Why Pay For Dry Cleaning?

After lots of scrubbing Huyen saved my pants and 97% of one shirt. To get out the other 3% from the shirt she took out a bottle she bought from the store and said, "This will get the rest of the color out." She put the liquid on my freshly saved shirt, began to rub and took out the last of the pen...as well as all of the color from the shirt. The special liquid was bleach. Hey, at least the pants were saved!

MOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!

About a month ago Ryan did a load of laundry and left a pen in his shirt pocket. Result: one stained shirt. Since then I've been extra careful about only putting a few articles of work clothes in the washing machine at one time. Well last night, high on spicy curry, I put basically ALL of my clothes into the washing machine. Oh, I also left a few pens in my shirts/pants. Yeah, not just one pen but three pens. Three FREAKING PENS!

All of my clothes have stains on them. Some small, some large. I just googled online how to get ink stains out. The #1 way was to use Oxy Clean. The #2 way was hair spray. I went to the supermarket and of course they don't have Oxy Clean. I called Huyen and had her tell the workers my situation. They told her, "in Vietnam we don't have things strong enough to get ink out." I told Huyen I needed hairspray or nail polish and she laughed at me and said that wouldn't work. I was on my own. I found a tiny thing of hairspray and just got back to my apartment. I put hairspray on one shirt and immediately the ink stain started to come out...and spread all over the shirt making it twice as bad. I went back online and read another article that said to, "Make sure you put a rag under the shirt and blot it out a little at a time." Now I know why. Oh, did I mention I also put back in two pieces of clothing with hairspray on them in the meantime? Guess who is going shopping this weekend?

Jealousy

The problem with giving shout-outs or putting video/pictures up of friends is that it naturally causes some jealousy. Yesterday I received countless emails (two) asking why they hadn't been featured on the blog yet. Ahoyhanoi envy is just one type of jealousy. Then of course, there is the old fashioned jealousy. Yesterday Huyen read my blog about wanting to kiss the Statue of Liberty on July 4th and this is what she said:

Yeah, that's right, she's threatening to shoot the Statue of Liberty. What are the odds the Immigration and Naturalization department will one day read this blog? Or worse yet, Homeland Security?

By the way, have I always had a speech impediment?

This Could Be You!

No, not a greying 29-year-old who still thinks it is cool to wear a backwards baseball cap. And no, not a man who works in sports yet could never win a full set in tennis against me. And no, not someone who can't afford ANY decorations for their wall.

What I'm referring to is that you could be video-chatting for free with yours truly. All you need to do is get skype and a video phone. Well, that's if you're a guy. If you're a girl and not a blood relative you also need to get some sexy lingerie. Alex put on the sexy lingerie after I turned the camera off...and surprisingly he looked better than you would think...

Lonely Planet

The book on the left is far and away the most common book you'll see in Vietnam--The Lonely Planet guide. This isn't a Lonely Planet endorsement by any means since for the most part I disagree with many of its food recommendations. This is purely a comment about the cover. I've talked to more than a few tourists/backpackers who have mentioned the odd cover choice. Most travel books usually have a very recognizable landmark or unique cultural image on the front cover. The 'Nam book however has this random woman having the time of her life on some green train. I've heard it said a few times, "I've never seen a green train like that in Vietnam." Well the other day I was waiting at a train crossing when this steam rolls by:

Okay, only half the train is green and there's no cute Vietnamese girl laughing her face off but it's close. 

WE WON!!!!

Look at this picture and honestly tell me you think we lost the war. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!!! PART II

(PICTURE: Look at the way all those pervs can't keep their eyes/cameras off my sweetheart.)

I'm sorry, Huyen, but how HOT is this chick?! She goes by Lady Liberty. Check out those legs! And look at the way the light hits her face. Damn! She's also French and yet still has hairless armpits!  Man, it doesn't get hotter than that. It's July 4th in Hanoi so if I see her I plan on giving her a big sloppy French/American kiss....

All you can eat Burgers and Budweiser today! Man, it feels good to be an American!!!!