2:30 am? Bloody jet lag. But at least I get my Vietnamese language classes done early.
Try as I may, and I try many times, I can't sleep any more.... so I learn more Vietnamese instead... and isn't it fitting.... just then I receive an e-mail from L. Nguyen ..... maybe our stays at the beach will overlap this time.
6:40
A pitch-dark sky with flurries has replaced the daily pseudo-golden dawn & sunrise. The sound of car tires on wet roads mixed with car doors slamming in the yard has replaced the sound of the waves.
Toi khong vui!
7:30
Why not have a first breakfast in the hotel?..... after all it's free.
8:30
I've picked up the car..... and it is starting to SNOW !
9:00
It's time to see Eda (and maybe finally get a glass of wine ?). Double Joy !!!
14:30
It is SO HARD to get out of bed!
Driving for 6 weeks in Vietnam, NOT a single car or bike has been harassing or hurrying me from behind, except maybe the FAST overland buses with their distant warning HONKS. I drive out of the hotel driveway here and within 5 seconds there is some fucker within 1 meter behind me trying to force me to go FASTER because they are in such a rush to get to whatever pointless place they are going. MISERABLE CITY. And YES, I realize that this pusher would have been ME 20 years ago ;-)
16:00
More hurdles to jump through. I fill out the Speculation & Vacancy Tax Declaration for Grandma.
I should get some food ...
Vietnamese it is.... toi muon luyen tap noi tieng Viet and that's the only place I can do that..... but then it's the waitress that likes me ..... but she doesn't understand a single word I say..... maybe because she's from Dalat? LOL.
Day 2
At 1:45 am I am wide awake, back at the computer, reading Vietnamese news, and feeling homesick ....
The laundry hut has a sign outside: Laundry from 10 am to 10 pm. I REALLY can't think of a SINGLE reason why one should not be able to use the machines before 10. It is 8:30 am now. I am supposed to wait for another 1.5 hours ?
I think NOT.
Vancouver continues to PISS ME OFF:
At Kerrisdale Camera I pick up my repaired camera. It was still under warranty but I have to pay $217 for the repair because Panasonic refuses to honour their warranty commitment. Last Panasonic camera I ever buy!And it continues: I snatch up a 3-pack of lens-cleaning pens at London Drugs. The sign on the shelf says $39.99 but when the cashier swipes it, it rings in at $44 (before tax). As if living in the second-most expensive on the planet wasn't bad enough, do I REALLY have to be forced to look over my shoulder every 2 seconds because someone tries to rip me off? That would NOT be an issue in the MOST expensive city in the world: Hong Kong.
11:30
I set my alarm for 2 pm...
17:00
I finally get up but I'm STILL SO SLUGGISH..
22:30 I finally went out for dinner. Kenny was the server and he was wearing a pink shirt.... (I can't remember, is PINK for Breast Cancer or Bullying?) ... not really his colour .... but I hope a dinner with some wine will finally put me in a sleeping mood this evening ....
On the way back I again notice the schizophrenia of Western people. Just type in any city name in the world into Google and look at the submitted questions below.... Is Cityname SAFE? is one of the first questions, asked the more the less the people know about it.....
But here I am trying to buy a cigarette lighter at my local gas station. I know the guy inside, but I have to give him the money through a Plexiglas cage in the outside wall of the store that is closed at this hour and he returns the lighter to me the same paranoid way. Because THIS city is NOT safe. Daily news of shootings in Vancouver or Toronto, but these TIMID white people STILL think that a place where yellow people live could not possibly be as SAFE as their home country. I'm trying to think of a word for that and Pathetic, Ignant, and Xenophobic are the only words that come to mind.
Day 3
2:45 am.... is it silly to call that time to get up an improvement ? LOL
There is nothing else to do at this hour than continuing my Vietnamese lessons... and just to vary things a bit, I also start a Spanish course to refresh what I once knew well ;-)
5:30
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| It's cold outside and the frozen dew has created a sparkling ice layer on the cars. |
6:30
My umpteenth Vietnamese lesson today. And isn't THIS nice to see ?
I realize that I should have bought some wine yesterday..... I really feel like a glass now..... or maybe a few days of abstinence aren't such a bad thing ? :<)
9:00
A waitress at Denny's who shall remain nameless brings me my wine. I ordered 5 ounces and I'm sure the bill will only show that but that glass contains at least 10 ounces. Thank you, Darling ;-)
It's Fish & Rice again.
9:45
Time to bite the bullet and run today's errands
Bank, London Drugs for another wireless mouse (touch pads are useless for MOVING large numbers of files), wine for me & a Thank-You bubbly for Grandma's most fabulous nurse....
Jessica has arrived and we are all ready to proceed with the preparations to apply for Grandma's new Permanent Resident Card. That's when I notice it.
Grandma's passport EXPIRED 32 days ago! OUCH!!!
Ouch because this means that instead of waiting for a new PR card for 2 months, Grandma will have to wait for a new passport for 3 months and then another 2 months for the PR card. Half a year is a long time to wait for someone already 100.5 years old... and I think she realizes that and also realizes that she will not see her daughter again.
20:00
Arriving back home I notice that a bulge has reappeared within 4 days of being here..... FUCK, I HATE being in this city! That's it. Tomorrow is a yogurt & Sushi day!
T minus 6
Day 4
4:00
Wow! Netflix is offering neither Pose nor Star Trek Discovery in Canada. Time for me to get back to Vietnam, LOL.
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| Vietnamese has the Canadian 'Eh?' ! It even sounds the same, LOL. |
Now it's finally time to call that insurance guy (I only procrastinated for one year ;-) to arrange to get Grandma's basement fixed.....
OF COURSE... I only get his voicemail..... let's see when I get a call back ...
Again, I realize that during my time in Vancouver I spend A LOT of times jumping through hoops and running errands for Grandma. Not only that but it's things that would not be an issue if she had noticed that her basement was flooding for 10 days or that her passport has an expiry date. It's not her fault that her faculties are failing at her age, but again I realize that I do not want reach such a high age.
10:30
Time to go. The owners of the Asian fish store smile. The cashier at Safeway only has that encrusted bitterness that is so common here to display. Watching people drive and park brings about an involuntary SCREAM (Good thing it was muffled inside the car) I CAN NOT live here anymore !But getting to Grandma is impossible.... the side roads are not plowed and I'm lucky after entering one that I can turn around and get back out before getting stuck.
But I still complete another step towards her being able to fly to Germany: I order her birth certificate in Germany.
Why does my old laptop show a Blue Screen? Oh.... just the usual: whenever my laptop is behaving strangely, it means that Microsoft is trying to install another useless update.... as usual without warning.... and what's worse..... after blocking me from using my computer for an hour it shows this:
Day 5
3 am.... I slept too much yesterday!
But this gives me ample time for my Vietnamese (and Spanish) lessons ;-)
My Ferry Consultant might be in Japan for his 50th birthday! I have never been in Japan with the exception of Narita Airport, but I will be in Vietnam at that time.... maybe this is an opportunity to kill 2 birds with one stone ?
7:00
The roads are beautifully empty at this early Saturday hour but the weather is ugly as usual. I have some shopping to do at SuperStore.... I'm out of lotion (got to preserve that tan) and I want to buy some eye drops for a friend (Existing is trying to win, Living is trying to share).
YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING! There is an Eye-Drop AISLE ?????
The total bill for all the stuff I buy ends up being $146 but I only pay $6. Putting all those flights on a credit card collecting store points just paid off big time ;-)
9:00
Time for a real breakfast.... although fish with rice & veggies and an appetizer Caesar would not be considered breakfast by most.... but then I've been up for 6 hours, so this counts as lunch ;-) Another to-remain-nameless server errs greatly in my favour when measuring the amount of dispensed wine....
11:00
I thought I had fried my e-cigarette before my last flight and drive to the Vape store to buy a new one.
Then he exhales vapour!
The bloody thing works! I didn't turn it on properly, LOL.
Thank you, young man, for saving me money and also for restoring a bit of my hope in humanity !
12:30
Time to visit Grandma.... she is happy to see me and I think she is finally acquiring that wisdom and kindness she has been lacking in the past. I am happy for her.
I decide to have a nap at 15:00..
and sleep until 23:00 !! That's 3 pm in Saigon.
Shit, my jet lag is getting WORSE ! My sleep rhythm now matches Central European Time !
Day 6
7:15
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| At least it won't snow today .... |
7:45
Shaved, Showered, and nowhere to go ....and not even any wine in the house ..
in the news ....
9:00
Yet another fish breakfast at Denny's.
A visit with Chantal. Mika has grown 10 cm in the last year (so has his hair) and his voice has changed. He's a friggin Teenager but this kid is only 11 years old !
... and NO, I don't even have the tiniest interest in the Oscars. But this THING worn by the Billy Porter who plays Pray Tell in Pose takes my breath away, LOL.
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| Brilliant ! How often does one see something TRULY NEW ??? |
Day 7
Not much sleep last night .... not even 3 full days left here and still so many things to do....
And not only my things.... all those bloody passport renewal things for Grandma keep me busy so I don't do my things.....
There: I just paid $75 online to the Government of Canada so some Schmuck can type a name into the computer to check whether Grandma's name is in the database of Canadian citizens. $75 for that alone? Oh, NO, they'll send me a piece of paper too for that amount. Wildly Excessive? Not in Canada ;-(
9:00 In the interest of battling my bulge, I am walking to Denny's.
17:00
4:00 I am AWAKE now ...
China Airlines does not let me check in online? WTF? Ah well, the worst thing that could happen is checking in at the airport and getting another bloody middle seat for a 12 hour flight.
But even that's OK, because in 48 hours I'll be halfway to Taipei ;-)
As has been the case for a while now, my thoughts are in a different country.... especially now that it's in the news ;-)
And I'm dancing in my room again....
9:00
A quick visit to the doctor to renew those cosmetic prescriptions.... It's the same Persian woman doctor as last time..... I like her, LOL. She measures my blood pressure again... it's not bad for a chain-smoking old man but she tells me to keep monitoring it and to keep a log. WTF? Like that is going to happen.... I would have to take Grandma's blood-monitoring thingy with me...
9:45
I'm having breakfast at Denny's and the phone rings.... and it is George's old purveyor, LOL. I have known that guy for what almost 20 years now? It's good to hear that he is OK and hasn't fallen victim to some excessive display of Serve & Protect. And I'll leave you to guess which country he was born in. .. ;-
11:00
I've bought wine and picked up my fun pills. I want to call Canyon Restaurant
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| Grandma's 100th Birthday lunch at Canyon Restaurant |
Chantal recommended Pimsleur language courses to me. I try the FREE Vietnamese lesson..... half an hour later, I'm not too sure this method works with my particular brain wiring ....
16:30
OMG, I gotta get ready !
Eda is already here....... Food at Earls in West Vancouver is actually not bad.
20:00
Trump and Kim are both in Ha Noi now..... and I'm still getting used to the strange event that Trump is staying in the exact same hotel where I stayed in February 2018 thanks to a coupon from my friend Alan. I'm sure Dump has a better room than I did, but it still feels weird. And I remember that something about that hotel always felt WRONG!
And all of a sudden it hits me..... and a big GRIN spreads over my face .... I'll be back in Viet Nam SOON ;-)
Day 8:
2:30
Oh, why not? There are still many things to do and I've slept enough.
All three episodes of the Bourne Trilogy are available on Netflix Canada.
I watch the second one.
Still good ;-)
I start packing a little.... after all, 24 hours from now I will be somewhere over the Aleutian Islands ....
6:00
The friggin weather forecast changed AGAIN..... I'll be leaving Vancouver in the SNOW ...
7:30
Good thing I checked the website...... Germany now has made it EASIER to obtain dual citizenship for people who have lived abroad for > 20 years. That applies to Yours Truly.
8:15
an e-mail from Tin puts a big grin on my face.... I am ALMOST HOME !
.... and I'm dancing again... to a description of the West ..... We don't pray for love, we just pray for cars ..... and I am SO RELIEVED to be able to leave that world behind ... toi hanh phuc !
Later in the day: Paying 12 Euros by wire transfer incurs a fee of CAD$ 45. NOT enough with that, not only do I have to fill out the wire-transfer transactions, but also a government questionnaire: Are you sending this frequently, How did you hear about the vendor, How did you receive the bill....etc etc... my tax dollars are PAYING for the idiots coming up with this crap.....
It's not much better at the post office when I want to mail Grandma's application to Nova Scotia, at the other end of this great country. For about one Dollar, I'll get regular mail service and the clerk informs me that the letter will take about TEN DAYS to reach it's destination. PONY EXPRESS is alive and well! I have to pay more than $20 for XPRESS Mail so the letter will reach its destination within 3 days. Remember, this is a letter between major cities within ONE COUNTRY, and not to some out-of-the-world place like the source of the Nile.A last load of laundry, and a last visit to Grandma .... she is not happy that I'm leaving .... understandable .... but she becomes cranky ....
I still have enough time today, so I finally drive to the lab to have blood taken to let them discover what kind of ghastly things are flowing through my blood stream... I'll find out in one month.
15:00
The rental car is gone..... now all I have to do is wait 6 hours until it's time to head to the airport
.... and it's almost time to go HOME !
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