Ugly part of the job...

So tonight I had to go out with the team we are visiting and enjoy dinner with them. Unfortunately, the cultural part of the dinner includes drinking moonshine with the Vietnamese team members. I just got back from the dinner and it isn't even 9:00pm yet and I just feel really like crap. I didn't drink that much, not really... I don't think. But it sure is sticking to my stomach right now. I just wish I didn't have to do it...

The visit, otherwise, was good. I went on an investigation today in which we visited an incident location that a small recon team got ambushed and three of the four guys got whacked. The fourth guy managed to make it back, and it was his statement that we were investigating. Unfortunately, it was way to general to get it down to a location we can dig... that is in my honest opinion only. If some additional information comes to light, the powers that be (should that be capitalized?) will have to re-assess.

I can't hardly keep my eyes open now. I guess I need sleep.... see you in the morning. Night Night.

Job Seeking

I have been doing this job for some seven years now. I really owe this job a huge debt of grattitude because it literally saved me from lower income Mobile, AL. I have truly enjoyed most of the duties associated with this job and I could probably do it for the rest of my life. With that in mind, I am not sure what impulse I had that made me submit my resume for a job in Hawaii. Granted, the job in Hawaii is with the same organization and the head of the office that I applied to work in knows me well, but it is still something new... and seemingly unnecessary.

I guess the first thing to point out is that just because you apply for a job doesn't mean you are going to get it. I am sure other people will apply for the same job and they may be equally or more qualified than me to get it, so I shouldn't be going about it like I have the job, yet... because I don't. Secondly, I have a huge list of reasons that I should be thinking about a new job:
1. Health - As an interpreter, my hearing is very important, and quite frankly an ear infection last year has left me with a ringing in my ear that makes it perceptibly harder to hear what someone is saying
2. Job Security - I have a job now, but this job won't last forever and I don't have any real sellable skills that I can put on paper. This new job will do that for me if I get it.
3. Family - Megan really wants to go to a US high school. I am not sure why, but I respect her right to enjoy her teenage years in America... if I can swing it.
4. Perception - Out of jealousy or just idle talking, there are those that may say I have been here too long. That may be bullshit because the chances are the person is saying it because I have an opposing opinion as to how to approach an issue. For the record I am usually right. Anyway, getting a stateside job would give me that time away to refocus and the possible option of returning in three years if I wanted.
5. The opportunity for more responsibility - My job here is what it is. Because of the nature of what I do here, I will never get more responsibility... there just isn't anywhere to grow. This new job has lots of room for expansion.
6. The opportunity to buy a house - I am not sure I could afford a house in Hawaii, but it would be a good time to buy with the market down like it is.
7. A time to enjoy everything that is America - America is a great place and as an American I have the right to enjoy it.

Of course, the biggest reason not to leave this job goes back to the old addage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". If this doesn't pan out for the hundreds of reasons that it could go wrong, it ma be a while before I apply for another job again, because I do enjoy this job.

Call it God, or Kharma or Fate. I figure if God wants me to take this job he will open the door and let me walk in. What better reason than that.

The Toothpaste

It seems like all of my life I have dealth with this issue. The tube of toothpaste is nearly empty... some would say completely empty, but every time I think it will be time to throw the tube away I am able to squeeze out just enough for another brushing. A tube of toothpaste is very similar to the gas needle in the car. When it is full, it feels full for a very long time, but at some point just after it drops from full, it falls rapidly towards the empty line. The difference is, the tube of toothpaste will stay at empty and continue to provide output ad infinitum. At least it seems that way.

So I am struggling with whether to throw this tube of toothpaste away or not. I really should, because I have a new tube under the sink just begging to be opened. But, I just can't seem to make myself throw it away. This morning, seemingly empty of any paste it STILL poured forth. I can't stand it. I ain't cheap! I can afford toothpaste for sure. I just can't make myself do it.

Something tells me I have talked myself into throwing the tube away tonight. I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt me. Having Euthanized my tube before it was due.

Bag of Bones

I just finished reading a book by Stephen King titled Bag of Bones. The book was written ten years ago, but I happened to find it on a bulging shelf at the office about two weeks ago and I thought I would give it a read. I rarely read for enjoyment anymore because Diep doesn't like it when I get enthralled in a book and pretty much ignore everything else. She didn't have much of a choice in letting me finish this book because I started it when she was visiting her family in Saigon. Now that I am done, I think I will not try to start another book until I start my site visits to the teams soon to arrive here for the next search iteration.

I found the book fascinating, as I usually do with Stephen King books, because of the mystery and suspense related to spirits and ghosts. The great detail in which Stephen King writes also gave me another interesting aspect on how far we have come in technology in just 10 years... 10 years that just flew by for me. It was extremely well-written capturing details of everyday life including computers, TVs, VCRs, etc., and in the fascinating genre of ghost stories.

Unfortunately, the day after I finished the book I got news that a friend of mine died. He wasn't young, nor was he old, at the age of around 64. He told me just a few months ago of his plans to retire and buy a condo in Bangkok, Thailand. He had delayed his retirement a few months, apparently to save a few more dollars before he put in his papers, and before he got to retire he died on vacation still working out the details of the condo. I have to admit, though, when I kick the bucket, I hope I go like him. He fell asleep in the middle of a Thai massage and didn't wake up.

I have personally been looking at how long it will be before I can retire. My dad did it right by retiring around 50 and enjoying a huge amount of free time since then... at the age of 72. That won't happen for me. It ain't likely, anyway. I will probably end up like my friend. Dreaming of that day of retirement and free living, only to have it snatched out from under me just before it happens.

All things as they are, if I never do get to retire, at least I am doing something that keeps life interesting. I get to travel a lot and my tasks are diverse enough that I don't get bored out of my skull. The only thing is, this is a young man's job and I am not sure how much longer I can qualify under the category of "young man".

Water Boarding Nancy Pelosi

When I run on the treadmill, I usually watch one of the cable news channels. That means I usually end up yelling at the screen at some point during the run because someone has said something stupid, or incredibly hard to believe. Case in point: Nancy Pelosi claiming she wasn't briefed on water boarding. The way I see it, water boarding is torture, but not much worse than tickling someone until they can't breath or holding someone to your butt while you fart. It is bad, and you feel like you are dying (you have to smell my farts to understand my analogy here), but there is no permanent damage. Anyway, I know in my heart of hearts that old Nancy knew about the water boarding and that she could have stopped it if she really wanted to. Hell, I knew about the water boarding, how can she say she didn't know. Even if she wasn't briefed, there was enough rumour out there that she could have summoned someone to brief her in detail. My disatisfaction with her is that she won't tell the truth. Hey Nancy! Why don't you just say, "Yes, I knew about it. I was even briefed. At the time, I didn't agree with it but had to weigh the best interests of the country against this persons human rights. After further consideration, I now think it was wrong and it should be stopped." Honesty just goes down so much better. Especially when you don't have reasonable, plausible deniability.

Sorry about the tirade. I see so many things on the tube that infuriate me during my runs, but rarely do they stick after I finished my run and get home to the computer. For some reason, this one did.

The dead gecko

I was in the house two nights ago and just before I went to bed, I went to the front door and made sure it was locked. Our house has a wood floor with a small tiled area right in front of the door. As I was stepping off of the wood onto the tile, I felt a dry leathery strip under my foot. I checked it out quickly and didn't notice anything... and didn't think much of it because this is where everyone takes their shoes off before stepping into the house proper. The next morning, Diep was talking to the floor, or so I thought. She asked, "What happened to you?" and I saw she was talking to a dead gecko. The one I inadvertantly smooshed the night before.

For some reasons, I felt much worse about that than my practical mind tells me I should. Geckos in our house are plentiful and Diep hates them. Sure, they eat mosquitos in the house, but they also crap all over the place. Little balls of bug carcasses wrapped in gecko fecies! I know they can't help it, and it is partially our fault for not placing little inverted gecko toilets all over the walls and ceilings in the apartment, but nobody likes to see a gecko turd drop in their morning coffee, regardless.

Obviously the lizard outside of my office heard about the human brute who took out his gecko cousin. The lizard, commonly known as the fuck you lizard, gave me three good "fuck you"s the next day. Maybe he didn't really know, but it must be pretty cool to be a lizard that can belt out only two words that just happen to be "fuck you". I saw him one day on the roof of the adjacent building declaring his statement, when a cat went on the prowl... he almost became that cat's lunch. But so far, he has survived and I find it somewhat comforting that there is more than one creature in the vicinity of this building, namely me, who wants to belt out fuck you to the world every now and then.

Last day before the madness

Today is the last day at the office before everyone gets back and things just sort of go mad. I have enjoyed the past three days, and even the passport application process went much better than I ever could have imagined. Megan will have a new tourist passport in 7 - 10 days. Of course, while I was there I was told I need to start the process for our new diplomatic passports that are do to expire in about 6 months. If it ain't one thing, it is the other.

The weather here in Hanoi is really flaky right now. This morning it was really cloudy and muggy when I went running. Then, when I got in the vehicle to come to work it was clearing up and by the time I got to work it was sunny out. A couple of hours later it was raining pretty heavy, but it has since stopped and the sun is peaking out again. The humidity is horrible right now... I just can't do a thing with my hair, so I got a haircut today. As short as it is now, it pretty much only does one thing... stick up!

I am starting to think about summer break a lot now. Since I have to work up until around 1 July, but Megan gets out of school in the middle of June, I think I will send Diep and Megan to Saigon to chill for about two weeks. We will meet up in Hanoi to fly out to the U.S. I suppose I will go to Mobile right off the bat, but I was looking at some places of entertainment we might be interested in. As cheesy at it sounds, I am looking at Dollywood in Pigeon Ford, Tennessee. Megan loves adrenaline rides and there are a couple of roller coasters I bet she would love there. I also saw an Armed Forces Network clip on indoor skydiving at Pigeon Ford. I KNOW Megan would love that. The whole skydiving thing without actually having to jump out of an airplane... and being able to do it at the tender age of 13! All of this is still on the drafting boards. I may have to add some other segments to the trip. I wouldn't mind going to Austin again, or some other place in the general vicinity. I would truly love to go to Colorado, but I am not sure what I would do there. Still some time to think about this.

New Tourist Passport for Megan

Megan has to get a new tourist passport today. I have been putting this off for a long time, not because I was procrastinating - something I do quite often - but because Megan has to take the morning off and Diep has to go with us to the consular section to apply. I had a really bad experience at the consular section with a local national not too long ago and now I really don't like to go over there. I guess I should tell the story of what happened, but quite honestly it would just get my blood boiling again, and I really don't want that. Just suffice it to say, if the lady who gave me the hard time got fired over it, I wouldn't feel the least bit of remorse.

Anyway, I got out Megan's old passport because I may have to show the old one when applying for the new one. She was just shy of three years old and cute as a button. I like her just fine now, but it sure does bring back the memories remembering when we took the picture and made the initial application. Things were really up in the air then and we were headlong heading back to the U.S. I had to leave first and it was a few months before we finished the paperwork for them. I hope we aren't separated that long as a family ever again.

Well, I better be off. I want to get this over with.

The Best Mother's Day EVER!

The weekend went by rather fast, and quite honestly I can't say that I remember much, if anything, about Saturday. Sunday - Mother's Day - started out a rather lazy day. We went to eat lunch at the Thai Express, a Thai fast food restaurant in the center of Hanoi, and then stopped at Fanny's Ice Cream shop, finally we came home and sort of crashed. I went for a quick workout and ran another errand, but Diep and Megan just stayed at home and relaxed.

For dinner, Diep and I took two of Diep's Philippino women friends out to eat. This was for Diep and I was really just the money carrier. I stayed on my best behavior, purposefully saying little and putting great thought into what I actually did say, so as not to have anyone thing I was rude, crass, silly, or just plain stupid. I asked a lot of questions because I know people like to answer questions. It gives them an opportunity to talk about themselves... most people's favorite subject. I learned this fact a long time ago: Most people will walk away from a conversation thinking I am the greatest conversationalist in the world if I just ask a lot of questions and let the other person talk away. Anyway, Diep had a great evening and even went so far as to say it was her favorite Mother's Day ever! I didn't bother to tell her that leaving her daughter at home to eat pizza while she went out fine-dining sort of left out the "meaning" of the day. All being fair, we did spend the rest of a really good day with Megan. AND Megan did say she didn't want to go to dinner (who could blame her since no other kids would be there?) -- I am laughing on the inside as I write this.

So, now I am at work on Monday with only one other person working. Everyone else went to Danang to see in an advance team. Frankly, I wasn't needed for the work and I am not put out having to stay here to house sit the office.

Diep is home

Diep returned yesterday and all was good with the world. She seems to have had a good time visiting her mother and siblings and contentment in her return. Of course, Megan and I missed her, but in another strange way didn't notice much that she was gone. Megan had several projects due this week for school and I was just exhausted from the things I was doing at work. We had our routine of coming home, Megan doing her homework and me taking timeout on the couch until later in the evening when some of our shows came on.

While Diep was gone I was able to start reading a little again. I started Bag of Bones written by Stephen King, but I wasn't able to finish it before she got back. Diep doesn't like me reading while she is around... I sort of get that, because reading is an individual activity. She would much rather me watch TV, no matter how mind-numbing the subject is on the tube.

I will have plenty of time in the near future to read. My schedule is pretty full with travel and being in some pretty boring provinces. TV on the road is often lacking, and it gives me good opportunity to read. Unfortunately, I sometimes get caught up doing dinner and a couple of beers with whoever it is I am traveling with, leaving precious little time to actually read.

Third day without my Diep

Today is day 3 without Diep. Megan and I have been doing well enough, though I made the mistake of splitting days with her to do the dishes. I never have to do dishes when Diep is home.

The weather in Hanoi is getting warmer. Pretty soon it will be hot again and I won't feel like even going outside. Fortunately, I spend about a month out of every summer in the U.S. on vacation, managing to avoid the hotest month/months here in Hanoi.

Our operations will begin soon and it looks like I will be traveling a little more than I had been in the last field activities. Spending a goodly portion of time in the central provinces of Vietnam this time. The temps can get up into the 110s to 120s in some of these areas during the summer, but our teams are smart enough to stay out of the sun when they get that high. It shouldn't be too bad in the activity since it is not yet smack dab in the middle of summer.

It has been increasingly difficult for me to stay focused these past few weeks. Mostly because I worked my ass off in the last field activity and secondly because I know I will be in high gear again beginning in just a few days. I definitely need a break, but I really can't take it right now. I suppose I can wait until summer, but it sure feels like a long way off right now.

Megan seems pretty focused! I really don't know how she does it. She comes home after a full day of school and sits down to do her homework, sometimes for long periods of time. I know she is doing homework because she is sititng at her computer with the ADSL modem off. There really isn't mcuh else for her to do if she can't chat or surf the net. I hope she keeps it up. She is learning things that I don't think most seventh graders in the US are getting to yet. She can put together quality reports and power point presentations, and even collaborate with other students on mega-projects. I know computers and the internet makes it easier, but she doesn't cut and paste from online material. I am pretty sure of that. I have also seen some of her creative writing. She writes some pretty good fiction... stuff I definitely wouldn't expect from a grade schooler. Anyway, enough about her... this is my blog.

Feeling like lunch right now...

Diep in Saigon

Today, Diep went to Saigon. She won't be back until Thursday, so Megan and I will have to take care of ourselves in the meantime.

Today Megan and I went to the movie together. We saw Know1ng with Nicholas Cage. It was definitely worth leaving the house for and I am glad we got the chance to see it. Megan and I tend to have a good time when we go out together because we enjoy a lot of the same things. Diep and I enjoy many of the same things as well, but they are different "same things" than Megan and I like, and that makes it hard for all three of us to enjoy anything together.

I was surprised that Megan agreed to walk a little after the movie. I took it easy on her, but we definitely walked a lot farther than she normally would... at least, without complaining.

This is the last day of my four day weekend. I am not that ready to go back to work, but I imagine I will survive.

I did it again

Well, I did it again. I attended a reenlistment ceremony and follow-on party and ended up drinking too much. I didn't really want to, and it wouldn't have been so, except for the shots of vodka that members of the office were pouring. I know this is my second mention of vodka in my posts in the last week, so you might bet the wrong impression that I like vodka. Nobody in their right mind likes vodka! Other than the shots of vodka I was drinking budweiser... cold budweiser, and it was good.

Anyway, because of my vodka shots, that were pretty much forced upon me, I am once again in recovery mode. Not as bad as it might sound here because, really, I am a light-weight. And proud of it! Also, the party started a little before 1300hrs and that gave me plenty of time to get home, get in bed, and begin my recovery. I enjoyed the day, though. I brought my ipod and played an awful lot of good tunes that I had forgotten I had.

So, today I will be taking it easy. I guess that is what Saturdays are for anyway!