Arlington, VA. Mom wins again. Sauteed portobello mushrooms in white wine, salmon filets baked with a white butter garlic cream sauce, and escargot on the side. It has taken me days just to get through my paperwork and files. I'm not sure when I'll ever get to the packing. My cousin Linh stopped by last week while on a business trip. We hadn't seen each other in nine years, and had a blast for the several days he was here. Ate much.

hey, go to my album to see just a few alaska photos from the ride and pictures of my house in vietnam. Click on "Find an album" and password is oxen. Family pictures password is kapunkatuk.
and another thing, vietnamonline has great info in its travel link. Also check out biking and hiking trips in Vietnam at Breakaway Adventures where you can pick from a huge itinerary. off to do some more packing, repacking and organizing till i'm off to Vietnam.

Arlington VA. Happy New Year! Chuc Mung Nam Moi! I've been to London, NY, and just got back Saturday. Much to update upon, but so little time. Pat - longtime old friend from high school - got engaged to Connie. Saw fabulous theatre in London, had fun in NY, and am happy to be home. Mom and dad picked me up from the bus station. We got home and mom started to make dinner. And I was really glad mom's our mom. She prepped the dish of lettuce, vietnamese basil, and mint leaves. had nuoc mam (fish sauce) on the side. steamed rice noodle cakes, and put it all on the table with baked lobsters. how's that for tossing a 10-minute meal together? Mom's damn good.

tis four in the morning. more later.
h.

Atlanta, GA. I'm packing all my things up to head back to VA tomorrow. Babysat the next-door-neighbors today who are a terrific family. Lili and Emma are bright and sweet and so much fun. I'm beat though. I'll be coming back for a couple of weeks in January to help Lori & Mike out and then I'm on my way.

Atlanta, GA. shocked at the outcome of our presidential election, and full of sorrow for it, i am thankful that i will be soon leaving the U.S., and perhaps shall extend my journey to the other side of the earth to four years, beginning on inauguration day. always the optimist, i sincerely doubted that we'd be so fucked.
alas. i'm here for two more days and will drive to Arlington on Saturday. Mike and Lori have asked me to stay. I have had to seriously consider it and I've not made a decision. I'm torn about it; it pains me to leave and it pains me to go. i was in a bit of emotional turmoil today, especially because school with mica today was nearly unbearable. i never wished or a school day to end before, like i did today. hard. but harder still to worry about finding the right person to work with her to take my place.

had two small world experiences today. Click the link to read my smallworld blog.

Atlanta, GA. Ki's apartment. Went to Ideal, Georgia today to celebrate Lois Bone's 90th birthday. It was a surprise party held at the train depot in Ideal. All guests brought a dish or two, everyone sat at 8 foot collapsible tables on folding chairs in a large fluorescent-lit room and we ate buffet style. What's on the menu? Potato salad, pulled bbq'd pork, creamed corn, green beans (swimming in broth), pineapple-cheese casserole, other bean dishes, squash casserole, and iced tea. The soy-baloney broccoli quiche came from Lori who's from southern Cal. I ate almost everything twice. Then I had two desserts.

It's such a human life experience to be with this family when they gather like this - it is the quintessential American South. Making a visit like this is enjoyable, as a visit is to a museum in NYC. I feel as if I am an observer of a cultural splice of life. It's a view into the incredibly different lives of other people as compared to my own. Pretty curious.

Atlanta, GA. Ki's apartment. talk about lazy weekend. i came over, she made me brunch (spanish omelettes), i drank a small pot of coffee, watched "The Sound of Music" (i can't believe i spent 3 hours doing that), worked on the computer, then kiki made me ravioli, then she made me some cake (a buche de noel), she rubbed my sore shoulder, and brought me a coke... full service today. we then drove off to the bookstore and hung out there a while; i checked out the childrens' books and a cycling magazine i haven't seen before called procycling - it's printed in england. good stuff. kevin livingston left the u.s. postal team for an english one. we picked up heras to be armstrong's second hand man (he's a climber which will help lance in the mountains in the Tour) on u.s.p.s. (USPS allegedly paid a million dollars to buy out heras' contract).

came back here, started marking up my books (ki's going to sit my library while i'm in Vietnam, and as we have several duplicate books between our libraries, i wanted to identify everything although kiki assures me that she is intimately acquainted with her books and shall not confuse them). best part of going through my books today was reading the inscriptions from ones given to me as gifts. my uncle tony wrote two of the best - the first is in _the book of music_ where he writes "for hani, because one day your prince will come, and he'll [sic] may say, 'my dear, i only have ears for you.' but don't keep it for yourself. share it with all your sisters!" That was when i was twelve. the other one he wrote was "for hani, so you can say to the other girls, 'my library is bigger than yours!'" Cute, huh?

Let's test drive posting a photo. Here's a picture of the house I'm going to live in in Vietnam and my aunt's house next door (she owns both, and a corridor connects the two homes):
Hani's House and
Aunt 10's House next door with my Aunt 9 in front, my grandmum, and her aide.

Virginia-Highland, Atlanta, GA. Mike & Lori's house.
Had a nonstop day today. Went to preschool; Mica was the Ema for Kabbalat Shabbat. Then Julie the OT came after school for a session. By the time she was through, I copied down all the blessings (for food & wine), Shabbat songs, and Hebrew vocabulary to teach Mica. If I wasn't half Buddhist, I think I'd be Jewish. The culture is beautiful, they have lots of holidays, and they sing cool songs.

Soon after arriving home, Lori and I headed off to Turner Field to meet Kiki and Mike to see "Dralion" which is Cirque du Soleil's new touring show. It was theatrically and acrobatically extraordinary. Funny clowns, phenomenal juggler. Gorgeous costumes and moving music. Really a treat to see, thanks to Mike & Lori. Makes me want to go work for the Circus. But I wouldn't be good at it. Lori would tell me it's my Libran self emerging - Jack of all trades, Master of Nothing.

Oh, and forgot to mention that Ki and I went to Savannah last weekend. Great quaint city worth a visit if you're ever in the south. Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow; a near impossibility under the same roof as a one-year old and four-year old, 3 dogs, and 3 cats.

Atlanta, GA. Kiki's Apartment.
Should be getting work done - making phone calls, paying bills, writing, reading. Instead, I'm fooling around with Napster and I'm on a roll searching for good Italian music. That, and I'm fixing up this blog, trying to get its colors to look good. How I've forgotten all I need to know on the computer while being in preschool. No complaints, though. Far better than having to work in an office. Yuck.

Hani's schedule August 2000 - January 2001
If you care, here's where I've been, and where I'm going since August 2000 through January 2001. I might try to write a more interesting bit soon, but it's late, I'm sleepy, and I've got to go to preschool tomorrow.

2000 August 1 - August 16: New York City, NY
August 17 - August 18: Anchorage, AK
August 19 - August 20: Fairbanks, AK
August 21 - August 25: Camping along the Richardson Highway somewhere in between Fairbanks and Anchorage.
August 26 - August 27: Anchorage, AK
August 28: Seward, AK
August 29 - September 4: New York City
September 4 - September 8: Arlington, VA
September 9 - September 19: New York City
September 19 - September 23: Arlington, VA
September 24 - September 30: New York City
October 1 - October 2: Arlington, VA
October 3 - November 10: Atlanta, GA
November 10: Arlington, VA
November 11: Baltimore, MD
November 12 - November 14: Arlington, VA
November 14 - November 19: New York City
November 19 - November 25: Arlington, VA
November 25 - December 1: Atlanta, GA
December 1 - December 2: Savannah, GA
December 2 - December 9: Atlanta, GA
December 10: Ideal, GA
December 11 - December 16: Atlanta, GA
December 16 - December 25: Arlington, VA
December 25: Brooklyn, NY
December 26 - January 2, 2001: London, England

This is a test. It is only a test.