:30:00 PST

Ten Tasteless Emo Jokes

Here are some emo jokes I've found online...I take no credit or blame for any of them .. The humor tends be a bit dark but I think that sort of goes with the territory. How many emo kids does it ta...
Posted by Jay on Sat, 04 Feb 2006 03:06:00 PST

I Have A Dream

My mother (who passed away 14 years ago) was a strong proponent of civil rights and was very proud of having joined in the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous March on Washington. I consider Dr. ...
Posted by Jay on Mon, 16 Jan 2006 09:29:00 PST

A Sonnet for a Sweet Summer Love

A Sonnet for a Sweet Summer Love The beauty deep within you will not fade, When long your crimson locks have lost their hue; Impassioned ocean's surf which we did wade, Will quiet long before my...
Posted by Jay on Wed, 04 Jan 2006 03:12:00 PST

What a Beautiful Day