Phuong and I had a rare disagreement the other night, and I got so frustrated that I threw the credit card she got for me on her desk. The next day, I dropped my wallet on the street, but didn't lose the credit card because it was .... on her desk. I keep all my other super important documents in a super secret place in the house -- in my sock drawer inside my red Nike socks. I keep all my cash in my pants, but not in my wallet. So the lost wallet didn't mean a thing. A rare instance where a family disagreement was a good thing. We laughed about it later.
A new store opened on the street where I walk and it sells exotic fruits like prunes, blueberries, dates, figs and cherries. Well, it's fruit that's exotic and expensive here. I went there on Friday and they were out of prunes, blueberries, dates, figs and cherries. Must be popular. But I've noticed that when something new opens here, whether it's a coffee shop, fruit store or whatever, it's really busy the first few months. Then it slows down. Then it closes down. Then it's torn down. Then something new is built on the same site and the cycle of life and death continues.
But some stores having staying power. My coffee shops Thuy Nga and Lido have been around for ages, according to my wife. They take care of their customers, something of an oddity here. They're nice, prompt, and know your order if you're a regular. Of course, that's why they have regulars.
At Thuy Nga, the staff was worried about me the other day. Not because of my belly, but because I had two cups of coffee. That's right, TWO! They thought I might OD on caffeine. But I explained to them -- the best I could -- that I weigh about 600 pounds and can handle the caffeine even though the espresso-like coffee here is quite strong. They accepted my explanation and delivered my second cup. Those girls are the best.
Phuong and I needed to express mail a notarized document to our lawyer in Cleveland. We used EMS service, located at the Bien Hoa post office, and, of course, the document wasn't delivered. It's now on its way back to Vietnam. They said they couldn't find the office, one of the biggest in downtown Cleveland, and they don't have the time to call customers if there is a problem. I hope to God they don't lose the document because we had to go to Ho Chi Minh City to get it notarized at a cost of more than $100 (including travel) and pay another $60 or so to send it. The girl in the local EMS office said over the phone that we won't get a refund. Remember, folks, that's EMS in the Bien Hoa post office. EMS.
After the EMS fiasco, we went to a small bookstore to buy stickers -- stuff like Spongebob stickers, Disney characters stickers and so on -- for my students. We went there before and had good luck. So we walk in and Phuong and I ask for stickers. Phuong does most of the talking in situations like this. There's a 20-something guy working there, and he immediately starts barking (and there is no other word for it) "No stickers! No stickers! No stickers!" Phuong points to a wall full of stickers in the store, but I said forget it, time to go. The guy confronts me about leaving, so I point to the stickers and say "You told me there were no stickers, so I'm outta here." He denied saying "no stickers," which really angered Phuong, but I was already gone. The guy couldn't understand why I seemed angry. What a wing ding! We went to another bookstore and got our stickers. No worries.
While I was waiting for my soup order at a Korean restaurant, I talked with a couple of security guards. We discussed the dangers of motorbike riding, and both of them pulled up their pant legs and showed me ugly scars on their ankles and calves. A moment of sharing. We should have rubbed each others bellies.
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