Love story : Dee and Dang

Visiting Grandparents and Long Talks.

Tomorrow, I’m off to visit with my grandparents for a few days- maybe a few weeks. It’s easier for me to get to work from there. Plus, grandma and grandpa like the company, and I need to spend some time with them.

While I was packing my bags for my visit, mom hung out and talked. It was really nice. Right now, my emotions are all over the place and I’m anxious a lot these days, for my friends are so busy that I rarely get to talk to them; so, there really is no where for me to release my worries. But mom helped do that tonight.

We talked about everything from following your heart to friendship. I’ve been so busy and consumed with preparing for the next stage of my life that I’ve not had a chance to really talk to my mom like that in some time.

I realized tonight that it’s a hard place that I put her in. On one hand, she’s very proud of the life I’ve lived and that I’m not afraid to take risks to live the life I dream of. On the other hand, she has to suffer through my frequent comings and goings. For that, my dearest mother, I am sorry. I get my free spirit from you.

Prior to my long talk to mom, I talked to my longest-running friend. I hadn’t really talked to him since my graduation, and I was quite worried (and upset). Turns out that life gets the best of us all, from time-to-time. He’s so busy. I truly feel his pain, for I’ve been there. It is regrettable, but life has a way of getting away with us, and we loose touch of those we hold dear. I may not always get to see or hear from my friend, but our friendship is deeper than that. We are friends not for just the company, we are friends because that is who we are at the depth of our being. No matter where we are in life, Noah, I am always on your side. Whether we get to talk or not, I’m always rooting for you.

It may be a few days until I can be online again. Until then, may life bring you much joy and health.

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Back at the Hotel for a While.

Last night, I started working at the hotel again as an auditor. This is my first time auditing, but it’s not my first time at the hotel. I use to work the front desk there about a year ago.

I took the last year off to finish school… and I did, indeed, finish. After graduation in August… I found myself with some time between my next step and where I am at now, because my TESL class doesn’t begin until November. It may take a few weeks to find a suitable contract. So, I figured I should be doing something while I waited.

I was reading the newspaper last week, and I saw that there was a position available as a night auditor at the hotel… I thought to myself, “Hey, that might work.” So, I called my old boss about it. As it was, the job was already taken, but there was another available position that I could have if I worked as a floater. That means I fill in when the auditor is off.

Turns out that is perfect. It’s only 3 to 4 days a week. That means I can easily go to class without disrupting the work environment of the hotel (Alecia is such a nice boss that I don’t want to make life any harder on her than necessary). I am in a place where I don’t need a full-time, permanent position. But it is nice to be able to work some to offset tuition and expenses, along with add to my savings for when I move for a job.

It will take a little time to get use to the hours, 11.00pm- 7.00am. But I like that time of night at the hotel…it’s so quite.

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Noo-Dang: An Introduction to Suy.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the world to Noo-Dang. She is my “long-lost friend” that I have written of in the past, and I figured that it was wrong to deprive you of not knowing her.

First of all, I want you to know that there is but one Noo-Dang, and no one person can come close to her. I met her a few years ago, and my life has never been the same.

Noo-Dang is very smart, kind, gentle, thoughtful, adventurous, and (as you can see) beautiful.

I know she is smart because of her ability to learn. It’s quite a challenge to learn a foreign language, but Noo-Dang does it wonderfully. Each and every single day, I am amazed by her progress. I can say this with full confidence, Noo-Dang will be fluent in no time. On top of learning English, she knows computing and programming like few do. Just give her a problem, any problem, and she can find an answer.

I know she is kind and gentle because she deals with me. I have so much to learn about Thai culture. It takes kindness and gentleness, along with patience, to put up with my ill-mannered blunders, and she does it with grace.

I know she is thoughtful because of the attention she gives to her friend so far away. She does her best to be considerate of my feelings and has had to make many adjustments because of the differences in our cultures. (I hope to return the favor).

I know she is adventurous because of her many travels and willingness to travel. Noo-Dang has seen much, but she dreams of seeing even more. She doesn’t hesitate to converse in English (which she does very well), and if that isn’t adventurous, I don’t know what is.

Do I even have to explain how I know she’s beautiful? You’ve seen her picture. Words cannot possibly do justice to such beauty, and I will not insult such beauty by even trying.

I know that my life is better for knowing Noo-Dang, and your’s is for simply knowing of her. If you are lucky, you may get to meet her someday. I could only wish as much for everyone, and it’s the best I could wish for anyone.

เพื่อนที่ดีที่สุดของผม คือคนที่สามารถดึงส่วนที่ดีที่สุดของผมออกมาจากตัวผมได้

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Not Feeling Well Today.

I started this blog out complaining about how bad I feel. I wrote about feelings, muscle aches, and other things. But then I got to thinking when I made the comment, “Maybe because it’s 911 is part of the reason that I am feeling bad.” How selfish of me!!! How obtuse that on this day, of all days, 911 would be an aside. Well, I had to change my tone.

911 is not a background. Sometimes, it easier to cope with life as an American in an America at war by tuning everything out. It’s only natural to stop listening to the news a day or two… heck, it’s down right healthy. But on 911, we must put everything else in the background.

On 911, I remember where I was on that date in 2001. I face the pain I feel as an American. I embrace what that means for us. I grieve.

But 911 should not be degraded by grieving and grieving only. I feel that it is time to celebrate. Let us celebrate the lives of those whose lives have been lost on that day and those whose lives have been lost since as a result. They now hold an honored place in the American tale.

On 911, let us look forward to an America that has moved forward, inspired by the events that transpired on this day. I’m not talking about an America that stands against the world angrily. I’m talking about an America that sees that even though bad things happen, we must embrace and respect the rest of the world.

On this day, I dream of peace… not war. Let 911 inspire us to show love in the face of evil. That is the bravest thing we could do. And, I believe, that is the best way we can regard this terrible day… by taking it and letting it power us to great feats of peace.

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Still Have Website Woes, But not as Many.

I, once again, spent a good part of my day working on my personal website. Finally, I got tired of trying to work the kinks out using Microsoft. So, I started looking for utilities in other places.

My look led me to Mozilla.org. I’ve been using the Mozilla web browser for quite some time, and, lo and behold, they have more answers available besides just browsing. There is a tool to build them, as well, from Mozilla.org. It’s open-source, and it really makes it a lot of sense (quite intuitive). On top of all of that, it’s totally free.

This is just one more step away from Microsoft anything. I’m finding a lot of great software that is “freeware” and “shareware.” I could write a good deal more about it, but it suffices to say that the strangle-hold Microsoft has on computing is ridiculous.

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Website Woes.

Today, I spent a good part of my day trying to debug my website. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but the java script elements were not working correctly. They would work in Mozilla, but would not work in Internet Explorer.

I’ve heard that Explorer isn’t very good with Java… I don’t know it that is true for certain, but I suspect that it is.

I tried to fix the code so that it would work in Explorer and just ended up with a bigger mess than I started out with. Eventually, it got to the point to where the whole website was “buggy.” It didn’t even look right in Mozilla. So, I removed the Java applets for the time being.

I want the site to look right. Maybe I’ll figure out what is going on with the HTML later, but in the meantime, I will just maintain the site with fewer multimedia aspects.

Even if I do figure out what the problem is with the java script, I may avoid it all together, because I do not feel that I have the time to invest in baby-sitting my website. If I can achieve a sleek, sound-functioning, unified site (especially in the color palette), then that may just be enough. One can have an appealing site without all the wasteful “bells and whistles.” Really, there’s something to be said about “stripping down,” rather than piling on too much.

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Should I Persue Standing as a "Certified Bookkeeper?"

I have a few weeks before I start my TESL class at Vanderbilt, and I am thinking that I might have enough time to pursue my Certificate in Bookkeeping before it starts.

It is, basically, self-guided study, and I’ve studied a good deal of Accountancy in college already. There really isn’t any much added cost, other than some books and a couple of tests. I’m just not sure that it’s worth my time, for I have an undergraduate certificate in Accountancy. Would being a “Certified Bookkeeper” really mean anything?

It might be worth-while, because it could play into helping me teach business English, which can be lucrative. Teaching business-related English is a natural choice for me, for my bachelor’s focused, partly, on business- and I have years of management experience. That, on top of my accountancy experience, it’s a good opportunity for me.

I’ll have to think about it.

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Contacts Win.

Well, I wasn’t sure that they would, but the contacts are going to work. After weeks of wearing them, I am finally adjusting to them. They aren’t a perfect fit, but that’s o.k.

I am getting to where my eyes are focusing better when the contacts are in. For a while, I wasn’t sure that they would ever get to where they would focus. But I kept forcing myself to wear them, and it has helped.

I am not sure that they will ever be ideal for working a lot on the computer, but they are so nice for everything else that I’m willing to work around that. When I am running, hiking, working, etc., I actually see more (and what I see is clearer).

I don’t think that I mind the fact that I wear my glasses when I am working on the computer and my contacts the rest of the time.

Although I am 90% sure that I will not be able to work on the computer much with my contacts in, there may be hope for the them and the computer, yet. I have to go to the doctor soon to see if reading glasses with my contacts will help. I have been told that a simple pair of magnifying glasses will make it easier for me use the computer with them.

We’ll see. Maybe, I’ll see. Hah!!!

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New Running Shoes.

I had to purchase some new running shoes today. I have ran a hole in my present pair. They made it nearly two seasons, but they’ll never make it for three.

My present pair of running shoes survived 9 months… That’s quite a long time for a pair of my running shoes. If I can get 6 months out of a pair, as much as I run, I’m very happy.

The last pair wore well, but the were a little narrow; they made me feel less stable, and one thing a person needs when he is running 10k is stability. That’s why this new pair is a pair of Adidas. They seem to be built just right for my feet. They feel like they are designed with a superior base. I have a pair already, they’re not running shoes but they are unbelievably comfortable.

Can’t wait to take the new pair for a run. It takes a bit of time to break a new pair in, but still can’t help but be excited.

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