Hodge Podge of Stuff

So, I have a lot on my mind today and I am not sure where to start or in which direction to go, hence the title.  I actually looked up Hodge Podge on Google to make sure it is, in fact, a word. 

I should probably start with a little gratitude!  I am grateful I had a full weekend before coming back to work today. I know I just came off a 10-day holiday, ending last Monday, but those leave days excluded, I have had precious few full weekends in the last four months or more.  It all adds up, because when I miss a full weekend, it means I worked 12 days straight. That might not sound like much, but when you back it up against another lost weekend, or lost Saturday or Sunday, the stress builds up.  Oops, I started moving in the wrong direction already. Let me get back on track by noting two things I very much enjoyed this weekend. I really enjoyed eating at at Quan An Ngon at its new location (34 Phan Dinh Phung), this is a great Vietnamese restaurant with a great touch of class at the new location. It resides firmly on my "recommend" list for anyone wanting to taste authentic Vietnamese food in a classy (classic-style) restaurant.  I also went for a quick bike ride with Diep around West Lake. We haven't been on our bicycles for a few months and getting back on them was very, very enjoyable. Wiping the dust off, pumping up the tires, and lubing the chain sounds like simple prep work, but for some reason I was dreading doing that.  Now that those tasks are done, I will be back in the saddle on a more regular basis.  The weather was very agreeable all weekend, too!  Summing it up, I had a great and relaxing weekend.

Our next mission begins next week. My first mission trip begins on Friday when I fly to Danang.  I will be missing most of my next weekend and the weekend following that due to travel and work (see paragraph above regarding stress).  Fortunately, Diep is probably ready for me to hit the road again. She misses me terribly when I am gone, but too much time at home makes her hate me, or at least, not like me very much (believe me, I get it!). I only have one real work task this field activity in the form of a very tough investigation along the Viet-Lao Border. It may entail an overnight stay in the jungle. I am looking forward to it immensely.

I had some very weird dreams last night. I remember one and forgot the other. The one I remember was very strange and too embarrassing for me to tell on this forum.  I don't take much stock in my dreams, chalking most of them up to real life fears manifesting in my subconscious, or real life bladder pressure leaking into my dream world.  The former manifesting in the form of being naked at a school locker, or riding on a swing that gets faster and higher that I can't exit.  The latter in the form of peeing in public, or in some other inappropriate manner.  Last night's dream was really neither of those two, but still, sorry...  Diep takes great stock in her dreams, often taking them out on me by hitting me when she dreams that I am cheating on her.

I am gradually leaving my Facebook world and moving into Google Plus. I find I like Google Plus more because these people share my passion for photography and they tend to stay away from politics and issues more.  At least it seems less provocative when it comes to the political issues.  It may be that most of my Google Plus "friends" aren't really friends, just people I subscribe to.  If they annoy me, I unfollow them and no feelings are hurt.

I started taking St. John's Wort a few weeks ago, again. I haven't taken it in quite a few years, but work stress was building and I felt I was taking everything too seriously.  I am not sure if it is the supplement or the new attitude I am trying to adopt that is keeping me sane.  I am trying to catch myself as my anger rises and tell myself that whatever it is that is bothering me is just an illusion.  I am not sure where I read that, it could have been a meme poster that my sister put on her FB, or somewhere else. It seems to work, not because I believe that these people or problems I am having aren't real, but because I am convincing myself that the feelings I have are an illusion... I can't manipulate people or events, but I can manipulate how I deal with them.  I am just a beginner in this mental magic, I will have to see how it goes.