work

I am posting this photo and this entry merely as evidence that I am still alive and well in Hanoi.  What you see here is me “assuming the position”.  As of late, that is in my office, at my desk, slaving away at the computer, either writing articles for newsletters, reading e-mails, reading reports, writing reports, writing e-mails (way too many!), managing my team or coming up with some *brilliant* idea of how to market and sell our six properties!  I’m also likely to be setting myself up for a slipped disc in my neck again with my horrible posture, hunched over my laptop – but that’s a story for another day!

I really want you to know much I love you, I miss you, I am thinking about you and wishing I had the time to take a huge breath and break and touch base with each of you personally.  I’m in my third week of “OH MY GOD I HAVE SOOOOoooo MUCH TO DO” mode.  But I think all of us have been in this situation where a new job, a new adventure, a new chapter in life is nothing short of all-consuming.  And so it is for me.  I’m lucky if I remember to brush my teeth before I go to sleep (OK. That was totally an exaggeration!  I only forgot to brush them on Monday night.).

As you can see I haven’t lost my sense of humor.  Nor my enthusiasm for what I am doing.  I am so proud to be the Director of Sales & Marketing for Apple Tree and I am thoroughly enjoying living in Hanoi (what I experience of it when I’m not in the room you see in the picture!).

My favorite 15 minutes of the day is my motorbike ride to work.  The “Tang Man” (real name: Anh Tanh) picks me up at 8am most mornings.  I hop on the back of his bike with my brief case between us and purse clutched over my left shoulder.  I watch with wide eyes as mornings in Hanoi unfold.  Sights of ladies selling produce, men setting up their barber shops against tree trunks, families of four on a motorbike, random people trying to cross insanely busy streets, buses full of middle-aged tourists, and young “cool” guys without helmets all whiz by in a blur.  But the wind in my face and the sights and sounds (even the smells sometimes) are all so exciting.  It’s a thrill.  I can’t wait to get my own motorbike and learn the city streets.

I hope you can lend me your patience and understanding.  I miss my routine of writing, of updating my blog, of chatting with you.  Love and miss you oodles and will write again soon.

On the Bright Side,

Shanna