Gulag Living (III-IV).... and the Gulag goes on..

Friday  Day 3

The title reference?    Here it is.... 1979 ;-)

.....and the Gulag DOES go on...... still noise from the neighbouring room at 2 am.... not conducive to sleeping..... didn't their mothers teach them ANYTHING ????

I miss Vietnam..... the beauty, the quiet, the gentle nature and the uninhibited humour of the people. 
I miss my friends!

3:45
I give up trying to sleep and make some coffee.....  

But there is one good thing about all these sleepless hours with nothing to do...... 
it gives me time to complete lots of Vietnamese lessons..... 
I am preparing to advance to the Duolingo Sapphire league.... 


Utterly irrelevant but at least it gives me the impression that I'm making progress somewhere, LOL.


5:30
another attempt at sleep..... but all those slamming car doors in front of my room keep me awake.... and those bloody short honks to indicate that the door is locked.... but WHO would lock their door at 5:30?   Arriving or just packing?   I HATE these people!

I was looking forward to riding my bicycle today (perfectly possible according to the bearable weather forecast), so I am LIVID at 8:45 when it is RAINING..... 
I HATE this town!

I actually FORGOT what GREY looks like !

9:00
So instead of cycling, I DRIVE to the booze store (Did I mention that I HATE this town?)...... 

9:30
Cell phone service actually managed to get EVEN WORSE in the six weeks that I was gone..... you dial a number, nothing happens, and you have to dial again.... GO CANADA GO!

12:00
I'll just have a short nap.....

18:00.....SHIT, I did it again...sleeping half the day away

LOL, Tin replied from Kuala Lumpur....

..... allowing a grin to spread from ear to ear for the first time since I've been back here !

I miss HOME so much !

I check whether I should extend my hotel for another night after my scheduled departure date..... they want $260 per night now, LOL..... another incentive to LEAVE this place....

1:15 AM.... the neighbours are loud AGAIN..... I read Vietnamese news.... and tears well up in my eyes..... I want to go home....

Saturday, DAY 4
3:15 I can still hear the neighbours......More Vietnamese lessons....

Nothing new outside my room:   

Vancouver is still GREY and full of CARS ....

8:55
I'm at Denny's and their bloody clock says 8:45..... they better serve me my wine according to the REAL time....

Regina sees me and storms over to give me a big hug.... she clandestinely does something to the fill amount of my wine glass,

wants to see pictures of my house in Vietnam...

....and she appreciates the fact that my travel chopsticks come from Lantau Island, LOL.

I was sitting in Kenny's section but Regina does all the work... but Kenny still INSISTS that my bill goes on his tab... HE wants the TIP!..... I'm going to remember that !

10:00
The visit to Grandma.... she is already awake and in a good mood.... While my laundry is washing, I complete her property tax and insurance bill payments as well as the postal envelopes..... 

12:00

16:00
MUST NOT sleep more.....

An e-mail from Nurse Next Door...... today's nurse says she could not get in because the Lock Box malfunctioned because it needs a new battery..... Our lock box does not use batteries..... NITWITS... Now I have to get back to the house to make sure the box still works...which I'm willing to bet money on .....I better not get charged for today's visit.


18:00
A quick review of today's date in years past:
1 year ago I was in Athens

2 years ago today I was in Bangkok

3 years ago today I was miserable in Vancouver but I just got new shoes ;-)

18:30
It would be dark already at My Beach.... but here the light will linger for more than two hours more..... and I should go to Grandma to check the stupid lock box (more likely stupid Nurse)..... take the bicycle ?

YES, there is a soft midsection to loose, the health benefit of cycling to collect, and it never hurts injecting into car drivers' subconscious minds that they are climate killers if they're not riding a bike when it's not raining!

STILL standing

As expected.... the lock box works just fine...... Grandma wants me to buy her some longer tomato support sticks..... 
HELL NO... we have short sticks, we have zap-straps, we'll just MAKE long sticks !

20:00
I'll try resisting sleep a bit longer, maybe I'll actually get into the rhythm .... OR if not, I'll be a sleepless WRECK, LOL.

20:30
D and I finally manage to connect on the phone ....looks like everything is clear for a July 13th bike trip up the Coast to exchange gossip over wine ;-)

22:00