Highlights of another wonderful week (3/28/08)

I was at a dinner last week and the host had Sting playing in the background. I never thought I would think this (James, I apologize up front) but hey it sounded good. So I went out in search of some CDs. The proprietors of a small shop (as in need to duck while carefully stepping over things small shop), brought out a large clothes basket of empty CD boxes and envelopes for me to flip through. I found two that I wanted. The woman came over and raised her index finger, the international sign of “I have to go upstarts to burn a copy, I’ll be right back”.
One of the CDs reminds me of the Michael Keaton movie Duplicity. I got the copy of the copy of the copy. All-in-all a good for both as it cost me <$1. It was worth twice that when I hit play.
The other CD sounds great, but I don’t remember Tony Bennett having a Vietnamese accent.

The seafood is incredibly fresh. Two nights ago I saw a waiter get a net, pull a live fish out of a near-by retaining pond, whack it once with a pipe, place is on a scale then march off to the kitchen. It took less time for him to accomplish all these steps than for you to read these few sentences. Incredible.

I got a haircut in a chair out on the sidewalk. The guy was quite impressive. He completed my fancy hair style with just a pair of scissors. He yelled the whole time. Because of the incredible amount of traffic noise about 2 feet from the chair, I have no idea if he knew I was not responding. I hope he feels better to get what ever he yelled about for 15 minutes off his chest.
Given the amount of traffic on the streets, where do the kids go to learn how to drive?
Across from Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum is the largest green space I have seen in Hanoi. It is a few acres of manicured grass with brick paths. There are a few little signs that say “Keep off the grass” in Vietnamese. I go there everyday and have never seen anyone even come close to placing one toe on the grass. Keep in mind, this is the same city where I see thousands of people go through red lights, go the wrong way on a one way street, drive down the side walk, or don’t wear helmets on their motor bikes. It is fascinating which signs folks choose to follow/which are effectively enforced.

Linda is scheduled to arrive in 4 ½ days. It has been a month, which is 28 days too long to be without her.

I am having the time of my life. It will get even better when Linda joins me in April, James in May (2 weeks) and Rachel in June (2 weeks).