Sai Gon, September 6, 2001
Printers are behind again... A full day lost today because there was NO ELECTRICITY in their district. Looks like my book will be delayed a day or so. I went to the printer's yesterday, and they wanted me to return to press in the evening. I told them I wasn't coming. They said, "you can't?" and I said, "no, I don't WANT to." It was pouring out and I spent my Saturday there, and was not planning on spending this evening, yesterday evening, or tomorrow evening there either.

Speaking of pouring. The rain came suddenly and it came in torrents. It seems that most homes in Vietnam are sheltered with corrugated metal sheets and so the decibel level rises with the clanging of the rain drops. And the upper levels of corrugated metal create a sort of waterfall to the ones below, each with their distinct clamor in which thin lines of water flow between the corrugation to the ground. Children find the heavy falls and shower beneath the cold rain. Others squirm together beneath a single poncho, trying to stay dry in vain, and everyone else moves about by bike or motorbike drenched in the six inches of water that have accumulated on the roads within a matter of minutes, all the while trying to avoid the backsplash from vehicles and buses.

This is life here for the locals, and they all say... "There are only two seasons in Vietnam - Rainy Season and Sunny Season." And they're right.