New Year's Resolutions

As I sit here in my bed in Nha Trang City nearing the eve of the 2020 New Year, I find myself thinking about those resolutions I should make for the coming year.  I've been hot and cold on resolutions through the decades, but I find myself seeing the benefits more as I start nearing the end of my life cycle.  Every year, I see the advice on how to set reasonable resolutions, and I think I will give it a try in the true sense of the S-M-A-R-T principles.  For those who don't know, SMART is the principle for which we establish our performance criteria in the federal service.  It is a mnemonic that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. If you have ever attempted to write performance objectives using SMART, you know that it is easier in theory than it is in practice.  So, here goes:

Resolution 1:  Read* one book every month of 2020.  That isn't to say that I can't read more than one, but it is to say that my intent is to finish one book in every month of 2020.  * read includes listening to an audio book in its entirety.

This is an interesting resolution, because I am pretty sure that I read and listened to close to or even more than 12 books last year.  The problem is that I didn't keep track of them. I will try to keep track of them on this BLOG, listing the book and some insight, to include my synopsis of the book and a rating. I really got into audio books in the last year, and I believe I get as much out of listening to audio books as I do reading books (especially digital books), I actually prefer paper books as I often refer back to specific sections when reading, which is really hard to do with audio and digital books.

Resolution 2: Take and complete at least one online programming course on a Massive Online Open Course site (i.e., EdX or Coursera).

I have taken and completed a couple of technical courses on Lynda.com, but they are shorter and easier to finish. While I have enrolled in several programming courses on MOOC sites, I have yet to finish one.  I believe I will take, and finish a programming course in Python, though I will allow myself to take a different course if I change my mind.  I will continue to take Lynda.com courses, though.

Resolution 3: Work out at least four days for an hour more on each of those days each week during 2020.

These workouts can be split into smaller session in the day, but in order to count, I have to complete an hour for the entire day to count for the week.  I thought about making a resolution to lose weight, but I think it is easier to make a workout resolution that will hopefully lead to a reduction in weigth, and overall health improvement.

So, that's it.  Three resolutions that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Wish me luck!

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival on West Lake in Hanoi - 16 February 2019

Yesterday was my first Saturday in Vietnam since returning from three weeks in the U.S. to see Megan off to Nepal from DC.  Being away from the office means I have a super lot of work to catch up on, but the weather threatened of rain, so I just put it off until a future day.

While Diep and I were lazing around the house - still getting over the jetlag - we heard the drums of a festival on the Thanh Nien Road side of the lake.  In all the years I have been in Vietnam, I have never been to a Dragon Boat Festival. That side of the lake is just a short walk from our apartment building, so we decided to see what the fuss was all about.

All along Thanh Nien Road on the West Lake side, motorbikes and people filled all empty space.  It was very hard to walk anywhere, and the comings and goings of the motorbikes added to the overall chaos.  Closer to the boat race starting point, representatives from about 20 local, province, and national teams milled about, either recovering from their heat, or preparing to race.  A variety of sideshows, to include dancers, folk singers, and hula hoop performers dotted the festival area. Food vendors were out selling beverages, sandwiches, and pastries as well.  The sights, smells, and sounds made this a uniquely Vietnam experience.

Overall, it was a good time killer, but nothing so special as to hang around too long.  I get nervous around crowds, and I had more money in my wallet than I cared to lose should I have been the arbitrary target of a pick pocket.  The weather was in the 70s and overcast, which is about as close to ideal as I will ever get in Hanoi. It was great not to be frozen, having just returned from a polar vortex event I care not to repeat anytime soon.

Back in Vietnam

It has been a very long time since I have updated this blog. As a matter of fact, since my last post, I have received an assignment to return to the U.S. (in the DC area) and have since posted back in Hanoi.  Just a little over two years since I last posted and it seems like time went into overdrive.

Anyway, there is so much to talk about and yet it seems extremely hard to know where to begin.  I went back to the U.S. for a number of personal and professional reasons that I probably won't go into here on this blog.  I can say that my return to the U.S. was quite a culture shock.  So many changes to the U.S. from 2002 to 2017, and even though I returned on an annual basis, in general, it sort of hit me in the face once I was back "for good."  Ironically, it was the goods and services that created the culture shock of returning, that also creating the culture shock back in Vietnam.  I grew used to the comfort of life in the U.S., even though they claimed a premium portion of my pay... cable TV, insurance, car, gasoline, house, cell phone... 

I imagine that I won't be able to help but to talk about those differences as I try to get back into this blog. It won't be easy to find the time. I got back to Hanoi at the very beginning of September and I haven't stopped since.  I am in a new position here, and it isn't what I was used to doing. After over four months back, I can see that I will eventually catch up and get in a routine, but that eventuality is still several months down the road.

I had a fantastic time in the U.S. Living in the DC area was one of the best experiences I have had.  Some of my favorite things included driving by our national treasures and monuments on Sunday mornings.  Riding on the street right in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument, and down Constitution Avenue with nary another car on the road was surreal.  My favorite trail in the whole world is the Mount Vernon Trail.  I didn't do it as often as I would have liked, but riding my bike from my house to Crystal City on almost total dedicated bike routes was a fantastic experience.  I even managed to hop on an 'incentive' ride on a UH-60 helicopter that flew right over all of the best spots in the capital region.  I have pictures of it all, but I just don't have the time to post them right now.

One of the best things I did before I left the States was purchase a pixel 2 phone. The camera is phenomenal and I have been happily snapping away while back in Vietnam, too. 

Anyway, I hope to get back to chronicling my life back in Hanoi. Bear with me, it could be a while before I have a routine that allows me regular updates.