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....

Strange Money .....A trip ....for love..... Weak.....ANGRY.....Construction and no water.... FURIOUS ....LOVE..... ride home

 6:00

OUCH ...getting old is no fun !

someone left a coin outside on a chair  

The Monkey knows:  A Chinese coin....might be 500 years old ..

8:00

Nhat.....he was sick yesterday....that's why I didn't see him then

9:00

need another nap

10:00

she does it again.... Kodiak Island woman coming out of the ocean like Ursula Andress in the James Bond movie 'Dr. NO'

but this time I walk up to her on the beach and show her THIS picture .... she is flattered;-)

Nhat again

Kodiak woman kisses me Good Bye when I leave at 11:45

Only one guy at the barber......I decide to wait........and then to Tuy Hoa......it's EXHAUSTING......I can't remember the last time I rode this.....and SO MANY changes......

I get room 206....

I pay Joy for doing the taxes

15:15

NEED to pass out..... but NO......I get the wine from the scooter......I reserve 306 for next weekend....

16:30

Always do first whatever you are trying to avoid..... Winmart.......yogurt, grapes, Wieners, sandwich cheese....this place is REALLY going downhill......the assortment is appalling....a WHOLE AISLE filled with Soy and Chili sauce......but try to find mustard......same thing with cheese.....20 kinds of processed plastic-wrapped slices....but not a SINGLE piece of REAL cheese..... appalling !!!

and YES, those Wieners were heated in the water kettle, LOL

19:00

AGAIN......I'm out of village and Choi is nhauing and wants me to join...

15:45 The contractors leave.....  Just in time.....

16:30 He is STILL NOT HERE ......I'm getting so FURIOUS .....If I did NOT still really loved him, I would change hotels NOW.....

18:00

he arrives.....I give him the FUCK-YOU talk......

1 hour talk

a quick make-out

he sleeps for 12 hours

 I wake up and there is a message from MY....he wants to borrow 40 trieu to buy another car....WTF?

another 1 hour talk and Phap is off to see his parents.....

 I ride home in ferocious head-wind and fucking bumpy roads....true hell....

13:00

It's SO good to be home....... QUIET after all that NOISE

I'm on my first cigarette and first glass of wine when Nhat shows up.....Nice...

The rest of the afternoon........I get stuff done..... put away the food, organize, settle back in.....

BUT SO TIRED and EXHAUSTED.....

at least I manage to take a shower in the evening and apply Nivea to my sun-burned skin ;-)

18:00

Sleep......

 

Post-Tet..... Phap Valentine .....Toan.....Monkey got dumped .... FUCK CHROME: FireFox is back.... Phap borrows and video calls

 5:00

The phone rings.....I answer.....It is Chantal.....  They emptied the storage......and they are getting rid of the TV stands and Great-Grandma's green high-backed Sessel......  

8:00

Chantal refunds me $1200...... right away I send $300 back to her for 'Mika, the Morin Moving Muscle'.

9:00

At the hotel: 

I talk to last night's crazy Swedish woman....and I even get her to smile....... Laundry is almost done....

I talk to last evening's 2 cyclists from Heidelberg.......YES...the indeed WERE in SaiGon 2 weeks ago.....it was their folding bikes I saw on Pham Ngu Lao.....NGHIEP...... AND.....they DID the bicycle trip from Germany to Istanbul...... I feel a little deflated, but feel invigorated in my plan......he is 56 years old...... NOT DONE YET.......today they are off to Quy Nhon.....

10:30

The laundry is done....I hang it.....

An email from Mika.....thanking me for the $300......Chantal probably pushed him ;-)

nap

11:15

chorizo omelet......goes down well; I was craving MEAT.....

11:30 There is the Phap email I was dreading...(I was expecting it)..... "I HAVE to spend Tet with my parents"

I prepare my response..... "Problem or no problem, busy or not busy, I ALWAYS have time for Phap"

17:00

But instead I reply....

"I hope you can find a bit of time to meet me before you return to Bien Hoa"....

Right now......If he FAILS AGAIN.......it will be grounds for divorce....

I'm not expecting an answer any time soon....he only replies to happy messages .....and stays quiet if the answer is not favorable.....

18:25

I've eaten the 2 frozen chicken wings....cut my finger trying to cut an OLD lime....

What now?

18:45

He replies.....he is coming NGAY MOT ....now I feel bad for adding things to his busy schedule....

sleep early

3:00

dazed....

4:00

get up.... coffee 

talk to Andrea....she is unpleasantly hysterical.......I'm trying to talk her down....

Chantal calls back.......

nap

12:00

The flight to SaiGon and all the hotels are booked.

13:45

I've completed my calisthenics, re-fried some tofu from the freezer, got a confirmation from HomeAway..... now I only have to book My for the taxi ride and I'm good to go ....

15:15

I booked My and clipped my crotch..... up to 2.5 bottles already and I have to slow down.....another nap?.....after all, I got up at 3:30 or 4:00.....

nap

16:45

STARVING.... I order a hamburger..... strange new squiggly fries....and not enough fries....ah well....I eat 1/3 and put the rest in the fridge......

17:15

Some neurotic German kids (5-10 years?) try to throw sand on my fire.... one of them (11?) gives me an extended slut/trying-to-look-cute look, probably a look that let her get away with stuff before......OMG, that one will be trouble in the future....pity the man that falls for her .....anyhoo.... it's not working on me....

20:00 a message from Phap

sleep

23:30

BANGS on the door.....Thanh and Jerker..... I am rude to them....NOT today..... I regret it the next morning and send an apology to Thanh.

sleep

1:00

There is BUZZING in my room......and then there is a PLOP on my bed as if a rock fell from the ceiling.... need a glass of wine.... when I go back to bed and unfold the blanket there is this GIANT FLYING cockroach...... I am frantically looking around for murderous instruments.... there ... that wooden stick.... the first strike cuts the beast in half......and I swipe it off the bed.....

I manage to sleep eventually

6:00

10:30

An SUV comes up the beach ....and wants to PARK in front of my trees .....guests of Lisa.... I run out and shout NOOOO....he goes WHY NOT..... I go Because this is MY property (I lie just a little ;-) and bai bien DEP nhung xe o to KHONG dep.....

11:15

a bit of bread....with chorizo....AND cherry jam ;-)

Phap writes:  20:00

nap

finish the burger

nap

16:00 slight belly discomfort.....from wine or food?

19:00

I order chicken wings and fries for Phap....I've told Jenny 3 times today that I don't want the nuoc mam with the chicken wings......what do I get?   Nuoc Mam....... I go back later.....and complain.....If you want to work in hospitality, you have to start listening to the guests.....I would like another order of wings without sauce for free......and then she gets all phony "we don't have any left, you get a massage" all with that phony smile.....when I say "You are not listening; you are not learning", she tells me to go home...... LAST time I will talk to Jenny ;-)

Phap mails...... I don't have the scooter......

21:30 I flip out and I video call him......where are you?.....on the road...I'll be there in 30 minutes

I walk half naked to the road to expect his arrival....nothing....on the way back to my house, I run into Thanh.....we're fine......I get back to the house.....another message from Phap.....traffic police; I will be slow to arrive.....just HOW can anyone be so UNLUCKY or STUPID ?????

22:45

I feel like sleeping.....

I head over to Thanh's drinking party......he asks for a bottle of wine....why not....he massages my shoulders with astonishingly STRONG hands ..... 

The whole time I keep my eye on the road to see Phap when he arrives...... then the phone rings and he is calling from my house..... he has a way of walking invisibly.....

LOVE him....

sleep so well

so much nuzzling in the morning......

9:00 He leaves....... that's OK.....I'll see him again in only 8 days ;-)

I'm feeling all MELLOW YELLOW after all that hugging and nuzzling .....and I am stupid enough to call Andrea back...........The usual whining about problems......she KILLS my BUZZ ...... my own bloody fault for calling her!

11:00

Chantal is not doing much better .....hurting eyes, cranky teenager, Broken truck, Sally Ann refusing to take furniture.....

13:00

nap

14:30

Eat the remaining chicken wings.

nap

16:15

19:00

Toan calls and brings me a DuDu...

21:30 He leaves

I realize that Phap sent me a picture many hours ago....

22:30

Time to sleep?

sleep

3:30

coffee

7:00

Oh, why not...... MARKET.........pineapple, mushrooms, garlic, chili, bell pepper, tomatoes, 6 limes.....all for 65k....CAD$ 2.50....In Canada I would have been able to buy ONE lime with that....

15:00

I've DONE the ESTA application......let's see what happens.....

nap with belly ache .... I have to stop eating hotel food !

16:15

I order a Banh Kep and fry up some chorizo

Oh.....I have an ESTA ;-)

belly ache again

time for another nap

18:45

Phone and knock on the Door.....Monkey.....poor bastard got dumped the day before Valentine's Day....

19:45

Monkey is off again.....meeting a friend at his old high school......good for him....he needs all the distractions he can find.....

sleep

3:00

the usual wake-up Canada problems panic...Might as well get up..... 

5:30

OMFG.......AdBlock no longer works on YouTube......the world as we know it is ending..... the end is nigh.....

6:00 

Andrea pushes the FuckOff button......probably a good thing

nap

8:00

reheat the banana pancake

Call Eda.....LOL. she is living in my house in North Van now.....OMG.....

9:30

I head to Le's store.....and buy the 5 boxes of wine.....her husband delivers them on my terrace 15 minutes later....

10:15

The woman with the weird DUT on her head.  Now she has a beautiful scarf over the whole thing.....OH WHY NOT....I am no longer shy after 1.5 years in Viet Nam......I walk over and ask in Vietnamese whether she permits me to take a picture..... 

Then she wants a joint selfie....

10:30

It bugs me.... not knowing.....I ask the manager Xuan ....in Vietnamese......and she understands me.... and answers.....this woman is Tay or Tai (two different minorities, but I still can't hear the tones ;-)

Monkey ....he is still delusional about Cambodia.....he will figure it out

 

15:45 Need nap

16:15 One of the beach cleaners shows up....friend of Choi & My....

17:30 Message exchange with 'Mr. Miss You'....

19:45 Nhat brings me steamed rice...... into the Freezer....

20:00 THREE weeks after submitting it, my Home Owner Grant application is STILL 'pending'.....what the FUCK is wrong with Canada ????!!!?

21:00 sleep

6:00

I wake up happy..... coffee wine.....the sun rises just at the edge of the peninsula....that means winter is over..... my eyes take forever to start working.....I'm typing this with glasses..

6:30

A new Era..... Adblocker is still installed......today for the first time I see ADS on VN Express......Ah well, I'll get used to it.....and they don't work on me.....Instead of buying the advertised shit, I will rather AVOID those products/services because they dared to annoy me ;-)

food:   chorizo, cream cheese, cherry jam on baguette.....

Andrea does not answer.....probably a good thing.... ;-)

Eda calls back....she's rearranging my house......hopefully not TOO MUCH or I will get cranky......

I put 15 trieu into my wallet for the upcoming trip......

doze

10:30

Hungry again..... mushrooms onions chorizo tomato...... on baguette......

11:00

slight discomfort in the gut again.......

ADS are popping up everywhere now.....OH NO...... I abandon Chrome after 20 years or so...... I download FireFox, my browser of 20 years ago...... and ..........NO MORE ADS, LOL..... 

12:30

Nhat drops by...... he's going cock fighting again today.....but far away....

13:00

DONE.....I've switched over to FireFox and closed Chrome......NO MORE BULLSHIT....

nap

14:15

Monkey shows up ....I can tell he's hurting....but he's trying to maintain the stiff upper lip...

16:15

Monkey leaves......

Phap emails..... with a picture.....

way too XA XI......and he probably LIED to me

He told me 3 days ago in the morning that he would ride back to Bien Hoa in the afternoon.......This definitely is NOT Bien Hoa.....  this looks like Tuy Hoa...... I reply "Where are you?" .....I pray to god that he didn't lie to me again......  And I'm SURE he will NOT answer that question ......

17:00

I order chicken wings and fries......

I'm happy with my switch to FireFox...... NO MORE ADS.....and I'll get use to the scrolling through the tabs...... FUCK the corporate West  !!!

18:00

Phap replies.....OLD picture (note, he does not answer my question of WHERE he is)....DAMN my mother for making me paranoid of lying loved ones...... it is SO EASY to damage your children forever..... !!!!

 19:45

Drunk and thinking too much......

sleep

3:15

Coffee and wine

5:00 Talk to Eda.....she is changing things to get comfy in NV....

6:30 Nhat drops by.....mutual crotch grabbing (LOL).....

6:45

sleep

8:15

STARVING......reheat chicken wings and fries.....add orange juice and honey.....YUM....I can cook ;-)

An email from Phap......."Can you send me 2 trieu?"

Why does it STILL piss me off?.......I'm living for NOTHING in this country......but if my LOVER asks me for LITTLE money, I freak out........blame it on Mother and Grandma.....need to work on that.....

 

 

I email Phap: "Good morning LOVE...I wish you were here with me"

7:00

NEED to sleep....to tipsy....

8:15

Phap replied......"Can you send me 2 trieu?".....OH RATS.....he did it again.... it's NOT about the money.....but how will he EVER become 'mot nguoi dan ong doc lap'.....MOTHER all over again....

9:45

tipsy and tired....

nap

10:20

A little angry at Phap...... he still hasn't learned what the Monkey has learned...... I don't want to date my mother......

11:30

I'm back from Quang.....handing over LiXi......they were eating....I eat a little muc....I get hugs..they are happy about the respect.....and it feels GOOD..... I trusted the right person......

12:00

nap

13:00

Nhat drops by again....I get my chest grabbed while I'm thinking about grabbing his.....FUN.... I say "mot ngay vo cua Nhat se giet Han" <grin>

14:00

Tipsy and Turvy ;-)

nap

15:30

Yen drops by......we talk about her dog....she rescued him from the market.....where he would have died if she hadn't taken him.....

16:30

Email and voicemail to Graeme completed....

18:00

Phap video calls......just seeing his face makes everything alright again......

18:15

banh kep voi chuoi va so co lat voi cho ri zo va mut cherry ....ngon.....

18:30

I finally find last year's Speculation Tax form.....It's in Grandma's name....so I'll do it that way this year again....  telling the truth in Canada only ever creates problems :-(

nap

21:00

An email from the Monkey.....NOW he is HURTING.... it finally hit him.....I feel so sorry for him.....

23:00

Drunk and Tired...but happy with what I have accomplished today.....time to pass out....