Life has been wonderful since the arrival of my daughter Joanna Pham Millman. I've had several extremely close calls on my motorbike, but no accidents. My lottery ticket was a winner last week and paid Phuong and I a crisp 100,000 ... dong (a little less than $5 in U.S. currency). Phuong's mom hit for 200,000 later in the week by playing my birthday numbers. The rich get richer. And it gets better. The donut lady I haven't seen for more than a week walked past our front door hauling a ton of donuts. No doubt about it, these donuts with a one-inch caramelized sugar coating will decay your sweet tooth, but that's a small price to pay for these tasty treats. And the actual price is even smaller .... six for 10,000 dong (less than 50 cents U.S.)
Phuong's mom is totally enamored with Joanna, like all of us are. Phuong's mom has two grandsons, but there's a special bond that connects a grandmother and granddaughter. My mom was so taken with my daughters Jessica and Caroline that she could hold them for hours, and make sure their every wish was granted. And she was smiling the whole time. I love my kids, but I admit I don't have that kind of parental endurance. I really wish my mom could have seen Joanna. I'm happy Phuong's mom can spend time with her and spoil the heck out of her -- and us.
We're back on the U.S. Embassy trail, requesting an appointment to get started on Joanna's U.S. citizenship request. We had to scan four documents to send with our emailed request for an appointment at the Embassy. When and if we get the appointment, we must bring the emailed documents and a whole bunch of other documents to get things rolling. We'll apply for Joanna's U.S. citizenship, passport, and social security card and number all at once. We need to have this happen quickly if we hope to come to the U.S. later this year as a family. I have to return for eye work -- again -- but I can't imagine being without Phuong and Joanna when I travel this time.
Joanna is finally starting to grow a little hair, and it's clearly reddish-brown. So cool. But the main concern, of course, is that all is well with our little angel (that's what Phuong calls her sometimes -- I like it). Joanna is closing in on being two months old but still hasn't seen a doctor yet. Seems odd to me, but that's how they do things here. She's sleeping lots lately, but she's also eating lots lately, and pooping lots lately, and smiling more lately. Everything seems OK so far.
I had a wonderful week of classes. One small teen class was a problem, but that's nothing new with this group. I'm not sure what the issue is, but I've suggested to the staff they get a younger, more energetic teacher for the class in question. Everything I've tried -- from videos to games to handouts to music -- has been met with silence and a shrug or sneer from this group. I hope their new teacher fares better than I did. I certainly tried but it's obvious that some fresh blood is needed. It kind of bums me out because I feel like I failed. But all my other classes are going great, so I guess I shouldn't get too bummed out about it.
I tried to buy gasoline for the motorbike today, but neither attendant would wait on me. They motioned to each other to wait on me, but neither would get off their ass to sell me some gas. I wonder if my race is an explanation. They both took care of Vietnamese customers while I waited. I finally rode to another station to get gas. Phuong said it was a control issue, explaining to me that everyone here wants to be a boss and tell someone else what to do. They can kiss my crankshaft for all I care.
But stuff like this rolls off my back these days. I've got a wonderful wife and daughter who are both good luck charms for the White Monkey.
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