Rolling into the Holidays

I spent the last couple of days in Bangkok trying to get some requirements fulfilled. I managed to take my Defense Language Proficiency Test for the Vietnamese language and scored at the highest level the test rates at.  This is good news since my job requires it... talk about pressure.

Next week, Megan is out of school for winter break and shortly after we will begin a few days vacation in Saigon and Bangkok. It should be fun, but I will be stressed trying to keep spending down.  I will try to stay in a merry spirit, nevertheless.

Other than that, things trudge along as usual.  Next year will be interesting with the run up to the 2012 election. It seems more people than usual will be following the candidates with so much on the line for the country.  Hopefully we make the right decision, but with everyone so caught up in the parties, I would like to see someone come out who just wants to do the right thing.

I know, I know.  Wish in one hand and spit in the other. See which one fills up faster.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Citizenship

Though I have been quiet on my blog of late, big things have been happening in this Newell family, and it is only now that I have been able to sit down and give a quick update.  All of our efforts from the past few months have culminated in one significant result: Diep is now a U.S. citizen.


Congratulations go to Diep, of couse, but this was definitely a team effort.  Diep and I both traveled back to the U.S. twice after our home leave in July to finish the naturalization process, and while we were gone Megan stayed home; not alone, but with her older cousin.  I am very proud of her for the maturity she showed while we were away.  I would like to think she was rewarded accordingly with gifts from the land of the big BX.

Diep also made me proud by learning all 100 questions in English that the USCIS required for her citizenship test. She tackled this project with less than one month's notice, and she also managed to familiarize herself with the naturalization form which she was also questioned on.  This was doubly daunting because her interview took place between just her and the USCIS interviewing officer.

I would like to think I got a little out of the whole process as well. I learned all of the answers to the questions Diep got as well, and I also got a glimpse of the joys and sorrows that take place in the USCIS office everyday.  Seeing the hopes and dreams in the eyes of those waiting to be tested and the joy and sorrow of those same individuals as they walked out of the testing rooms. I definitely have taken for granted my native born right of citizenship, but I hope I have adjusted my perspective, at least a little.

Probably not surprisingly, we hit our bumps along the way.  All of these issues we were confronted with now seem very insignificant, especially in the light of the fact that we started this process by sending in the initial request form in the beginning of August and finished it on November 14th.  Counting from the day the USCIS actually received our form, it comes out to four months (almost to the day) from beginning to end.  That is incredibly efficient in my mind and I am grateful for the automation and streamlining that must be in place for that to happen.  More incredibly, Diep got her first U.S. passport in just three hours at the Atlanta Passport Agency.  All I can say is "WOW!"

Everyone is in Hanoi now and we are looking forward to our Christmas break when we will all spend some time in Saigon and Bangkok for a few days.  Looks like it will be a very Merry Christmas and and a Happy New Year!

Autumn Break

For obvious security reasons, I didn't post that Diep and I were headed to the United States for a week, leaving Megan in Hanoi with her 22 year old cousin. I gave Megan some numbers to call in case she ran into any trouble, but I figured everything would be okay. Megan has lived overseas most of her life and she is fairly independent.  I believe the separation was harder on Megan's mother than it was on her.  Fortunately for us, we were able to keep in touch via Skype for the entire time we were gone.

Diep got a day to recharge after we got back and now she and Megan are off again. This time to Saigon.  Diep has tacked on another trip to Malaysia because she is escorting her cousin's mother there to see her new grandchild.  Megan opted out and will just stay in Saigon the whole week.

Autumn break at Megan's international school lasts a week.  The last day of school before the break was United Nations Day.  The kids celebrated with a flag ceremony and international food from representative nations.  For each country, the youngest and oldest student carries their respective flags.  Some countries are not represented from the student body, so the school selected the kids who have been going to UNIS the longest to bear the flags for those nations. Since Megan has been going to the school for ten years now, she was asked to bear the Chilean flag.  I was okay with that because the flag much resembles the state flag of Texas.  I will post a picture or two after I get them from Diep's camera.

So I am alone in Hanoi once again.  After a week of taking Diep everywhere she wanted to go, I can use the break.  Unfortunately, I am having a hard time getting back into this time zone. I found myself wide awake at 0300hrs this morning.  Rather than fight myself back to sleep, I just got up.  Hopefully, things will return to normal tomorrow night.

I also found that I gained five pounds last week. I guess I should be grateful it wasn't more, but with Diep watching everything that I put into my mouth, with that condescending look every time she didn't approve, I had hoped I could maintain rather than gain. That's okay, I have all week to work it off with no distractions.

Bicycle Revolution

The past couple of weeks I have been looking into getting a new bike. Part of the urge for a new bike is because I don't really trust my old one for longer rides since, well, it is getting old.  The second reason is because on my runs in the morning over the past couple of months I have noticed a large number of Vietnamese on name brand and higher quality bikes that were probably purchased locally, and that observation has given me an itch.

Last weekend I was walking down Ba Trieu Street and dropped into one of the bike shops. There were several bikes that I was interested in and it may be that I go back to buy one in the next couple of weeks.  I do need to figure out what I am going to do with my old one, though. I think the best plan is to send it to Danang and use it ride in that area when I am there on business (which is fairly often).

It seems it wasn't that long ago that you couldn't buy a decent bike in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. I had looked on more than one occasion, but couldn't seem to find one that I thought was "real". Over this past year, the market has really picked up and it seems the local population has really taken a shine to riding around West Lake in the mornings. It seems like the majority of the riders are older Vietnamese men, and it could be that bike riding is an acceptable fitness alternative to running - an infinitely more damaging sport on the legs.

While I contemplate my new acquisition, I will enjoy the fall weather that rolled in two days ago on my old bike.

She Left Me

      My wife has gone and left me again.  Not in a good way, she will be back in a couple of days.  She has a project going on in Saigon and has spent more time there than here in Hanoi in the last two months.
      Megan and I have been left to our own devices, which more literally translated means we will be eating pizza and drinking Coke for the next couple of days. Megan drinking Coke is my fault because I pointed out the 47 calories per 100 ml written on the side of the can.  He rmother had her believing that a can of Coke was host to a legion of calories. I truly hope I haven't derailed Megan's diet plans, but I don't think a Coke every week or two is going to make that much difference in her overall caloric intake.
      It has rained every day since I returned from Danang last week.  I don't mind the rain too much, but the dirt and mud mixed with untold bacteria on the streets has put a temporary halt to my morning runs.  Too bad, because I was whipped quite soundly by my co-worker and fellow Alabamian when we ran in Danang.  I find myself still stinging and the only way to right this wrong is to get some road work in.
      I have a couple of big projects coming up and the end of the year is right around the corner. I have Megan thinking aobut what she wants for Christmas already because it may take some time to get whatever she wants back to Vietnam. Of course, I haven't dismissed the possibility of being stateside this Christmas season.

Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

So, as I was reading T. Roosevelt's autobiography, he referenced Pudd'nhead Wilson.  If I remember correctly, Dad used the word Pudd'nhead on more than one occasion - and, regardless, he did seem to find the word pudd'n in general very funny.  I Googled Pudd'nhead and found the word was partially the title of Mark Twain's short novel, "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson".  In this process, I also found that Amazon offered the book for the Kindle free of charge.  Not apt to pass up the opportunity to read a book with such a title written by such a prolific American satirist, I downloaded it and just finished reading it. In brief, an excellent read, but not very politically correct, and I found myself slogging through the slave syntax quite slowly.

On other points of interest, I am back in Danang seeing the teams off tomorrow and tying up some other loose investigation ends that have been lying around.  Yesterday I went to Hoi An to talk to a bar owner who had some information to follow up on.  He owns the Sleepy Gecko Chillout Bar and runs what appears to be a fairly busy bike tour outfit.  He has an expatriate bartender who looks much like Harry Potter - to the point I almost said in my worst British accent, "Har-ry Pot-ta" when I first saw him. I somehow managed to curb that impulse, very uncharacteristically I might add.

I will return to Hanoi on Thursday, and barring any last minute meetings that I can't avoid, I plan to take Friday off.  Diep and I need some "us" time and I see Friday as a great day to do that.

Amazon Kindle

For the past couple of weeks I have been adrift in life's doldrums.  There are a number of factors that led me to this state, but I won't get into that on this very public forum. I am not sure what it is going to take to get me out of this funk, but I am sure that a gust will come along sooner or later to blow wind back in my sails.

In the meantime, I have been looking for inspiration. Inspiration comes from many sources, and in many forms, but for me at this time in my life I am looking for inspiration from historic literature. This summer I ordered an Amazon Kindle that I was not able to receive until I got home in July. I had mulled over the idea of buying a kindle for nearly a year before I took the plunge, and in retrospect I find it a little strange that finance was not one of the factors when I was weighing the pros and cons of the purchase. Nevertheless, I had leveraged my desire to read against my opportunities to read and despite the great possibility my Kindle would sit around collecting dust, I made the purchase.

Just in the month of August I have read five books. I am not sure how long the books are since they are digital, but I have invested quite a bit of time reading when other family duties weren't calling, and more often in the evenings when I was out of town on temporary duty. I looked for inspiration in the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and another biography on George Washington. Both are free on Amazon and I appreciate the writing for the historic perspectives they were written in. For instance, I truly enjoyed reading Benjamin Franklin's autobiography because he wrote it and explained many aspects of his life from his own feelings and in his own time. At the same time, I truly enjoyed William Roscoe Thayer's research into the life of George Washington. Since the book was published in 1922, he provided in his conclusion the perspective of an America that was sucked into World War I. This was addressed by the author since Washington in his final address warned against American - a new nation - getting involved in European affairs.

Both Franklin and Washington were great and stood prominently in the light of our founding fathers. Especially in Washington's biography it was easy to see how dirty politics could be. Washington was a consummate politician and Thayer put forth many facts that would lead one to believe America would have never survived without him at the helm. Looking at Washinton's life and reading a comment made by Theodore Roosevelt in his autobiography (that I am currently reading), it lends credence to Teddy's thought that a politician should not depend solely on his political career for his livelihood. The need for reelection without any other source of income will compromise a man's ethics. Washington led the Revolutionary Army free of charge and never needed an income during his eight year presidency given his vast property at Mount Vernon. So sometimes, a search for inspiration can lead to depression given our current state of affairs in D.C.

I also read the book Letters of a Woman Homesteader, The Red Badge of Courage, and a book that Megan purchased so she could read while we were riding all over God's green America, Looking for Alaska. Of these three, I especially enjoyed Letters of a Woman Homesteader. Once again, the historic perspective and the picture she painted through her letters to a previous employer was fascinating, given the period to be early 1900s. Who knew you could still homestead that late in American history?

Maybe through these books and my Kindle I will find some inspiration. Who knows? At the very least, however, I will have something to do in lieu of watching TV. For some reason, our cable TV company has been playing some of the most God-awful programs one after the other every night of the week. I can't seem to get a break.

Update

It has been a while since I posted on my blog.  Partly because noteworthy events have been sparse over the past couple of weeks and partly because I just haven't felt like posting.

Megan is back in school now and seems to be fully integrated back into her studies. Only time will tell whether she is really studying in her room, or if she is just chatting on MSN messenger.  If it becomes too hard to concentrate, I hope she decides to do the right thing without too much parental control.

Things at work for me move along. We are in the last field activity for this fiscal year (fiscal years ends Sep 30).  I have a lot going on, but nothing unusual or noteworthy.

It seems Diep has the most going on. We are moving along with the paperwork for her to get her citizenship interview. No date yet, but I imagine we will be back in the U.S. towards the end of this year for her interview, test and swearing in.  She is in Saigon right now overseeing some repairs to her mother's house. They have been a long time coming, and Diep is handling the money, contracting and payments. I just hope she manages to get her tasks done without being too bossy about it. She is very particular about the way things are done and she can be a little difficult if you don't get it right.

A final note. I closed by Facebook account for the time being. I ran into some difficulties with my real social network because of the virtual social network we all know as Facebook.  Without too much detail, I had a problem with someone I had accepted a friendship from. It came back to haunt me in my real life and rather than unfriending the offending component, I thought I would give unhooking from the scene a try for a little while. The first couple of days, I have experienced some habitual withdrawal symptoms. I enjoy looking at other people's pictures and I enjoy the comments I get from other people on my pictures, but I don't know that I can justify the amount of time I spent on FB for those basic pleasures. The good news is that FB doesn't actually delete your account right away, so if I decide to come back I don't have to rebuild it from scratch.

Back from Home Leave

So I spent three weeks in the United States on home leave and loved it, for the most part.  Towards the end I felt we may have spent too much time in the mall, Wal-Mart and Target, but it was very good to get away from it all here in Vietnam.

I guess I always come back with a different impression of the U.S. every year.  I find myself going into a reverse culture shock when I get home, and then certain things impress me more than others... each year, seemingly something different.  This year seemed to me that everyone in America is just so friendly.  I am not sure if it is a southern thing, or if it is that way all around the U.S., but it seemed no matter what I did, where I went or who I saw, people were just saying "Hi" and wearing a genuine smile.  It would make more sense if these people knew me or worked in the service industry... I could see the rationale behind it, but these people just wanted to greet me and my family wherever I went.  I guess it makes even less sense when you consider how bad the economy is.  Whatever the reason, it made me appreciate my homeland.

So many things happened and we did so much that it would be difficult to capture it all in the blog, especially since I am supposed to be doing something else right now, but I do want to say the highlight of the trip was getting to see everyone in my immediate family.  I had to take a road trip to see Sis, but it was especially cool to go there because I had the honor of taking my Dad to see her for the first time at her home in Texas.

I got back to our home in Hanoi just before midnight on Saturday night and I was back at work on Monday morning.  I participated in a helicopter company inspection for our organization for the past two days and now I have a little time to do some of the work I need to do for me.

So, anyway, this was just me checking in.  Hope to have more regular updates now that I am back.

Up 'Til The Last Minute

Friday is my first day of vacation.  I feel like I have been needing this time off for a long time and I was hoping I could relax the work tempo a little before I left the office.  I at least wanted to get all of the work that I had in arrears completed before I started my leave.  The problem with taking leave with all of my projects done is that it seems there is always a new project thrust upon me before I finish the last.  A never ending work cycle that will be there even long after I am gone... well, maybe not that dramatic, but close.  Anyway, barring any major catastrophe today, I may be able to leave in relative peace.  I will still have to make the car rental reservations and figure out our other plans at the last minute, but at least I can rest assured all of the work waiting for me when I get back is new work.

Megan wants to test for her learner's permit this time back. I will let her give it a try and see what happens.  She has been looking at the book, but she seems a little confused on what to actually study.  She asked me what she could expect on the test and I could only answer that it has been 30 years since I took the test and I had no idea.

I still have no idea what we will do for fun back home.  Obviously shopping is at the top of someone's list, but I do think a little trip to somewhere in the region for recreation is in order.  I always tell myself I will set aside some time for fishing, but I never get to do that because I am constantly chauffeuring everyone else around. No big deal, just not stressing at work should be vacation enough.

Haircuts

I have been on the road for quite a few days now.  I am pretty sure I posted about my time in Nha Trang with Diep and then moving on from there.  Anyway, I was in Nha Trang for two nights and then flew to Pleiku, by way of Danang.  I spent five hours layover in Danang before I finally got on my flight to Pleiku.

Upon arriving in Pleiku, we had dinner with our counterparts and then worked the following morning.  We had the rest of the day to kick around and the whole following day as well because our flight out of Pleiku wasn't until 2130hrs due to an airline delay.

As it so happens, I have an official reception I have to attend here in Danang tonight, so while I was in Pleiku with extra time on my hands, I thought I would get a haircut.  I found a place that looked like it would be decent and the price was around $2.50, which is about standard for Vietnam.  I sat down and told the guy to use the #1 shear on the back and sides and trim it up on top.  He did alright with the back and sides, but then he whipped out the thinning scissors and went all Edward Scissorhands on me.  By the time he was finished I looke like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.  It wasn't that big of a deal in Pleiku because everyone looks like Podunk Phil there, but by the time I got to Danang, I felt pretty self-conscious about the bad cut and went to another shop here.  The guy in Danang did a decent job, but he had to cut it pretty short to take the spikes out of what the other guy did.  Now I look like an Auschwitz reject, but at least it is evenly cut. All I have to say is "lesson learned" about haircuts in Pleiku!

It would have been nice to have Diep and Megan here in Danang for Father's Day, but the cost of getting them here and getting Megan another room would have been fairly high.  Diep decided it would be better if she and Megan went to Ha Long Bay instead.  That is fine, because I will be home on Thursday and then we can do something in Hanoi to celebrate my belated Father's Day.

I will go on home leave 1 July.  I only have three weeks because of some requirements back in Hanoi, but it should be a good time.  I plan on relaxing, getting some shopping done and taking a trip to Atlanta.  There are so many other places I want to go, but with the limited time and other things I have going, this is the best I can do.

Checking in!

After a couple of weeks, I figured it was time to check in.  I think I mentioned that Diep went to Nha Trang with her mother, sister-in-law and nephew.  Diep liked it so much that she decided to extend her stay and let Megan go down as soon as school let out last Friday.  Megan flew down by herself on Friday, and I flew down on Saturday with a colleague to take care of some work.  Diep got to stay with me for her last two nights in Nha Trang at the Sheraton while a myriad of her relatives and friends stayed in a cheaper hotel down the street.  The Sheraton in Nha Trang is beautiful; probably one of the nicest Sheraton's in Vietnam.

But, alas, all good things come to an end.  Diep flew back to Hanoi on Monday, and I flew to Pleiku.  My travel took all day thanks to a five hour layover in Danang.  By the time I got to Pleiku, I was hot, sticky and a little irritable.  A decent night's sleep put me in a better disposition on Tuesday and I was off to work again.  We finished what we were doing by noon and I had some coordination I had to do back at the hotel.  Now, it is Wednesday and we have to wait all day for ou 2130hrs flight out of Pleiku back to Danang.  I could work on reports and maybe get a workout in before I have to check out at 1400hrs, but I still have to hang out until 2000hrs before I leave for the airport.  I do believe it will be a pretty boring day. I am lucky in one respect, however.  This time of year in Pleiku is the rainy season, and though it has rained, we haven't been deluged with all day rain so far... for that, I am grateful.

I got out a little while in Pleiku yesterday: Hit the market, and had some broken rice and pork chops.  Didn't take any pictures, though.  I didn't expect anything to catch my eye, and then I walked by the park to see adults and children flying upwards of fifty kites on that windy day. Right now it is cloudy, but if things clear up and the kites come out again, I may have to dust the camera off.

Due to unexpected difficulties, work may be a little slow in Danang.  That will give me a chance to get a couple of good runs and swims in.  I could use the exercise.

Memorial Day Weekend

Today marks the end of my first week back to Hanoi.  While I was in Laos and central Vietnam, Diep brought her mother, sister-in-law and four year old nephew to Hanoi to stay with us.  I knew she was doing this, but I had it in my mind that they would not be here much longer after I got back.  It really doesn't matter that I didn't ask about this before I left for Laos because I have very little say in the matter anyway.  To ease the strain of having other people in the house, Diep took her family on a boat trip and to Cat Ba Island.  That gave Megan and I three days of pizza and peace while they were gone.

 

Everyone is back now and the Memorial Day weekend looms.  I have to go in on Monday for a half day, but I plan on taking the full weekend off.  Having two days off is actually a big treat.  With the field activity underway, it is often hard to get time off.  If anyone needs anything, they know they can call me and I am just a few minutes away by motorbike.

 

Tuesday I will depart again with the boss to two sites in Quang Binh and Quang Tri Province.  I enjoyed having my DSLR camera with me so much on my trip to Laos, I think I will bring it again on this trip.  It gets a little unweildy, but I sure like having the pictures when I am done.

 

I am reading Hanoi, Adieu: A Bittersweet Memoir of French Indochina at the moment.  It is taking much longer than it probably should because I am only able to steal small segments of time away to read it.  It is an allegedly true biography of a Frenchman who lived in Hanoi through the mid-1930s into the 40s... and probably into the 50s, though I haven't read to that part yet.  It is fascinating to read to imagine Hanoi during that time period since I can recognize many of the referenced landmarks in the book, but I think anyone could appreciate the writing style.  A friend from Australia gave me the book (or maybe he loaned it to me??) and for that I am grateful.

 

Another book that I recently finished was Until They Are Home: Bringing Back the MIAs from Vietnam, a Personal Memoir  written by my previous boss, Thomas "Ty" Smith... my favorite Det Commander of all time.  If you want to read a book about me and my job in Vietnam, read this one.  I am referenced in the book no less than 20 times, and probably much more, and he used many of the photos I took in the book.  It isn't a book about me, though one might question that after reading it.

 

Diep plans on throwing some sort of party on Saturday.  I laid the ground rule a couple of weeks ago that I have no responsibility in the organization and preparation of this get together.  My sole responsibility is to show up (it is at our apartment) and be polite.  The former part may be easier than the latter part of my responsibilities. Wish me luck!

 

 

Back from the Trilateral Investigation in Laos

After ten days in Laos, Danang and Hue, it is good to be back in Hanoi.  Taking eight Vietnamese witnesses across the border to investigate four cases in very different locations took a bit out of me, but I am happy to report I survived.

The witnesses were pretty cool.  It was a good mix of infantry and artillery guys who operated in Laos during the war... I know, I know, they weren't supposed to be there any more than we weren't supposed to be bombing them over there.  One of the world's worst kept secrets I suppose.

In the process of the investigation, I got the opportunity to visit this plateau that precious few people have ever been on.  You can view it just west of Houn by clicking on the hyperlink Plateau.  Four of my witnesses pulled security on the plateau for nearly two months to prevent against an aerial helicopter assault that would have given a distinct advantage to those forces in the bombardment of trail runners in the eastern valley below.

Other highlights included playing around with the local Lao kids.  One of the witnesses later wanted me to agree with him how miserable they were,  but I just couldn't agree in good conscience.  The fact is, they seemed totally oblivious to their poverty and looked quite healthy to me.  Some of the kids took hundreds of photos of me with their cell phones, making me feel as much like a rock star as I ever have.

We also flew on Mi-17 and AS350 helicopters throughout the investigations.  I love flying on the squirrel (AS350) because it feels just a little more complicated than driving a car.  Since we had Vietnamese witnesses onboard, I took the opportunity to ask the pilot if the helicopter had a horn.  I was a little surprised when he responded that it did.  In fact, the horn is a warning indicator for when the rotor speed drops too much to provide lift to the chopper.  It can be activated manually to test it, however, and that was what I was hoping for.  Knowing that Vietnamese blow their horns on the streets incessantly, I told them the helicopter had a horn.  They were skeptical, wondering out loud what in the world a horn would be used for in the skies.  When I had the pilot blow the horn (sounding much like a motorbike horn), the witnesses were delighted and speculated it was used to make the much bigger, lumbering Mi-17 get out of the way.

Not unlike me, the witnesses grew home sick quickly and were anxious to leave Xepon where we were staying at a guest house after the first two days.  The youngest of these guys was 65 and the oldest 76.  They moved with varying degrees of deftness, but they all did well on the trails and in the heat.  Only one of the witnesses smoked and they all drank in moderation.  This is no doubt a testament to their longevity... I can only imagine a group of U.S. veterans in a similar situation, and in my mind's eye, they don't fair nearly as well. The success that we enjoyed in the investigations also varied greatly, but I still am grateful to these gentlemen for giving time in their waning years to do this mission for us.

I took a lot of pictures during the trip, and my better ones I posted on my panoramio site, I geomapped as many as I could to give a better idea of the terrain and remoteness of these sites.

We were back at the hotel at 1500hrs on the last day of the trilateral investigation.  I had a meeting with the Americans immediately upon return, but the Vietnamese witnesses and officials were able to shower before we were on the road to Danang.  We stopped an hour at the Lao Bao Border for a little duty free shopping and then ate dinner in Hue City.  We finally made it back to Danang at 2300hrs that night.  I was given the honor of riding in the fold down jump seat in the 12-pax van for the five plus hours on the road and found myself nursing a chaffed ass for the next few days.  It didn't help that just a day later I was off to Hue with the Det Commander on a site visit. 

Diep got to Danang just an hour or two after I got back from Hue on the 19th.  The 20th was her birthday so we got a little time to ourselves in the Furama Beach Resort since Megan opted out a week earlier.  We did a little swimming in the South China Sea and she did some shopping while I was helping to get the main body into Vietnam for the 103rd Joint Field Activity.

We all got back to Hanoi on Saturday, and here I am back at work on Monday.  Nevertheless, it is good to be home. 

Crossing the Vietnamese Laos Border

This morning I took off from Hanoi on a 0800hrs flight to Danang.  When I landed, I was met by two of the three counterparts I will be working with for the next 10 days.  We got in the new Mitsubishi Pajero that their office is now using and started on our seven plus hour journey headed for the Lao Bao Border Gate area.

We stopped in Hue and had lunch with two of the local MIA province officials.  My counterpart had some coordination to do with them in preparation for a follow on mission we will do about a week after I get back to Hanoi from this trip.  We ate at a restaurant on Dien Bien Phu Street named Không Gian Xưa that specializes in sticky rice... like we won't be getting enough of that in the coming days.

Back on the road again, we mostly napped on and off for the rest of the trip up HWY 1and then West on HWY 9 (Also called AH16).  We pulled in to the Xuyên Á Hotel around 1600hrs and I got my room.

We are scheduled to eat dinner this evening.  I will probably end up meeting all eight of our witnesses tonight.  This is a very critical time for me to establish my position with these guys.  I have already read the backgrounds of the cases they will be doing and know each of their names, but now I have to put the face to the name.  It will be good if I can nail their names without having to stutter through them every time I have to address them.  Of course, it is easy enough to call them Bác (older paternal uncle) but I think it will give a better impression if I can "learn" their names quickly.

Wish me luck! Tomorrow we cross on through to the other side.  Hopefully our Laos team is waiting.

Lazy Weekend

Today is the second day of my lazy weekend.  I feel like I wasted this morning because it was totally beautiful and I just stayed in the house. I thought about getting Diep to go for a walk with me, but I could tell that she wasn't into it... and, it is Mother's Day.  Diep doesn't seem to want to do anything until after Megan gets up, and she gets up late in comparison to us.

Yesterday, I took the opportunity to go for a walk with my camera while the maid cleaned the house. I hate hanging around in the house while the maid is cleaning.  I mostly can't stand the noise that the vacuum cleaner makes. The pictures were nothing special, but I did try to capture some of everyday Hanoi activity.

The weekend wasn't a total waste, though.  Diep and I went to the Press Club on Friday night and she had a great time.  Even I enjoyed the evening a little, and I am not much for going out to clubs and bars at night.  I am usually so tired by Friday night that I would just rather laze around the house.  I am much more likely to want to do something on Saturday night, but that isn't the way things work around here.

Megan seemingly had a great weekend. She went running and then to lunch with one of her classmates and then she rode around West Lake on her bicycle with another.  She was also thoughtful enough to give her mother a card for Mother's Day.

Sigh of Relief

I can breath a sigh of relief that last Saturday was the last of the very stressful events I had been planning for and performing over the last two weeks.  I really dread the weeks like those past few that I had because the stress is a little more than I like in my life.

So, Sunday, Diep, Megan and I went out to downtown Hanoi and just walked around for a while.  We left around 4:00pm so it was a great time to take some photos.  It was overall a relaxing time, though it was a little tough for Diep because she has been battling one sickness or annoyance (not me) after another since she got back from Saigon.  The good news is, it seems to have all passed as of today.  She will take it easy for the next couple of days, but she should be back to normal after that.

Having just said the stressful days are behind me, I can't forget that we are moving into our next operations cycle and that means I will be on the move again. As a matter of fact, I go to Laos in just a few days and I will be back in Vietnam just in time to meet Diep in Danang so we can celebrate her birthday together on May 20.  I know Mother's Day is somewhere in between, but that is for Megan to work out with Diep, not me.

Megan will be preparing for end of year tests that she has, so she won't be coming to Danang.  No big deal for her, I think she is like me and would rather be home doing her own thing anyway.

I will travel quite a bit throughout this operations cycle and then towards the end, I will be looking at getting back to the U.S.  Unfortunately, this is my home leave time back home and I don't have as much flexibility in traveling to other places besides my home of record.  I still have to give all of that a closer look so I will keep everyone posted.

My sister mentioned black and white photographs with colored highlights the other day and it got me interested in seeing whether I could figure out how to do it in Photoshop Elements.  It wasn't as hard as I thought.  It was a matter of selecting whatever it was that I wanted to keep color, then inversing the selection;  then turning the rest of the photo to black and white.  Once I did that, I re-inversed the selection and played with the contrast and hue to get what I wanted for the colored portion of the photo.  The blog title photo is what I came up with.  Not a bad first try, but I find myself wanting to experiment more now.

She's 15, I'm... OLD!

Friday night and I am home watching Megan enjoy her 15th Birthday party with some friends from school.  Sunday she will 15 officially and I will be old... officially.

The funny thing is that I still try to lie to myself.  I tell myself I did 38 pull ups and chin ups today and that I can still run three miles, easy.  But then I look in the mirror and I see the bags under my eyes and the crows feet.  I am blessed with good genes, though. The ones that let me keep my hair. Even so, I can feel it in my bones and see it in my skin.

That's okay.  The flip side of the coin is I get to see my daughter grow into a beautiful and smart young lady.  She has started to take notice of her body and now she works out every day.  I like to see that because I know how good it feels to feel good about yourself.

Just a couple of more years and she will be out of the house... away to college.  At least that is my hope.  I want her to be better than I am and I want her to have more opportunities than I made for myself.  Honestly, I probably under-achieved.  Not in the, bum-throwing-up-in-the-gutter way, but in a never-reaching-my-full-potential sort of way.  I could just be crying in my beer (not literally, though I am drinking beer right now).

It wouldn't such a bad thing if the best thing I ever did was grow my daughter up right.

Frustration and Fallujah

So after my long trip to Hue and other places, I got back to Hanoi without the family. I saw this as a great opportunity to try to fix my HP 6640F Desktop Computer (which is a giant piece of shit).

Since the system crashed right out of the box and the restore partition didn't work as advertised, I thought I would just reload the OS with an OEM version of Windows 7.  I know people out there are wondering why I just didn't return it, but that is a super long story that entails dozens of frustrating email posts to HP Customer Service and ends with the fact that HP doesn't receive computers for repair via USPS (which is the only method of shipping for me here in Hanoi)... Actually it ends with me owning a twenty pound black box of hardware that isn't worth a shit.

Anyway, after I reloaded the OS, everything was going great for the first day and then it just locked up, never to reboot correctly again.  Even if I were to ever get it running for more than a day, I would never trust it to store important pictures of documents ever again.  I believe the issue is hardware, and trying to isolate the problem (hard drive, memory, motherboard) just takes too long and could get expensive (spending good money after bad).

I seriously considered the Fallujah method of retaliation.  I had some spare cord, gasoline, and the Pajero and driver from work picking me up yesterday morning, and I thought I would tie the worthless block of shit to the back of the Pajero, light it on fire and scream through the streets of Hanoi until I got to the Long Bien Bridge where I would remove it from the Pajero and hang it from one of the bridge spans.  I could get thousands of Hanoians with sticks to start chanting "Da Dao HP!" (tranlsated: down with HP!)

I wrote a review on NewEgg where I bought the computer (unfortunately, I was TDY when the box came in and by the time I opened it and discovered it was a lemon, the 30 day return policy for NewEgg had expired), but they wouldn't post it.  Something about language and criticism of NewEgg.  So, this is my review of the HP6640F for anyone to see, and no one to stifle my language or criticism. And, in fact, I like NewEgg a lot, I just wish they had a little more flexibility in their return policy because HP sucks, Sucks, SUCKS!

I am strongly considering just building my own computer now.  At least I can blame myself for any issues and it could be a good project that I can work on with Megan.  As a matter of fact, maybe HP sucks because God made them suck so my "free will" would lead me to spend more time with my daughter in meaningful projects... right!

Back in Hanoi

I got to Hanoi yesterday afternoon, a Sunday.  The two days before that were good because Diep and Megan had traveled to Danang and stayed with me for the last two nights I was out of town.  Unfortunately, they were on their way to Saigon as I headed back to Hanoi.  It only makes sense because Megan is out for a week on Spring break.  We made the best of those two days, though, eating seafood, swimming and taking pictures with Megan.

When I got to the apartment, I saw Diep had bought about eight tropical fish while I was away.  I guess she didn't worry about them without food for the two days that she was gone and I wasn't back yet.  When I looked in on them they looked like they were starving.  That is to say, they were wagging their tails and pressing their little noses against the glass.  Of course their lack of food didn't stop them from crapping in the bowl until the water was all clouded up.  As much as I wish I did, I don't have too much compassion for mindless tropical fish.  I did feed them, but only enough to keep them alive, not enough to turn them into aqua-pooping machines.

I enjoyed no days off before going into work.  I got right to it today with all kinds of catch up work.  Tomorrow will be more of the same, even though it is a local holiday - In honor of the Anniversary of the First Hung King's Death Day.  The locally hired staff and embassy workers get local holidays off.  We at Det 2, on the other hand, get federal holidays only.  No biggie, I have about three weeks of use or lose coming up at the end of this year and I can't see any period of time in the near future that I can afford to take off.  I have some big events coming up in the very near future, to include a ten day trip to Laos.  Not the good Laos, but the Xepon Laos type of trip.  Good Laos would get me to Vientiane or Luang Prabang.  Because of the type of work,  I will really have to think about whether I want to take my DSLR with me, or not.

I started to file my taxes today and realized I left me check book at the office.  I needed the routing number on the check to file electronically.  This isn't a show stopper since I still have a couple more days.  I almost didn't even bother getting started this afternoon, considering how pooped I was after work, but I am glad I did now.  It is all over but the sending now, and though I won't get rich on my return, it could make Diep pretty happy.

In the meantime, I have some Budweiser Budvar imported dark lager from the Czech Republic that Diep had left in the fridge to keep me satisfied.

Life on Hold

For the past 30 days, my real life has been on hold.  All those things I had ordered in the mail, and all of those tasks that I had on my plate before I left on this mission 30 days ago have been put to one side, waiting for me when I get back to Hanoi.

Diep and Megan should be down here in Danang in a couple of hours, even though their flight continues to get delayed... a little at a time.  First it was just a one hour delay and then it went to a two hour delay.  Not a big deal if we had a few days together, but as it is we just have two nights and some change.  We will roll with the punches for now.

On Sunday I go back to Hanoi and Diep and Megan head to Saigon.  Diep needs the break.  She has been holding things together at home while I have been on the road. I am not sure if I will try to get to Saigon before they get back up the following Sunday, but if I get furloughed with the rest of the government employees, I think it might be just the thing I need to do.

This threat of a furlough is laughable.  I think we should give the Congress an ultimatum:  sign a budget or resign your seat at the end of the fiscal year.  I imagine the whole U.S. population is pretty sick of it. The amount of money we have spent getting ready for a government shutdown is much more than we could ever save with such an action!  Think about the salaries of those individuals who hold leadership positions of our units and organization and the amount of time they have spent, along with their staffs, determining courses of action in case of a shutdown.  Not to mention the amount of money that will be lost in cancelled/delayed contracts during the shutdown.  The amount of money will likely soar into the billions.  Me? Well, I will enjoy some well deserved time off... pay or not!

Ten Year Anniversary

On 7 April 2001, seven American and nine Vietnamese died in a helicopter crash in Quang Binh Province while conducting advance work in preparation for one of our field activities.  I knew two of the Americans and one of the Vietnamese personally and I miss their presence here on this earth.

Obviously, the loss of life for those who died is the greatest tragedy.  But, many still here were also greatly affected by the loss.  Family members, friends, and co-workers remember this event with great sadness.  And on 7 April 2011, in this remembrance, members of Det 2, the Vietnamese MIA team and JPAC will travel back to Quang Binh Province to the foot of the mountain where the crash occured to remember this great tragedy in a simple and solemn ceremony.

The event occured several years after I had already left the detachment, so I didn't experience any "it could have been me" moments like some may have.  I didn't even share such a relationship with any of the ones who died that I corresponded with them.  This was, afterall, before Facebook, and the massive proliferation of digital contacts that we now enjoy.  But I still find myself missing these people to some degree or another at any given time; not just on the anniversary that comes and goes. 

The emotion of missing someone, whether a friend or family member, is very easy to identify but difficult to describe... like an emptiness that I feel in my stomach, I suppose I would say if forced to come up with a description.

I guess it is just good for me from time to time to sit quietly and think of those times I spent with these people and others I have lost in my lifetime.  The conversations that I had and the good times that I shared. It doesn't make the emotion go away, but it does somehow make me feel better.

Leaving Saigon

I am here in Saigon after two nights at the Sheraton, waiting for time to tick by so I can check out and head to the airport.  All in all, it was a good trip. We did what we came here to do, and though the outcome wasn't what we may have wanted, at least it was definitive and the work is off the books.  I ate at three restaurants while I was here and took a quick walking tour of the city with my camera.  I also saw two movies here:  Faster with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and The Green Hornet.  Both of these movies were entertaining, but The Green Hornet was a little disappointing since it started out great and got bogged down towards the end.

The walk and photography was fine, I just wish the air quality had been better.  We were under this permanent haze that just took the color out of everything I tried to shoot.  I paid the equivalent of ten dollars to go up to an observation deck of a new building here in Saigon and was disappointed by the haziness of all of my photos... also, that I was completely surrounded by glass on the observation deck.  In retrospect, I think I would have foregone the ticket to the deck had I known I couldn't walk outside.

Now I am headed to Danang. Everything should get easier from here.  I will see Diep and Megan at the end of the week, and I am looking forward to that!

Wish there were more...

It has done nothing but rain for the last week and I have been couped up in this hotel for the better part of it.  With the exception of my six hour drive to Dong Hoi and back, I have spent precious little time anywhere else.  The temperatures are just low enough and the rain is just hard enough that I don't want anything to do with outside.  Hence the title, I wish there were more to report about.

About the only thing there is to say is that Diep is missing me.  Her way of missing me starts out by saying she wishes I was home last weekend so we could go on a motorbike ride together.  That statement in itself shows just how much she misses me.  If you remember a few posts back, I almost took her leg off on a motorbike and she vowed never to ride with me again... I guess the saying is right "absence does make the leg grow stronger!"

Anyway, that longing for me grew an ugly face, and now she is hating me for being away.  The hate comes from a lack of sleep because she thinks about me too much.  I really can't blame her, I am a great guy to be around, and I imagine a lot of people miss me when I am away from them.  Well, maybe that is a stretch, but I do wish there was something I could do to make her feel better.

I did ask her if she could meet me in Saigon when I head down there on Saturday.  She turned me down, but the week is still young.  I know it would only be one night together, but she could spend a lot of the weekend with her folks, too. After a one day job in Saigon, I head back to Danang, then to Dong Hoi again, then back to Danang and finally on 10 April I get back to Hanoi.  Whoosh, what a schedule!

In the meantime, I will just take it one day at a time...

Rain, rain...

Since my last post, the weather has done nothing but rain. I have been confined to the hotel room for all but the trip I took to Đồng Hới City yesterday; six hours of driving, an hour or two for the interview and about an hour for lunch.  My stiff body is telling me it was a full day, to say the least.

In this land of Vietnam that has been my home for the better part of 18 years, there seem to be very few "firsts" left for me.  That was not the case yesterday, however, when I ate lunch.  Dong Hoi City is changing rapidly, and in a city that 20 years ago one would work VERY hard to find an appropriate place to eat, there are a few places to choose from now.  The local officials chose a very bình dân (regular people) Cơm Niêu (sticky rice) Restaurant to eat in.  The officials ordered much of the standard fair of pork, chicken and fish dishes that we shared among the group - picking food from a communal dish and eating from our own bowl.  On many occasions before, I had even eaten the sticky rice specialty for which the restaurant was named.  It was served in a small cast iron bowl; lightly brown and crispy on the top and edges.

The "first" came served individually in a stainless steel bowl.  The Medicinal Pigeon Soup (chim bầu câu tần) is much like the Medicinal Black Chicken Soup (gà tần) which is a small black chicken served in a soup of medicinal herbs and mushroom.  The biggest difference, I believe, is that the pigeon is very visible in the light broth and looks like he has been de-feathered and sleeping.  The trick is that the bird is to be eaten in its entirety (from head to butt), including the bones.  I got most of him down, though I did leave some of the larger bones in the bowl when I finished.  Oh, and the beak, I left the beak.  I mostly regret that I didn't take a picture of this dish before I ate it.  I secondly regret having eaten the head.  Though I wasn't able to discriminate the taste of brains and eyeballs, my imagination was working overtime as I relived the snap, crackle and pop.

I now have two reports to write.  They are not complicated, but I find myself stalling.  Mom used to remind me how much of a procrastinator I was; she was right and if she was still around she still would be.  That doesn't change my nature, it just makes me aware of it.

Ngu Binh Mountain

Yesterday morning I woke up and went for a run.  I was on a new route that took me past Ngu Binh Mountain in Hue.  I was feeling a little heavy in the legs and also a little curious about the mountain.  Much like many times before, I had done a little research about this new route and noticed that a path was visible from Google Earth on top of the mountain.

In my morning daze, I thought I could cut my run short and get a little hill workout at the same time by finding the route that traversed over the top of the mountain.  I past the mountain along the east side, then traveled down a road north of it, and then found a dirt path that ran down the west side.  As I got halfway down the west road I noticed I never found the path that went up the mountain.  I wondered how hard it would be to just take off up the slope, so I did.  There was no path and I was pretty tired and sweat-drenched by the time I found the path on top of the mountain.  The effort was worth it, though, as I was greeted by a spectacular view of most of Hue City.  The way back down was fairly easy having stayed on the path all the way back down to the southern connecting road.

The view was so inspiring that I took note of where I came out on the way down and decided I would walk up this morning with my camera.   As the saying should go, "The best pictures are taken when you have your camera with you."  I took off while the moon was still up, and the weather looked fine; I thought for sure I would get some great pics.  But, as fate would have it, I was socked in by fog when I made it to the top.  I waited around hoping it would burn off, but by 0630hrs I decided the moment had passed and I worked my way back down for breakfast at the hotel.

I did manage to get some good photos of flora and other points of interest along the way, but now I am faced with the dilemma of whether I want to try again before I leave for good.  It is unlikely I will get as much free time in Hue ever again, and this could be a great opportunity lost.  On the other hand, it wasn't an easy trek even on the well worn path that I took this morning.  I will have to play it by ear.

In the meantime, day after tomorrow I will be heading to Dong Hoi in Quang Binh Province for a day trip.  The change of scenery could do me good.

I Love You Amazon Dot Com

I know, I know, anyone who comes to Asia will go home and talk about how great the shopping is here.  They will rave about how they bought a conical hat or a pith helmet for practically nothing.  How they spent hours bartering for that oh-so-special table cloth and finally got it for pennies on the dollar of what they would have paid in America.  The stories go on and on.

Well, I am here to tell you that in this land of "shopping" I would give... well, not my left nut as so many men seem to carelessly offer up in exchange for decidedly ephemeral things (especially not knowing exactly which one I favor)... but let's just say I would love to see a Wal-Mart or a Target in Hanoi, Danang and Saigon (even in Hue at this moment).  Sure, we have Big C's and Metro shopping centers here, but they rank below K-Mart in my mind... Truth be told, they lay somewhere between the Dollar Store and T G & Y (Who remembers that place?)

So, as I sit here patiently waiting for some real shopping centers to make it to Vietnam, along with a Taco Bell, McDonalds, Papa Johns and Dairy Queen, I will continue to love my Amazon!  Amazon.Com rocks because I can shop for just about anything and everything I can think of.  I can buy anything from Power Bars to Computers; Cameras to Gift Cards to books.  Amazon is my one stop shop for just about anything I need and I never worry that it won't get to me if I order it.  Amazon can track what I have purchased and does a very nice job of knowing what I like to look at.  I can literally go shopping online and spend hours looking - and dreaming - for things I want.  Regrettably, I can't pick up these items, feel them for quality and build, but for that I still patiently wait.

So, while I will continue to see these tourists come to Vietnam and fill my airline seats and hotel rooms, I can rest assured that they will buy every nik-nak and piece of crap souvenir that I will never long for.  They can lust for the laquerware, rattan, embroidery and silk cloth all they want... and I will continue to love my Amazon.

Eating My Curds in Hue

As you can probably tell from my post title, my mental state is slowly deteriorating.  Though I really did just finish a dairy product here in Hue City, it was yogurt and not curds.  I thought I would get a little poetic... in a little Miss Muffet sort of way.

Anyway, after my brief two nights in Hanoi with Diep and Megan, I find myself wishing I was back home with them more than I did on the first part of this trip.  Partly because I am growing quickly tired of all things "Hue" and also because I have just been away for a while now.  I have enjoyed a certain amount of freedom in activity and have managed to get in more PT time than I have in a long time, but there is a trade-off that I won't go into here.

I did manage to get out in a different direction and take some more photos. I posted them on FB and Panoramio, though my FB posting didn't provide a notification to my "friends", so they are all just mixed in with my previous photos in Hue.  Most people won't know to even look.

The sun is also starting to shine more here, too!  That is a welcome change from the drab Hue we had experienced in the first two weeks.  Even so, I find myself pushing hard not to get out and go anywhere else.  The only thing really left is the boat tour down the Perfume River to the Tombs of the Kings.

Lastly, the hotel is quickly growing old for me.  The person I am here to support loves it and I find myself supressed from complaining too much... it seems to get him tense.  Really it is just the small things.  I am usually good if I am left to my own devices, but this hotel has staff coming out of the woodwork to "help".  That would be good if they could help, but the simple requests I have made so far have gone unresolved.  I have complained on several occasions that the temperature in the room is a little warmer than I prefer, especially at night.  This is largely because there is only a thick comforter that acts as the cover of the bed and no sheet underneath.  The comforter is much too warm for me, but out of the comforter, I have nothing to cover up with.  The simple solution would be to drop the room temperature just one or two degrees celsius, but there is a master control in the engineering room that they seem unable to control to my liking.  It is made worse by the fact that other rooms are one to two degrees cooler than mine.  It would even be less annoying if they were just unable to resolve it, but they have managed to get the temperature down for a day or two (though sometimes only a few hours) and then it goes back up to the higher temperature. My suspicion is that it is SOP in the engineering room to maintain a certain temperature and they simply forget about the request and return the thermostat to the previous setting.  As you can tell by the length of this paragragh, I am deeply annoyed by this seemingly minor issue.  But, the inability to sleep past 0500  because I wake up sweating is starting to get to me after these three weeks.

Good news on the horizon, however.  We will begin working in other areas in the next few days.  We won't check out of the hotel initially, but we will be making day trips, and this may liven the mood.

Leaving for Hue Today

After two days in Hanoi with the family, and some travel to Lang Son on some very successful business, I am heading back to Hue today.  I enjoyed the time with Megan and Diep and will miss them terribly, but I will not miss the weather in Hanoi.

It has been drizzling non-stop since I got here two days ago and there is no silver lining in site.  The temperature right now is a miserable 48 degrees F (9 degrees C) and I can't wait to say Xin Chào to Hanoi!

Where are all the smart people?!

I know this is a bit off theme for this blog, but being here in Hue with little else to do but think... and the fact that this is MY blog, I figure it is okay for a little break from norm here.

I was talking to my compatriot here at the hotel this morning at breakfast.  He is a smart guy... he has a  PhD in forensic anthropology and I respect his opinion, both professionally and personally.  But, we were talking about technological advances in the past hundred years or so in relation to the past thousand years before that, even going as far as referring to just the last 30 years.  He was talking about having to teach students who don't remember a time before the CD, microwave, touch-dial phone, etc.  That got me to thinking about the most recent inventions and conveniences that are associated with communications and the internet in general.  The remarkable things that are being done in this field are mind-blowing.  This is especially so when I think about the people I know and how much they know about technology.  Sure, people know how to use a computer and smart phone (some of them, anyway); even how to use spreadsheets and there is even a select few who know a tad about databases.

What I want to know is where are those people who invent micro-circuitry and design the back end of websites.  The people who invent new wifi technology and work with bandwidths, IP addresses and technologies like TCP-IP?  And, that stuff is nothing when you consider the designers of stealth technology, lasers and biological identification techniques like iris and electronic fingerprinting; and other military super secret stuff that we don't even know about now. Even trying to put together a hardened  case for the IPAD or any other tablet PC is something way beyond my comprehension.

Then I think about the number of people, percentage-wise, who would have to be out in this world inventing these things to keep this massive industrial/commercial machine going.  I find myself thinking, especially in my very unique position of meeting smart people all of the time, that I should have met at least one nuclear physicist or super smart computer programmer or carbon fiber compound maker, or AT LEAST someone who is doing something really, really smart.  I find myself meeting only those people who may, or may not be, marginally smarter than myself.  This is not meant to be an offensive statement - and in fact, only those especially conceited and arrogant people would find this to be offensive.  These people I find myself meeting are often smart in the logical sort of way... people able to make smart manning or political decisions; even those who are good analysts.  But, where are the guys who invent really, really cool shit?  And, why don't we know their names?  I mean, really!  Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but compare that to the guy that invented WiFi.  Or even Al Gore who invented the internet compared to internet banking.  I couldn't survive without internet banking.  WHO invented this stuff, and why don't we know their names?

After thinking about this for a while.  Considering I have NEVER, EVER met anyone who even comes close to inventing this stuff, it seems only logical that aliens are doing this stuff for us.  That's my story and I am sticking with it.

Hell Money

Hell Money on the Streets of Hue City

While I was walking down the street in Hue City yesterday, I noticed a large amount of hell money laying around.  Though this is not unusual for me to see, it is something that must seem very strange to someone who hasn't lived in Vietnam or any other Asian country.  Hell money is known in Vietnamese as "tiền âm phủ" and is a category from a larger group of offerings - known as votives - called "vàng mã" in Vietnamese.  Votives in general are small offerings of material items that represent anything from motorbikes, cars, houses, and money that are burned and sent to those family members who have died in the hopes of gaining favor - or luck - in this world from those dearly departed.  Though there are references to heaven and hell in the Vietnamese language, my take is that people are generally thought to go to hell when they die (not necessarily the "fire and brimstone"-kind, but rather the "not living anymore"-kind.)  In hell, these people still need, or long for, those material items they had when they were alive.

The use of votives as offerings are not specific to Asia and even go back to ancient Roman and Greek times.  Doing research on this, I found that tossing a coin in a wishing well can be traced back to the use of votives to gain favor from supernatural forces.  This is something Mom never told me, but in retrospect, the granted wish had to come from somewhere, didn't it?

In Vietnam, this money is used mostly during funerals (ma chay) and on the anniversary of the death date (đám giỗ) of a relative, although it is also used on specific occasions leading up to Tet - the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.  My guess is that the money I saw yesterday was thrown from a funeral procession as it passed.

This money has been considered by Vietnamese authorities as wasteful and, in cases where the money looks too much like real money, even fraudulent.  Though it may be wasteful, I doubt that the villages that produce these votives would like to see this religious practice go the way of the dinosaur.  I still remember when firecrackers were determined illegal.  The authorities had to provide aid and assistance to entire villages and communities whose sole source of income came from the production of fireworks.  It would stand to reason, a similar assistance program would be needed for those villages and communities dedicated to the making of votives if it was determined illegal to produce.

Hell Money in U.S. Dollars only come in C-notes

With regards to the fraudulent use of hell money, I found an article describing the different pranks that teenagers have pulled with fellow students and vendors who operate around the schools.  In one instance, a boy described finding some hell money made from polymer (a plastic material that is used to make Vietnamese currency) that looked very much like a 200,000 Dong note.  Just as he picked it up, other students - the pranksters - descended on him and congratulated him on his luck.  They even talked him into buying refreshments at a local cafe to celebrate his good fortune.  When they had finished their coffee and sodas, he pulled out the money to pay, only then discovering that it was fake.  The other students acted shocked and he still had to pay for the drinks with his own money.  He later found out this was a prank and found new friends. 

When I was photographing this money on the streets of Hue, not a few people watched me curiously, and even one felt the need to explain to me with exaggerated gestures that the money was fake.  He didn't know that Diep has, on many occasions, explained to me not to pick up things I see on the streets.  

I Like...

Sitting here at my desk with my computer in my tiny room that I will be living in for the next couple of weeks, I find myself doing quite a few things that I like...

I am drinking OeTTINGER Beer.  It is a naturally cloudy wheat beer that is probably more fattening than alcoholic, but it is loaded with flavor.  One beer is tasty, and the second - that I am on now - makes me happy.  I like it.

I am listening to my IPOD Classic.  Yes, an older IPOD that I am under-utilizing because it has 80GB of memory and I only have 1700 or so songs on it.  But... and this is a BIG BUTT, I have some great classics on it.  I find myself realizing that Peter Gabriel was a genius in the mid-eighties with his Sledgehammer and Shock the Monkey!  Of course, I have Matchbox 20, Tom Petty, Eminem, Annie Lennox, Blacked-eyed Peas, David Bowie, Styx, Rolling Stones, Cake, OffSpring and a myriad of other music to mix it up.  I can't sync my IPOD with my computer because I had to re-image my computer a while back and I would have to load up all of my CDs (yes I own all of the CDs of the music I listen to) on my computer again, or risk losing everything on my IPOD.  Yes, I like my IPOD and my music.

I like Google Reader.  Yes, the new Google Reader is a mash up of every cool site, article, graph and other computer generated items out on the internet now.  Try Google Reader Play. I like it.

I just finished loading up the photos I took today in Hue on Panoramio.com.  I get to geo-map them and let people I never met - who have more talent than I ever will - comment on them.  I like photography and Panoramio.

I finished reading my sister's blog.  She gave me a link and wrote about some things that made me feel weird because I never know how to feel when I remember things that make me wish I was 10 again.  I like my sister and her blog... Okay, I love my sister (...and my brother, because I just found out he reads this blog, too... and... he said he would mail me some Mardi Gras cups!!!.)

I like posting pictures on Facebook, even though I can't access it here in Hue.  I really enjoy reading the comments, but regret that I can't see what picture is getting the comment and not being able to respond because the commenter's email address is not included in the notification.  BUT, I still like reading the comments.

I like Hue because the people are friendly and not pretentious.  I just miss my family.  But, I still like Hue!

Well, I am running out of things I like... well, actually, just the beer, so I am out of here.

Run

Since I got to Hue, I have increased my running.  I usually run in Hanoi, but more often than not I am relegated to the treadmill at lunch because I just got carried away with something else in the morning before heading to work.  There is nothing wrong with the treadmill as long as boredom isn't a factor in the run.  I usually end up running for 15 to 20 minutes and hitting the stationary bike for 15 to 20 minutes... and, if I feel good I will do the elliptical for the last 15 to 20 minutes.  On the treadmill, I will start at 8 minute miles and at 15 second intervals increase my speed by point one or point two miles per hour until I reach about 10 to 10.5 miles an hour and drop back down to 7.5 mph.  I do this as many times as I can until I run out of time.  This type of interval training  gets my heartbeat up to around 90 - 95 per cent of my max (220 - age) and it has taken my resting heart rate down to around 55 bpm.

I guess all that is good, but running on the real road in the morning here in Hue is infinitely more interesting.  I get to run on hundred year old bridges and past bunkers and fortresses that date back to the early 1800s.  Since the people here are "less sophisticated" than the Hanoians, they are also friendlier. They smile and wave as I run by and comment none on my husky stature.  I am at a point where I can run comfortably for an hour allowing me to enjoy the sites and sounds around me.  I am sure before my time here in Hue is over I will grow bored with my route, but for now it keeps me sane.  The cooler temperatures we are currently experiencing definitely help keep me comfortable during the run.

I do hope I get a couple of cloud free days here in Hue.  I have been to the roof of the hotel and I am waiting for a nice day to get up there and take a panoramic view of the city before I leave.

Hobbies

I find myself more and more grateful that I bit the bullet and brought my Nikon D80 DSLR with me on this trip to Hue.  I already knew that there would be great lulls in work here and, even if I kept busy on the computer, I would have to get out and get some air.  It is regrettable that the weather has been very gloomy and chilly since we got here last Friday.

I am usually very reticent to bring my big camera with me because of the fear of getting it stolen, losing it, dropping it, or just ruining it from the high humidity in the air.  As a matter of fact, after I bought the camera, I kept it put away for at leasts a year only bringing it out on few occasions for special pictures.  I guess after the "new" wore off of it, I didn't see it as being so precious and I felt more comfortable taking it out.  It is a good thing, because the pictures I take with it are so much better than the snapshots that I take with my smaller compact camera.

Not only is the camera a very good camera, but I have endless photo opportunities in Vietnam.  I just have to remember that these things that seem very familiar to me are very exotic to everyone back home.  Once I get that into my head, it becomes very easy to press the shutter button.  These days, with no film, there is also no fear. I can take the same picture as many as a dozen times until I get the one I want, exactly. 

I also brought along a sketchbook and pencil.  I used to enjoy drawing and I fancied myself as a decent artist.  I haven't drawn seriously for years, decades even, but I have started to feel the itch.  Hopefully I will pull out the pad and start drawing soon... it is often that first step that is the hardest.  Megan is my inspiration now as she is taking art in school and has started to sketch things at home.  The biggest obstacle here is drawing in public without having a thousand gawkers - and potential critics - curiously peering over my shoulder.

I also have half a dozen computer and fitness books that I have yet to crack since I arrived in Hue.  I guess I still haven't hit that point of boredom yet that throws me into reading the books and getting deep into some of the concepts.

I am still geocaching my photos and love it more every day.  In case you lost the website, here is my space on Panoramio.

International Woman's Day

Today, 8 March 2011, is International Woman's Day in Vietnam.  I say in Vietnam because I never had heard of this day until I came to Vietnam, despite the "International" description.

This day is usually celebrated by giving flowers to those special women in your life.  I am only allowed to have one special woman in my life so I sent flowers to her.  I ordered them through the Hue City Central Post Office yesterday and they were delivered in Hanoi this morning.  Unfortunately, as easy as our address is to find in Hanoi, the delivery person was unable to find the apartment and had to call Diep for directions.  This killed the surprise and also delayed her from her normal daily routine.  Fortunately, the bouquet was pretty enough that she seemed very pleased with them once they arrived.

When we first met, I was usually afraid to get flowers for Diep because I was never able to buy them as cheaply as she could and I felt like she would rather have the money than the flowers.  But, in the last few years she seems to really appreciate the flowers, especially if  I am away and send them to her.

In other news, the weather in Hue has taken a turn for the worse.  It has threatened to rain all day and the temperature with the high humidity and winds feels very cool... and me without a long sleeve shirt.

Hue City

I have a job in Hue City that I will be doing for the next 30 days or so.  This is cake duty, but being away from home for so long -  even in a five star hotel - makes a man miss it.  To keep me from being bored out of my skull, I brought along my digital SLR camera, my personal computer, IPOD and speakers, and some books.

I will be geo-caching my photos as I go, but Hue is a fairly compact city and I fear I will run out of places to go before the end of my time here.  I already got some photos along the Perfume River this morning and I suppose I will make it to the citadel in the next couple of days to get some photos of that area.  Other than those places, there isn't much left that I consider really photogenic.

I will also be boning up on my Vietnamese.  Even though I feel pretty fluent, concentrating on specific areas and interests keeps me at the top of my game.  I would like to expand my knowledge by speaking more to the locals, but the tones here are upside down and the local dialect is very different from that of both Hanoi and Saigon. I tend to adjust my speaking patterns to the locals if I spend too much time talking to them, but I am not sure this is the place I want to mimic the local populace.

The gym and pool here will help round out those other times when I get restless working in my room.

Travel Season Begins

Today I head to Danang for two days.  This is like a practice run for the real thing since I will be traveling consistently throughout March and into April.  As a matter of fact, I will be traveling right up through September.  By practice run, I mean I can make sure my baggage basic load is up to par.  There is nothing worse than being on the road for more than a couple of days without some essential item, and this practice run gives me an opportunity to check and make sure everything that needs to be in my bag is there.

 

Travel season is year round, but this break I get from December through February makes it feel like I have been in one place way too long!  Diep calls me a five star traveler, but she says it in a way that makes me feel dirty.  I don't know why I feel guilty, because she travels nearly as much as I do and her travel costs us money.  When I travel, I actually spend less than my per diem, or daily allowance.

 

As a matter of fact, Diep and Megan will be heading down to Saigon to attend the wedding of her niece as I head to Danang.  She has been antsy to go somewhere because she has been in Hanoi for nearly a whole two months now.  Her mother broke her leg a couple of weeks ago, so this is a good opportunity to visit her mother and go to the wedding. 

 

We were eating at our favorite Japanese restaurant when I told Megan about her grandmother breaking her leg.  I should have waited until after we finished eating, or even when we got back home because Megan started sobbing after I told her.  That is one sensitive little girl!

 

The weather in Hanoi has been cold and wet for the past week, so I have no regrets about leaving today!  When it rains here, people forget how to drive.  Traffic bogs down and it takes forever to get anywhere!

Hoan Kiem Lake Turtle

Anyone who has traveled to Hanoi knows of Hoan Kiem Lake.  When someone refers to the center of Hanoi, they are most assuredly referring to the area of Hoan Kiem Lake. It is translated as Restored Sword Lake and has a legend attached to it.

In the 1400s, Le Loi (posthumously known as Le Thai To) rose against the Ming to claim independence from the Chinese.  He was initially unsuccessful until he was given a sword by the Dragaon god, after which he led a 10 year campaign ending in victory.  One year after his victory, a giant golden-shelled turtle rose from the lake as Le Loi was riding in his dragon boat.  In a human voice, the turtle asked for the sword back.  Le Loi threw the sword into the lake and the turtle grabbed it with his mouth and descended into the water.

In the Ngoc Son Temple, built on an island in the lake in honor of one of Le Loi's generals, Nguyen Trai, there is a stuffed giant turtle.  This turtle, too, has a history.  It was found with a hole in its shell, dying on the edge of the lake in 1967.  Initially, the people who witnessed the turtle thought it had been struck by shrapnel from American bombs, but later it was determined a fisherman from Thai Binh named Thu had struck the turtle with his shovel after it got snagged in a net and threatened to capsize his boat.  In the autopsy, "experts" determined the turtle to be 900 years old.  This is surely an exaggeration but there is no doubt the 250kg turtle was no youngster when it died.

Now, there is at least one giant, soft-shelled turtle still alive in the lake.  He has surfaced recently and appears to be very sick.  Experts in Hanoi are working to determine whether they should recover the turtle for treatment or let him remain in the lake in the hopes he will recover on his own.  The lake is extremely polluted, and the fact that the turtle has survived this long is a testament to its heartiness.  It is possible this is the last of its species.  Though it is sad, it is unlikely the people of Hanoi could make the lake clean enough to sustain the existence of this majestic creature.  With him will go the legend.

Where did the weekend go?

I find myself sitting here at the computer on Monday morning wondering where the weekend went.  Luckily, today is Presidents' Day so I get an extra day off, but other than that the last two days went by in a blur.  I don't even remember anything too interesting that happened... it just blew by.

This is my last weekend at home before I take off on a couple of TDYs that will take me through the month of March and into April.  In a way, I am looking forward to it because it will be a time that I can get some projects started and completed, but the other side of that coin is that I will be away from Diep and Megan.  I already am looking into them coming for a visit to Hue midway through the mission.

I have no idea what is planned for today.  I do plan on getting in a run on the dyke road right after I finish this blog, but Diep and I have the whole day to ourselves so I am not sure what she wants to do.

In other news, on the 18th of February, a tourist boat capsized in the early morning hours in Ha Long Bay.  12 foreigners died because they were unable to get off the boat in time.  It is a really sad story.  More so by the fact that most of the people who died were in their early twenties.  At first, authorities thought the ship was struck by an underwater objects, but now it looks like someone left an engine cooling vent open.  The investigation is ongoing, but nothing is going to bring those people back from the grave.  Next time I get on one of those boats, I will make sure I run through my emergency exit procedures in my head before I lay myself to sleep.

Hemp Seeds

I recently read in a Men's Health book that hemp seeds are a superfood.  The amino acids are more complete like the protein found in milk, eggs and meat, rather than those usually found in other plants such as soybeans.  They are, apparently, also more soluble than flax seed which is also a seed rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Since I workout at least an hour, five to six days a week and the Vietnamese foods that I eat leave me feeling like I am not getting all of the protein I need, I usually eat a protein bar or drink a whey protein shake before or after I workout.  Since I work out at lunch, it also helps to keep the hunger pains away until after noon.

The thing is, protein bars and shakes just taste too good to be good for you... at least that is what I am thinking.  How can these bars and drinks taste like chocolate and sugar without having a lot of, well... chocolate and sugar in them?  That is why I just recently purchased a couple of bags of shelled hemp seed and hemp seed powder through Amazon.com.  These are all organic and from what I have tasted so far, taste really good!  I know this all sounds like someone hijacked my account and started ad placements, but I just wanted to get this out there so I can either confirm or refute the effectiveness of the hemp seed.

Other than that, the weather in Hanoi still sucks.

Some flowers and a relaxing evening

On the way home from work yesterday I stopped by the floral shop and bought Diep some flowers for Valentine's Day.  I always pay a lot more than she does for flowers because I am not the right color for the right price, but I think she appreciates the fact that I thought about her.  Fact is, I just got her a new phone the day before V-Day not even thinking a one-day delay could make me a bigger hero... sigh!  Anyway, I managed to talk her out of going out to dinner because, quite frankly, I would rather go out for a nice dinner on a different night.  All of the prices go up and the restaurants get crowded on Valentine's night.

Today everything is back to normal.  It feels like Monday still, but even with today being Tuesday, the weekend seems to be a million miles away right now.  I guess this is where I put my head down and bull through the rest of the week.  Grrr!

Disappointing Weekend Weather

The weather all during the week last week gave me hope that the weather would continue to be mild through to Spring and into the Summer.  Unfortunately, starting on Friday night the rain and cold front moved in.  Yesterday wasn't too bad, but it definitely wasn't what I was looking forward to after the great weather on Thursday and Friday.

Now I sit here in the house not even wanting to go outside.  I went to eat chicken phở this morning with Diep and got convinced today was not for me.  I came back and took a nap while listening to music in the bedroom.  Sleepy Sunday morning!

I believe today is the official last day of Tet (10 days).  That means the streets should clear up around the temples where people have been going to pray.  The Vietnamese definitely know how to pray!  They pray for money, happiness and success.  It must work too, because I see an awful lot of Mercedes, BMWs, Bentleys and Lexi (plural for Lexus) parked outside of the temples.

It really wouldn't surprise me if the weather cleared up on Monday. Maybe I should go to the temple and pray?!