Cloudy Hanoi Morning
There is a little girl practicing her violin nearby. The notes waft out into the alleyway from above. I think it's Mozart's Concerto in G major. She's pretty good – I'd say possibly better than me.. but that really depends on her age. I wish I could see if she was mature or not.
'Little nephew, how 'bout a bowl of chicken noodle? I just made it... sit down, sit down.'
'No thanks, maybe tomorrow, auntie'
'Sure sure, come on by tomorrow and I'll make you a big bowl, ok?'
Is it possible for only your knuckles to get sunburned? There is something comforting about peeling off your own dead skin.
Maybe tomorrow I'll try to find a basketball court.
There is a reading group here for expats -- I think the February book is 'Namesake'. Why did they have to choose that utterly boring book? Maybe I'll start a writing group.
Is it totally ghey for me to want a trucker hat? That is like, so two years ago, omigod. Sucker. There is this vendor right on the corner that I'm bargaining with. I got her to reduce the hat by 50 cents.. but I want the price to drop by a dollar, dammit. I've been passing by her each morning and yelling out, '$3, c'mon auntie, I'll get it for $3!'. Her steely gaze (how's that for creativity) pushes ice into my veins.
Check out Jennifer Gandin at www.jennifergandin.com. She went to high school with me and is more accomplished than I can ever be (in writing). You go – preach it sista.
I saw a dude on a motorcycle, racing through rush hour traffic, with two gi-normous carcasses of Porky and Babe slung over his bike. Apparently, it's easier to transport dead pigs by splitting their bodies, from head to belly to rear, right down the middle. They looked so peaceful, like they were taking an afternoon nap.. except that I can see their ribs and dried blood exposed like some weird lesson from high school anatomy class.
Vietnamese coffee is the best fucking thing in the world. There is this brand of coffee that is really good. Honest-to-God, they feed the coffee beans to some weasel or gopher and the beans passes through their digestive system and into their poo-poo. The coffee beans extracted from the poo-poo of these groundhogs/gophers/gerbil is really great. I'm not kidding.
So gonna give it to you straight Josh. I agree that posting became too poetic. But the following was really good. I enjoy the postings where I can hear your voice rather than the ones where I can hear an affected Josh. Yes, one is rather colloquial while the other tries to be imaginative. But a balance can emerge.
Posted by: Vinny | February 09, 2006 at 04:43 AM
Can you start your writing group with me?
Posted by: Blowing Bubbles | February 09, 2006 at 06:28 AM
Yeah Vinny - I hear ya. I was getting too carried away with descriptions.. it wasn't really me. But bear with me... just wait til I have a couple of beers in me before I start posting.
Posted by: j.fisher | February 09, 2006 at 07:01 AM
Hi there! A belated thanks for the shout-out on your blog. Now... who are you? :) I feel totally daft for not being able to find your name on this blog...
Posted by: Jennifer Gandin | June 07, 2006 at 09:32 AM