Please Happy

Two days ago, I heard She’s Like the Wind while drinking cappuccino. I didn’t recognize it at first, ‘cause I think it was the Lionel Richie version, if there is such a thing.

Yesterday, I heard karaoke-ers belting out Be My Baby from one of the many cafés that jam from about midday to around 9 p.m. when Dalat gets quiet.

And today, my personal motorbike tour guide gave me a private performance of Unchained Melody.

The connection: Mr. Swayze. The first two references from one of my all-time favorites – which, if I ever get married, my fiancé and I must learn the final dance number – and the second from the movie where Demi is short haired and natural.

So, how is Patrick doing?

Sending loving kindness and deep breaths his way. On the wind.

A groom in a top hat:

A photograph on stairs in front of a palace.

A re-enactment of the I Had the Time of My Life Dance

from beginning nose kiss to crescendo lift:

Comments

Haven’t written in a while. Despite the abundance of Internet cafés full of preschool to 30-somethings gaming, WiFi is still a luxury. Uploading pics, vids and writing, therefore, is a challenge. That, and I’m moving so much that typing on my laptop is also a luxury … I’m just so busy livin’, you see. Read more

- Ran with a 6 foot 6 friend for 45 minutes then walked for two hours lost in rice patties and partially finished construction sites – with people laughing and smiling and not speaking English – until we found our way back to the center of Hue, Vietnam.
- Drank two large cups of coffee with condensed milk alone in a tourist bar while rubbing my wrists, temples and knee pits with ice.
- Ate cashews with two friends on a three-hour bus ride that actually took five hours.
- Played hacky sac with a plastic badmitton birdie type toy with local kids next to the South China Sea with thunder raging in the mountains beyond.
- Saw mountains covered in jungle still bearing the effects of Agent Orange.
- Ate cao lao noodles and tried on a made-to-order silk-lined hoodie in Hoi An.
- Wiped my butt with my hand (and washed my hand with soap and water).

We are Happy.

Before leaving the states, I was lucky enough to spend my sister’s 23rd birthday weekend with Dad, Sue, Grace, Markie and my maternal cousin, Brigette. Before we parted, Mark, Anner and I had a photo sesh in the dance hall. I miss my sibs. Best people on the planet! Pictures courtesy of the lovely Ariana Siegel.

We are sleepy.

We are Rock Stars.

At 5:30 a.m. Hoan Kiem Lake is bumpin’.

Shirtless men play soccer on the plaza next to women stepping in time to Cher’s “Believe.” Next to the lake, tai chi’ers go at it next to men playing chess and reading the newspaper. Today, Thich Naht Hanh and his 400 students walked slowly around the lake. We said nothing, but tried to breathe in every two steps and out every two steps, listening to our breath, smelling the flowers, smiling at the children and noticing the reflections in the water. Some people ignored us completely, others rushed for photos and some stopped their movement all together to bow.

-12 May, 2008. Hanoi, Vietnam