My Grandma used to say Good Night Nurse all the time ... if you're doubting whether or not it's a legit phrase and/or thinking I'm insane and making this up, here's the definition:
GOOD NIGHT NURSE -- From "Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, A-G" by J.E. Lighter: "good night - interj. (used to indicate or comment on a disastrous conclusion; also used to indicate surprise or exasperation). - also constru. With 'nurse,' 'Irene,' etc. ... 1918 'Independent' (June 22) 472: 'When he draws a bead on one, it's good night nurse."
And that's from Random House, so it's gotta be right.
Anyway - Good Night Nurse it's been a while since I blogged!
Let's see - how to best catch up on everything going on ... highlights:
1. Work has been insane. This isn't the first time I've said that in my blog, and I'm guessing it won't be the last, but it's like the floodgates of hellacious deadlines has opened up and I'm stuck under the deluge. It absolutely SUCKS and is really taking it's toll. But ...
2. I am coming home in 2 weeks!! YAY!! I'm wondering if that's why my patience with all of the work BS is so low - cause I'm ready for a vacay. I can't wait to be home to see family, friends, my Belle ... and to SHOP!!! I am literally packing an empty suitcase inside my suitcase so I can bring back all the sh*t I now realize I a. need, b. can't get here, and c. want. It's going to be epic. Shoes, clothes, toiletries - I will be significantly contributing to the US economy during my 3 week stint home. Though ...
3. I did go to the beach a few weekends ago ... I just needed to get away. If I'd been in NC, I would've gotten in my car and driven my happy ass to Topsail. Here in Hanoi, my options are slightly more limited (i.e. no jumping in cars), but 100% more exotic (i.e. I could be in Bali in 5 hours).
GOOD NIGHT NURSE -- From "Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, A-G" by J.E. Lighter: "good night - interj. (used to indicate or comment on a disastrous conclusion; also used to indicate surprise or exasperation). - also constru. With 'nurse,' 'Irene,' etc. ... 1918 'Independent' (June 22) 472: 'When he draws a bead on one, it's good night nurse."
And that's from Random House, so it's gotta be right.
Anyway - Good Night Nurse it's been a while since I blogged!
Let's see - how to best catch up on everything going on ... highlights:
1. Work has been insane. This isn't the first time I've said that in my blog, and I'm guessing it won't be the last, but it's like the floodgates of hellacious deadlines has opened up and I'm stuck under the deluge. It absolutely SUCKS and is really taking it's toll. But ...
2. I am coming home in 2 weeks!! YAY!! I'm wondering if that's why my patience with all of the work BS is so low - cause I'm ready for a vacay. I can't wait to be home to see family, friends, my Belle ... and to SHOP!!! I am literally packing an empty suitcase inside my suitcase so I can bring back all the sh*t I now realize I a. need, b. can't get here, and c. want. It's going to be epic. Shoes, clothes, toiletries - I will be significantly contributing to the US economy during my 3 week stint home. Though ...
3. I did go to the beach a few weekends ago ... I just needed to get away. If I'd been in NC, I would've gotten in my car and driven my happy ass to Topsail. Here in Hanoi, my options are slightly more limited (i.e. no jumping in cars), but 100% more exotic (i.e. I could be in Bali in 5 hours).
I picked something a bit more mundane ... I went to my version of Topsail in Vietnam ... and revisited DaNang/Hoi An.
I stayed at the Hoi An Beach Resort ... sounds cush, right? It wasn't NOT cush, but ... turns out it's a State-run hotel (who knew?!) ... so it was kinda ... cold. Plus, you had to cross the street to get to the private beach - that wasn't actually private. I did meet some lovely Australians, though (aren't ALL Australians lovely, you ask? Yes - yes they are), so that made the weekend worthwhile.
All in all, my weekend away was lovely, but ... probably would've been better had I forked over the extra $100 a night and had a private beach! Next time ...
4. ... I'm going to make sure friends are available to travel with me! I have made some amazing friends here in Hanoi - and have literally learned something new every day. So my friends Daraca and Damien are from the UK and our exchanges over a glass of wine usually go something like this:
Daraca - where is your purse?
Me - my purse? It's right here on the back of my chair.
Daraca - no - your purse? (holding hers up)
Me - oh, my wallet?
Daraca - ah, right
Turns out British English and American English are similar in word only. Pronunciation, some vocabulary (i.e. loo = toilet, lift = elevator, "bless your cottonsocks" = "bless your heart"), etc. are entirely different. As are measurements (centimeters and kilometers, not inches, feet and miles), the temperature (Celsius vs. Fahrenheit), units of mass (stones vs. pounds), etc. It's funny to compare notes, though I think they're both totally over my repeating things back to them in an absolutely horrendous British accent.
Yup - I'm that girl.
5. I joined a gym! Yup - you read that right. My friend Nathalie and I tried out a Latin Dance class (I sh*t you not) at Bgarden, one of the local gyms here in Hanoi. Our teacher, Bambu (again, I sh*t you not), teaches all 5 classes a day + 2 on Saturdays and Sundays. She's a hoot. The week goes something like this ... Mondays - Circuit Training (when work doesn't get in the way), Tuesdays - Pilates (when work doesn't get in the way), Wednesdays - fitness center (when work doesn't get in the way), Thursday - Pilates (when work doesn't get in the way), Friday - drinks with Daraca, Damien, Nathalie, LaMont, and Monae. It's the best of all worlds.
OK - think that's all the updates I have for now ... I'm sure I'm missing something, but until the next time ...
... enjoy this SUPER random, TOTALLY VIETNAMESE article I read on my flight back from Hoi An:
This is so Vietnamese!!!!
Twins Come Together
Twenty-seven years ago, when Ho Thi Tanh, a poor farmer in An Giang Province gave birth to twin boys, she dreamed that some day, her sons would get married to twin girls.
However, when they were 19, Phan Thanh Ut and Phan Hoang Ut left for Binh Duong Province and found jobs in factories there. To their mother's distress, neither showed any interest in getting married.
Finally, she managed to persuade the elder of the twins to meet a woman of marriageable age in a nearby district in An Giang Province. The meeting, arranged by a local matchmaker (THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS - a local matchmaker - love this!), went off well, and the elder of the twins, Thanh Ut, met with his future parents-in-law to discuss the wedding.
It was then that he discovered that his bride-to-be also had a twin sister who was not married (KISMET!!). He immediately suggested the latter as a match for his younger brother.
Hoang Ut, who was in Binh Duong at that time, was asked to return to An Giang urgently.
Parents on both sides were overjoyed because the father of the twin sisters had also thought of his daughters married to twin men.
On April 28, the 27-year-old twin brothers wed 26-year-old twin sisters Nguyen Thi Nhan and Nguyen Thi Ninh.
The wedding was a grand affair with villagers who were not invited coming to see what they believe was a predestined match made in heaven. Strangers brought wine and presents to the two families, recalled a happy Phan Van Tuong, the grooms' father.
But the coming together of the twin brothers and sisters has also separated them for the first time.
After the wedding, it was decided that the couples would stay in two different places in order not to give the malicious tongues anything to wag about. (WHAT A WAY TO END A LOVELY WEDDING STORY - THOUGHTS OF WIFE-SWAPPING ... GOTTA LOVE VIETNAM!)
And as always ... pictures!
4. ... I'm going to make sure friends are available to travel with me! I have made some amazing friends here in Hanoi - and have literally learned something new every day. So my friends Daraca and Damien are from the UK and our exchanges over a glass of wine usually go something like this:
Daraca - where is your purse?
Me - my purse? It's right here on the back of my chair.
Daraca - no - your purse? (holding hers up)
Me - oh, my wallet?
Daraca - ah, right
Turns out British English and American English are similar in word only. Pronunciation, some vocabulary (i.e. loo = toilet, lift = elevator, "bless your cottonsocks" = "bless your heart"), etc. are entirely different. As are measurements (centimeters and kilometers, not inches, feet and miles), the temperature (Celsius vs. Fahrenheit), units of mass (stones vs. pounds), etc. It's funny to compare notes, though I think they're both totally over my repeating things back to them in an absolutely horrendous British accent.
Yup - I'm that girl.
5. I joined a gym! Yup - you read that right. My friend Nathalie and I tried out a Latin Dance class (I sh*t you not) at Bgarden, one of the local gyms here in Hanoi. Our teacher, Bambu (again, I sh*t you not), teaches all 5 classes a day + 2 on Saturdays and Sundays. She's a hoot. The week goes something like this ... Mondays - Circuit Training (when work doesn't get in the way), Tuesdays - Pilates (when work doesn't get in the way), Wednesdays - fitness center (when work doesn't get in the way), Thursday - Pilates (when work doesn't get in the way), Friday - drinks with Daraca, Damien, Nathalie, LaMont, and Monae. It's the best of all worlds.
OK - think that's all the updates I have for now ... I'm sure I'm missing something, but until the next time ...
... enjoy this SUPER random, TOTALLY VIETNAMESE article I read on my flight back from Hoi An:
This is so Vietnamese!!!!
Twins Come Together
Twenty-seven years ago, when Ho Thi Tanh, a poor farmer in An Giang Province gave birth to twin boys, she dreamed that some day, her sons would get married to twin girls.
However, when they were 19, Phan Thanh Ut and Phan Hoang Ut left for Binh Duong Province and found jobs in factories there. To their mother's distress, neither showed any interest in getting married.
Finally, she managed to persuade the elder of the twins to meet a woman of marriageable age in a nearby district in An Giang Province. The meeting, arranged by a local matchmaker (THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS - a local matchmaker - love this!), went off well, and the elder of the twins, Thanh Ut, met with his future parents-in-law to discuss the wedding.
It was then that he discovered that his bride-to-be also had a twin sister who was not married (KISMET!!). He immediately suggested the latter as a match for his younger brother.
Hoang Ut, who was in Binh Duong at that time, was asked to return to An Giang urgently.
Parents on both sides were overjoyed because the father of the twin sisters had also thought of his daughters married to twin men.
On April 28, the 27-year-old twin brothers wed 26-year-old twin sisters Nguyen Thi Nhan and Nguyen Thi Ninh.
The wedding was a grand affair with villagers who were not invited coming to see what they believe was a predestined match made in heaven. Strangers brought wine and presents to the two families, recalled a happy Phan Van Tuong, the grooms' father.
But the coming together of the twin brothers and sisters has also separated them for the first time.
After the wedding, it was decided that the couples would stay in two different places in order not to give the malicious tongues anything to wag about. (WHAT A WAY TO END A LOVELY WEDDING STORY - THOUGHTS OF WIFE-SWAPPING ... GOTTA LOVE VIETNAM!)
And as always ... pictures!
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| Best part about working in HIV? Happy condom coffee cups! |
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| Hoi An Beach Resort |
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| The beach! |
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| It was GORGEOUS! |
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| Advertisement for Happy Hour @ Hoi An Beach Resort Love this!! |
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| One of 2 in Vietnam ... I almost cried when I saw it. |
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| This seems ill-advised. |
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| My daily affirmation |
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| Gift from Daraca and Damien from their trip to the UK ... ... because the first time I met them I asked if they watched the royal wedding and launched into my schpeel about how much I love Kate and William. Yup - I'm THAT cool. |
