Family reunion

Diep and Megan returned to Hanoi last Friday night... late. I was happy to see them and they seemed happy to see me. The weekend went fairly well, but Megan didn't want to go to school this morning. I think she was just exhausted from all the travel and time with her maternal relatives. Hopefully she will get back into it this week. She will take a school trip to Hue and Hoi An in early March and I think she will really enjoy it.

Of course, Saturday everything was great because Diep hadn't seen me in a week, but by Sunday I think I started to annoy her. Ironically, I annoy her with the things I can't help or do anything about. Two summers ago I got a pretty serious ear infection that, in my opinion, led to serious hearing loss. I can't even hear what is being said on the TV when Diep has it set at a "comfortable" level for her. Twice this weekend she made a comment that I couldn't hear and she started berating me for it. Of course, she doesn't blame my hearing loss on the ear infection, she blames it on my listening to the IPOD with the earplugs in, which I haven't done in over a year because of the ringing in my ear. I asked her not to make fun of me for that as it is no different than if I had lost my arm to an infection or accident. She doesn't buy it, but this is something that is going to start to annoy me pretty soon.

Besides that little dispute I have going at home, I have this thing with a co-worker, too. This particular co-worker I have decided I would not socialize with when alcohol is involved because he has this Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde thing going on. With the last days of the lunar new year, I decided to forego my "rule" and have a couple of drinks with him and a couple other friends. It got pretty ugly and now I find myself thinking too much about the things he said. Some things I can disregard completely because even if he was sincere in his observation, it just isn't true. I mostly found what he said offensive. Probably out his need to feel superior and partly out of his insecurities. While he probably views me as a threat to his self-perceived alpha status, I really don't find a need to compete with him. Not really having the time or inclination to go into details in this forum, I will just leave it as this: I will not be socializing with this guy again when alcohol is involved. And, on the brighter side, I had just enough juice in me to robustly defend myself and get in a couple of barbs that should have stung as well. What really sucks about this whole thing is that I do respect this guy professionally more than anyone else in the business. Too bad his insecurities and arrogance get in the way of me liking him personally, anymore.

Having re-read this post, it looks like my age is catching up with me. I feel like I am getting curmudgeonly (yes, I had to look up the spelling) with age and I hope that isn't true. I think I just need to defend myself more and apologize less.

Diep and Megan Return

Diep and Megan come home really late tonight. I am sure they will be exhausted before they walk through the door... and hopefully Diep will just go to sleep rather than try to tell me every story of her trip she can think of before she nods off. I still remember when we first met how we would stay up all night riding around or just hanging out in Saigon, and watching the sunrise in the morning... not just sitting on a beach watching it come up, but more of a passive act of doing whatever we were doing in the dark and it gets gradually lighter. I can't imagine just sitting and waiting for the sun to come up... sort of like watching water boil or grass grow.

Today is Friday and I am very relieved of that. This week just creaped by and I am anxious to move on from it. It was probably the most unremarkable week I have had in several years. The weather was just too boring to be bothered with going out. I really wanted to get some photos of the new year, but it just didn't happen. Not because I didn't have the energy, but because the gray skies and threat of rain didn't motivate me.

My weather forecasts says next week will warm up into the 70s. I look forward to that. After next week I will be going to some phenominal places. Very rugged. I am looking forward to it and only hope that nothing happens to make the trip miserable, i.e. injury or blisters. Last time I went on a long walk in the jungle, I got a blister that just ruined the whole trip. It was on my heel and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I will bring some sports tape just for that sort of thing this time. The funny thing about these trips is that I am good to go after the first couple of the year, because I have ditched the things in my pack that take up space and added the things I need. But it is a new process every year, and this is the first trip of the season coming up.

Here's hoping I manage to trudge through this Friday without going nuts...

Last official day of Tet

Today is the third and last official day of Tet - the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Since the lunar new year's eve was on Sunday, the Vietnamese will be taking Thursday off as well, but from a tradition point of view, this will be the last day of festivities. That means the restaurants and stores will start opening tomorrow. That's good because I am getting tired of eating pizza.

The Vietnamese that work in our office and the US Embassy will be off until next Monday because the ambassador gave them Friday as well. Good for them... I guess.

Yesterday was pretty boring at work. Only me and the boss. As much as I don't like to be over worked, I hate boring. I just felt cold all day yesterday, too. I couldn't seem to warm up. Today is even colder than yesterday outside. I will dress a little warmer to try and offset the cold.

The weather wouldn't bother me so much except that two days before Tet the weather was beautiful. I was even thinking about taking a swim after work before the weather got cold again. I guess my thought is that this far into the year once the weather started to warm up it would stay that way. I really hate the feeling that we escaped the winter only to have it come and bite us in the ass so late in the game. Oh well...

Internet Security

As a US Govt employee, I am privileged to have access to free internet security to load onto my home system(s). I am given a choice between Symantec (Norton) and McAfee. Both of these anti-virus programs work fine, but they seem to bog down my system's resources.

As it happens, when I loaded up Windows 7 on Megan's computer, I also loaded Symantec anti-virus. The version I was using seemed to work on Megan's computer, but the Windows 7 OS told me it was disabling a driver associated with the Symantec program. This concerned me.

I actually hate thinking about internet security. I try not to use thumb drives from other people and I don't download pirated music and videos. That along with the fact that I am fairly conservative in the sites I go to (I go to the same sites all the time: MSN, Yahoo, Google, Amazon), I feel like I would be wasting my money paying for one of the high-end, popular AV programs. Bear with me, this is going somewhere...

Anyway, since it appeared my free symantec was not compatible with Windows 7, I decided to totally remove it and load up Microsoft Security Essentials. It is free from Microsoft, provided you have a genuine copy of Windows on your system, and in conjunction with the Windows firewall, should cover me for all of my internet needs. As far as Megan is concerned, I hope it covers her, but even if it doesn't, her system is free of any of my usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, etc. If I were a little more careless in my internet surfing habits, I would consider two other free programs in conjunction with each other to cover down on my security: AVG and Zone Alarm.

After running the Microsoft security program, Megan's system seems to be lightning fast and I can breath a little easier that she is, at least minimally, covered against computer threats.

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I am back at work today, but it is just me and the boss. Everyone else is gone. Either sick, on leave or TDY. Not sure if that will make it a quick day or a slow day. Only time will tell.

Back to work for me...

Mindless Meandering

Yesterday was not the omega man experience I had hoped for. There were more people and beeping cars on the street that I wanted on my run around West Lake. Of course, this link will show you the relative quiet of the streets compared to a normal day's traffic:

http://vnexpress.net/GL/Xa-hoi/2010/02/3BA18D10/

As you can see by the pictures, the weather sucked. After the run, I stayed in for the rest of the day. I really wanted to get out and take some photos with my digital SLR but I wasn't willing to take a risk of ruining the camera in the mist. Plus, it would be hard to get a really nice picture in this crap weather. It just doesn't feel festive.

I am battling my inner self to take a ride out to work and work out at the office. I think Iwill win the fight, but I am not sure how long it will take to muster the energy. I slept in for the past three days, something I hardly ever do, but I feel like I really needed it. If nothing else, this weather is great for sleeping in!

I spent most of last night loading up patches and new programs on Megan's computer. I really like Windows 7 and look forward to getting my copy. Since Megan had already torqued up her upgrade, I was able to use her computer as the guinea pig and even reloaded Windows 7 a second time to make sure I got the order straight on it. She still has a little work to do on it, but I took the bear's share of the work on myself.

After finishing this post, I can't help but to think this is mindless meandering. The funny thing is, throughout the day things will happen that I will think would be great things to post about, but inevitably I will forget about them, unable to recall any aspect of it. I do remember a couple of weeks ago I thought I would start doing a picture blog... where I would go out and take pictures at some point during the week and choose one to write about at the end of the week, both satisfying my wish to take more pictures and explain a little more about life here in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the weather has intervened. I am even afraid to take out my little point and shoot camera for fear of ruining it right now.

Oh well...

Sitting at home...

So, here I am sitting at home on the last day of the lunar new year. Quite honestly, the lunar new year has no meaning to me anymore than Halloween. I am not a farmer and I don't much care when the planting season starts. Nevertheless, there is something quite lonely about being in the house with no one else here while the outside weather is nothing short of dismal. Of course, three days ago we enjoyed some of the best spring weather I have seen in a long time in Hanoi, but then everything changed yesterday... temps dropped into the mid-50s and now this non-rain mist is all over the place. Yeah, I know mid-50s is not really cold, but it ain't shorts weather either!

Yesterday, I loaded up Windows 7 on Megan's computer. I took extra joy in it since she pooped the upgrade and, as she was exiting the house yesterday, asked me if I could un-poop it. This is after she refused my initial offer to help her upgrade her system. She even punctuated the refusal with the "I am a pretty good IT gurl" and mentioned that I had to refresh my computer because I couldn't un-poop it after it started acting up. I was really hoping she would read the instructions and do it the way it was supposed to work, but it looks like she just put in the disc and started it... omitting some very important steps. Anyway, it gave me an opportunity to check out the new operating system... and it made me happy that I have already ordered an upgrade for my system. In short, I like Windows 7.

I ordered a large pizza that should get me through the next couple of days. Most restaurants will be closed and even those that will be open will have very limited working hours. I am stocked up and ready to ride it out. Tomorrow will be fun because there won't be anyone on the streets at all. I always like the first day of the lunar new year in Vietnam. I feel like omega man!

Tet - Vietnamese Lunar New Year

Just a couple more days and the Vietnamese will be in a New Lunar Year - The Year of the Tiger. This only means to me that I have been enduring tons of traffic on the streets as the Vietnamese populace prepares for this festive occasion that they liken to Christmas, New Years and Easer all rolled into one. What a pain in the ass!

Diep and Megan leave tonight for Saigon. They will be there for a week as I stay in Hanoi trying to catch up on some unfinished work.

I talked to Dad on Skype today. I sure hope I am as healthy as he is when I reach 73. I believe my genes are more maternal than paternal, however, leaving me with a much abbreviated lifespan.

This year has had a decent start for me. Lots of time to get ready for what is to come ahead. I will be on the move quite a bit in the latter part of February and into March. I had a couple of New Year resolutions that I have been trying to stick to. I am doing generally well, but the whole "being nice to people" and have a "generally cheery attitude" just isn't going well. Being nice to people just leaves me open to getting stepped on or rolled over, and the cheery attitude is fine, but just isn't my style. I may try to stick with it for a little longer, but I ain't sure people are noticing anyway... so what's the point.

I know this is a short post, but who knows, maybe it is a sign of more posts to come.

Cheers...