On Vacay

I'm posting this in the middle of the day because I'm getting ready to let Saigon HAVE IT for New Year's!

I just got back from teaching Dao and Duc. I finally managed to snap a pic of them so all of you reading my blog can see their faces.

Now, I am going to throw some stuff in a bag and be on my way. See you next year!!

Ab Lounger XL

That's right! I got an Ab Lounger. I'm gonna be in shape! I have my ab lounger, I have my gazelle... watch out, 2009!!!! Co Mai gave it to me, no charge, as I'm now "family."

Today was a very easy day. I stayed in bed all morning, really, catching up on sleep. I haven't been sleeping well at all this past week, so I guess I made up for it last night and this morning. I stayed in bed until 1pm. To be honest, it was nice.

I ate lunch with Uy, his girlfriend, and Mr. Duan. We spoke a bit of English and talked about maybe taking a trip to Hanoi for Lunar New Year.

I taught 1 1/2 classes tonight at KTV. It was easy cheesy, and I'll see that place next year :)

After I came home, Uy was waiting on me with dinner. We drank a couple of beers and talked about making plans to Hanoi... again. Co Mai joined us and told me she would pay for my flight. I was all, "OKAY!" But, really, I declined her offer. We'll see.

I am going to bed now. I'll test out my ab lounger tomorrow. And TOMORROW I will go to Saigon for New Year's!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Monday of the Year

Today was a very good day. I stayed in bed a good bit of the morning as I'd stayed up late last night. I did thirty minutes of cardio while catching up with Desperate Housewives. I caught up on Grey's Anatomy in the morning before my workout.

I taught a couple of classes at KTV and knocked back a few beers afterward with Mr. Nick.

I've just finished making plans for New Year's in Saigon. Can't wait!!

I'm teaching Dao and Duc in the morning so now off to bed. Good night.

Vietnam Victory!

So tonight (December 28), Vietnam defeated Thailand in soccer. The streets soon after became chaotic, and I celebrated along with the Vietnamese people. I experienced the authentic Vietnamese love for soccer tonight. Here are some pictures of tonight's events.

Soccer Sunday

I'm writing my blog entry a little earlier than normal as I'm watching the soccer final on tv between Thailand and Vietnam. If Vietnam wins tonight, they'll be the um... Asian World Cup Champions... I think?

I worked this morning at KTV... ALL morning. It went by fast as I paid each class a visit for fifteen minutes.

Now, for some reason, my external hard drive isn't being recognized by my laptop. I'm going to take it in to work tomorrow and plug it in the USB port at the computer there. I hope it works. If not, all my pics and documents are on there. I need to ask my buddy, Yem, what to do in that situation. The device lights up when plugged in to my laptop, but my laptop just isn't recognizing it. I hope it will be fine.

I am posting two pics from yesterday that I didn't post in my last blog entry. Maybe one of them will be Sophia and my Christmas card next year.. haha.

Oh, today I had lunch with Ti and Thim and dinner with Mr. Phuong, Thim, and Ti.

Now, back to the game...

Another Wedding Day

This morning was Ms. Ha's wedding party. Unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe) for me, I was allergic to everything on the menu except the sticky rice and french fries. I know the reception wasn't about me.. but seriously...

After the reception, a few of us met up at a neighborhood coffee shop. A little beggar boy came by our table, and I wiped his snotty nose with a wet nap. Call it my duty for the day and chalk it up to my contribution to society. I didn't give him money, but I cleaned his little face.

This afternoon and evening, I taught three classes at KTV. Yaye for work and money! I took two days off last weekend because I was sick, had two days off this week because of Christmas and will have two days off next week for New Year's. I need all the work I can get right now.

Time for bed. I am teaching alllll morning tomorrow. Good night.

Fantastic Friday

I don't have too much to write about today, but I will post pictures below that I received today from the groom of the wedding I attended a couple of weekends ago.

I taught Dao and Duc this morning. It concluded the ten sessions they paid me for in advance. On Monday, I will being my second session. I really will miss those kids when they leave to study abroad. My challenge now is to keep the lessons interesting. I am now developing new ways to keep their attention. It can only improve my skills as a teacher.

I took one of Mr. Mark's classes tonight because he had a migraine. I need the extra work and money anyway. I had two wonderful classes tonight at KTV.

Afterward, I met some students at a karaoke bar and we sang it up!! I didn't bring my camera so no pictures. Sorry about that.

Now, I'm gonna get to bed. I am attending a wedding party tomorrow, and Giao and I will taxi there together. Unfortunately, I won't be drinking as I have three classes tomorrow at KTV.

Good night.

Merry Christmas from Vietnam

Let me start off with last night's parties. I met my New World class last night at a karaoke bar and proceeded to drink pitchers (not glasses) of beer. Two important notations: Ms. Patsy made an appearance and the manager hit on Tyler. Aside from that, below are some pictures below of the gala.

After that, I met Joo Hyun (my Korean older brother) at Sophia's dvd shop (tiem bang video). At that time, Vietnam's soccer team had defeated Thailand 2-1 so the streets were CRAZY with people celebrating. As we awaited Sophia's arrival to take us to her party, I snapped a few pics. Side note: Santa sure is skinny in Vietnam!

After waiting for Sophia for an hour, we all ventured off to her house once again for food and karaoke. We all stayed up until after 4am and sang our hearts out. Ms. Patsy, Mr. Mark, and Mr. Nick joined in. Unfortunately, this was Ms. Patsy's last night in Bien Hoa. I gave her a big hug at the end of the night. Luckily, I was intoxicated so I didn't feel much emotionally. I'll deal with those feelings another time. Really, I'll miss her... a lot.

And finally, when I did manage to wake up, I met Ms. Giao and Mr. Minh for coffee at our usual spot. It was, of course, 90 degrees today so I surely did take a photo in my shorts drinking iced coffee.. at Christmas time. Only in Vietnam! In the evening, Hoang (English name Trust) stopped by my apartment to hang out a bit. We went to his friend's house and ate and drank to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera to the party, but I did get a photo of Trust working out on my cardio machine. And with that, it is time for bed as I am tutoring Dao and Duc in the morning. And to all, a good night.

Christmas Eve in Vietnam

I won't get a chance to write an entry tonight as I have two parties to go to so I'll write something now.

Today has been a good day so far. I slept in until after 9am. Co Mai and Mr. Phuong invited me over for lunch so I ate a little with them. Then I went to pick up Ms. Patsy so she could say goodbye to the family. She got a few shots on her camera that I can't wait to see and put up on my blog. Afterward, I hung my laundry up, and Ms. Patsy did some ironing. We shortly thereafter jetted off in search of Mr. Siu Siu's bakery, which we found. I just wanted to know for future reference the location of his shop.

Tonight, the New World class is having a karaoke extravaganza, complete with food and beer! Beer? Oh, I'm there! Afterward, Sophia's parents are having a party, and Ms. Patsy, Mr. Mark, and I will all have a sleepover there. I'm not sure if Nick will stay over or not, but the party will include food, alcohol, and lots of singing!

So, tonight is Ms. Patsy's last night in Bien Hoa. She's been here with me since almost the beginning (she arrived ten days after I did). I don't really want to talk about that, but Ms. Patsy, I'll miss you, and I will visit you in Wales... eventually! :)

I'm gonna get ready now.. need to bring my clothes in and pick out something to wear. See you tomorrow!

P.S. OHhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! I almost forgot!! I found a dead mouse in my hall this morning.. just ... dead.. in the middle of the floor. So random.. and weird.

Great Day

I'm about ten minutes late on this blog, sorry.

I just got back from Sophia's five story house and singing in her family's karaoke room. They are so wonderful to me. Nick, Mark, and Ms. Patsy joined me and Sophia's family for a night of karaoke, food, and spirits. What a great time we had! Here are some pics!

This morning, I taught Dao and Duc their private lesson. Tomorrow will be the tenth of ten lessons that they prepaid me for. After tomorrow, I will start a new ten day session. yaye!

I taught a class and a half at KTV tonight. They were good classes. I really enjoy my job.

I didn't eat anything all day until I got to KTV. Then, it all went to hell :) Oh well.. diet starts again tomorrow. ha! Story of my life.

Now, I'm gonna hit the hay because I'm teaching Dao and Duc at 9am. Good night.

This One's For Alicia

Vintage!! Look what I found!! 1997!!

Feelin' Better

Today, I woke up feeling better, thankfully. I met Giao and her doctor friend for coffee and loaded up on some antibiotics. They are working so far as I am feeling a helluva lot better. She works in a hospital so she has friends who are doctors and pharmacists! Good friends to have handy, indeed.

Before setting off for my lunchtime meeting, I ate a little rice and pork with Co Mai, Mr. Phuong, and Uy. They really take good care of me.

After meeting with them, I went to KTV to prepare my lessons for the two classes I had tonight. I shortly thereafter went home and dozed off watching Animal Planet.

I was supposed to tutor Uy tonight, but he just messaged me to tell me that he would be staying in Saigon tonight so... after just getting off skype with my dad and stepmom, I am taking my behind to bed. I am teaching Dao and Duc in the morning at 9. Idioms again - what fun!

My Day of Rest

I rested again today - just stayed in bed all day and left my house only to eat three meals with Co Mai and the family. They cooked today, so I ate three good meals with them. I did nothing special today but play the Sims.. and I haven't played that in a long, long time. And I chatted online.. slept, watched tv. When I'm sick, I listen to my body. You can always count on that!

Look how thin and handsome I was just three years ago!! Random thought, I know.

For now, I'm going to call it a night. Tomorrow will be another day of rest. Cheers!

Wonderful Discovery

So.. as of today, Google Earth has now added the street level view of my hometown in Louisiana. As many of you know, I'm from a very, very, verrryy small town in Louisiana. So now I can look at my house and neighborhood.. and you can, too! And on a sick day like this, it's been a wonderful time filler. Go check out my home if you get a chance:

273 Razorback Lane, Homer, Louisiana

Or... input these coordinates :) Happy viewing!!

32°46'8.48"N, 92°56'6.79"W

Having a Sick Day

Succccccccccccccccckkkkkkksss!! I had four classes today, but I had to get other teachers to cover for me because I'm sick. Seriously!! That's a lot of money I'm losing out on. I need someone to leave me a comment to tell me how important my health is and that I'm doing the right thing by staying in bed all day because I feel terrible about not being able to work and am constantly thinking about how much money I'm not getting.

That's all for today. Going back to sleep now.

Can I please go a week without being sick?

Yes, Yes... allergies again. What the hell? I have benadryl here so hooray for that. But my supply is dwindling. Anyone from the states wanna send me a refill? Thanks.




This morning, I resumed my private lessons with Duc and Dao. We studied idioms, and I reviewed Duc's previous lesson from KTV. It was an entertaining lesson, and time went by fast.

Afterward, Dao and I drove to meet Lam for coffee. Lam paid as he had just gotten about $200 from gambling on a soccer game. Hey, that's life in Vietnam! It's illegal, but everybody's doing it.

I went home and slept for a couple of hours before shoving off to KTV in the evening to teach the New World class. It, as always, was a wonderful class full of lots of conversation and laughs. I prepared entirely too much, but better too much than not enough.

Now, I'm home and will call it a night. Mr. Mark is going to take over my morning class, thankfully, and I'll teach three classes in the afternoon and evening tomorrow. Good night.

Thursday... again

So... for once, I woke up to the sound of my alarm this morning. 99% of the time, I wake up before it's time for the alarm. But this morning, I made full use of my time sleeping.

I ventured off to school at 6:10am and arrived about 6:40 or so. I taught four very good classes this morning, and I won't go back for three weeks because next Thursday is Christmas and the following is New Year's Day. Good times.

After arriving home from school about 11:10am, I took a very long and much needed nap. I slept for about three hours, I guess.

I observed half of Mr. Mark's class at KTV tonight, taught half of Ms. Lam's class, and taught one of my own. I saw Duc tonight in Mr. Mark's class, and he told me I lost weight. I love to hear that. Good times for that as well.

Afterward, I met up with Tyler, and he paid for the reservation of the karaoke room for Christmas Eve night. I'm very excited about that, of course.

Mr. Mark, Mr. Nick, and I ate dinner together at a local Vietnamese restaurant, and it was very good. We had a few beers, of course, and Nick made a date with one of the servers. She's very cute. Her name is Tien.

Now, I'm gonna head to bed. I'm teaching Dao and Duc in the morning, and I will be very happy to see them. Good night.

**Bonus Pic** haha... me being a bad ass on my bike... True!

Wonderful Gadgets

I love my scooter and my cardio machine. That's all I have to say about that.

Today was a good day. I ate pho with Mark and Little Michael. I did cardio on my machine for thirty minutes. Was a bum all day and just checked email, played chess online, and caught up on youtube vids.

I taught my favorite class tonight. We all made plans to go to karaoke on Wednesday night since there's no class. I'm gonna let them HAVE IT with my singing abilities. They better be ready. True.

I'm gonna call it a night now because I have to wake up early to teach at the high school in the morning. Cheers!

Good Day

Today was a very good day. I didn't drink alcohol... hoorah! I'm really going to try to cut down on the drinking and focus more on my health.

I met Mark and Nick for pho this morning about 8:30. It was definitely good to catch up.

After that, I went home and kind of just checked videos and email before meeting Giao and Minh for coffee at lunchtime.

I went for a ride on my bike this afternoon and just went to the West side of the city, exploring a place I had seen on google earth. I think I'll do that regularly - just hop on my bike and go exploring. I found a beautiful temple on a "mountain" and drove around. It was a nice adventure.

I did cardio for thirty minutes on my machine and ate rice and pork with Co Mai, Ti, Uy, Tina, and Thim. They were all eating baby ducks in eggs... and I just couldn't stomach it. Yuck! Apparently, it's a Vietnamese delicacy. They just ate the baby duck... whole.. beak and all. NOoooo, thanks!!



I taught one class tonight at KTV and here I am now, in my bed, trying to get this blog out before the end of the night.

For now, I'll go to bed. I'm meeting Mark again in the morning for breakfast. Good night.

Drunk... again

So let me tell you about the extent of my day:

I had lunch with Co Mai and Mr. Phuong.
I did cardio for thirty minutes.
I taught one class at KTV.
I met Joo Hyun and Sophia for dinner, then we went to New Star Night Club.

I drank a lot. Good night.

Great Sunday

I woke up at 2:30am for some stupid reason and stayed awake until it was time to go to work this morning at 7:30am. I taught for four hours, came home, and Little Michael and Andy came over. After they left, I took a nap for four hours. Then, I had dinner with Thim and Ti. It's Thim's birthday today. Then, I went to dinner with Jerry and his family. Afterward, we did the drunk karaoke thing. Now, I'm home and going to sleep. Good night.

Counterfeit Money?

Okay.. so.. I just got back from Coopmart, and the cashier wouldn't take my money. Coincidentally, the bag boy was a guy I had met before because he's a friend of one of my student's. He translated and told me my money was fake. Thanks, KTV, for giving me fake bills. Meh :/ Luckily, Thim was with me, and she spotted me.

Today was a day off for me so I hung out with friends, drank beer, ate, and drank coffee.

Also, I got more videos from a student who attended the wedding party last weekend (the same student, by the way, that I was referring to in the first paragraph). Here are a couple of vids below... neither of which I remember. Good night.

** My vids won't upload tonight. I'll post them tomorrow.**

It's The Weeeekkeennnnnd, Baby!!

Happy Friday! Usually, it doesn't mean much to me as I generally work every day (Hey, trust me! I am NOT complaining about that!!), but tomorrow, I have a scheduled off day for the first time since Teachers' Day last month and only the second one since early October. I love what I do, and I am very thankful to God and to Mr. Thom for giving me the wonderful opportunity to be where I am in life. I love Vietnam.

This morning, I woke up at 8:30 and decided to cancel the private lesson with Dao and Duc as I didn't get to sleep until after 4:30am. I got a good four hours sleep in, but this morning was a good morning to just be a bum.

I met Giao and her coworker for coffee around lunchtime and came home and worked out on my exercise machine for thirty minutes while watching Ellen. Today, I didn't have the fan blowing on me so I got a good sweat in. It felt good.

I picked up a package in the afternoon at the post office. It was my vonage equipment that Brandon sent me from Korea back in mid October. He put a note in it saying hello which made me feel good. He was indeed the best roommate I've ever had.

Tonight, I taught two classes at KTV. I finally ate an omelet and bread in the cafeteria before my classes. Until that point, I hadn't eaten anything all day. I've been eating a lot less and exercising. I want to get healthy and in shape. I'm determined.

After teaching tonight, I took Mr. Nick home and met up with Sophia at her dvd store. We had noodles, and while we were outside at a table eating, this cutey patootey in a Santa suit rolled up with her mom. I managed to get a snapshot of her.

I'm gonna get to bed now. What ever will I do for my day off tomorrow? I may go off on my new scooter and explore. Good night.

Another Thursday

This morning started with me waking up at 5:30. I checked email, got dressed, and left my house for the high school. I taught four classes and managed to snap some shots while I was there. First, is a pic of me, obviously, that a student took. Second, is my sixth grade class, and the second girl is from San Jose, California, and speaks better English than I do as well as Vietnamese since her father is Vietnamese. Her name is Sheryl, and she'll go back to California next year. Third, is the funniest student in my three tenth-grade classes. His name is Dat, and he keeps me laughing.

It was a good morning, and I came home where Co Mai and Mr. Phuong were waiting for me with rice and pork for lunch. Upon finishing my meal, I immediately crashed in my bed for a four hour nap.

Tonight, at KTV, I observed Mr. Duc's class. He's really a wonderful teacher, and I learned some things that I will use in my future classes. I, also, taught one class tonight at KTV.

After finishing work, I met Jerry for coffee. He invited me to eat dinner at his home on Sunday evening. I'll gladly take offers for food :)

Duc and Dao are home from Central Vietnam so I will resume my private teachings with them in the morning. I'm preparing a lesson now on Idioms, and then I'll go to sleep. Good night.

Hooray for losing weight!

So.. I'm dieting and exercising again... story of my life for the past ten years. But I'm losing weight, and I'm happy to be seeing results. It's really not that difficult to lose weight in Vietnam because the food choices can be healthy, and it's equatorially hot as hell here so I sweat a lot. Also, I exercised on my machine today for thirty minutes while watching Ellen. I ate eggs and bread at KTV tonight, absolutely no candy, had three coffees, and a lot of water. Gooo, me!! I will post a picture tomorrow. Now, I have a hell of a long way to go to be healthy and a good size, but I've started the wheels turning so I'm content.

Now, I gotta go to bed. I have to get up before dawn tomorrow to get ready to teach at my high school. Good night.

Nice Tuesday

Last night, I didn't get to sleep until around 4am. I don't know what my deal was. Dao and Duc didn't get back from Central Vietnam so I didn't have their lesson this morning. But I did meet Trang for lunch, and she gave me some interesting news. She and Long have separated because he admitted to her to having two mistresses on the side. What a jerk! I'm so glad that I made the choice to stop hanging out with him. I just can't respect that. I don't mean to come off as judgmental because God knows I have my issues, but my mom ran out on my family when I was a child for another man (who was my stepfather for 20 years until his death last year) so I just can't respect someone for cheating on their spouse. Trang is very sad, and I feel terrible for her. She's so nice and has a good heart. I really hope she will be okay. I'm praying for her.

Shortly after I got home, Giao called me to have coffee with her and Mr. Minh. Giao is a physical therapist in the same hospital that Minh is a doctor at. Their friend, Vinh, who is a pharmacist at the same hospital also joined us. It was a nice two hour coffee meeting.

I taught two good classes at KTV tonight and met the new teacher, Nick, from England. He was very tired as he had just arrived today. He's tall, so I remain the shortest cracker teacher at KTV. Today was also Little Michael's last day at KTV. I will miss seeing him around the office for sure.

I need to get to bed because in the morning, Mark and I are meeting Little Michael and Nick for pho and then taking a refrigerator over to Little Michael for his graduation present. Good night.

Good Monday

Today was a great day if I say so myself. I woke up early, stayed in bed all morning, exercised in the afternoon, caught up on my youtube videos, and taught two classes in the evening.

So one of my students managed to capture a video of me dancing with the groom the other night. How funny! The video is rather grainy and sideways, but maybe you can get a good idea of how the night went. I'm going to try to upload it to my blog. I heard that there are more videos from students so when I get them, I'll be sure to post those as well. Enjoy!

Boring Sunday

Okay.. so.. I totally didn't even know that I was supposed to work this morning until I checked the schedule on my way to meet Little Michael on the way to have coffee this morning. By that time, the shift had ended. I immediately sent Ms. Yen a message to apologize. I also sent out messages to the two teachers whose classes I should have been sharing. They told me it was no big deal, and I would just work next weekend instead of today. Whew! I got my Sundays mixed up and was thinking that I was off this Sunday. My mistake. Meh. :/

After having coffee and breakfast with Little Michael, I came home and just rested all day. I met one of my students, Icy, and his mom for coffee in the afternoon. I then swung by Ms. Patsy's and dropped off my iron to her as she is leaving in the morning for her trip to North Vietnam.

Earlier in the day, another student that I bumped into while having coffee last night sent me some pictures of the event. I didn't remember it, really. Too much beer.

Good night.