Congrats, and seems like you've come a long ways!

I'm curious, what's your spoken Thai like? That's where I have the biggest problem, and should probably quit being so lazy, and grab myself a teacher one of these days. I know loads of words, but many people can't understand me worth a shit. If they know me, they can understand what I'm saying, because they know to be lenient with my pronunciation. If it's just a regular person on the street though, it's a 50/50 thing. They'll catch some words I'm saying, but definitely not all.

For example, р╕Х just like you mentioned in a headache for me. Nobody understands me when I try to say sugar (р╕Щр╣Йр╕│р╕Хр╕▓р╕е -- nam-dtaan) for example. For whatever reason, I just can't say it right, and just get deer-in-the-headlight stares.