Strange demands
The driver was late picking me up at the airport this evening. When he arrived 45 minutes later than scheduled, he clearly looked perplexed. Once in the car, he explained that there was an accident on the road and as he had no passengers in the car, the police stopped him and demanded that he take one of the victims to the hospital. He told me that the police can pull anyone over and demand these kids of things and that he is in no position to refuse. Hung was clearly irritated and did not want to be involved. He was also relieved that the victim wasn’t a big bloody mess.
Can you imagine?
American Idol lovers
So what do you do when you have a group of friends who are a mix of American Idol fans, some singers and musicians and good friends who just like to have good time? You through an American Idol party!
AI airs just one day after the US and a few of us follow it just as religiously. We are excited to see if there is the same level of talent as in Season 8.
The channel Star World brings “the best” of American television to the region. I’m not so sure why they schedule programs like “America’s Greatest Dog” or “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here” but I am sure thrilled that they show American Idol!
I gathered the girls at my place, ordered a bunch of pizzas, the gals brought wine, and we sat and watched and chatted and laughed. We had a great time. I’m sure I’ll host a few more parties as the season progresses. Especially when the contestants get to L.A. or into the finals. It’s good to have good girlfriends to be silly with and who are just as excited for a light-hearted, entertaining program. Thanks girls
Looking ahead
On the cusp of my one year anniversary with Apple Tree, of living and working in Vietnam, and on the heels of my travels overseas to London and Morocco, I can’t help but think about goals for next year.
Usually when I work at home, I have the TV or some music on in the background (or as the weather is pleasant now, my windows open which lends plenty of background noise). A line from one of the movies on HBO was, “Life is an occasion. Rise to it.” And it caught me and made me think. Have I risen to the occasion this past year? Has my life been well-rounded? Have I achieved all of my goals? Have I taken the bull by the horns and checked off all the boxes on my personal to-do list? No, no, no and oh yeah – NO!!!
I am actually very sad at how quickly I lost sight of myself this year. Right off the bat, work projects gobbled up me and my time, my thoughts, my every waking moment. And we all know that that is not the person I am or the type of person I aspire to be. I am not all about work. Yes – of course – I will always have a strong work ethic, be dedicated to my job…but when I don’t attend to my personal life on account of my job being too much…..Well then, Houston, we have a problem.
I know almost nothing about Hanoi. I can’t tell you what the best restaurant to go to is because I haven’t really tried enough of them. Outside the events at the Press Club, I’m not to sure where is the best place to go to have fun. I don’t really know that much about Vietnamese cuisine. I eat most my meals at work. At my desk. I have about 7 words of Vietnamese down, and 5 of those are so I can direct taxi drivers.
Sure, I have made many great friends, and certainly strengthened those relations I had coming into this post. Project Shanna 2009, though, a total bust. Absorbed the local culture? No. Made a good group of Vietnamese friends? No.
Usually I wait until the end of December to pick my personal theme for the year. (Let’s not even touch on the fact that I did not live up to my personal theme for 2009. Nor my professional one for that matter.) But after hearing that line in that movie, I’ve already decided my one theme for 2010. Rise to it. And with all my power, and spirit and resolve – I will.
Construction Next Door
If you are a friend of mine on Facebook, you’ll know that I have complained from time to time about the construction next door to my building. It’s family of the owner of my building, and so at least I can sort-of negotiate construction start times, but with my absence for two weeks, the crew fell quickly into old habits with starting construction this weekend before 6:30a.m.
What I don’t understand is that they bang about for 30+ minutes and then I don’t hear any banging the rest of the day. I’m nearly convinced that they do this on purpose just to get a rise out of me and are laughing on the other side of the wall.
I took some photos for you so that I could show you the skill and ability of the local workers. Mind you, this building is being remodeled, so there are some addition head-shaking points to ponder, but I think you can see that construction sites in Vietnam have a long way to go! Materials and workers as well…
Back from QUIET Laos
I returned home tonight after a two week absence, a business trip in Laos. Hanoi is still hot an humid. I thought it would be much cooler by now. I’ve been hearing that October and November are great months here.
After two weeks of hearing a horn just twice, my ears were immediately assaulted with the incessant honking of trucks, cars and motorbikes, of “Hey, I’m on your right” type beeps and “Move over asshole!” sounding full horns.
While my apartment was super stuffy, I could see that Hien had stopped by earlier in the day to spruce up my apartment for me. I’ve got 3 vases full of roses, nicely placed about my apartment. All my laundry has been done and my bedding looks fit for a hotel advertisement. Hien is one of the angels in my life. She takes good care of me (even if she does ruin my laundry from time to time!)
Laos is an incredibly peaceful place. Even though I couldn’t work as efficiently as I would have liked (the internet connection th…ere…is…s…o…..sl….ow!!!) I did accomplish what I needed and managed to have some fun in the meantime. I ate too much, got plenty of good, sound sleep, and squeezed in just a few moments of shopping.
You can find some photos of Laos HERE !!!
A fashionable event
I went to a party last weekend and just found tis photo on Facebook. I actually kind of love this photo – gives you a good idea of the party scene in Hanoi.
Thanks to my friend, Mette, she suggested it and got us tickets to this champagne/fashion party – Taittinger Purple Nocturne Party. We dressed up in our nice dresses (yes, that’s me in a dress!), had dinner at the Metropole and then on to the party. Most of the girls got dressed up, but as you can see, the boys didn’t care to much about the fashion aspect of the event (other than staring with mouths open at the fashion models.
Oh well! It was a fun party and I enjoyed the chance to have a proper night on the town with good friends and a fun crowd. Plus, I love my Chula dress and was happy to find an occasion to wear it!
Laundry conspiracy
Remember how I went shopping for work clothes in July? Well, I’m in desperate need of clothes again, as the washing machine and the iron are conspiring to eliminate all clothing from my wardrobe. I have no idea how a washing machine – and one which uses hot water – can actually not wash your clothes and then on top of that, leave stains on your clothing. Even my white bed sheets have little gray dots all over. Although now that makes me wonder if there is something in the dryer which is the culprit. My God! They are all out to get me!
Of the limited business shirts I have, three of them are totally ruined. The others, from over-usage are now fading and or have deodorant stains that just wont come out (cuz the friggin washing machine doesn’t actually wash!).
If the clothes happen to survive the washing machine (and the dryer, too) then the iron gets put in the game and does its best to either burn the clothes, or leave some sort of brown guck on the item, or some clear crap like you see on this shirt in the photo. It’s like a crystalized something or rather and I am just so overly confused and frustrated!
I’m lucky that my pending travel includes a visit to Singapore and then to London. In Singapore I can hit the Gap and Zara among a plethora of other stores…all decently priced. Singapore has got to be the shopping capital of the world. In London, I can check out the Gap again, but also H&M where I can stock up on some good and cheap casual clothes. This selection in my wardrobe is also uninspiring. Most of the items are about 2 years old now and I always feel I have nothing to wear.
This weekend, amidst all my sales & marketing plans and budgets and other work projects (which are consuming yet another weekend, damn it) I’ll take a brake and sort through all my clothes, throw away the ones which are no longer wearable. I may have to walk around half-naked for a few weeks, or show up to work in jeans and a t-shirt, but at least it will allow me the liberty to go nuts when I do go shopping again.
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