Sisyphus at work:.....slugging to roll a rock up that hill..... does it roll down the other side?

6:10
My first cigarette.....   there are footsteps approaching from behind so I step to the side...... and here is a FIRST in 2 weeks.... the Asian woman turns to smile at me when she passes and bids me a friendly "Good Morning".   LOL.   And is that the same woman who was sitting at Pho Garden with her family yesterday evening ?.....

6:40
I've finished my basic Vietnamese lesson and I just want to go back to bed...... but I can't.... gotta open that door for the dry-wallers at 8:00.....

7:30
Throw the laundry in the machine..... have some breakfast & wine..... clear more garbage out of the house.... move more wine into it...... and keep working on those taxes after the contractors show up until the machine is done....  I'm back in my hotel by 9:15

Time for the bank run...... and I run into recently married Jason evading the wrath of his wife by going for a walk in the park, LOL.

10:30
Toast & Wine at Denny's .... my resolution is still holding, the food here SUCKS ..... but I'm here to see Eda!

WTF????

THIS can NOT be happening...... Notre Dame is one of the very few CONSTANTS in life....at least I always thought so...... MERDE!   Toi rat buon!

On the other hand:   How many African refugees DROWNED in the Mediterranean today and NO-ONE reports it or gives a shit?

 bank

Santa

 Grandma

being STOOPID....

Ouch, I feel OLD

30 more sleeps until I'm back HOME ....

12:00
I'm shaved & showered..... Time for food....  The Curry Chicken Bowl at Denny's should do the trick.....
Alas..... they don't have curry sauce..... HOW difficult can it be to keep all the things in stock that you need for your menu items...... You only had ONE job!

A quick trip to Grandma's to put out the garbage cans..... I'm emptying that house bit by bit ...  but it's still too depressingly packed with crap and silence!

14:30

Wednesday, April 17, 29 more days until I get to go home ....

9:00
It's COLD, GREY, and DRIZZLY outside.... construction equipment has moved in and has torn out the nice old bungalows around the corner....hearing that noise all day doesn't help.....

10:30
I'm just taking a shower when the phone rings...... oh fucking town of hell.  The over-contractor said that the carpet people would come in the afternoon and would give me one hour notice... You only had ONE job!... but the subcontractor says that he can be there at 10:40, LOL.   

I'm at the house in 20 minutes and the contractor shows up soon.  Again, the over-contractor is an IDIOT, she said that the furniture would not be a problem when laying carpets.... OF COURSE it is, you DUMB BLONDE.... I damage my back again when I help the carpet layers moving furniture from one room to the next..... but the main carpet guy is a hoot:  a 50-year old Turkish man who has been in Canada for 29 years and understands the Western mentality and shows me pictures of the affairs he had on his MANY holidays in Cuba .... a kindred spirit.

Denny's is STILL out of curry sauce for its Curry Chicken Bowl..... you only had ONE job!
Pas de probleme....I'll just have plain toast here and I'll pick up some nigiri on the way back to Grandma.

The carpet guys are DONE..... shit they were FAST !  I am RELIEVED..... all the stuff that I would not be able to do..... put in drywall, lay carpet, is done.... anything that is missing, install baseboards, move furniture, etc. is within my scope of capability.....

Jessica is off the coming week


18:00
time to eat.... it's Pho Garden again....by bicycle of course .... the closest thing I can get to REAL Viet food here and the closest I can get to the prices back home ;-)

The waitress asks me "Same order again?" even though I haven't eaten the same meal twice before.....  But no, it's time to try something new.... How about Bun thit heo nuong ..... Also good, but pork is greasier than beef, so I might switch to Bun thit bo nuong again next time.
 

In the news: 

  Is this a Theater Play or is this for Real?
A new premier has been elected in Alberta.   One of his first promises after being elected is to FIGHT against environmental charities that tell the world how DIRTY Alberta Oil sands oil really is.  One of them is the David Suzuki Foundation.
Is this guy for real?  What parallel universe is he living in?  Or are Albertans really that dumb?   You guys got FILTHY RICH when OIL was KING.   Now that the tide is turning and students all over the world are skipping classes to accuse YOU and your generation for fucking up this planet ....

....you're going to start whimpering and whining?  Bunch of spoiled sore Albertan looser pussies! (And I'm trying to stay polite here ;-)

Jessica is on holiday so I visit Grandma, even though in retrospect I REALLY should NOT have done that......

Those two bottles of Grauburgunder..... she actually complains that I drank them because "she wanted to drink them"..... she does NOT drink wine.....the whole objective of this exercise is to put blame on me and make me feel guilty.

I try to tell her to think about positive things in life, but there is no point....she will never change....

It ruins my day afterwards..... negative energy drains the last bit of positive life I have left....

10:00
Good sleep

I try to get some breakfast at Denny's at 11:30 and it's PACKED again..... but there is room in the Viet place next door.

I'm still in a lousy mood and the prospect of visiting Grandma again is not improving that..... WHY am I going?  To suffer more abuse?  To be nice?  To finally get absolution from that dragon instead of constant abuse?

The com thit ga nuong portion is MUCH too big and I leave half of the chicken on the plate... WHY did I order a second glass of wine at nha hang Viet?   I'm drunk by 12:30 !  I check out what I did around this time of year 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years ago with the help of my blog...

ONE year ago: I was having dinner with Eda in cold, rainy, dark Vancouver..... just before I was flying back to Vietnam

TWO years ago:I was in Vancouver, having just returned from Germany, and I was mourning the fact that my fabulous Bike fixer Yuko was leaving this hell-town with his 3 sons...  Good for him!

THREE years ago: I was relaxing with friends on the Sunshine Coast and had just witnessed some odd Dog-Human interaction between Hans & Max..... 

RIP, you lovely dog !

 

FOUR years ago:  I just had been catapulted over the handlebar of my bike a couple of days before....and was just about to leave to Los Angeles to see Neil Young and Stephen Stills ...

FIVE years ago:
I just had returned from a bike/bus trip Vancouver-Nanaimo-Victoria-Vancouver with George.  George had 3 weeks left to live.

1:30 pm
NO, I don't want to visit Grandma, but I have time, the sun came out (!), and I can use the exercise ;-)

Yes, I know, I should NOT have gone.....  but at least I get some errands out the way.... I buy coffee, bread, a Safeway Card, & ham for Grandma..... 

.... who is in top bitch form when I arrive... she shouts at the Nurse Next door, a maybe 27 year old young woman who has to take a 1-hour bus ride just to get here to make some money and then has to take the bus back for one hour.   The NND is putting more food into the bird cage... the food the budgies like best ..... Grandma :  WHAT are you DOING? in that NASTY tone of hers....  I am horrified..... the young woman is NOT being paid for THIS level of abuse !
I try to talk to Grandma to reset her to normal behaviour but that pouting paranoid face says that she is just more mad at me but doesn't dare to reply......
So I catch the nurse out of Grandma's earshot to hand her some Psychological Hazard Pay ;-)

I simply NEED to get out of Grandma's KILL-JOY presence...

16:30
Time to hop on the bicycle again to ride to West Van for dinner with Eda....

I feel bad for having chosen this restaurant..... because Eda insists on paying this time....

the food is average.... and the prices are OUTRAGEOUSLY HIGH!


Back in my hotel, I can no longer keep my eyes open at 21:00

6:00
It's 26 degrees even in GERMANY while I will still be freezing my arse off at a daily high of 11 Celsius here..... I miss having warm feet SO MUCH !

I stay true to my resolution and only have Toast at Denny's.... Good for waist & wallet....

and then I sleep more until NOON!

A visit to Grandma.  Maricel actually manages to make Grandma smile.   That woman from the Philippines is worth her weight in gold...... 

I do laundry and manage to throw more stuff out....but it feels like I'm chopping matchsticks from a rain-forest giant tree....

17:00
Go for dinner or buy bread & yogurt...  I decide on going shopping but I am shocked again..... $7.50 for 150 g of Manchego cheese... the prices charged by the capitalist stores of this country are contemptuous of basic human life!






I'm not saying everyone in Viet Nam is an angel, but I can't wait to bathe in crowd constituted of individuals of a predominantly benevolent disposition ;-)


18:00
Time to hop on the bike for a pick-up and to visit Chantal..... I'm on the Skytrain at Burrard when I notice that my bike has a FLAT TIRE...... FUCK!

Fortunately, I am quick-witted enough to exit at Granville and to walk to West Georgia....and there is a 240 bus just arriving when I get to the bus stop..... GOOD timing ! I'm pushing my disabled bike into my room at 6:50 !



Time to use the car....

Monday April 22

What a wasted day..... Laundry at Grandma and still no 

Tuesday April 23

I'm CHILLED to the BONE..... it is so fucking cold in this city..... it makes me CRANKY. being in this city...... I'm starting to notice that I HATE people again

Another time killer..... go see a colonoscopy specialist for a consultation just because today everyone over 50 seems to be sent to a colonoscopy to detect colon cancer early...... FINE, so I'll let them do that again to me in July.

I feel better after a 2 hour nap.... for 5 minutes until I discover that the rear tire on my bike is FLAT AGAIN!  MERDE!!!!

Eat some food first!
I'm just about to calm down when my phone rings......it's Grandma.... she tells me that she only can call me when there is a zero at the end of the number she dials.  NO SHIT.... You don't get through if you dial an incomplete telephone number?   What else is new?

She wants me to drive to Safeway to buy her one dinner roll.    I refrain from telling her what I think about that.....

Wednesday April 24.

I have food in the room, so I just head out on the bike to buy some wine..... no need to spend the big bucks at Denny's...... It's 8 degrees out there!!!!

Then I discover that I can change my driver's license address ONLINE..... DONE !

It has warmed up a tiny bit when I ride the bike to Grandma's to do laundry.  Maricel is there..... and I have two bottles of Joie Farm Rose for her...... she is amazing with Grandma!

Her 6 year old son is in The Philippines being brought up by her Mother..... and her constant hilarious nature reminds me of being in Vietnam!   Grandma is VERY LUCKY to have her.



19:00
I've applied for my Vietnamese Visa Approval Letter ..... HOME is coming closer ...... just the thought is bringing tears to my eyes....  
Partly tears of joy but partly tears of desperation because I am still 3 weeks away from setting foot on Vietnamese soil again.

bun nem nuong

Thursday, April 25.... 

It looks as if it's going to be a "You-only-had-ONE-job" kind'a day !
 

9:00 

Yeah!  That's right:  BULLSHIT !

STILL no Curry Chicken Bowl available at Denny's.  They haven't managed to get the ingredients in MORE THAN ONE WEEK !

I try to buy a German train ticket online.......  "Too many people are using our booking system right now.... please try later "





10:00
I'm about to head out to get my medical diagnosis...... and the fucking bike tire is FLAT AGAIN..... WTF????

10:45
I take the car to the doctor's office ..... and I sit down to wait for the verdict..... after all, I've been assuming for the last 12 years that I was HIV positive..... but the doctor surprises me..... the verdict is HIV negative......  WTF?


Vietnam:  to borrow a quote from "Lucifer".....

devilishly handsome ... ;-)

The only place that I ever felt wanted or respected is HERE.... THIS is my home....   

OK, so He is talking about L.A.  while I'm talking about Viet Nam, but the point is, I know exactly what he's saying ;-)


Then I get an e-mail from Germany..... not only is my mother in Germany physically assaulting the care personnel of the old-age home, she also picked up scabies somewhere ...... WTF?


Friday April 27.... time is flying

open door

sleep

rush rush

wORK !

close door

bloody rain in the forecast, take the CAR to Moe & Sheila's.... 

20 minutes for 400 meters.... COLD & Dark & hellish !

t

raffic is literally mind-numbing!

Fun dinner .....  Trouble with Tribbles

COLD on the way back...

OMG, I feel so much better this morning when the 7 am sun hits my face after being reflected in my bathroom mirror.....

Watching the Bangkok & HCMC episodes of "Street Food" on Netflix gives me an extra kick for the day......

Just seeing REAL people with REAL lives gives me energy again.....

By noon, I'm back at Pho Garden (where else would I go ?) for a Banh Mi ga ca ri.....  time to try something else .... the place is PACKED just after noon ... which I'm happy to see ;-)

OMG, they bring me a bowl with chicken curry and a baguette..... I get to decide HOW to eat it....  the flavour is divine ....

My nap is cut short by the phone ringing .....

Eda is early!  She is looking into my room through my bathroom window....

My Bathroom Window (the one next to the fender, and NO, I ain't kidding ;-)

 

Good, let's have Sushi & Wine ;-)

Time flies, conversation flows, and I can't decide whether Eda is a better friend or shrink, LOL.

it is FIVE degrees Celsius outside when I have my first smoke at 8 am...... 

visiting Grandma is no fun

16:30

It's time for the first real meal of the day..... Pho Garden it is ... Com hai san rau cai....... I try to order by number, 38, but since I do it in Vietnamese, ba muoi tam, the poor waitress is utterly confused.  That's OK, I'm used to people not understanding my tieng Viet, LOL.

it occurs to me while eating...... Yes, I will have to fly to Germany and back.  Yes, I will have to work my arse off to finish this translation.  Yes, I will have to deal with Mother...... BUT I will be HOME in 18 days !!!!

days turn into a haze.....
open door at Grandma at 7:30 am..... I'm trying to nap on the couch but Granny's habit of sneaking up on people kills that idea.

but Painting is done!  And there is an e-mail from Vietnam....which cheers me up instantly !

And:

 44 years ago TODAY, the Vietnamese took Saigon back from the Americans !

Back at Pho Garden..... this time the daughter/waitress does understand both my ruou trang & banh mi ga ka ri ;-)

Tomorrow (by Vancouver time) is Vietnamese Reunification Day.... I have the smarts to ask the waitress first, where her family comes from..... when she says "The South", I know and say out loud "So you probably won't be celebrating Reunification Day"....  and the sad look on her face while she shakes her head says it all....

But then she asks me whether I've lived in Vietnam before..... long story....the cook Mother gives me some hospitality pancakes..... it doesn't matter what part of Vietnam these people come from or who rules the country.... these people are identical to those I've met in Vietnam in their extreme hospitality and friendliness.

18:00
The final bike ride.....

I no longer live in my OLD hotel, so I can no longer LEAVE my bicycle there when I leave the country..... so I ride the bicycle to Grandma to put the bike in the garage..... then call a taxi... the driver is from rural Pakistan..... I ask him because we're talking about the insanity that Vancouver has become and I know that we understand each other, because we both have experienced The Other Way of Life ....

20:00
A last visit with Eda......  I'll miss her but there will be a pajama party in 14 days ;-)

The day doesn't start well...... Radstation Schwerte will have NO BIKES for rent over the weekend that I'm in Mom-town...... some stupid event that they're taking ALL of their bikes to....

Another downer..... I check the weather forecast for Schwerte....... RAIN most of the time and Vancouver temperatures  10 Celsius high and 3 (THREE!) Celsius low...... more being COLD seems to be in the forecast!

Then I'm trying to buy a train ticket for Friday.... NOT.... the Deutsche Bahn website is not responding !

Open the door for the contractors at 9:00, do laundry, translate....... it's getting hectic..... and tomorrow I'm flying to Germany......

At 16:00 I get an agitated phone call from Grandma....."the contractors left and left the house open and unprotected" she exclaims with her outraged and guilt-tripping voice (as if it was my FAULT) ...WTF?.... Didn't I come EVERY day and close up the house again?  The conversation on her end goes SOUR when I mention that.....
When I get to the house, I get a phone call from Nurse Next Door.    Apparently Grandma also made them jump through hoops in her wild-goose chase .....

T minus 23 hours .....   NO, I'm not going where I WANT and NEED to go, but at least I'm getting OUT OF HERE !