The spring-like weather is holding out so far. I haven't worn a jacket in a couple of days and my watch is starting to charge back up now. I put on about six pounds in the week I took off for Tet, so I will be spending the next couple of weeks trying to take that off.
The wart on my foot looks like it finally fell off. I am not sure if there is any residual wart that will come back in the future, but I will keep an eye out for it and start the treatments immediately if it looks like it is swelling again. The Curad bandages were what finally did the trick, but I have to say that the garlic definitely was effective in reducing the wart and stopping the pain.
Diep isn't mad at me right now and Megan is staying out of trouble so I have no complaints on the home front. I leave for Hue for a month-long job there in about three weeks. Being away for a month means I have to pack extra carefully. I have been gone for up to three weeks in the past and find myself missing a lot of the things I left at home. This time I plan on taking my personal laptop and digital SLR to keep me busy between periods of work.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Lunar New Year Break
I went into the office on Monday, but since then I have been off. Not much to do and not many places to go here in Hanoi. I was looking forward to Tet because, traditionally, the roads are practically empty of cars and motorbikes. I woke up on Wednesday, 2 February, and thought nothing would be different this year. I was only partially right.
Apparently the vast majority of Hanoi slept in very late on the first day of Tet after celebrations past midnight the night before. But, by 3pm traffic picked up and the roads were only slightly less traveled than a regular Wednesday at that time. The second and third day of Tet wasn't much better. People were anxious to get out and celebrate the much-improved weather. As a matter of fact, today (third and last official day of Tet) the weather is cool and the sun is out. It would appear that Tet this year did mark the beginning of Spring. But, if this is true, it is the first time I ever saw it. Usually, the weather stays ugly for about another month or so before the beautiful Spring weather sets in. For the record, the two best seasons of the year are Spring and Fall, but the best weather of these two seasons put together only counts for about a month out of the entire year. The rest is either too hot, too cold, too wet or too gray!
Diep lifted her ban on riding pillion with me in the driver's seat. The weather was too grand and I was just too damned good looking for her to continue her staunch resistance. I have been extra careful not to swipe her against any cars, bikes or walls as she rides with me, however.
After this week off, I am anxious to get back to work. I will be going in one day earlier than the rest of the staff as Monday is the official last day off at the office... that is good for those who want to watch the Super Bowl.
Apparently the vast majority of Hanoi slept in very late on the first day of Tet after celebrations past midnight the night before. But, by 3pm traffic picked up and the roads were only slightly less traveled than a regular Wednesday at that time. The second and third day of Tet wasn't much better. People were anxious to get out and celebrate the much-improved weather. As a matter of fact, today (third and last official day of Tet) the weather is cool and the sun is out. It would appear that Tet this year did mark the beginning of Spring. But, if this is true, it is the first time I ever saw it. Usually, the weather stays ugly for about another month or so before the beautiful Spring weather sets in. For the record, the two best seasons of the year are Spring and Fall, but the best weather of these two seasons put together only counts for about a month out of the entire year. The rest is either too hot, too cold, too wet or too gray!
Diep lifted her ban on riding pillion with me in the driver's seat. The weather was too grand and I was just too damned good looking for her to continue her staunch resistance. I have been extra careful not to swipe her against any cars, bikes or walls as she rides with me, however.
After this week off, I am anxious to get back to work. I will be going in one day earlier than the rest of the staff as Monday is the official last day off at the office... that is good for those who want to watch the Super Bowl.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Gloomy day... again!
Another gloomy day in Hanoi. The light mist in the air makes it feel like Lunar New Year is upon us... and it is. I have a solar-powered Citizen Eco-drive watch that is dying for some sun. When the battery gets low it clicks off two seconds at a time and this usually only happens when I put the watch on a desk in the apartment for days on in. I have been wearing my watch daily, but today I noticed it has been clicking off two seconds at a time just because the sun hasn't been out for days; maybe weeks.
Today is the last work day for most people before the Tet holiday begins in earnest. Local papers have been full of articles about the traffic on the streets and the long lines at the super market. Anyone who tries to tell you Tet is about anything other than hour-long queues in the market and bumper to bumper traffic has really missed the true meaning of Tet.
Lucky money is another Tet traditon. This is a custom of parents and friends of parents giving "lucky" money to kids in red envelopes. It sounds like a great tradition that the kids would love... and they do... but one has to be careful about how much is given to the children. If it is a child of a friend or family, the monetary amount should be between $2.50 and $5. When you start thinking about how many of your friends have kids, this amount can start to add up quickly. Fact is, the only people that make money during Tet are children... everyone else loses their asses!
Chúc mừng năm Tân Mão
An Khang, Thịnh Vượng
Happy Lunar New Year of the Cat
Peace and Prosperity to you
Today is the last work day for most people before the Tet holiday begins in earnest. Local papers have been full of articles about the traffic on the streets and the long lines at the super market. Anyone who tries to tell you Tet is about anything other than hour-long queues in the market and bumper to bumper traffic has really missed the true meaning of Tet.
Lucky money is another Tet traditon. This is a custom of parents and friends of parents giving "lucky" money to kids in red envelopes. It sounds like a great tradition that the kids would love... and they do... but one has to be careful about how much is given to the children. If it is a child of a friend or family, the monetary amount should be between $2.50 and $5. When you start thinking about how many of your friends have kids, this amount can start to add up quickly. Fact is, the only people that make money during Tet are children... everyone else loses their asses!
Chúc mừng năm Tân Mão
An Khang, Thịnh Vượng
Happy Lunar New Year of the Cat
Peace and Prosperity to you
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Megan's Camera Arrived
As previously noted, I ordered Megan a Panasonic G2 4/3 SLR. I ordered it off Amazon.com, and without going into too much detail I had some issues with the method of shipment pertaining to the lithium battery and the package was delayed. The camera was supposed to arrive around 10 December, but I didn't get it until yesterday.
Megan had wanted this camera so bad, and for so long, that it was really painful for her to have to wait for nearly two months before getting her Christmas present. She had just told me last week that she was going to stop asking me if her camera came because it made her feel too bad to think about it.
When I got home from work, Megan was at her friend's house so I placed some I-tunes gift cards that also came in the mail on her computer keyboard and I placed the camera behind her laptop screen. When she came into her room, I pointed out the gift cards and also reminded her that she should close the lid on her laptop if she wasn't using it to prevent dust from gathering on the screen. She gave me the look (the one that all teenage girls give their fathers when they are told what to do) and then closed the lid. Holy Cow! She burst into tears that rivaled the hysterics on the fat ladies on The Price is Right. She spent most of the rest of the evening playing with it. I am just glad it came in working order.
Megan had wanted this camera so bad, and for so long, that it was really painful for her to have to wait for nearly two months before getting her Christmas present. She had just told me last week that she was going to stop asking me if her camera came because it made her feel too bad to think about it.
When I got home from work, Megan was at her friend's house so I placed some I-tunes gift cards that also came in the mail on her computer keyboard and I placed the camera behind her laptop screen. When she came into her room, I pointed out the gift cards and also reminded her that she should close the lid on her laptop if she wasn't using it to prevent dust from gathering on the screen. She gave me the look (the one that all teenage girls give their fathers when they are told what to do) and then closed the lid. Holy Cow! She burst into tears that rivaled the hysterics on the fat ladies on The Price is Right. She spent most of the rest of the evening playing with it. I am just glad it came in working order.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Company
Just before I came home from work yesterday, Diep called me on the phone. She wanted to make sure I was coming home on time and to let me know that we had company.
When I got home, Diep was sitting with her second cousin (at least I think that is what your mother's brother's daughter's daughter is) and husband. Her name is Ngoc and she is 20 years old. She and Nguyen, 28 years old, got married a couple of months ago and were together in Hanoi while Nguyen took care of some business he had with Metro. Metro is the closest thing to Wal-Mart we have in Vietnam and he is the Feng-Shui guy for them... that is to say, he is the one that makes sure the products are displayed in the proper location within the store.
Ngoc and Nguyen had somewhat ambushed Diep by calling on the spur of the moment and showing up at the apartment just a little while later. I am not sure how much of this was Diep's fault and how much of it was theirs, because Diep very easily could have pressured them into visiting the house. Anyway, by the time I got home, Diep was ready to take them out to eat hot pot and I was invited, whether I wanted to go or not.
The hotpot was good but I felt a little uneasy the whole time because Diep was still giving me the silent treatment from two days earlier, as of that morning. She seemed okay for the moment, but I, of all people, know how small that dime is that she can turn on. Why, you may query, was I getting the silent treatment (which, by the way, is the least effective punishment she can throw at me because I like the "me" time)?
To make a long story short, some asshole was on a motorbike with 300 pounds of bottled beer strapped onto pannier-like side crates taking off from a red light just a little ahead of me. He lost control and veered sharply towards me and I sped up trying to get clear of his impending fall. I didn't slow down because it was a large crowd at the light and I thought it would be equally dangerous to just stop while the momentum of the masses was moving forward. Diep actually saved the guy from crashing by putting her knee into the beer crate as he was tumbling down. She said it hurt AND that it was my fault for driving too close to him (everyone was two inches away from each other). I was unwilling to accept the blame given there are laws in Vietnam against driving a motorbike that is overloaded, AND that he was the one that veered sharply into us. So maybe it wasn't such a short story after all.
Anyway, back to the company. We had a good time at the hot pot restaurant. I would have actually been given a pass on my previous bad driving behavior except I took exception to Diep lending the newlyweds my motorbike while they were in town. I couldn't say anything while she was offering because that would have been sure death for me, but I also couldn't not say anything later. This guy comes to Hanoi regularly (three or four times a year) and the last thing I want is to feel obligated to give up my motorbike every time he is in town... this is precedence she is setting. Also, she wanted to invite them to spend the night while they were here. What the hell?! Why don't we all just go live in a community tent with all of the beggars? Ngoc and Nguyen weren't even asking! AND, I just met them for the first time...AND Diep doesn't even know these people.
I guess it doesn't take a genius to figure out I am still getting the silent treatment. When will I learn?
When I got home, Diep was sitting with her second cousin (at least I think that is what your mother's brother's daughter's daughter is) and husband. Her name is Ngoc and she is 20 years old. She and Nguyen, 28 years old, got married a couple of months ago and were together in Hanoi while Nguyen took care of some business he had with Metro. Metro is the closest thing to Wal-Mart we have in Vietnam and he is the Feng-Shui guy for them... that is to say, he is the one that makes sure the products are displayed in the proper location within the store.
Ngoc and Nguyen had somewhat ambushed Diep by calling on the spur of the moment and showing up at the apartment just a little while later. I am not sure how much of this was Diep's fault and how much of it was theirs, because Diep very easily could have pressured them into visiting the house. Anyway, by the time I got home, Diep was ready to take them out to eat hot pot and I was invited, whether I wanted to go or not.
The hotpot was good but I felt a little uneasy the whole time because Diep was still giving me the silent treatment from two days earlier, as of that morning. She seemed okay for the moment, but I, of all people, know how small that dime is that she can turn on. Why, you may query, was I getting the silent treatment (which, by the way, is the least effective punishment she can throw at me because I like the "me" time)?
To make a long story short, some asshole was on a motorbike with 300 pounds of bottled beer strapped onto pannier-like side crates taking off from a red light just a little ahead of me. He lost control and veered sharply towards me and I sped up trying to get clear of his impending fall. I didn't slow down because it was a large crowd at the light and I thought it would be equally dangerous to just stop while the momentum of the masses was moving forward. Diep actually saved the guy from crashing by putting her knee into the beer crate as he was tumbling down. She said it hurt AND that it was my fault for driving too close to him (everyone was two inches away from each other). I was unwilling to accept the blame given there are laws in Vietnam against driving a motorbike that is overloaded, AND that he was the one that veered sharply into us. So maybe it wasn't such a short story after all.
Anyway, back to the company. We had a good time at the hot pot restaurant. I would have actually been given a pass on my previous bad driving behavior except I took exception to Diep lending the newlyweds my motorbike while they were in town. I couldn't say anything while she was offering because that would have been sure death for me, but I also couldn't not say anything later. This guy comes to Hanoi regularly (three or four times a year) and the last thing I want is to feel obligated to give up my motorbike every time he is in town... this is precedence she is setting. Also, she wanted to invite them to spend the night while they were here. What the hell?! Why don't we all just go live in a community tent with all of the beggars? Ngoc and Nguyen weren't even asking! AND, I just met them for the first time...AND Diep doesn't even know these people.
I guess it doesn't take a genius to figure out I am still getting the silent treatment. When will I learn?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
My Sister's Keeper
Monday, being a U.S. national holiday (MLK day), I had some free time in front of the TV. My Sister's Keeper was playing on one of the movie channels and I got caught up in watching it. I didn't get in on the beginning, but that was okay because I had seen the beginning a few months ago with Megan. At that time, something came up and I had to go do something else so I missed the rest of the movie. I asked Megan later if the movie was good and she said yes, but then when I asked if she liked it, she said no. It wasn't until I started watching it again that I realized what she meant. The movie was profoundly sad (and I am not sure if that description really accurately depicts how sad it was). It is sad even if you have never lost a loved one to cancer and even moreso if you have. I guess the hardest thing for me to understand is why I actually sat through the whole movie even though I knew, hope beyond hope, that the girl was going to die. So, if you are ever feeling uncontrollably happy, I do recommend this movie... it should take the edge off of the glee.
In other news, it is still cold in Hanoi. I think we have had more consecutive cold days in a row than I ever remember before. The only up side is that it isn't as wet as it has been in the past.
The 11th Party Congress is still in full swing and a new General Party Secretary and President have been elected. I will spare you, my reader, the names because they probably won't mean anything to you. Good news is, there are still two southerners in the Secretary-President-Prime Minister triumverate. That means I still have my excuse when someone notices I have a twinge of southern accent in my voice, and that is, "Two of your highest ranking national officials speak southern Vietnamese."
In other news, it is still cold in Hanoi. I think we have had more consecutive cold days in a row than I ever remember before. The only up side is that it isn't as wet as it has been in the past.
The 11th Party Congress is still in full swing and a new General Party Secretary and President have been elected. I will spare you, my reader, the names because they probably won't mean anything to you. Good news is, there are still two southerners in the Secretary-President-Prime Minister triumverate. That means I still have my excuse when someone notices I have a twinge of southern accent in my voice, and that is, "Two of your highest ranking national officials speak southern Vietnamese."
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Long Weekend
Today, I am doing my best to enjoy the rest of this weekend. Thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King Day, I get Monday off. Sweeter yet, Megan has to go to school. That means Diep and I can get some us time without feeling guilty about leaving Megan at home... not that she minds.
This Monday holiday also marks, in my mind, the official end to the holiday season. It just seemed to drag on for me this year and I am very happy to see it gone. Just too much goofing off. I wish I could use my holiday time to do the things I want to do, but more often than not, I am forced to do what others want or nothing at all.
Anyway, things are going to get very busy from here. I have a full year ahead of me, and I plan on getting as much out of it as I can.
This Monday holiday also marks, in my mind, the official end to the holiday season. It just seemed to drag on for me this year and I am very happy to see it gone. Just too much goofing off. I wish I could use my holiday time to do the things I want to do, but more often than not, I am forced to do what others want or nothing at all.
Anyway, things are going to get very busy from here. I have a full year ahead of me, and I plan on getting as much out of it as I can.
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