in motion...like the wind.
This year of gallivanting around Asia has been lovely to say the least. However, the real world is sneaking up on me quickly. What can I say?
Haven't really crunched the numbers, but I think this morning I came to the conclusion that I blew threw about $11 grand in 7 months. Wins and losses. Gold just topped $1590. I still don't know how much I'm worth. It will be interesting to go "home" and inventory my holdings. See how well I did with my investments.
Anyway, money aside, my time in Saigon (although extended slightly) is drawing to a close. Looking at dippin out of here around August 3rd. Want to head North to Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hoi Anh, Da Nang, Hue, and then end up in Hanoi. I don't think I'd be doing this country justice if I didn't see more of it. I need to get to Hanoi soon tho, because I want to get LASIK eye surgery (fed up with glasses) and it costs about half the price here as it does back in the States.
Lien, Justin's honey is coming down near the end of the month. He's madly in love with her. I think his plan is to finish his degree and come back to Vietnam and marry her and teach Math. Who knows....I know he loves Vietnam, and I know that I'm happy to have him here in Vietnam hanging out. I've had a chance to meet his friend Ian who is amazing. A very conscious individual. Justin has good taste in friends. Words cannot describe our experiences together as buddies. Ian, he, and I are amazing! Ripping it up Vietnam style.
Biding my time with all my friends before I leave. Did Nhat's birthday a week ago, hung out with the lovely Miss Kim Hoan. A few more friends to spend time with before I leave. I certainly will miss late nights on my motorbike hauling ass through Saigon with no police in sight. I can't get enough of coming into a curve and down shifting into 3rd so you get that extra power and then pulling out back into 4th gear on my motorbike. Love driving fast. Especially when I got a girl on the back of my motorbike gripping on for dear life.
Giang and I have drawn things pretty much to a close. She's sad her best friend (Truc) moved out of the place they were sharing and I basically dumped her. Dating these traditional farmers daughters....eh. It is what is is.....I see her so rarely now. She's working night shift at Intel this month. We had delicious seafood dinner the other night, Lau Thai and I gave her a silver necklace with a jade heart pendant and jade ear rings. Sad, but a learning lesson when it comes to traditional Vietnamese girls. Hopefully she learns something too when it comes to American boys. I really liked her, but we were not meant to be. Nothing but good memories. I can't articulate the cultural differences, so I won't....which leads me to the temporary.....
Currently seeing a 19 year old. Far less cultural differences all be it a bar girl. All the fun and nonsense that comes with 19 year olds. Dumb shit like 3 phone calls (that I didn't answer) in the wee hours of the morning. Breaking a rule that I set which is that I don't fool around with any woman under 21...whatever, it is what it is and is in perspective.....Nhung. She's alright, my physics experiment. Girl is tiny. Met her mother who is visiting from South of Hanoi because her daughter (Nhung's Sister) just had a baby. Took pictures, framed them, and gave them to the family. Hung out with them a bit. Nhung is alright, she likes to dance, has a pretty rad style untypical of Vietnamese. Whenever we go out we get comments on what good dancers we are. Lord knows I love to dance. But Nhung is young....and I am well......in motion....
More on the Nhung note....she's been trouble.
The previous day I was at Gringos playing foosball with a Brit, and he gets a text from someone a-be-it Dung or is that Nhung? Works at Boston Sports Bar......found out we were chasing the same girl. Apparently I had made it further than him. We all decided Richard, Ian, Justin, Chad, Charlie (the brit) and I to go to Boston. Nhung had an "ohhh shit" moment when we walked in and ended up paying all her attention to me. Charlie was a bit butt hurt and from what I gathered went upstairs to the bathroom and puked. I prefaced the whole situation by saying that she's a bar girl....AND on top of that...19....trouble?
One more on the Nhung note.....Nhung and I went out for ice cream the other day and she was like "I want a ring to remember you." jkhfaskdfh. I'm like "okay" In my mind I'm thinking "I'll indulge you for 2 seconds and see what becomes of this."
I indulged her and took her to my local jewelery shop (I regularly buy gold there and I bought Giang's necklace there).....She picked out a beautiful white gold ring with a diamond (kim cương) on her ring finger no less. lol. I told her, không có tiền (I have no money). And maybe ngày mai (tomorrow). On the drive home on the motorbike I explained to her that Anh đẹp trai nhưng dau có ngu dau (I'm beautiful, but not stupid). I only put rings on the fingers of girls I'm going to marry.
Next day.....Nhung spent the afternoon apologizing. I'm glad she came about the realization of her ridiculousness on her own....Needless to say, I'm taking a few days off from her.
Still struggling with this being homeless bullshit. I pray to god I can find a job when I get back to America. The economic situation is dire in America. I need to consolidate my life even further. If I can't find a job.......-insert options list here-.
On another note: This evening, (thanks in part to the British, God bless Chris and Lara and the fact they don't regulate drugs in this country) I entered a k-hole. Ketamine. I got to hug my Dad which was cool. Ended up balling. I miss my poppa....
Here is Justin's blog: http://blogs.evergreen.edu/lostinvietnam/
Haven't really crunched the numbers, but I think this morning I came to the conclusion that I blew threw about $11 grand in 7 months. Wins and losses. Gold just topped $1590. I still don't know how much I'm worth. It will be interesting to go "home" and inventory my holdings. See how well I did with my investments.
Anyway, money aside, my time in Saigon (although extended slightly) is drawing to a close. Looking at dippin out of here around August 3rd. Want to head North to Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hoi Anh, Da Nang, Hue, and then end up in Hanoi. I don't think I'd be doing this country justice if I didn't see more of it. I need to get to Hanoi soon tho, because I want to get LASIK eye surgery (fed up with glasses) and it costs about half the price here as it does back in the States.
Lien, Justin's honey is coming down near the end of the month. He's madly in love with her. I think his plan is to finish his degree and come back to Vietnam and marry her and teach Math. Who knows....I know he loves Vietnam, and I know that I'm happy to have him here in Vietnam hanging out. I've had a chance to meet his friend Ian who is amazing. A very conscious individual. Justin has good taste in friends. Words cannot describe our experiences together as buddies. Ian, he, and I are amazing! Ripping it up Vietnam style.
Biding my time with all my friends before I leave. Did Nhat's birthday a week ago, hung out with the lovely Miss Kim Hoan. A few more friends to spend time with before I leave. I certainly will miss late nights on my motorbike hauling ass through Saigon with no police in sight. I can't get enough of coming into a curve and down shifting into 3rd so you get that extra power and then pulling out back into 4th gear on my motorbike. Love driving fast. Especially when I got a girl on the back of my motorbike gripping on for dear life.
Giang and I have drawn things pretty much to a close. She's sad her best friend (Truc) moved out of the place they were sharing and I basically dumped her. Dating these traditional farmers daughters....eh. It is what is is.....I see her so rarely now. She's working night shift at Intel this month. We had delicious seafood dinner the other night, Lau Thai and I gave her a silver necklace with a jade heart pendant and jade ear rings. Sad, but a learning lesson when it comes to traditional Vietnamese girls. Hopefully she learns something too when it comes to American boys. I really liked her, but we were not meant to be. Nothing but good memories. I can't articulate the cultural differences, so I won't....which leads me to the temporary.....
Currently seeing a 19 year old. Far less cultural differences all be it a bar girl. All the fun and nonsense that comes with 19 year olds. Dumb shit like 3 phone calls (that I didn't answer) in the wee hours of the morning. Breaking a rule that I set which is that I don't fool around with any woman under 21...whatever, it is what it is and is in perspective.....Nhung. She's alright, my physics experiment. Girl is tiny. Met her mother who is visiting from South of Hanoi because her daughter (Nhung's Sister) just had a baby. Took pictures, framed them, and gave them to the family. Hung out with them a bit. Nhung is alright, she likes to dance, has a pretty rad style untypical of Vietnamese. Whenever we go out we get comments on what good dancers we are. Lord knows I love to dance. But Nhung is young....and I am well......in motion....
More on the Nhung note....she's been trouble.
The previous day I was at Gringos playing foosball with a Brit, and he gets a text from someone a-be-it Dung or is that Nhung? Works at Boston Sports Bar......found out we were chasing the same girl. Apparently I had made it further than him. We all decided Richard, Ian, Justin, Chad, Charlie (the brit) and I to go to Boston. Nhung had an "ohhh shit" moment when we walked in and ended up paying all her attention to me. Charlie was a bit butt hurt and from what I gathered went upstairs to the bathroom and puked. I prefaced the whole situation by saying that she's a bar girl....AND on top of that...19....trouble?
One more on the Nhung note.....Nhung and I went out for ice cream the other day and she was like "I want a ring to remember you." jkhfaskdfh. I'm like "okay" In my mind I'm thinking "I'll indulge you for 2 seconds and see what becomes of this."
I indulged her and took her to my local jewelery shop (I regularly buy gold there and I bought Giang's necklace there).....She picked out a beautiful white gold ring with a diamond (kim cương) on her ring finger no less. lol. I told her, không có tiền (I have no money). And maybe ngày mai (tomorrow). On the drive home on the motorbike I explained to her that Anh đẹp trai nhưng dau có ngu dau (I'm beautiful, but not stupid). I only put rings on the fingers of girls I'm going to marry.
Next day.....Nhung spent the afternoon apologizing. I'm glad she came about the realization of her ridiculousness on her own....Needless to say, I'm taking a few days off from her.
Still struggling with this being homeless bullshit. I pray to god I can find a job when I get back to America. The economic situation is dire in America. I need to consolidate my life even further. If I can't find a job.......-insert options list here-.
On another note: This evening, (thanks in part to the British, God bless Chris and Lara and the fact they don't regulate drugs in this country) I entered a k-hole. Ketamine. I got to hug my Dad which was cool. Ended up balling. I miss my poppa....
Here is Justin's blog: http://blogs.evergreen.edu/lostinvietnam/