Not All Cats Go To The Market

The day after I wrote yesterday's blog, I went to one of my favorite cafes and saw the biggest cat I've ever seen in my life. This cat had to weight at least 35 pounds:


Because I hate cats, I kept my distance from this small tiger. However, I couldn't help but to marvel at its sheer size. Not surprisingly, the cafe we were at has had more than its fair share of rodents in the past. On this occasion, I didn't see one mouse or rat. I'm assuming this cat has been helping to quell that problem.

Meoooooooooooow!

WARNING: KATHY, DO NOT READ THIS BLOG. I REPEAT, DO NOT READ THIS BLOG!
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(PICTURE: The bicyclist from cat hell.)

Ever since I had to cat-sit in Middle School for my best friend Brad's cat while his family was on vacation during Christmas Break, I have hated cats. Frankly, I just don't understand why people like cats. I mean, they shit in boxes, don't like to leave the house, and they eat rodents. Compared to a dog...well, there just isn't a comparison.

As I was driving my motorbike the other day, I was suddenly startled when I heard a cacophony of meows ahead of me. The sound of a cat is just not a sound I like to hear. But equally, it is not a sound I'm used to hearing while driving a motorbike. As much as I try to avoid ever making eye contact with cats (they can steal your soul that way), I couldn't resist looking ahead at the source of the meows. Well, straight ahead of me was a guy on a bicycle with a cage full of skinny cats. As much as I despise cats, I still felt a pang of sorrow knowing that these felines were not going to be pets:

Nicky Has Left The Building...

(PICTURE: Nicky and me on our epic Tet '09 Road Trip.)

It's a sad day for all of Hanoi -- Nicky has left the country.

Last night, Nicky called Huyen and me from Lao Cai, near Sapa. After over two and a half years in Vietnam, Nicky was about to begin a long journey home. This morning he was gonna catch a train and begin his trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway going through China, Mongolia and Russia. After Russia, he'll be training it all the way west, back to his home in England. It should be an epic trip.

It's hard to imagine Hanoi without Nicky. I literally met Nicky on my first night in Hanoi and have been friends with him since. The two of us have worked at the same school, played on the same ultimate frisbee team, been detained together overnight on our '09 Tet bike trip with our friend Long, vacationed on a beautiful island together in Malaysia and most recently were co-stars together in a Vietnamese drama. No, Hanoi definitely won't be the same without Nicky.

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to meet Nicky knows that he's truly one of a kind. The guy is without a doubt one of the most kind-hearted people I have ever known. Few people I have ever met express as much enthusiasm over everything as Nicky does. The guy is always willing to give someone a hand, flash them a smile or jump on a motorbike beside them and venture off to wherever the wind may blow. Yeah, Hanoi definitely won't be the same without Nicky.

I find that I'm often touting how great people are on my blog. I must say, I've been really lucky to have made some amazing friends out here. Sadly though, with Nicky leaving, all of my original group of friends have now departed Vietnam. I sort of feel like a 5th year senior whose had to watch all his buddies graduate and go out into the real world. It's a sad day having Nicky leave Vietnam but I look forward to seeing him in the future. Heck, the guy's already called shotgun on Huyen's and my couch in New York City in 2013 -- the year he plans on touring the states.

Good luck, Nicky. Travel safe, buddy!


(PICTURE: Good times with Nicky were not hard to find.)

Good Grandparenting

As I've written on the blog before, this is what really pisses me off:

You can't see 95% of the kid, but trust me, he's nestled between his grandpa and the handlebars, enjoying a little second hand smoke.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the grandfather took off his helmet and hung it on the mirror. No, silly, not the child's helmet, the grandpas helmet. The child was never wearing a helmet.

A Bad Sign

For me, this sign is the best reminder to drive carefully in Hanoi. Positioned on the corner of Kim Ma and Nguyen Chi Thanh, this sign keeps track of traffic accidents and fatalities "Yesterday", "This Year" and "Last Year." So far this year there have been only 316 fatalities and 335 accidents compared to 492 and 522 last year. I'm pretty sure these numbers are only for Hanoi and not nationwide. However, I could be wrong there.

The reason I took this picture on this night, rather than the first 100 times I stopped near it was because:
1. I had a full minute at the traffic light before it was gonna turn green again.
2. I was shocked that there were no accidents or fatalities "yesterday." The optimist in me says that people are becoming better drivers. However, the realist in me says that the government didn't want to post any bad news that day since I took this during the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi.

A New Nail Record

This left hands wins the longest pinky nail I've seen in Asia. Congratulations!

Rick and Walter, Where Are You?!!!

Rick and Walter,

Vietnam needs you guys out here ASAP! I just played soccer with Su and 15 of his college buddies and these guys don't have a clue about the fundamental strategies. Just a few things that you would have shaken your head at:

1. Nobody likes to pass. Everybody thinks they can dribble through six players.

2. Nobody knows how to receive a pass. Perhaps the reason nobody passes is because 9 out of 10 times the person getting passed to doesn't trap it properly (all those passers were from my foot).

3. There's no such thing as positioning. Like a bunch of 4th graders, everyone goes towards the ball. At some point Su asked me to switch positions with him on the field. I kind of looked at him and said, "What position are you exactly?"

4. Nobody knows how to throw the ball in. Seriously, every throw-in would have been whistled by stringent NJ referees.

5. A serious lack of oranges and donuts at halftime.

In all seriousness, it was a lot of fun playing with Su and his friends. However, it is interesting that a bunch of soccer obsessed guys don't really know how to play the game. I've commented in the past that one of the reasons I want to raise kids in America is because of extra curricular activities. One of my greatest joys growing up was playing organized sports. That's just something that doesn't exist here.