Bai Bien Cua Toi (VIII): Granny on the Warpath .... other people's uncles... and a CAT

3:00
I call Grandma and 2 minutes later dearly regret that decision.  One of her Nurse Next Doors took it upon herself to RID the freezer of all those freezer-burned things that have been accumulating for YEARS.   Grandma noticed the clean-up and asks me "Did YOU authorize ALL MY FOOD to be thrown out?".  It's SO SAD.  She FINALLY got a nice nurse from the Philippines who managed to convince Grandma to let her clean the bed and other things that DESPERATELY needed doing and now Grandma will do her very best (or rather worst) to get that woman dismissed.  


3:45
I call Grandma again, trying to convince her that the Nurse acted in good conscience.  
BUT NO! "SHE STOLE MY FOOD".

Grandma is ENJOYING the fact that she still has control over tiny parts of her life, namely being able to have that woman fired.



There is a line from a book I just finished 
"Du!  Oidn!  Hexn!"

5:20
SOMETHING wakes me more than half an hour before my alarm clock.  There is light outside my curtains.  Before I even boil the coffee water, I grab the camera and step outside because I have a pretty good idea what might be going on.

And just like this light erased the dark night of a few hours ago, I notice that a flood of peace has finally washed away all the transpacific venom of a few hours ago. 

How can anyone stay angry when standing barefoot at a beach and looking at THIS ?

The right thing to do about people who hate is to feel sorry for them.   But YES, that's bloody hard to do quite often ...;-)

6:00
I better get ready here soonish.  I promised Thi Lan's aunt to drive her to the market at 7:00.
Oh, now it's THREE people on the scooter?  NO, the plan get's changed again.....I'm taking the uncle....

Long story short.... there is a language barrier ... I speak fluent German & English, he speaks fluent French & Vietnamese .... pas de overlap!... and we are too stupid to agree on a time or a meeting place ... the market is HUGE.... I do my shopping ..... WHERE is he?  Has he gone back by foot?   Is he still in the market?  .... I cruise through the market, being careful not to venture in too deep for fear of getting lost myself (this thing is HUGE) .... no sign of him....  I've already sent an e-mail to France "Where is your uncle?" and I'm looking at my watch to pick a time to stop waiting.... then he walks smiling down the dirt road towards me... never offend the relatives of friends, lOl.

We're back in the yard and I feel invincible being able to reply to his  "Merci Beaucoup" with "Je vous en prie".   It's feeling like Babylon in my head these days, but my Polish & Vietnamese French teachers have done well, LOL.

There was something else at the market.  A tiny oh-so-cute little kitten in one of the solid stalls.  I fell into reverie but a customer and the owner just looked at the adorable thing in disgust and the owner even shoved it aside with her foot.
OMG.  Time to hatch a Cunning Plan !
Tomorrow I will know whether that plan comes to fruition!  

It's almost 8:00.... and I haven't been in the water !

12:30 

After this picture my Panasonic Lumix DIES with a 'Focus Error' AGAIN.  

 C'mon, Panasonic can't you get it RIGHT?  

This is the 3rd (and LAST) Lumix this is happening to!

Tam, who is about 46 (?) get's the first SNICKERS bar of her life from M and looks at me in confusion...... Ngon!!! she keeps exclaiming as if she still can't believe how yummy the thing is.   
Yup.  When I was 11 years old I was FAT like a bear and kids in my class called me MARS, because I used LOVED my Mars bars (Kummeressen: I had a VERY unhappy childhood!).   I point out to Tam "Yes, ngon, BUT duong + hands indicated a big belly !"

There was an animal in my room for the last two days.  It was a kind of Salamander !   At first it looked like a Gecko, but a second glance confirmed it wasn't that!    How did it get in here?   And the better question:  HOW do I get it OUT again?
Today I noticed it was fleeing from me in the bathroom.  OK, time to engage!   I emptied the six-bottle carton of wine still on my bridge and went on Salamander Safari.  The objective was not to kill the gourgeous thing, but to catch it in the box and to bring it back outside.  They are QUICK little scurry things!   I got it in the box on the 5th try.     
Here is it is still in SHOCK from the ordeal on the terrace steps.    Let's hope it didn't have a heart attack and will move away eventually !

ceci n'est pas un Gecko !

10 minutes later it is gone ;-)
Why the French above?  
Ask Rene Magritte !

16:30
uuuooouuuhhhh....

crowded beach !

Family dinner at my place would be LATE today (M still hasn't returned from picking up his 'sauna friends' (????) in Phu Cat), and I've already skipped lunch.  Time for Viet food at the Swede's place again !

T and his 'sauna friends' arrive at 19:00.   Good thing I'm used to that particular German dialect from dealing with my relatives in the Black Forest, otherwise I probably would just look at these women as Aliens with whom the establishment of communication was hopeless.