PinnedMember-onlyThe Worst of MeA compilation vacation — Inspired by David Sedaris’s latest money grab, I’ve decided to compile a “Best-of” article and paste it like a treatise at the top of my Medium page, as well as on the doors of several local government buildings. The following articles are some of my “favorite” “bits.” Now, not all…Humor2 min readHumor2 min read
Published inThe Haven·Jan 13The Day Finally Came: My Boss Said I Am The TerminatorI could hardly believe it. It was like my ears were ringing. My boss had just looked me dead in the eye and confirmed something I’d secretly believed to be true my entire life: That I am the Terminator. “You’re Terminator,” he said. “You’ll need to clean out your desk…Movies4 min readMovies4 min read
Dec 28, 2023Bye Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 9The weather on Christmas was spring-warm. There are days when the smog covers the sun, but we’ve had a good run of misty blue skies. We did laundry and, as is customary, hung our clothing out on the balcony to dry. Using this method, my clothes got much drier than…Travel5 min readTravel5 min read
Dec 25, 2023Hi Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 8Walked to the mall again and found another 10,000 dong on the sidewalk. This brings me up to 220,000 dong so far on this trip, which is still around 8 dollars. It was Christmas Eve day, and a Sunday, and the mall was packed with people, about 40% of whom…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Dec 23, 2023Hi Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 7Well, it happened. I had my first ride on the back of a motorbike in Hanoi. Nhi was meeting with a friend at the mall and asked her father to ask me if I wanted to give it a try. It’s something of a right of passage, one I quickly…Travel4 min readTravel4 min read
Dec 21, 2023Hi Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 6After breakfast we took a cab to the DMV again. Forgot to do laundry the other day so I had to wear ankle socks. The version of Uber here is called “Grab,” a name I’m not in love with. The taxis seem to be the better option anyway. Twice now…Humor4 min readHumor4 min read
Dec 19, 2023Hi Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 5Took a cab to the Viet version of the DMV in the morning with Nhi and her father so Nhi could fill out some paperwork for her ID. We had to wait around for a bit so we walked to a Japanese grocery store to look for glue. While we…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Dec 18, 2023Hi Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 4This morning Nhi handed her parents my phone and invited them to scroll through my photos. I am not an expert on international crimes, but I believe this may qualify as one. I hurt my back sitting on a wooden chair without a cushion for too long so now I…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Dec 16, 2023Hi Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 3Went to a bar called Retrobop to do an open mic on Wednesday. The bar was two levels and had some arcade games in it. There was a TV video game room Nhi said it smelled odd, but I insisted it smelled like a Pizza Hut, pointing out that there…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Dec 13, 2023Hi Hanoi Travel Blog | Chapter 2Nhi’s mother made an amazing soup to welcome us home. I was offered some spicy chili to add and I eagerly accepted. I was warned repeatedly that this would be “very spicy,” but I insisted that I am “a big spice guy” (?). Nhi’s father carefully cut a few tiny…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
