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.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
New Year 2013
I spent all last week in Saigon celebrating the lunar new year - known as Tet in Vietnam - with Diep and Megan. We had a pretty good time and I took lots of photos. Diep definitely stayed busier that I did traveling back and forth from Saigon proper to her family's house in 12th District.
I did go to visit some of Diep's relatives, two of her closest aunts and uncles, but mostly just relaxed in and around the hotel. We stayed in a small hotel in the area of the Ben Thanh Market, so there was always something to do nearby. Next to visiting the family, the two most interesting things I did was walk into Cho Lon (Chinatown) and visited Tet Flower Street.
Chinatown is a pretty interesting place that still has buildings that date back to the early 1900s. I guess I appreciated the huge trees that lined some of the main thoroughfares through the area the most. They appear to all be at least 100 years old, towering about 120 feet into the air. I like trees a lot, and especially old trees. They have a special place in my heart because they are so often the memory markers for our witnesses who remember the old trees where they buried our mssing soldiers. If only the trees could talk, I am sure they could tell some fascinating stories, especially in Chinatown. I also, quite by chance, came upon a Chinese Temple dedicated to the deity Thien Hau. Apparently Thien Hau is the Chinese deity who watches over and protects sailors and passengers at sea. The two things that struck me most about the Thien Hau Temple was the fragrant incense the worshippers were burning in abundance and the beautfiul and very old porcelain statues in these very elaborate dioramas located both in and out of the temple.
Saigon has organized flower displays on Nguyen Hue Street for ten years now. The displays are elaborate and the flowers are absolutely gorgeous. I enjoyed watching the young girls in their traditional dress - the ao dai - pose alongside the beautiful flowers, as if to compare their beauty with that of the flowers. The flower displays remained up for the four days of Tet and seemed to be just as fresh on the last day as the first. That in itself was quite a feat comsidering the temperatures soared into the high 90s the whole time I was there. I even broke down and bought a hat, partly because Diep was badgering me to get one and partly because the sun was just that extreme.
All in all, it was a good trip, though I never feel that relaxed after returning from a trip with the family. The saving grace of the whole holiday was I got President's Day off on Monday. That extra day made all the difference in how I felt coming back to work.
Though I haven't labeled them yet, my photos of my trip to Saigon can be viewed at the following address:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117376873662186980648/Tet2013InSaigon916Feb2013?authuser=0&feat=directlink
I did go to visit some of Diep's relatives, two of her closest aunts and uncles, but mostly just relaxed in and around the hotel. We stayed in a small hotel in the area of the Ben Thanh Market, so there was always something to do nearby. Next to visiting the family, the two most interesting things I did was walk into Cho Lon (Chinatown) and visited Tet Flower Street.
Chinatown is a pretty interesting place that still has buildings that date back to the early 1900s. I guess I appreciated the huge trees that lined some of the main thoroughfares through the area the most. They appear to all be at least 100 years old, towering about 120 feet into the air. I like trees a lot, and especially old trees. They have a special place in my heart because they are so often the memory markers for our witnesses who remember the old trees where they buried our mssing soldiers. If only the trees could talk, I am sure they could tell some fascinating stories, especially in Chinatown. I also, quite by chance, came upon a Chinese Temple dedicated to the deity Thien Hau. Apparently Thien Hau is the Chinese deity who watches over and protects sailors and passengers at sea. The two things that struck me most about the Thien Hau Temple was the fragrant incense the worshippers were burning in abundance and the beautfiul and very old porcelain statues in these very elaborate dioramas located both in and out of the temple.
Saigon has organized flower displays on Nguyen Hue Street for ten years now. The displays are elaborate and the flowers are absolutely gorgeous. I enjoyed watching the young girls in their traditional dress - the ao dai - pose alongside the beautiful flowers, as if to compare their beauty with that of the flowers. The flower displays remained up for the four days of Tet and seemed to be just as fresh on the last day as the first. That in itself was quite a feat comsidering the temperatures soared into the high 90s the whole time I was there. I even broke down and bought a hat, partly because Diep was badgering me to get one and partly because the sun was just that extreme.
All in all, it was a good trip, though I never feel that relaxed after returning from a trip with the family. The saving grace of the whole holiday was I got President's Day off on Monday. That extra day made all the difference in how I felt coming back to work.
Though I haven't labeled them yet, my photos of my trip to Saigon can be viewed at the following address:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117376873662186980648/Tet2013InSaigon916Feb2013?authuser=0&feat=directlink
Saturday, January 26, 2013
I Should be Working, But...
I think I should be working right now, but it is Saturday and I did spend most of the morning moving from Tra Vinh City to where I am now, Bac Lieu City. It has been hard for me to get my work requirements accomplished for a myriad of reasons from lack of connectivity, weariness, travel, to a bad working environment... Anyway, I should be able to cut a few hours into this evening to get something accomplished. In the meantime, I thought I would put this post up before heading out to dinner.
This morning I woke up early, as usual. I have had a really hard time staying in bed past four thirty or so since I got back from the U.S. This morning, without an alarm, I got up at 5:20 am. I had huge bags under my eyes, but at least I got about eight hours sleep. At just after 7 am, there was a cacaphony of drums and bells in the parking lot of the Cuu Long Hotel. I didn't pay it much attention and it seemed over as quickly as it started. But, it kicked off again about 30 minutes later, so I rushed down with my camera to get a few picks of the dragon dance. The dragon dance is a common lunar new year ritual both in China and Vietnam, and it is quite the flurry of color and sound. I grabbed this picture of the kids doing the dance. Sorry it wasn't better composed, but these guys were jumping around like crack addicts and I had to maneuver around the crowd to get even this shot:
Today was the 15th of the lunar month of December. The last full moon of the 2012 lunar calendar. I am not sure if that was the reason for the dance, or if it was just some work up to Tet, but these guys seemed to have a lot of energy and it looked like they were having fun. This was in Tra Vinh City, where the primary work is still agriculture. Somehow, I think Tet means a lot more to these guys than it does to the folks in the city.
Anyway, there will be quite a few activities throughout the country moving into the lunar new year. I will try to grad some better shots. That is, if I can find some time away from work.
This morning I woke up early, as usual. I have had a really hard time staying in bed past four thirty or so since I got back from the U.S. This morning, without an alarm, I got up at 5:20 am. I had huge bags under my eyes, but at least I got about eight hours sleep. At just after 7 am, there was a cacaphony of drums and bells in the parking lot of the Cuu Long Hotel. I didn't pay it much attention and it seemed over as quickly as it started. But, it kicked off again about 30 minutes later, so I rushed down with my camera to get a few picks of the dragon dance. The dragon dance is a common lunar new year ritual both in China and Vietnam, and it is quite the flurry of color and sound. I grabbed this picture of the kids doing the dance. Sorry it wasn't better composed, but these guys were jumping around like crack addicts and I had to maneuver around the crowd to get even this shot:
Today was the 15th of the lunar month of December. The last full moon of the 2012 lunar calendar. I am not sure if that was the reason for the dance, or if it was just some work up to Tet, but these guys seemed to have a lot of energy and it looked like they were having fun. This was in Tra Vinh City, where the primary work is still agriculture. Somehow, I think Tet means a lot more to these guys than it does to the folks in the city.
Anyway, there will be quite a few activities throughout the country moving into the lunar new year. I will try to grad some better shots. That is, if I can find some time away from work.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Back to Where I Have Been
I just finished some site reconnaissance work in the Western Highlands in preparation for an upcoming mission. On two of the sites I visited, I actually conducted the initial investigations in 2006. It doesn't seem that long ago, but when I met the witness for one of the cases, I didn't recongize him. As a matter of fact, I thought that my counterparts had located the wrong witness. Ends up, after going through my old photos, that this is the right witness, he just looks a lot older. It got me to thinking how seven years makes such a great difference between your sixties and seventies, and yet we just fritter our years away in our twenties and nothing seems to change. I got to thinking how much difference seven years will make when I reach my mid sixties and it made me sad. It made me even more sad when I pulled out the photo of myself with the witness seven years ago; noting the witness is not the only one who looks older.
I guess the key is to be happy with the way you spend your time. Growing old is one of the most natural things in the world and there are some perks to it, like seeing your child learn and be successful.
Anyway, I am heading to Saigon and the Mekong Delta region today. Fortunately, I haven't done any previous work on those sites, so I won't be saddened by any ageing I have done.
I guess the key is to be happy with the way you spend your time. Growing old is one of the most natural things in the world and there are some perks to it, like seeing your child learn and be successful.
Anyway, I am heading to Saigon and the Mekong Delta region today. Fortunately, I haven't done any previous work on those sites, so I won't be saddened by any ageing I have done.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Human Bug Zapper
Caveat up front: There is no real purpose to this little story, other than it was very surreal for me this morning and I wanted to share.
I woke up this morning at 0430hrs, because I was departing for the Western Highlands to do some advance work on some sites scheduled for excavation. I kicked into my normal routine of making the coffee and grabbing the IPad to read up on what's going on in Twitter, FB, etc.
Around 5:00, I heard a boom that I thought could be a backfire, a gunshot or a firework from outside, but it wasn't enough to get me off the couch. A few minutes later, I heard another, and through the window I saw a flash of white light. I got up and looked out the window, but didn't see anything and returned to the couch. Shortly after that, I heard another boom and got up again. This time I saw that there was a bare power line somewhere down on one of the backstreets of the apartments. I couldn't see the exposed area because there was a building obscuring my view. After standing for a minute, I saw the lights of a vehicle go by and as it passed into the obscurity of the building I saw another white flash and heard a boom. I watched three more vehicles go by with the same effect.
In Vietnam, most vehicles traveling down back streets are motorbikes, so I couldn't help thinking that these bikes were getting zapped (and these were huge flashes of white light) and the drivers were piling up on the other side; not much unlike dead bugs in the bottom of a bug zapper. There didn't appear to be any harried movement of people warning others, and as a matter of fact I didn't see anyone moving other than the few vehicles that went by. It just seemed very strange that no emergency vehicles went by and I saw no fire trucks.
After the fourth vehicles got zapped, everything got quiet and I didn't hear anymore booms. I went ahead and got ready for my day, packed the rest of my gear and left the house.
I woke up this morning at 0430hrs, because I was departing for the Western Highlands to do some advance work on some sites scheduled for excavation. I kicked into my normal routine of making the coffee and grabbing the IPad to read up on what's going on in Twitter, FB, etc.
Around 5:00, I heard a boom that I thought could be a backfire, a gunshot or a firework from outside, but it wasn't enough to get me off the couch. A few minutes later, I heard another, and through the window I saw a flash of white light. I got up and looked out the window, but didn't see anything and returned to the couch. Shortly after that, I heard another boom and got up again. This time I saw that there was a bare power line somewhere down on one of the backstreets of the apartments. I couldn't see the exposed area because there was a building obscuring my view. After standing for a minute, I saw the lights of a vehicle go by and as it passed into the obscurity of the building I saw another white flash and heard a boom. I watched three more vehicles go by with the same effect.
In Vietnam, most vehicles traveling down back streets are motorbikes, so I couldn't help thinking that these bikes were getting zapped (and these were huge flashes of white light) and the drivers were piling up on the other side; not much unlike dead bugs in the bottom of a bug zapper. There didn't appear to be any harried movement of people warning others, and as a matter of fact I didn't see anyone moving other than the few vehicles that went by. It just seemed very strange that no emergency vehicles went by and I saw no fire trucks.
After the fourth vehicles got zapped, everything got quiet and I didn't hear anymore booms. I went ahead and got ready for my day, packed the rest of my gear and left the house.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
New Year 2013
If the first 10 days of the New Year are any indication of things to come in 2013, I will be traveling a lot. I already know this to be true just looking at my schedule up into March this year. Being away from the family that much means that I will have to spend more quality time when I am home or with them. If that means spending more money for them to meet me some place, I am good with that.
Right now, I am in Hawaii. I know, I know, there are those out there thinking Wow!, Hawaii. Wish I was there. Maybe so, and quite honestly I am enjoying the training I am getting right now, but I haven't been out on the town much. I have taken advantage of the early morning hours, though. I have been running since I got here and plan on keeping it up until I leave. Whether I keep running when I get to Hanoi or move into a new fitness program is yet to be seen, but I do plan on keeping something going. Since I exercise quite a bit already, I think I will need to focus more this year on my diet. Hard to do that here in Hawaii, but I already have a plan for when I get back home. If that is a new year's resolution, fine. Hopefully my enthusiasm lasts longer than usual when it comes to new year inititatives.
Upon my arrival into Honolulu, I promptly left my IPAD in the airline seat pocket in front of me. I had already cleared immigration, gotten my baggage, boarded the rental car and was bound for the hotel before I realized I had left it. I told my two traveling companions and didn't plan on going back to the airport to look for it, but they were supportive and suggested I give it a try. It took no more than 15 minutes to have it back in my hands. I must say, my faith in the human race is restored. Seeing a significant pay cut due to increased social security withholdings at the beginning of the year left me praying I didn't have to buy a new IPAD. Many thanks to Korean Airlines and the aircraft cleaning crew for doing the right thing. I seriously doubt I would have ever seen my IPAD again had I left it in a seat pocket arriving in Hanoi.
Regrettably, I didn't get a clean break from 2012. I still have a bit of a rocky road to go in the early part of 2013. Not sure when things will get better, but in the meantime, I will put my head down and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. As long as I don't stop, I don't think I will fall down.
Right now, I am in Hawaii. I know, I know, there are those out there thinking Wow!, Hawaii. Wish I was there. Maybe so, and quite honestly I am enjoying the training I am getting right now, but I haven't been out on the town much. I have taken advantage of the early morning hours, though. I have been running since I got here and plan on keeping it up until I leave. Whether I keep running when I get to Hanoi or move into a new fitness program is yet to be seen, but I do plan on keeping something going. Since I exercise quite a bit already, I think I will need to focus more this year on my diet. Hard to do that here in Hawaii, but I already have a plan for when I get back home. If that is a new year's resolution, fine. Hopefully my enthusiasm lasts longer than usual when it comes to new year inititatives.
Upon my arrival into Honolulu, I promptly left my IPAD in the airline seat pocket in front of me. I had already cleared immigration, gotten my baggage, boarded the rental car and was bound for the hotel before I realized I had left it. I told my two traveling companions and didn't plan on going back to the airport to look for it, but they were supportive and suggested I give it a try. It took no more than 15 minutes to have it back in my hands. I must say, my faith in the human race is restored. Seeing a significant pay cut due to increased social security withholdings at the beginning of the year left me praying I didn't have to buy a new IPAD. Many thanks to Korean Airlines and the aircraft cleaning crew for doing the right thing. I seriously doubt I would have ever seen my IPAD again had I left it in a seat pocket arriving in Hanoi.
Regrettably, I didn't get a clean break from 2012. I still have a bit of a rocky road to go in the early part of 2013. Not sure when things will get better, but in the meantime, I will put my head down and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. As long as I don't stop, I don't think I will fall down.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Never Looking Back
Tomorrow I head off for America with Megan to celebrate the holidays at home. Diep didn't want to go this year because she has some unfinished business in Saigon, and because her back hurts when she sits on the plane for transpacific flights. Megan and I will miss Diep, but we will only be apart for two weeks... I think we can all handle that.
I won't be back in Vietnam until after the new year. As with every new year I am sure I will have some resolutions in hand. I may have actually listed my resolutions in a post last year, but I am not looking back to see just how miserably I failed. Never looking back may just be the best approach for me to adopt. Sure, there are those who tell us that we must learn from our mistakes. With that, I agree. But I don't want to dwell on those mistakes and failures. I don't see the purpose.
So, I will barrel into 2013 with no regrets. I can only hope this coming year treats me better than 2012. In 2012, I felt overwhelmed with the work load and new job I started. The only good thing I can see in this waning year from my perspective is that I was able to set myself up for some monumental successes that should begin with the year 2013. Most good things come off the back of blood, sweat, and tears. Everything else is just luck.
So here I am, never looking back. I hope I am still young enough to keep looking foward. I reckon I have a few more good years in me. I need to capitalize on those coming years.
I feel good now. Last week I suffered a bout of what I believe was Sciatica. Basically, a pinched nerve, or bunch of nerves, that caused my lower back and hip muscles to tighten to the point of severe pain. I doubt there is anything I can do about it, except hope it doesn't pop up again. I just sat on my ass for a week and let it work itself out. I guess I could have gone to a doctor, but my feeling about doctors on things like this is they can't do anything except charge you for medication to ease the pain and inflamation. I can get that on my own.
I won't be back in Vietnam until after the new year. As with every new year I am sure I will have some resolutions in hand. I may have actually listed my resolutions in a post last year, but I am not looking back to see just how miserably I failed. Never looking back may just be the best approach for me to adopt. Sure, there are those who tell us that we must learn from our mistakes. With that, I agree. But I don't want to dwell on those mistakes and failures. I don't see the purpose.
So, I will barrel into 2013 with no regrets. I can only hope this coming year treats me better than 2012. In 2012, I felt overwhelmed with the work load and new job I started. The only good thing I can see in this waning year from my perspective is that I was able to set myself up for some monumental successes that should begin with the year 2013. Most good things come off the back of blood, sweat, and tears. Everything else is just luck.
So here I am, never looking back. I hope I am still young enough to keep looking foward. I reckon I have a few more good years in me. I need to capitalize on those coming years.
I feel good now. Last week I suffered a bout of what I believe was Sciatica. Basically, a pinched nerve, or bunch of nerves, that caused my lower back and hip muscles to tighten to the point of severe pain. I doubt there is anything I can do about it, except hope it doesn't pop up again. I just sat on my ass for a week and let it work itself out. I guess I could have gone to a doctor, but my feeling about doctors on things like this is they can't do anything except charge you for medication to ease the pain and inflamation. I can get that on my own.
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