Life Update: Welcome to Tan Dinh, My New Neighborhood!

It's that time again, folks - I've moved! And I have to talk about it! And lots of other things! Because I can never shut up!

I have a great new place with a big ol' room for my kitties and a lot of exciting street life, restaurants, and cafes for us big two-legged bipeds. And hence... the itchy typing fingers have got ahold of me. I'm all out of video games, I can't stand to read the Stephen King book about a magical pandemic (!!) that's been hanging out on my nightstand since February, and I'm sitting on a thousand or two pictures that need sharing.

Before you ask, you might notice that not only have I abandoned Facebook posting, I've also now left Instagram (itself Facebook-owned). Sadly, social media is not great for my mental health, and pursuing those little dopamine hits easily spirals out of control for me, personally. 

My new neighborhood is Tan Dinh, a smallish area surrounding the eponymous market and home to a lively and engaging space.

Click through for all the details!

Uf Da - Year+ in Review

Where do I even start?

It's been a long time since I've addressed you, dear reader, of that I'm acutely aware.

Ultimately, I'm so happy I took a year away from documenting my life. I underwent some big internal and external changes this year, and I feel like I'm coming out of the forge much better for it. It would have been weird to go completely dark, so here I am again. And I come armed with so, so many thoughts... :)

In the time since we last spoke (and keep in mind there are old blog posts yet to be re-published), I:

• Did the Ha Giang loop with my cuzbro Chris!
• Got a new job teaching Kindergarten!
• Hated my job!
• Traversed the mid-south by motorbike!
• Visited Chicago, and went to a wedding!
• Went to Laos!
• Saw Chris and Anya and their beautiful baby!
• Missed a whole lot more weddings! Was kind of a dick about it!
• Got hired (possible dream job?!)!
• Got fired (Not the dream job!)!
• Went to Bali! Got a new passport! Cried in front of the military on my way out of the country!
• Started a private business!
• All adult students!

Coming Soon: New Words

Our Main Character, taking a rare selfie,
in Northern Laos. (January, 2016).

Xin Chào! Lâu rồi không gặp!

Hello! Long time no see, everyone!

Sorry for my very long absence.I had some problems with my personal domain, which eventually resulted in me losing interest. I'll be recovering lost blogs and posting them here soon.

It's been a rollercoaster of a year, and I can't wait to update you all. I've had what feels like a gazillion adventures, and I've learned a lot about the world and myself.

In the meantime, looking forward to be back!

-Ben

New Year's Resolutions 2015: Foundational and Incremental

Well hello again! What's that you say - February already??  Man, I guess I'd better put all those vaguely anxious feelings and thoughts into a brand spankin' new set of New Year's Resolutions!

In America it is traditional to make promises to yourself on the occasion of the New Year. To me, this symbolizes the endless, circular nature of time, encouraging us to renew our commitments to ourselves and our world as we celebrate another year of not being drowned, electrocuted (well, not to death, at any rate), crushed, stabbed, dismembered, or plowed down by a bus.

(If, perchance, you find yourself in one of the aforementioned situations, my condolences. I hope you're reading this post in a hospital somewhere.)

Where I come from, resolutions can also act as a mental defense against the soul-ravaging bleakness of January and February, giving us some kind of vision or goal to strive for and negating, as much as possible, how truly shitty those months are (especially in those northern states, it's just gawdawful. Stay strong, friends).

And so, keeping in mind the massive scale of the goals I have for my future (however far that might be) here I am once again. The goal this year is to take small, constant steps toward a future I create for myself without letting myself lie fallow. My dreams are much to big to take in one year, or even two. But five years? That suddenly sounds sorta, kinda doable!

On the Road Again...

Me in Da Lat... so cold!

...And off the road, and sleeping in my own bed. Magical!

Over the past four weeks (!!) I've had the pleasure of having two longer-term guests visit me in HCMC. Let's just start with the obvious:

1) Guests? Here?? It's not exactly a weekend camping road trip! No, these flights are bad boys that take an entire day each way and cost a lot of money. It's truly humbling for me to know that there are people that want to see me and experience Vietnam with me, in all it's contradictory, tropical, SE Asian glory!

2) New (and old) restaurants! New cuisines! Pictures of all the foods!

3) New travel destinations in Vietnam!! Pictures of ALL THE PLACES!

4) Now they're gone, and I have two weeks of relatively normal life again before my next trip (to the Philippines!), which will conclude my travels this summer. It's been a pretty good jaunt.

Meanwhile, One Year Later in Vietnam...

One year and two days ago I left US soil. One year ago today, I landed in Vietnam.

I did a preposterous, crazy thing. Irresponsible, even. Certainly audacious and full of risk. Setting off for a foreign land with an inkling (and that was it) of what I'd do when I got there was the craziest, outside-of-the-boxiest, obliterate-your-comfort-zoneiest thing I'd ever even considered doing. I could barely even go to bars where strangers might talk to me, much less expect to functionally operate in what amounted to an alien world. But, as my roommates and I talked about today (as I was going to the post office to figure out how to send a package, in itself an adventure), when you only have one option, deciding and acting become accordingly easier.

2014 UNDER CONSTRUCTION AHEAD

Hello Friends!

Happy New Year... Chuc Mung Nam Moi! 

Caught in a netherworld between two New Years (Tet is the beginning of the Lunar Calendar) as I am, I find myself with "more time" to reflect upon my journey thus far. Not only my personal milestones and accomplishments, both big and small, but also those things that I haven't quite conquered yet. In short, tons. 2014 is going to be even crazier!

I'll be posting irregularly (hopefully at least 1-2 times a week) for the next few weeks as I prepare for all that 2014 has in store for me. With multiple trips, a new contract or two, several guests, and a trip home all happening this year, it's going to be non-stop drama and action! I want to start off on the right foot.

In the meantime, feel free to check out my favorite blog posts of last year! These were the ones I wrestled with, the ones that crawled up out of the swamp and tried to drag me back under, but then I went for the eyes, knocked 'em in the palatal valve, and made idea trophies from their heavily edited, excessively toothy carcasses.

In roughly chronological order...

From Safety Blanket to Storybook

Last month I abruptly stopped writing in this blog. I knew I'd be back, but I didn't know when. This is me saying, Good Morning (well... afternoon), again, from Vietnam!

I was stressed and I wasn't acclimating to Vietnam very well. The Gout thing happened, and I discovered that if I kept 'talking' to my friends and family back home every morning (literally, since I was posting at 6am, you were always the first thing I thought of, and the last thing I thought of before going to sleep) I was never going to be able to let go and plunge in feet first. I was finding myself obsessing over stats and page views, wondering who'd read it and who hadn't, and generally getting stupid anxious and taking myself out of the Vietnam-experience along the way. So, like a smoker going cold turkey, I cut myself off (without an explanation, which was dodgy, but I honestly didn't know what I was doing, only that I needed it. Sorry!).

Guest Post: Meet Tâm!

[Note: This is Tâm! She's going to be doing a few guest posts about life in Vietnam. Please say hello, and when she posts her longer pieces, don't forget to ask followup questions!! She's super friendly and a pretty cool person. :)]

How I Met Ben

Hello everyone. My name is Minh Tâm – it means a good heart in a spiritual way. It is my honor to have a chance of making friends with Ben and his friends as you guys. 

A Big THANK YOU and Call for Feedback

I just wanted to say "Thank you! Thanks! Gracias!" to YOU!!

Yeah, y'all look decidedly good
on the '80's headboard.

I've had a roller-coaster week here, full of ups, downs, and new experiences and friends. Knowing that I can write this, that you wonderful people will read it, and that I'm maintaining some semblance of communication open with all of my family and friends is pretty much the most magical feeling in the world.

So... thank you. Thankyouthankyouthankyou. You provide me with the will to keep documenting, laughing, and dreaming my way through this blog and the adventure I'm on! I hope you're enjoying my writing so far!

Now I want YOUR input.