Saturday, January 14, 2012

New Year - 2012

I did an awful lot of traveling in December. I took my language test in Bangkok and then turned around the next week and went back to Bangkok from Saigon and then back to Saigon for our end of year Christmas and New Year celebration.  I know I should appreciate the time away with the family, but I have to admit that I just travel so much that sometimes it feels better to stay home for a while.  Of course that wouldn't be fair to Diep and Megan who have to stay home when I am away.

Anyway, as with any number of other Americans and others throughout the world, I came up with some New Year resolutions.  I am doing it a little different this year in that I didn't go for radical changes at the beginning of the year that I would have probably dropped within the first week. My goal was to make an assessment of my life and look to tweak those deficiencies and make those advancements slowly throughout the year with regular re-assessments. I don't know that we should wait until a new year to try and fix those things that are broken.

The new year wasn't the end of the traveling. I just got back from Singapore a couple of days ago. Fortunately it was only an overnight stay. I don't think I could afford more than that in Singapore, and definitely not on a vacation rather than on business as I was this time.  

The good news is that we plan on staying in Hanoi for the Lunar New Year, known in Vietnam as Tet. Tet officially starts on 22 January (Tet Eve) and officially ends on 25 January (3rd day of the New Year), but it actually ends on 29 January for Vietnamese government workers. When I say I am glad I am staying in Hanoi, I don't mean to give the impression I will enjoy Tet in Hanoi, but rather I am glad that I don't have to get on a plane and travel anywhere in this busiest time of year in Vietnam.

I celebrated my 46th birthday with Diep and Megan at a local buffet restaurant in Hanoi. We had a great evening and I appreciated the time and attention.  Too bad I had to sacrifice another good year for the evening.

Actually 2011 wasn't that great of a year for me.  Though I can name one event that happened this year that was wonderful, it was a very less-than-mediocre year otherwise.  I feel good about 2012, however, and hope to make up for last year.  Things do tend to even out in the end.