DIRE Vancouver DAYS ..... Feb 10 2022..... SO IN LOVE again...and then...... OMFG!!! Phap has a fiancée and made a baby....

another BLAST from the PAST .....February 10, 2022 

almost 3 years ago.....I am STUCK and MISERABLE in Vancouver, dealing with Grandma's SHIT.....

I am missing Phap SO MUCH ......

And then THIS happens:

10.2.2022 (February 10, 2022):

 

0:30 Vancouver time

that's 15:30 in Vietnam....time to forget about Him, I think (how often have I said that before? ;-)

I tried to order the computer speakers from Best Buy.... but the ordering process failed.... no ordering at midnight? (Does ANYTHING actually work in Canada ?!?)

I hear a song on Radio Canada Quebec...... it's Joan Baez.....that woman dated BOTH Bob Dylan AND Steve Jobs.... 'nough said?

2:00

time to pass out?

sleep

6:45

OUCH.....

still nothing from Phap?.. more than 48 hours now ...Go to hell !

I'm trying to sleep more....but I just can't....

Day 2....where is my bowel movement?

8:00

OK, bowel movement happened.... now I only have heart constipation left to deal with ;-)

8:45

Do I have a flu?  Or Omicron? Sluggish to the extreme......

9:05

PHAP video calls...we talk for 10 mins...I haven't forgotten my Vietnamese.....he's back in Saigon...but will go back to university in Tuy Hoa soon.... and I'm SO IN LOVE again.... enough inspiration and motivation to get the necessary jobs to deal with Grandma DONE ....

11:00

I've been ecstatic for hours now.....LOVE does that to you.... but I'm also drunk and I need a nap....

nap

12:30

13:00

I email Jessica (Grandma's former nurse).... she should pick the day and time for dinner !

14:00

back from the Post Office (I parked in the handicapped parking spot) and the Shaw box is on its way back to Shaw .... another thing OFF the LONG to-do list ;-)

15:30

Trying to write an email to Carlito.... one of the people I miss very much....

16:15

hamburgo thit bo voi chuoi voi com trang....NGON ! (Beef burger with basmati rice and banana)

16:30

I sent the email to Carlito....I need SENSIBLE people in my life !

Laundry is done.... I hang it in front of the fireplace downstairs to dry .... (yeah....the dryer is DEAD).....

16:45

Tam Phu Diem (one of Phap's aunts) finally answers the phone.... Chuc mung nam moi !!!....My tieng Viet is still good enough... she asks when I will come back.... tears come shooting out of my eyes.......

I am SO FUCKING HOMESICK !!

17:00

A lovey email to Phap..... he made my day SO HAPPY when he called me this morning ....

19:30

I finish watching 'The awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch'.....

..... it made me cry, it made me laugh so hard..... a BEAUTIFUL movie....

I talk to Eda.....

I get an email from Jessica.....

 

I get an email from SOME WOMAN (WTF???) in Vietnam.... 

she writes that she does NOT LIKE the emails that I am sending to her FIANCEE and she wants me to STOP sending those emails

AND .....that there is a baby on the way ..... and she sends me a picture......

WTF ?????

 

...... MAYBE ....MAYBE.....MAYBE ....you can imagine what happens to my emotional state at that very moment ......

 

I call Eda..... HELP HELP HELP !!!

I call Chantal ..... HELP HELP HELP !!!!

22:15

I email Jessica..... Friday evening is fabulous.... but feel free to make it Saturday.....

 

23:30

I look at the original Vietnamese email text again instead of at the Google translation ......

Her email is addressed to CHI....(older sister)

 OMFG....his fiancee thinks that I am a WOMAN !!!!     Oh, poor girl..... You are SO SCREWED !

0:00

Lisa emails...... Quang wants more money again to supposedly reconnect electricity..... at first I balk....but FUCK it....

ENOUGH  for ONE day........I really NEED to pass out now.....

just a train of thought (actually an email) describing my present state of mind

 

OMG......everything is going SO frigging swimmingly right now......

tomorrow I am going to Monkey Town.....I am TOO frigging HUNGRY here in my village....

 

and last time I was in Phnom Penh, I tipped the hotel reception desk people a few US$ because they actually got me the best room in the hotel.....

I booked that hotel room again for February 15......  and wrote:

If possible, I would LOVE to have room 1003 again ;-) Arkoun !!! .. (Teşekkürler in Khmer ;-)

and this is the reply I got ....

Hi yes, we've placed a strong request over your previous room, you'll be sure to get it when you come by!

I replied:

អរគុណច្រើន .... I wish you a happy day ;-)

Over here....on this planet......if you treat people nicely; and with proper respect; if you are KIND to people.........they WILL make the sun rise for you..and brighten your day....which unfortunately no longer works in the West........needless to say........

 

 I am HAPPY HERE....

La Vie en Rose .... Ha Noi Day 3: Ha Long Bay

Early December 2020....In the middle of COVID.....a new LOVE, by now 2 years in the running.....HIS first time in a plane....when checking in at the airport, I insisted on a window seat for 'the kid'......he is 28 at this time but I get so much happiness from watching his eyes go SO WIDE when the plane leaves the ground.

N.B. FINALLY finishing this post 4 years after the fact......I'm thinking about the lyrics of Hozier's cover of Van Morrison's SWEET THING ..."I will never be so OLD again....I will never be so COLD again"....  I have changed ;-) THANK GOD.....the friendliness of the Vietnamese allowed me to change (that is the secondary title of this blog:  sự thân thiện của nguoi Viet Nam cho phép tôi thay đổi  ;-)

The 25 year old RETARDS working for Blogger have their algorithms WRONG....Upload pictures and they show up in the opposite order.....SO...... you will have to read THIS post starting at the VERY BOTTOM....and then scroll upward ;-)

 /start reading at the VERY BOTTOM and proceed UPWARD/

23:00

sleep

 

21:00

We're back in Hanoi......Walking around the Old Quarter because he's hungry....  we finally find a place....chicken legs .....beautifully marinated and grilled..... he's constantly texting..... GREAT JOY ;-(NOT).... (our very first tiny tiff)....    ah well....4 years later I can only smile about it...

 

19:00 He orders the bus in Ha Long.....he is Good at that but I don't want to drink beer on the bus because I don't want have to PEE during the bus ride... but once we reach Ha Noi.....I RACE towards the LOO at the Ha Noi Hilton Hotel ;-)

Yours' are the kindest eyes I've ever seen

I thought that was the day before ...?!

stalactites ;-)

His idea to paddle through here.....is this MAGICAL or what ???!!!

There is a boat where you get rowed around.....NO...we take the Kayak....Phap's very first time in a Kayak

Here we go....Ha Long ..... My third time....but HIS first time ;-)

The single reason I came to travel to Viet Nam for the first time in 2015. Still MAGICAL ;-)

GORGEOUS (both him and the background ;-)

COVID times....out of 300 tourist boats...only 2 or 3 are running ....

after 3 hours delayed departure (not enough tourists)....finally on a boat

OMG...I looked so much OLDER 4 years ago than I do today !!!

waiting for a boat....

 we made it to Ha Long City by 10 am

a long bus ride through unfriendly territory ...... Phap arranged it well ;-)

It is COLD in Hanoi....(13 degrees C?)

The Beach-Bitch likes Verdi

PLAY THIS WHILE READING:

 

It was cold this morning.....my feet were cold.....23 degrees Celsius.

.....I can no longer live in the WEST.

13:00 hours....I'm finally fully awake..... sitting on my terrace....blasting Pavarotti singing 'La Donna e mobile' at full power  (how many women sing along with this song without understanding what the lyrics actually mean?)

The Beach-Bitch (inside joke: Vietnamese can not pronounce BEACH...they always say BITCH).....(We are talking about a female dog) shows up and lies down in front of me.

Usually the dog shows up to see whether there is food from me for her. And usually she leaves quickly after realizing that there is no food.

But this time she stays.......Pavarotti is singing.....I am singing along......she is closing her eyes and sleeps.....the dog seems to LOVE IT (how many Vietnamese dogs have ever heard Verdi ???)

One of those moments that make life SPECIAL....

Lest we forget ....it is IN THE EYES

 Most people will be forgotten QUICKLY....even during their lifetimes......because there is NOTHING memorable about them..... (another life wasted :-(

...but SOME people will live in our memories forever....the SPECIAL people....those who CARE about others....and who care about their own people......

Long dead, they are still LOVED and CHERISHED by their peoples...... Honest and hard-working people.....

What else do they all have in common????

Che

Uncle Ho ....Ho Chi Minh

Atatürk Kemal Pascha

Gandhi

Fidel Castro

Bhumibol of Thailand

Anwar el Sadat of Egypt

 you can SEE it in their EYES

 And as Peter Gabriel beautifully sang in this song 

I'd rather trust a countryman than a townman
You can judge by his eyes, take a look if you can
He'll smile through his guard, survival trains hard
I'd rather trust a man who works with his hands
He looks at you once, you know he understands
Don't need any shield, when you're out in the field

 

Stay away from the Zombies with the phony eyes and phony smiles !!!!

It is TIME..... time to revive this blog

February 10, 2013........Chinese New Year .....The start of the Year of the Snake....that was the first post on this blog

.... Thank you, Yiman, for telling me about this....because I am a Snake.....

Place mat in a Chinese restaurant in Gibsons

A snake postage stamp on my Grouse Inn door in 2013

.. ..I wore something RED EVERY day for a whole fucking year....to remind me every day that I am not allowed to be lazy or to procrastinate........ONE WHOLE YEAR of living life to the FULLEST !

Chinese New Year's Parade in Vancouver in 2013

..and it was the best year of my life.....and at the end of the year, I thought.....WHY should I STOP?.....because this was SO MUCH fun ..... and then I just refused to stop .....otherwise I would NOT have ended up where I am now.

In addition, 12 years ago, I followed the example of Alan, my foremost Ferry Consultant, to write a BLOG about a SPECIAL year in my life.....

You can do the math.......every 12 years........it is time again for yet ANOTHER Year of the Snake.....

The coming Year of the Snake will start on January 29th, 2025..... but my gut feeling tells me that it already started EARLY ;-)

However......instead of turning 48 years old during that previous Year of the Snake, I will be turning 60 years old....and  that is a BIG difference, which I can feel in my aching body every morning.....

I don't want to think about the one after that, because I can't imagine myself at 72 years of age.....

 But I am prepared for this one......the same watch ends I was wearing 12 years ago ...

...and some new SNAKE underwear from Amazon

that Eda was very KIND to mail from Canada to Viet Nam.  

 

I AM READY......  bring it ON <GRIN>

Chúc mừng Ngày Quốc Khánh Việt Nam

 

 I feel privileged and honored to be allowed to live in this country with these amazing people !!!

And YES, there is a personal connection here  ;-)

..... and I cry when thinking about the high price Millions of Vietnamese had to pay for that freedom......

FUCK 'You know Who'  (U.K.W. ?  U.O.H?......U.W.A.?.....oh no, I just remembered.......  ;-)

Lest we forget......

 

On this day (August 6) in 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb on a city of 300,000 CIVILIANS (Hiroshima)......

and in the last 79 years nothing really has changed......

SHAME....

Another trip..... A Wedding.... and return HOME...with too many doubts

Still at home...on a Friday ... 2 days until the wedding ....

 4:00

A panic attack about the mole on my chest...... am I dying ?

 

 5:45 Nhat shows up.....

I call "Chao buoi Sang" to a figure walking on the beach, thinking it is Fabian......NO....it's one of the gay guys......and he's NOT traveling with his boyfriend but with his straight cousin..... and he asks me about the 'tribal music' he heard coming from my house last night ..... LOL.....I write it on a piece of paper: TINARIWEN

 Phap had replied.....a company function...... men wearing kimonos and waving umbrellas.....I'm glad he's busy....but he doesn't look happy......he says "I wish you were here"......

Nhat, Fabian, The Monkey.....My terrace is a ZOO......Villa Kunterbunt indeed ...How did I get here ?

Saturday

My drives the Monkey and me to Tuy Hoa. ....there is a wedding to attend...... and I'm glad I have the Monkey as company.....

AND the wedding might include my boyfriends PARENTS.........both the Monkey and I have brought long pants and proper shoes.

Sunday.....  

 15:30  We waited as long as possible to put on these uncomfortable clothes .....SOCKS?...SHOES?.. WTF?

16:00 The Monkey orders an electro-taxi......

I was right about the location.....we hesitate a bit to go in ..... to miss the bla bla and the waiting...

the parents usually don't look too happy 

 

...but Tam, co Tam's husband spots us and waves us over......

Uncle 9's wife spots me and wants to take a picture with me..

... Thanh is there....but his eyes are a lot less slit-like today.....OH....it's the younger brother......and everybody of the family knows my NAME.....

Aunt 8 (mother of the bride) giving me directions

we drop our envelope with 1 trieu...... and there is a Viet guy with a mustache waving at me from 50 meters away...... 

I grin and put up 7 fingers (it's Uncle 7) and he gives me the thumbs up...... I sit with the Monkey at an outside table....better not draw attention...he's looking behind me and says oh oh.....it's Thanh (the one with the slit-like eyes)...and Thanh sits next to me AGAIN.......the table slowly fills up....mostly younger guys and one old guy right across from me...seems a bit grumpy and doesn't look me in the eye.

I scan the wedding guests......somewhere in the crowd of 200 people is Phap's father....

About an hour later, I give up.....I ask Thanh (the older one).....you are 5; I know Binh (aunt 10), uncle 9, aunt 8, uncle 7.......but WHO is uncle 6 ?....... and he points at the old-looking guy RIGHT ACROSS from me....

....This can NOT be a coincidence...there are 20 tables here......he must he must have chosen this seat on purpose... with only 4 white guys at the wedding.....he knew EXACTLY WHO I was......the diddler of his son...... he got to study me for one whole hour without me having a clue....... Meet Phap's FATHER.......3 years younger than me....

...and the WHOLE time he does NOT clink glasses with me or meet my eye....... WOW

As for the wedding...... as usual, Matthias selbstbeweihräuchert (sings his own high praise)......both the bride and the FAT husband are stoopid..... but harmless....both Christians....they found each other in Church.... Good luck to them !!

We eat.... the many courses......and it's good food.....Zala catered !

18:45...almost out of cigarettes.......time to leave.......we have to empty our glasses first (I'm learning).....and the Monkey tells me that I HAVE TO say good bye to all the IMPORTANT people......I ask "Who are the IMPORTANT PEOPLE?"........He says  "The FAMILY"...... SHIT...that INCLUDES Phap's father...... how can I say good bye to him if he won't look me in the eye.....

OH SCREW IT.... Thanh (older) is first and I walk up to the man who sat across me all evening and shake his hand......HOLY SHIT....he even smiles..... Aunt 8 and uncle 8 (more forced drinking), cousin 8, Uncle 9, Uncle 7 (more drinking).....they point at Thanh (the younger) and I say "Toi khong quen !"   Aunt 8 asks me "Mathias?" and grins when I shake my head in horror.

Then on the way out the wife of Uncle 9...... and they all know my name......it's family.....it's fucking freaky !!!!

19:15

The Monkey drank a lot of beer and just passes out....

I am too wired by the evening's events.......and try to sleep at 21:30.... not until 23:00

3:30

AWAKE.......

I drink and smoke while the Monkey snores.... 

6:00 Monkey's alarm clock goes off again.....I flip out and hit him on the feet "Turn it off" he doesn't wake up.....I put the phone in the fridge.....

7:00

Monkey is finally awake......My texts that he'll only be here at 8:30 instead of the promised 8:00..... BLECH.....

Then we pick up relatives of his before Song Cau......lovely..... no more lying-down space in the back and I'm still paying full price......I am overly enthused <sarcasm> .....But even the greatest annoyance eventually ENDS.... 

10:00 I am HOME ;-)

Nhat, Fabian, Monkey, Fabian, Nhat.... Fabian is starting to seriously go on my nerves.... consumption-oriented but without a clue.....and MANIC.....  He needs more therapy, me thinks....

15:00

Fabian takes a taxi to Quy Nhon to buy WEED.....idiot

I walk to the Other Store.....4 cases of wine delivered, 2 cartons of cigs, Coke, Peach tea, and bubble water, and 6 eggs......2.7 trieu.... 

17:00

The THIRD wiener with cheese and wasabi of the day.....but that is all I'm eating.....

Nhau a little with Choi......but I have neck pain/headache.....so I leave soon.....

nap

20:00

There it is ... first he said next weekend at my house....then he changed it to next weekend in Tuy Hoa...and here is the message...in TWO weeks in Tuy Hoa.....

I reply:  "In TWO weeks???  Phap fails again :-("

I'm SICK of it......

Looking at the bright side......I have enough food.....I can hang out at my house and enjoy time with Fabian and the Monkey next weekend.......Never mind about IDIOT Phap.....there is Thanh...... actually there are THREE Thanhs ;-)

21:00

No response from Phap.....I message Thanh VH....(he replies RIGHT AWAY)...I refuse to be Number 6.....son, wife, mother, father, work......and then MAYBE I.....  too often now.....

One month until my visa expires.......maybe this will be the right time to go to Germany ....refill my prescription.....meet some NICE relatives...grab some cash.....and ride a bicycle.....and stay away from IDIOTS ...

Drink more and try to pass out....