Waiting for Dawn

A Bit of Me(me)

2009-11-25T16:42:00Z

Questions from athenais

1. What is the most interesting name among your ancestors?

I haven't really looked very closely at my ancestry, in fact, and don't really know much beyond my own ancestry. My cousin looked into it once for a school project, however... the only name that really sticks in my mind, within my family tree (puns intended) is a woman named Margaret Twig.

2. What's your favorite guilty pleasure?

I don't really have many, although that's mostly because I am shameless in my tastes and feel guilty about nothing. Well okay, there is one... almost every time I go overseas, I indulge in a McDonald's Big Mac meal. Doesn't matter how good the other available options are, I just have this craving for it, and we don't have it over here.

3. You can prove, absolutely, that God exists. Will you tell?

Hmm, difficult one, but I don't think I would. It wouldn't stop arguments about the nature of god, after all, so wouldn't stop most of the major disagreements/conflicts going on... If it was "you can prove that one belief system's very specific god is real", I still wouldn't want to, as I'd feel that that would be detrimental to world diversity in general (but depending on the consequences for nonbelievers, maybe I'd have to!)

4. What's your favorite Olympic sport?

Last time around, it was the Torch Extinguishing event.... got quite competitive :) (that was really the only part that I paid attention to - I was at work during most of the opening ceremony, so missed that too)

Sometimes I watch downhill skiing in the Winter Olympics if I catch it, and curling is always fascinating to watch...

5. Do you think you'll ever move back to Hong Kong?

Can't give a definite yes, as it depends on jobs more than anything else, but it certainly remains as a future plan and isn't likely to lose that status any time soon.

Thanks for those! Since I don't spend enough time on LJ any more, if anyone wants to send me another Q or two (anything you're curious about, or any interesting sort of Q), then go ahead :) And if you want 5 Qs for yourself, let me know and I'll think of some.

TAR: Sean Penn, Cambodia

2009-10-12T17:59:25Z

Hey look, it's the place I had my stag night!

Anyway, they fucked that one up. didn't they? Sad to see them go, because they were a good team that I'd have liked to see make it until the end, but it's one of the basic rules, isn't it?

Unlike many people, I don't mind the poker girls, so don't mind that they were saved because of this slip-up (although to be honest, I don't see them lasting too long anyway - I'm really rooting for the Globetrotters, and hoping that Lance leaves the race as soon as possible.)

The logistics was also interesting... if the teams had been allowed to take buses, they could have ended up in central Phnom Penh even earlier than the plane ride would have allowed (because they couldn't get a plane until the next afternoon. The buses wouldn't have left until 6am, but that would have got them to their destination about 1pm, probably about the same time as plane passengers cleared immigration.)

Also, taking a tuk-tuk in Phnom Penh when you can take a taxi isn't the best idea. You might save a bit of money, but taxis go a lot faster, and there's no crazy traffic there like in Vietnam.

Also, that whole helmet task was obviously a set-up. There's no way a family of four would just happen to be passing by, who would also be willing to buy a set of helmets for $10, from a couple of random foreigners!

The Amazing Race: A Welcome Visit

2009-10-05T15:55:31Z

I missed the last couple of TARs, but caught a bit of the latest one by chance, so now I'm watching regularly again.

Enjoying it as usual, even a few too many of the teams seem a bit bland this time.

But if you are watching, and especially if you caught the latest episode: hey, that's my home of the past two years! This sort of thing isn't so uncommon for some of the places I lived, but it doesn't happen too often with Saigon, so it was quite welcome. Even better, Nhu was watching with me, and she was quite delighted to see how her hometown was featured.

It's always great seeing newcomers' reactions to the traffic too - reminds me of when I first arrived in Vietnam. It's not actually as bad as it looks though - especially when you're on a motorbike (we won't talk about the high rate of accidents from stupid driving for now.)

Nhu seems to be hooked on the series already, so I'll definitely be keeping up with this one...

On another note, it just occurred to me that NaNoWriMo is coming up again soon... what are the chances of me participating this year? What are the chances of it being about Saigon? And since I've pretty much just answered the first question with the second one, what are the chances of me finishing this year?

Dangers I Never Knew Existed

2009-09-11T18:39:03Z

Smoking should be banned because inside every cigarette is a little heroin. This is what I learned from one of my student essays today. Guess I was buying all the wrong cigarettes back when I was smoking!

News!

2009-08-10T13:50:07Z

Last week, new motorbike, this week, new apartment, and, in a few more months...

New baby!

A few of you knew already, but now it's time for the official announcement. We saw the ultrasound on Friday, which was pretty awesome. Our son is due to arrive in the beginning of January. We're quite excited :)

My Life as Epic Fantasy

2009-08-03T21:05:16Z

I sometimes feel like Gandalf fighting the Balrog when I'm marking these students' papers. Both in the falling down a deep, dark abyss sense, and the screaming "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!" sense.

My Five Words

2009-07-31T21:07:27Z

I asked jenwrites for five words, as said meme was being passed around. Four of the words she gave me are easy, but extensive. The last, hmm...

Marriage

Was inevitable, and very natural. After the wedding, nothing felt strange or different, because we'd been practically married before that anyway. Some of our friends knew before we ever announced it that it would happen fairly soon. The only difference now is I seem to spend a lot more time at her family's house (the past two weeks I've slept here most nights and barely seen our own apartment). I'd move in, but with her brothers and sisters, etc, there's not enough space to put all my stuff, and it can be a bit noisy sometimes, with the little nephews running around and being appeased by Vietnamese child singers and Teletubbies. We're looking at moving to a quieter, more peaceful area (where we're not in constant conflict with the motorbike parking attendants), though I suspect I'll still be seeing an awful lot of her brother's room - we get his room when we stay over - him and his wife & son (or more often just his wife and son, as he's often out of town due to being a professional football player) sleep downstairs in the parents' bedroom in that case. We get priority due to hierarchy, with Nhu being the oldest, something I've come to appreciate in Vietnamese culture :)

Scotland

Apart from the food, which is the only thing I really miss from Scotland, the country does still play a big part in my identity. Living in other countries since I was 10, I guess some sort of cultural identity feels important for me to hold on to. I'm sure overall I have more in common with my schoolfriends from HK, or even with some of my colleagues here in Vietnam, than I do with your typical Scot, but I've found that it's an important thing for me to hold onto nonetheless... Things like wearing a kilt and having Scottish music at the wedding were very important to me. It did feel good to go back to Scotland a couple of months back, and chances are I'll live there again, if just for a few years (for a couple of reasons), but it'll never really be home again... since I moved out here, my home has always been in Asia.

Vietnam

It's probably the place I've been both at my wildest, and my most responsible. Some crazy, crazy nights, like the things that should have happened in University were just waiting until I got here instead... many sunrises viewed from the comfortable wicker chairs at the outdoor bars in District 1, occasional 2-day benders, that crazy Cambodia trip, just to name a few... but it's also here that I became self-sufficient for the first time, and, more than that, began supporting not only myself, but another person too... I still have the crazy nights sometimes, but it's tempered with a growing family life, thinking about more than just myself.

That description really doesn't say much about Vietnam, does it? Probably because I got thinking about my life, and how everything's changed so much since I got here... as far as the place goes, I've written plenty about it in the past... it has its good and its bad, but it's the good that wins out. Many people, upon coming back to Saigon after their holidays, express nothing but wistful regret at not being on holiday. Me, I feel like I'm home again. Sure, it's crazy and crowded and places to relax are lacking, but somehow it just feels right, and it works for me.

Writing

Vietnam has had one negative effect on me, of course... seems like all my energy or focus goes elsewhere, and it's been a while since I've really been able to sit down and concentrate on my stories. I still think about them, I still talk about them, occasionally I even still write a bit of them, but disciplining myself for the writing has been more of a struggle here (even my LJ has gradually diminished, although it's easier than stories, because I can get away with more nonsense here) ;)

Got some stuff in the works, but will make no declarations or promises right now, because that tends to ensure they'll fall apart, for some reason. But when something new is complete, you can be sure I'll let you know. (and I am hoping the move to the new place will help with this)

Radio

Hmm... not much to say about this one... it's been a while since I listened to radio. Back in New York I used to listen to live streaming of UK radio stations, but the dodgy internet here has put a stop to that (can still do it, just with constant pauses, etc)... occasionally I'll use blip.fm, but even that has its spotty days. And on a more significant note, this means I'm not really listening to much new music these days at all... one day I'll do another of those posts asking for suggestions (it worked well last time). For now, I'm conspiring towards a karaoke machine that'll do all my favourite Radiohead songs (which is not as far-fetched as it might sound - will let you know how that goes!)

If you want your own five words to comment on, I'll be happy to give them to you. Just let me know!

(or if you just have any more comments about what I've written here, feel free...)

H1N1, the Legend Continues

2009-07-25T11:53:12Z

That impromptu weekend I found myself with just got a whole lot longer... the Uni's closed for the whole week next week (and we're getting paid for all of it!)

Now I just have to figure out what to do with all this spare time... going through all the Harry Potter films with Nhu right now so we can go watch the 6th one at the cinema tomorrow, but I haven't thought much further ahead than that... a nice little beach trip could be just the thing :)

THOSE PIGHEADED BASTARDS!!!

2009-07-23T16:32:27Z

If you're like me, you have a few days off right now... because Swine Flu (or as it's more cautiously known, H1N1) has hit my university! Not in a huge way, but media panic is a big thing, so they decided to close it down for a couple of days... which means I have a holiday from Friday until Monday! Rather unexpected, but very welcome.

Nhu, of course, is a little too worried about this, despite the facts I keep giving her. But Thursday was the beginning of our weekend this week, so there's really not much to complain about :)

(oh, and those days off are PAID days off, so REALLY not much to complain about) :)

Monkey and Dragon, Together At Last, Part 2 (The Party)

2009-07-16T17:53:01Z

No good wedding is complete without a good party. (Well okay, some are, but not ours!) This is the part of the wedding that most people attended - the morning ceremony was only family and a few close friends, but the party was whoever we wanted to invite. Maybe 160 or so people turned up to this part of the day's event.

And what an event it was! We'd done the ceremony in the morning, but really, there was more ceremony to come. It was majestic, it was beautiful, it was special, and it descended into sheer madness at the end of the night (which is to be expected when you invite a bunch of English teachers)

We held the reception at the Caravelle, a famous five-star hotel in downtown Saigon. Beautiful decor. We had the whole function room level to ourselves that night, so upon arriving at the third floor, everyone was met outside the actual function room with a little lobby area - a reception desk, with a book for everyone to sign, a box for everyone to post their gift money into, and a huge picture of Nhu and myself from the photo shoot two weeks earlier. We had to sign the book first, and after that stood around greeting everyone and taking the obligatory photo at the floral gate while everyone hung around and settled themselves in beyond. There was live violin music, champagne, wine, and fruit juice to keep everyone busy while this went on.

Finally, as the last of the guests arrived, we were allowed to hang around inside the room itself. Tables lined both sides of the room, with a big red carpet going down the middle to an elaborate stage, which was decorated with our names, a cake (top-level real), an ice statue of a swan, and an as-yet-empty champagne pyramid. Everyone else was allowed to sit, but not us (us being Nhu, me, and our parents). We had to stand by the red carpet while we watched a Vietnamese dance troupe make their way up to the stage. They danced to some moderned-up Vietnamese music, and were really good.

Then the MC took the stage (along with the wife of another friend, whose Vietnamese and English are both pretty perfect, for translation) and announced the bride and groom.

To the surprise and delight of the audience, "Highland Cathedral" (a beautiful bagpipe song) came booming out of the speakers as we marched up to the stage. The audience cheered wildly, and I've honestly never felt so special in my life - definitely the finest moment of the entire day. After we reached the stage, the music changed to the softer "Flowers of the Forest", another bagpipe song (but this one was the Mike Oldfield rendition) as my and Nhu's parents were announced and joined us on the stage.

We were then asked to give speeches. First Nhu's dad, then my dad, and finally myself. (Apparently, the typical way to do it is have her father last, but felt that my speech being the final one would be a bit more appropriate.) The speeches were all great, and mine made Nhu cry (in a good way) for the second time that day, and apparently even made a bunch of people in the audience tear up too. (I didn't prepare anything, just spoke from my heart.)

After cheering with Nhu's parents, my parents, and finally each other, we poured the champagne fountain, complete with dry ice effect. The music changed to The BeeGees' "How Deep is Your Love?" for this. After that was over, we walked over to the other side of the stage, where the cake stood. The music seemlessly changed to Fatboy Slim's "Praise You", which continued until we left the stage. (Originally I'd assumed the champagne fountain and cake-cutting would both be part of the same musical choice, and Nhu wanted a more "romantic" choice for the champagne, so I chose the BeeGees, but threw in Fatboy Slim afterwards because I didn't know how long the pyramid thing was going to last. The fact that they actually changed it between the two events was just perfect, and was responsible for another of the finest moments that evening.

(The champagne fountain and cake would both become important again later that evening, but we'll get to that...)

The music then changed to the first of my dinner CDs, which included more of Mike Oldfield's Voyager, some Air, Enigma, Seal, Lemon Jelly, Orbital, a couple of Chinese songs, various other things including one song from a Star Wars lounge music album (thanks johnbobshaun !), and of course Radiohead's "Lucky", which I danced to with Nhu on the dance floor, even though the dancing hadn't started yet. Talking of lucky, it's lucky we'd had that food tasting a few weeks earlier, because we didn't get much chance to eat, since we had to go around all 16 tables cheering everyone - they all enjoyed the food though, I think :)

Finally, around 9:15 or so, when dinner was over, the dance music began. I'd heard about Vietnamese weddings before, and heard specifically that after the dinner, everyone goes home... but I was determined to do otherwise, so I'd hired disco speakers and made sure there was a dance floor by the stage. So when the first song, the Scissor Sisters' "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" (of course), came on, I gathered up everyone willing, though I really didn't need to, because it filled up instantly. Following that were "Hey Ya!" (Outkast), and "Proper Education", the awesome dance remix of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" (had to with all those teachers there!). Then there were a few Scottish folk-rock songs from Shooglenifty, which went down well - my dad even had Nhu's mum on the dance floor for a while!

After the Scottish music ended, I had the sound people turn down the music and I took a mike, then explained that I'd chosen a couple of songs just for the American guests, to commemorate their day (it was July 4th.) The Americans got very excited at that point. As I relinquished the mike, the music went up again, to the sound of Rammstein's "Amerika", followed by "America, Fuck Yeah!" from Team America: World Police. Most of the American guests did appreciate my choices :)

Then it was back to whatever music I deemed danceable, which included the KLF (with Tammy Wynette), Guns N' Roses, New Order, Gorillaz, Pulp, Abba, INXS, Edwyn Collins, Roxy Music, The Trammps, O-Zone, Goldfrappe, more BeeGees, and of course a touch of Michael Jackson (Billie Jean).

Somewhere along the line, the night descended into madness, including the a huge cake fight, which I joined in quite enthusiastically and had my Prince Charlie jacked completely demolished - don't worry, the cake all came out in the dry cleaning! - and one drunken girl falling into the champagne fountain and smashing it - again, don't worry, she wasn't hurt!

The night ended at the right time, with a few slow songs (including How Deep Is Your Love again, which involved a whole bunch of us dancing in a circle around Nhu) and a nice wrap-up. Part of our package included a night in the hotel, so we stumbled up to our gorgeous honeymoon suite (with complementary champagne, which I saved until morning, and rose petals in the bathtub!) for the rest of the night.

A most wonderful day and night all around, and I'm glad everyone else loved it almost as much as we did!

Here are some pics of the evening event:

The Reception Party at the Caravelle	The Reception - Posing at the Door
The Party - Another Point of View	The Party - The Beginning and the Aftermath (by Nhu's brother Cuong)

Monkey and Dragon, Together At Last, Part 1 (aka the Wedding Ceremony)

2009-07-13T20:01:49Z

It's been over a week since our wedding, so I want to make sure I give it a decent writeup before time slips away too much.

First, I want to say it was a most beautiful and awesome wedding, the best we could have ever hoped for. Indeed, after I returned to work after our short break, many of my friends commented that it was the best wedding they'd ever been to.

It started off in the early morning, as these things do, with a few of my friends and some family coming to my apartment, to deliver trays of fruit, tea, whisky, and jewellery to Nhu's. The photographer and videographer arrived first, of course, while i was still putting on my kilt (it does take a while to put on), so they had to wait outside until other friends arrived. Eventually everyone arrived, and we had this elaborate little ceremony, guided by Nhu's brother-in-law (all her blood relatives had to stay at her house to wait) and translated by my friend Andrea, an American girl married to a Vietnamese man and extremely proficient in the language. She was a lifesaver, as we wouldn't have known what was going on without her.

As it turned out, all I really had to do was stand around with a bunch of flowers, while my dad had to cover the trays in velvet sheets and pass them to my six chosen friends, who then had to keep hold of them all the way to Nhu's house. After a rather long and complicated photo session, we went downstairs for more photos, to the amusement of all the local Vietnamese, who stopped everything they were doing to watch us for the duration. They of course had never seen a kilt before, and now they were seeing two. Andrea explained to some of them, in Vietnamese, that we were wearing Scottish Ao Dai (Ao Dai being the Vietnamese traditional clothing), which sped along their understanding quite amply.

We then loaded into the wedding cars, and took an extremely circuitous route to Nhu's house, just so the videoman had enough footage of us going there (only takes 10 minutes in real life, you see.) But eventually we arrived, and were cheered by the taximen sitting at the top of Nhu's alley, before being greeted by Nhu's parents.

Then we marched to Nhu's house, and my friends, the tray-carriers, lined up on one side of the alley, while Nhu's sister, sister-in-law, cousins, and friends lined up on the other side and received the trays, taking them into the house. Nhu's most elderly relatives were already seated, and my dad and stepmum were seated opposite, along with their friends that had accompanied them from HK.

Various things were opened, including the jewllery cases. I had placed a little Dragonball figure of Dende inside the big wedding jewellery case, imagining that Nhu would be the one that opened it, since she would understand what it meant. However, she was still nowhere in sight, and all these old relatives looked at the jewllery, pointedly trying to ignore this strange little green man inside while appreciating the rest.

Eventually Nhu was brought downstairs by her mother. My father made a request to Nhu's father to take her into our family, and Nhu's dad gave some words to accept (all translated by Andrea and her husband Huy - Nhu's dad spoke a bit too fast for Andrea).

Her parents opened most of the trays, Nhu was dressed in her jewellery by my stepmum, and of course we (just me and Nhu) exchanged rings and kisses. Nhu got all emotional and teary during this part of the ceremony, which was quite touching.

Finally, we opened the last tray, which contained some green fruit apparently only eaten by really old people. We gave some to Nhu's grandmother. There were various cheers between parents, then we cheered everyone sitting down with the whisky I'd brought.

Eventually I was able to go outside and see how my friends were doing - only the most elderly (and the translators) could come into the house for the ceremony, so everyone else was outside, drinking beer. Nhu's cousin immediately brought me one, (friend Matt said "now that's a great bridesmaid!") and I cheered with my friends. My dad then asked all them into the house and we all cheered again. Then there were plenty of photos, and finally my entourage and Nhu's bridesmaids lined up again in the alley and the trays were returned (with half the contents still inside). We all returned to the cars and returned to my house, this time with Nhu in tow.

Then, it was time to relax and take a nap before the big evening party. But this is getting long, so I'd best split it in two.

Here are some photos of the event:

Ceremony - At My Apartment Before Heading to Nhu's House	Ceremony - At Nhu's House Before My Arrival
The Ceremony Itself

Reception write-up to come soon...

Last One Before the Big Day

2009-07-03T11:32:33Z

So it's happening tomorrow. Everything seems to be pretty much ready now, apart from maybe 1 CD, but that's only going to involve about 2 or 3 songs.

Between arranging all the little things for the wedding and hanging out with my dad and stepmum (along with Nhu's parents), it's been a pretty busy week, to say the least, with little rest.

Didn't help that Monday was a recovery day from two days non-stop drinking, due to the Cambodia stag night - drinking started before we even got on the bus in Saigon, and (with the exception of sleep), didn't stop until sometime after we were back on Sunday. So Cambodia was a big hazy memory, but it was a fun one. Not sure that shooting M16s and shotguns was such a good idea when drunk, but we didn't have such thoughts at the time, and the guys running the place didn't seem to have a problem with it.

The rest of the night just got hazier and hazier.

But we did lose one of our men in Cambodia. Because he forgot to check his Vietnam visa before crossing the border, and didn't realise until too late that it had been expired for two days. Not good when we were all expected to be back at work on Monday, but quite hilarious, and very him. No-one at work was surprised that it happened, when they heard about it on Monday. He finally made it in on Wednesday.

Finally got a nice bit of a rest this afternoon though, burning the CDs for the wedding (different ones for the dinner and the dancing.) I hope some people appreciate the Star Wars lounge music I've thrown in there :)

One more dinner tonight, with our families at Nhu's house, and then it's an early morning where my friends come along to help me deliver trays of gifts to her house where we'll do the ceremony. (There's a break in the afternoon before the party begins though... nap time!)

So What's Been Keeping Me Busy Lately?

2009-06-17T17:28:21Z

Well, wedding stuff, obviously...

Last week, we just did the food tasting, which was a pretty awesome little thing included in our wedding package, where the hotel gave us a 10-person 1st-run of the whole wedding menu we'd chosen. We invited Nhu's parents, and her sister & 1 brother, + three of my friends, including a couple I really wanted to come to the wedding but who are moving back to the US shortly before. The food is amazing, BTW!!!

In a few days, it's the photo shoot, where we get a ridiculous amount of photos taken in our wedding garb. It'll be the first time I really wear my kilt (other than just trying it on), so should be fun :)

The week after that, me and a bunch of male friends are heading off to Cambodia (by bus - about 6 hours) for my stag night, organised by one of my friends who previously lived in Cambodia before coming to Vietnam. It's going to involve Guns, Go-karts, and stupid amounts of alcohol (in that order, fortunately). It's hard not to look forward to it :)

The Saturday after that, of course, is the wedding itself. Still finalising the details on that one, but it's going to be a great day, I can already tell. (The food is amazing, for a start) ;)

Sometimes I Come Back

2009-06-08T17:39:04Z

Some time ago, on one July 4th (just a few months less than 300 years before my birth, in fact), a bunch of Americans decided they no longer wanted anything to do with those pesky Brits influencing their fate, and broke away.

On a different July 4th (coming up next month, as it happens) one Vietnamese woman will be joining in union with a descendant of some of those Brits.

Yes, we have arranged a date for the wedding, and it's soon. It's all taking place in Saigon, of course, mostly following the Vietnamese tradition, though I have my Scottish garb (and some music selections) all ready for the event. My dad and stepmum are flying over too, which I'm very happy for.

I did want to invite a few of you LJ friends, but obviously it's not going to work at such short notice, so I hope you'll be happy with just pictures, and maybe a write-up, instead :)

ETA: Thanks for the wishes, everyone!

Perception

2009-04-27T18:34:38Z

I have followed krylyr 's example and am posting this as a meme.

1) How do YOU perceive me? Nothing so difficult as a single adjective. A general feeling of my personality. Whatever comes to mind. For those of you who've met me 'in the flesh' I'm talking about personality, not looks.

2) In your own LJ, write how YOU perceive yourself, and I'll comment there. Same as above applies.

Except that I'm going to wait until later to post how I perceive myself... because I want to avoid the "yeah, that's so true" sort of responses ;)

Plans and Choices

2009-04-23T17:22:40Z

So here's what's happening in the next month or so.

Next week, we have a long weekend, thanks to Saigon Liberation Day (Apr 29th) and May Day (May 1st), so I'm going off to Kuala Lumpur for a few days with Nhu. Normally these tickets would be cheap, but because of the holiday and the last minute booking, it's a bit more pricey (only one airline still had seats, in fact.) But it should be nice... I haven't been there in 8 years, and some of our friends may also be there at the same time.

After that comes my two-week down week (the two weeks after my 10-week course) in May. So I'm using this time to visit Scotland (first time in 4 years), and see my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews (including the new one who I haven't met yet. I'll also be visiting some of my friends in London (most of whom previously worked in my school in Vietnam, but a couple of whom are friends from HK.)

Oh, I'll also be stopping off in HK at both the beginning and the end of the trip, where I will be visiting my dad and stepmum, and even more friends.

That's all the definite stuff. Then comes the choices. One of my friends who's leaving will be going back to Ireland soon, which will coincide with my visit. So I may head off to Ireland to visit him in Galway (particularly since I've never been to Ireland before.) This trip may even involve a camping trip to Craggy Island.

However, some of my friends that I'll be visiting in England (and possibly Scotland, as they may be in Edinburgh while I'm there) are also talking about driving out to a holiday home in Normandy, France, which sounds like fun too. Unfortunately, due to my schedule, I don't think I can do both Craggy Island and Normandy. So I'm left with a bit of a difficult choice... (although perhaps peoples' schedules will resolve the situation before I do.)

Even more unfortunately, Nhu doesn't have anything close to the same holiday benefits that I do, so she's not able to take time off work (Korean companies are not nearly as forthcoming with holiday time as Australian companies are). This is a huge shame, as I really want to introduce her to Scotland in particular. I guess I can make do with daily phone calls, but it won't quite be the same. But... I guess there's always next year :)

The Traveller

2009-04-16T18:15:46Z

Oh yeah... remember way back, when I said I'd post photos of aspects of my life you were interested in? Well, I've taken a couple more of these already (some time ago, in fact), and it's really time to actually post said photos.

So here's one for krylyr, who said: Traveler. I want to see that summed up, in one picture :)

Being from the UK, I'll add an extra L, but the sentiment's still the same. I did have to think about this one, and maybe I didn't quite get it... but to me, a lot of the elements are there. I took it back when we were visiting Hoi An, just lounging around in a lovely little bar with a slightly removed view of the river. Here it is (click on the pic for a larger version):

And here's another picture from the same place, with a lovely addition:

I've also taken pics of the view from my apartment request, so I'll get those up soon. Still haven't taken the pics of my classroom though - I'd just started a new class right after the request was made, so I've been waiting for the appropriate moment - and frankly the request from avocadovpx may not actually happen (though if it does, I'll be happy to post that too.)

Well, I certainly didn't expect that

2009-04-15T16:17:41Z

Today is my birthday. I chose not to take a day off today, which worked out fairly well. After work, I noticed a call from Nhu's dad, who told me to get over to their house right away.

Being me, I figured Nhu had mentioned my birthday, and that her family had planned some sort of delicious feast for me.

But when I arrived there, and noticed many tables up and down the street, hosting at least more than 50 people, I knew that something else had happened.

Turned out, today was the lunar anniversary of the death of Nhu's grandfather (on her father's side.) What clued me in was when, as soon as I parked my bike, Nhu's uncle ushered me across to his house (directly opposite Nhu's house), and had me light an incense and pray to said grandfather. After that, well, I really wasn't going to complain.

But it did turn out really well. After the majority of people had gone home, Nhu's family (and her uncle from opposite, who I get on with really well, even though we can't understand a single word each other says) convened downstairs in Nhu's house to celebrate my birthday, complete with the most delicious cake I've ever tried. It was awesome, and the company was wonderful too. Really glad now that I didn't make any other plans for tonight.

Just In Case You Missed It Elsewhere

2009-03-06T08:22:25Z

Thanks to johnbobshaun

Photo Meme #1 - My Desk at Work

2009-03-04T16:34:00Z

So I've started working on photos for the photo meme I posted last week. The easiest one to procure (though this was not actually the first one I took), was that of my desk, requested by zoje_george . It had to be my work desk, as I don't actually have a desk at home - just two chairs beside my bed, upon which my laptops rest.

Unfortunately, just before I went to Hoi An, I cleaned up my desk, which is a shame as it means you don't get to see it in its truest form, which iss quite something. Here it is anyway:

However, and somewhat more fortunately, I moved desk just yesterday, as I was moved from teaching L4 (Intermediate) to L5 (Upper Intermediate), which apparently requires a desk change. And because I'm learning a new level, my new desk began to achieve messiness quite quickly... It's starting to feel like home already. Here's the new desk:

Doesn't quite reach former levels of glory, but at least it's something.

And one more - Photo Meme

2009-02-27T14:40:31Z

via jenwrites

Ask me to take a picture of any aspect of my life that you're interested in. Leave your choice here as a comment, and I will reciprocate by taking the pictures and posting them as an LJ entry. That way you get to know a little bit about my life, if you're interested in it.

Note: I reserve the right to reject any request for photos for whatever reason, but I'll certainly do my best!

The Central

2009-02-26T16:52:54Z

Currently up in Hoi An with Nhu. Hoi An is an enchanting little riverside town in central Vietnam. A few hundred years ago, it was a major trading port, inhabited by Chinese, Japanese, and French traders, among others, and you can still see most of these influences quite clearly - it helps that the old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so the old town remains as it was (architecturally speaking) back then.

The one down side, of course, is that it's still anything goes within the buildings themselves, which means that almost all of these beautiful old buidings are now either tourist shops or restaurants, which does kill the authenticity a touch, but such things are to be expected.

Mostly just wandered around the town today and yesterday, but tomorrow and Saturday we'll probably be renting a motorbike to check out the surrounding area, including the ancient Cham site of My Son, and China Beach, up on the coast by Da Nang, which is supposed to be really nice.

Way behind on posting photos, but will hopefully get these ones up soon after we're back in Saigon :)

First Day of the Year, Part 2

2009-01-27T23:06:18Z

So on the Lunar January 1st (that is, Jan 26th), I was woken up ridiculously early. I was eventually able to separate myself from the mattress, and we proceeded to walk across the alleyway to Nhu's uncle's house (the one who is always very enthusiastic about getting me over for a drink) to cheer in the new year. He had a Tiger Beer waiting for me already.

After this, we proceeded to navigate the twisty-turny network of alleyways and visit all of Nhu's relatives in the general vicinity,. Turned out to be quite fun, and even met some uncles I never even knew I had, though the ones I did know imposed on me some sort of potent Vietnamese liquor.

So after I got back to Nhu's family's house, I ended up watching The Amazing Race Asia and sleeping for an hour or so, until I was woken up by some sort of clanging and banging downstairs. It sounded exactly like the sort of percussion I've come to expect from a lion dance, but I wandered downstairs to find two men, dressed as the god of land and the god of wealth (both of whom feature in pretty much every little shrine on the ground floor of a Vietnamese house) dancing to this percussion, and getting rewarded for it, of course. Was quite entertaining.

Later, I was brought downstairs again to cheer in the Nhu year with my fiancee's mother's brothers... we finished off the MacAllan whisky I'd supplied the night before. and after that I ended up sleeping for about five hours.

8pm onwards involved watching Nhu playing her Chinese card game (whose cards consist of the same Chinese characters as Chinese chess, but which i don't understand at all). Watching her lose, to be specific. After she lost all her money, she brought up the fact that the Dragon/'Monkey combination is very lucky, and asked me to supply her with more funds for her gambling. Which I did. And then she want on to win almost every round she played, so I guess there's something to that :)

Today we didn't do a whole lot - got my bike fixed (it wasn't turning on at all unless it was kickstarted, and Tết really isn't the time to be worrying about Mötley Crüe), ate delicious Korean food, and watched Fellowship of the Ring (extended version), which Nhu enjoyed as much as I did.

Looking forward to The Two Towers and Return of the King tomorrow :)

Well shit

2009-01-27T21:25:51Z

Realms of Fantasy, that is.

I may not have written much in a while, or indeed read much, but this still saddens me.

First Day of the Year

2009-01-25T19:23:35Z

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới everyone! Or, if you prefer, 恭喜發財!

It's been another busy month, even though very little of it has involved work. It's been a fun one though.

Saw in the western New Year on the streets of Saigon, a big street party where snow spray canisters featured heavily. Then the next day we went off to Singapore for a few days. Singapore probably deserves a post of its own, which I'll do as soon as I get around to updating my photos. (Photos of the New Year celebration are already up here, however.)

After that it was one more week of work, and various end-of-year celebrations, including a little dinner party at my apartment (Nhu's cooking is amazing, and this was the first time she'd cooked for more than a couple of people before), and singing Radiohead live at a local pub's new live music night (which got a fair bit of applause.) Karaoke was also enjoyed, of course.

Lately it's all been the lead-up to Tết, which I've just seen in with Nhu's family. Lots of fun too, but on the days prior to the event, everyone starts acting crazy, especially while driving - doesn't matter whether the streets are crowded or quiet, you have to watch out at this time of year.

This is the first time I've been here during Tết, and it's really felt like the lunar celebration is the real end to the year. Never really felt that way in Hong Kong, despite my stepmother being Chinese, mainly because I didn't really bother to get involved, but here it's difficult not to get swept up in the New Year feeling, and it's certainly been rewarding to do so.

The celebration itself was lots of fun too, mostly involving lots of eating and drinking, and some playing games. Brought over a friend from work who had also been sticking around in Saigon for the holiday, and he seemed to enjoy it too. At midnight, I embarked upon a drive to a temple in District 5 at midnight with Nhu and her brother to pick up some extra large incense and cheer in the new year with some relatives. The combination of Monkey (Nhu), Dragon (me), and Rat (her brother) is an auspicious one, so hopefully we brought in the luck that everyone deserves.Back home now, and it's quiet, but there's a lot more activity than usual for this time of night. Tomorrow there's more stuff to do, I believe, but we'll get to that soon enough...