Still very satisfied with life and other stuff
Latest update from Saigon, Vietnam
Xin chao!
It’s been a little while since my last check-in and I don’t want to get too far behind on current events and other stuff going on with me.
First and foremost, everything is great! Well, except what is tragically happening in Europe. All I can say about that is, Putin has been allowed to be in control for twenty two years. Absolute power breeds absolute corruption. Don’t worry about nukes as he does not want to die or lose his awesome job as a (?) What do you get when you cross a penis with a potato? A Dictator! He’s only doing what he’s been allowed to get away with for a very long time as nobody has challenged him in ways that would force him out. Ukraine suffers because the people of Russia have not done their job in demanding a change of guard. Fault is also on the shoulders of the entire world for watching the potential of this unfold and not taking the necessary steps to avoid it. We are continuously given opportunities to make better decisions, conscious decisions around what we think, say and do. If we elect not to take advantage of those opportunities, we get a guy like Putin killing thousands of people at will. We must take global responsibility for what occurs versus pointing fingers from safe places.
Saigon is currently in the midst of typical hot, tropical weather for the summer with the eminent rainy season approaching in the distance around July. It seems like an eternity since I had to ride my motorbike to and from work in the rain. I must tell you that I do not particularly enjoy riding in the rain, but riding my motorbike is so much fun that I can easily deal with it under the cover of my raincoat and full face shield helmet. Speaking of my helmet, my other helmet which did not have a full face shield was stolen right off of my motorbike in my apartment garage about a month ago. It only had a partial shield that covered my eyes which proved to be pretty ineffective in torrential downpours. However, now that I have a full face shield, I’m happy that the other one was taken and sincerely hope that whomever had the balls to take it right off of my motorbike is enjoying it as water strikes their nose and mouth. I’m loving my new helmet and it makes for a lot more fun at high speeds and longer distances.
I’m still living in the same apartment in Tan Dinh and loving it there. Although, I was ready to move [again] a few months ago due to the opening of a rooftop bar directly over my head that has since closed down and silence is mine again. I guess with Covid and a general lack of interest in that location, I once again get what I want. Silence. Silence. Silence. I do not wish ill will to whomever had to take losses from reopening the previously uncompleted bar and spending a lot of money to get the place going, but I suppose it was a calculated or perhaps not calculated risk at a time when things are not solid for many people here in Saigon. Needless to say, I plan on living there until I decide to move from Saigon all together which is my retirement plan when I pick up and head to Quang Ngai (Central Vietnam) to be closer to my girlfriend and her family.
I finally got Covid! Yup! A few weeks ago, I was feeling the symptoms of an aggressive and severe cold. I took the home test which revealed a positive result. I have to be honest here as I was actually hoping I would contract it so I could work from home for a week and get a little break from the office. That may sound rather stupid of me to some, but I instinctively knew that this new Omicron variant would present only mild symptoms that I could deal with and I was essentially right. What I did not plan for was after I was feeling well for one week, I got sick again. Not with Covid, but with another or underlying severe cold that lay in wait when I thought I was in the clear. I finally returned to work yesterday and am still not quite one hundred percent yet, but should be okay in the next couple of days. I will take the weekend to rest, take long walks to sweat out the toxins, eat very clean and do a lot of reading. I have all of Mark Twains short stories that I’ve barely made a dent in.
Yesterday, I was welcomed back to work with a very nice vegan lunch out with the team as a sweet gesture of my being missed. I truly love my job and the people I work with. I’m very lucky to have landed it and all the benefits that comes with it. One of those very cool things that I get to do as part of my job is hosting a video podcast called Pure Now. I named the show and edit all the shows. It’s an honor to be able to talk to incredibly talented creative professionals from all over the world and have them share their stories of success and failure on their creative journey. You can check out all the shows by clicking on the image below. Enjoy!
As far as other stuff goes, my daughter Zoë is doing well at Oregon State University. I hadn’t spoken to her in about a month as she’s been getting her ass kicked with school, work and doing an internship at an elementary school which left her with barely enough time to eat and sleep let alone chat it up with her father. I had sent her a few things during this period of silence that she ended up just throwing in her closet not having the time to even open them up to see what they were. Happily, she video called me the other day now that she’s on spring break for a week and we got all caught up. It was super fun to watch her open up all the packages I’d sent to her over the past month which included a few items for International Women’s Day.
Zoë seemed very relieved to be done with what turned out to be a very challenging semester. She will carry a much lighter load next semester in hopes of having a little more free time on her hands. She looks great with her super short haircut and I’m very happy that she’s on the path she’s on to work with children in some kind of educational capacity. I mentioned to her that it would be cool to get her over to Vietnam for a couple weeks during the summer. She said she would be into it. I’m hoping that I can make that happen. What a trip it would be to see her here in Saigon after not spending time with her for the past two years.
Speaking of not seeing my children for over two years, my son Sam just completed the recovery program he’s been in since just before I left Ashland, Oregon. Just prior to leaving the States, Sam was knee deep in a substance abuse situation that spanned about a year and a half that forced his mother to send him away for treatment. I’m thrilled to report that Sam is now very healthy and happy and in that time that he was away, he completed his high school education through getting his GED. Sam is now living in Houston, Texas with this therapist’s family and starting his new life as a young adult. What’s even more astonishing is, after pleading with him to not enlist in the military as he thought he wanted to do, he changed his mind and decided to become an electrician like his grandpa, my father.
I am both relieved and thrilled that Sam will not potentially be putting himself and others in harms way while taking up a fantastic career that served his grandpa, my father for well for over forty years. During that time that Sam was in recovery, we only got to speak face-to-face a hand full of times as he was immersed in a program that proved to be exactly what he needed to find himself. I’m so grateful that he survived his ordeal and that he now gets to start his life over again. I’m so happy that he did not have to go through forty years of unhappiness like I did before getting a handle on himself. Way to go Sammy!
I’ve kept in regular contact with my father who took a very nasty spill in the street near his home a few months back while walking his dog Gus. He ended up having to have emergency surgery to repair his foot which took him off of his feet and home bound for several weeks. Fortunately, my father comes from pretty good stock and he was able to overcome this obstacle and get back on his feet with the help of my sister and some of his friends. Now eighty-four years old, a survivor of prostate cancer and losing his wife in late November of 2019, my father continues to have a positive outlook on life every day. He has a great stable of friends and partakes in doing his art when the mood strikes him.
I’m happy to report that after some challenges over a period of two years in a relationship that’s been on and off, I’m with that same lovely woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. We may have experienced many ups and downs in that time, but our willingness to go though those things together and keep coming back has strengthened what we have which I hope will last the remainder of my life. I’m so grateful to have her and that extended family.
Since moving to Vietnam, I’ve managed to continue producing my Citizen44 with Mark Arinsberg podcast. Although with irregularity at this point. I continue to take my long walks through the city for exercise while taking photographs with my trusty Samsung phone. I’m eating a pretty healthy diet and happy to be where I am at all times. I’m so grateful that my children are happy and healthy. I’m so grateful for all of my family and friends both here and in the States. I’m so grateful for all that I receive on a daily basis. I’m so grateful for you dear reader.
Much love,
Mark
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