Farewell Yahoo! Messenger
2018-06-10 00:06:00-0700
Farewell Yahoo Messenger. Farewell Yahoo Messenger. I never liked Yahoo Messenger much, but it is where I met my wife Tien, so it's a bit sad to see that it is shutting down on July 17th, which is 3 days after our 9th VN (8th US) anniversary.
By Daniel, Category: blog
Tags: journal / life / california /
Other articles
Update from normalcy SF
2010-11-12 19:11:00-0800
Since I haven't been traveling, it's been a long time since I've actually written on my blog. Right now I'm sitting on my front steps in Chinatown, SF, sipping on cognac and waiting for my wife to come home with the key to our front door.
I've been working back …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …One year and 4 days later
2010-06-18 01:06:00-0700
WarzauWynn posted a photo:
One year and four days after I asked Tien to marry me, Tien passed her visa interview and our dreams were allowed to continue becoming reality.
By WarzauWynn, Category: blog
Continue reading …Saigon, Consulate, Hospitals and Hotels
2010-06-10 23:06:00-0700
A lot of the days in Binh Hoa blur together with very little highlights. Most of the time is spent playing Wii, PvZ and Marble Mixer, going out for coffee and tea, and laying around in the heat drinking fresh fruit juice. This is how most of the time was …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …From Hanoi to Binh Hoa
2010-06-08 23:06:00-0700
Because our flight had been changed and was no leaving that night, we had another day to kill, so we took no care to wake up early on June 2nd. Tien was craving bao cake so we went and got that for breakfast, and of course coffee. While we were …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Extra time in Hanoi
2010-06-01 23:06:00-0700
Since we had bought our tickets for June 2nd, June 1st was an open day
to do anything. We spent the morning being lazy but eventually made it
out to enjoy the city. 
We found no shortage of camera
shops, which was great because a lot of them had vintage …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Geocaching on Cat Ba Island
2010-05-30 23:05:00-0700
May 30th was another rainy morning on Cat Ba Island. My hair was getting longer than I liked so I decided to shave my head, but when I went to use my electric razor the battery was practically dead. To top it off, I soon found out I had killed …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A family gathering, video games
2010-05-23 23:05:00-0700
On May 22, Tien's uncle rented a bus and a bunch of us drove over to where Tien's cousin has just built a house. Many members of Tien's family were gathering to remember the anniversary of the death of Tien's grandmother. We grabbed breakfast in LX on the way and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Heading to Phu Quoc
2010-05-19 23:05:00-0700
The morning of May 18 we woke up with no power and again made plans again to go to Ha Tien beach. We went to LX to have lunch and surf the net and check out the bus station schedule.
We passed a white man with a white trimmed beard …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Lazing around Binh Hoa
2010-05-17 23:05:00-0700
On May 14 Tien and I went to the market for breakfast. Her family had moved their shop one door down to the entryway where the food stalls are. Hanging in their shop was a shirt that said "Chicago holiday in member recruitment we require oral interview."
We had a …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Hanging in Saigon, choosing Binh Hoa over Nha Trang
2010-05-13 23:05:00-0700
On May 12 Tien and I got an early breakfast and decided to walk down to the river. It looked nicer on the map than it actually was, due to construction and heavy traffic, but it was nice all the same. We ran into an Australian couple and asked them …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Preparing for my third Asia trip
2010-05-04 22:05:00-0700
Right now I'm on the L-Taraval on
my way to the sunset. Rob is in new York looking for a place to live and
I'm crashing at his place while he's gone.
I just finished a crazy, long day at work with network config, server upgrades, Linux active directory authentication …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …New Focus
2010-02-01 19:02:00-0800
It's a month into 2010 and my focus in life is moving away from the dazzle of travel back to the grind. Along with it, I'm moving the focus of this blog away from travel and into what I had originally planned for it, primarily photography and its current surrounding …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …My last day in Binh Hoa
2010-01-08 00:01:00-0800
On Nov 22nd we woke up in the familiar Ruby Star, pretty much a third home by this time. My stomach was a little bit upset, probably from the meds, but it was better than the alternative.
The last time we were in town I had seen a building I …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Leaving Vietnam in 2009
2009-11-24 23:11:00-0800
Nov 24th was my last day in Vietnam in 2009. My stomach was a little upset, probably from some meds I was still taking for my lingering strep throat, which echoed from my last trip home to the USA.
Tien's sisters had prepared some gifts for my family and it …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Strep Throat in Nha Trang, Back to Saigon by Train
2009-11-21 23:11:00-0800
Friday, Nov 20th, I woke early to a very rainy and stormy morning. Having less than a week left I decided to go ahead and figure out my plan for when I arrived back in America. Some of my friends were online since it was evening in the USA, and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Another sick day in Nha Trang
2009-11-19 23:11:00-0800
On the morning of November 19th I was just as sick as I had been the previous day, and my throat hurt just a little bit worse. We spent the morning laying around surfing the internet and being generally lazy. The weather was still a little stormy too, pretty much …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Exploring Nha Trang
2009-11-18 23:11:00-0800
The winds howled through the cracks of the door and windows of our hotel room all night and the next morning was very breezy. I spent a large portion of the morning catching up on all the internet stuff I'd missed during my offline stay in Mui Ne. Most notably …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …White Sands and our arrival in Nha Trang
2009-11-17 23:11:00-0800
Tuesday morning we woke up with the intent to go to some white sand dunes that were about 20km north. We got breakfast at a place just up the road on our way. There was a modeling show on TV and I was watching it to see what gear the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Adventures in Mũi Né
2009-11-16 23:11:00-0800
I dreamed about Sarah Palin doing art projects for President Obama while he was busy running all over Washington DC trying to escape the secret service because they were holding him back from doing the things he wanted to do. I woke up with Doe-A-Dear stuck in my head.
I …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Traveling to Mui Ne
2009-11-15 23:11:00-0800
Sunday morning when I woke up I noticed a recurring morning phenomenon; stiff ankles. I thought about how I should probably stay more active to avoid that displeasure.
Right after waking up Tien called a bus service and found a bus going to Saigon at 9:30. Thu got us …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Finding a new place in Binh Hoa
2009-11-14 23:11:00-0800
Saturday was a pretty lazy day.
Tien and I were still recovering from our motorbike trips and I swore
off ever going long distances on Tien's scooter ever again. We did,
however, plan to head north from Saigon to Mui Ne and Nha Trang the
following day by bus, and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Can Tho and The Floating Market
2009-11-13 23:11:00-0800
We woke up at 6am on Friday to get a head start on the floating market which only lasts the morning. When we fetched our motorbike from the valet there was a tiny blob of bird crap on my seat. Only after trying to flick it off and getting it …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Heading to Can Tho
2009-11-12 23:11:00-0800
Thursday I woke up in pain from the events of the previous day. My foot was definitely bruised in a few places and the cut was dry. My sandals are pretty soft though and did a great job of easing the pain.
Back at the market for breakfast Tien and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Hiking on Mt. Cam
2009-11-11 23:11:00-0800
We planned to go hiking on Mt. Cam on Wednesday. It's a long way to get there, so we had planned to wake up at 5am. I rarely sleep well before having to wake up early, and this was no different. I wasn't watching the clock though, since that doesn't …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …The trip home from Da Lat
2009-11-10 23:11:00-0800
Sunday morning was warm and glorious. Eating breakfast outside was a treat that morning. We hung around the hotel until a van came to pick us up at 12:30 and take us off to our bus. We had expected the van to arrive sooner and give us time to …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A day on a moto
2009-11-07 23:11:00-0800
Saturday morning Da Lat was colder than it was the previous day. I couldn't tell if it was going to clear up or pour down rain on us. Regardless, Tien and I decided to rent a scooter for the day and go explore the town.
A man who worked at …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A Tour of Đà Lạt
2009-11-06 23:11:00-0800
Friday morning I woke up to the delightful news that all but one of the files on my corrupt hard disk had been recovered and I knew I had that file, a photo from last new year, back in america.
Tien and I went outside and had breakfast on the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Going to Da Lat
2009-11-05 23:11:00-0800
Thursday morning when I woke up the first thing I did was plug in my dead hard disk to see if it had yet another life. Luckily it did and I put my laptop to work backing up my photos and music.
When Tien woke up we went next door …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Heading out for Nha Trang
2009-11-04 23:11:00-0800
Tuesday morning at breakfast Tien's mom brought over a young boy who was big for his age. His older sister showed up soon afterwards and we all ate some snacks. They were Tiens cousins and I recognized their father from our engagement party when he came to pick them up …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Political talk at dinner
2009-11-04 23:11:00-0800
While the tragic mystery of my corrupt hard disk was unfolding I made progress with other technology. A new version of Blackra1n had come out that allowed me to upgrade my iPhone from 3.0.1 to 3.1.2 and jailbreak it. This was the simplest iPhone jailbreak ever …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Day to day in Binh Hoa
2009-11-02 23:11:00-0800
Friday we woke up and did some internet stuff. I was catching up on a lot of Internet in the morning. Tien got me a breakfast sandwich and made me a banana and strawberry smoothie. What a lucky guy I am, my fiance bringing me food at my computer!
Tien …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Returning to Binh Hoa and Long Xuyen
2009-10-31 00:10:00-0700
Wednesday we got breakfast at a new place. It was in the tourist area in Pham Ngu Lao and had a menu in English, French and Vietnamese. We both ordered orange juice that was fresh squeezed and not sweetened. Its natural flavor was delicious and a nice contrast to the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Killing time in Saigon
2009-10-28 01:10:00-0700
On Monday, Tien and I decided to find a new breakfast place. We walked several blocks through the heart of the tourist area at Pham Ngu Lao and found a lot of places that looked overpriced and inauthentic. I honestly don't like things to be too touristy, so when I …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Hanging out with Dat and Trinh
2009-10-25 20:10:00-0700
On Sunday, my first morning back in Vietnam, Tien and I went to our old breakfast place. It was OK, but honestly it's lost its sentimental value with the realization that it's not that great of a restaurant. It is very convenient though. After breakfast we went back to the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …October arrival in Saigon
2009-10-23 04:10:00-0700
My layover in Japan was short and nice. I walked
around a bit and Took pictures during sunset, then developed some photos
from a photoshoot I did for Rob's friends last weekend. I didn't bother
with the $6 Internet and before I knew it I was boarding the flight to …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Heading back to Vietnam
2009-10-22 14:10:00-0700
It's been a long time since I've written anything, mainly because I
haven't been traveling. 
I left Colorado and drove
back to San Francisco in mid August, over two months ago. In that time
I've mainly been focusing on two things: finishing an I-129f petition
for Tien and studying and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …My 39 hour day
2009-08-04 23:08:00-0700
By the time Monday morning rolled around I had slept away over half of my weekend while doped up on NyQuil and Imodium. I was finally starting to feel better on Monday, so much so that I decided I was well enough to drive to CO. I think I may …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A sick friday, catching up with the 4211 girls
2009-08-01 00:08:00-0700
Friday I woke up sick as a dog in Rob's place. I had full on flu symptoms on top of the ongoing digestive problems and was not a happy camper. I slept well though, amazingly. I took a shower and played online a little while Rob kept sleeping. I decided …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …38 hour Thursday
2009-07-31 21:07:00-0700
Thursday morning I woke up above the Pacific Ocean somewhere off the coast of Japan. I knew this because right after I saw the clouds and ocean below I looked at the helpful map showing where we were on the planet. I was given breakfast and the loudspeaker announced that …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …The Last Days in SE Asia
2009-07-29 20:07:00-0700
I woke up to an oncoming silence created by the absence of electrical power on Tuesday morning. This was a good way to get an early start because I couldn't sleep without the fan protecting me from the mosquitoes and cooling my body. I took a shower and headed out …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Plans always change, next stop San Francisco
2009-07-27 22:07:00-0700
Like many times before, yesterday we had our plans and then they were changed on us. At breakfast this morning Tien told me that she talked to her school and had learned that she had employment obligations that required her to stay in Vietnam and work through September. With that …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …The return from Malaysia
2009-07-27 21:07:00-0700
Tien had expressed how happy she was to be back in her home country when we were walking through the airport, and it showed once we got in the taxi. She smiled a lot and was chatting up a storm with the taxi driver. I began to sink back into …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Malaysia, Part 2
2009-07-26 07:07:00-0700
Wednesday I woke up to hurricane winds and our hotel shaking. I moved the love seat in off the patio expecting to have torrential rains hitting soon, then I went back to sleep. When I woke up 3 hours later everything was calm. I guess that's just how night weather …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Malaysia, Part 1
2009-07-24 01:07:00-0700
Sunday morning we woke up and hurried out for breakfast at our usual spot before checking out of the hotel and catching a taxi to the airport. Tien had rarely been inside an airport before. She had never been on a plane before. She had never left the country before …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …One Day in Saigon before Malaysia
2009-07-19 19:07:00-0700
Saturday, Tien and I woke up at the familiar Ruby Star which is situated in the Pham Ngu Lao area of Saigon. Our room was small and had no window so realizing that it was time to get up was difficult from the darkness of our bed, but an incoming …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Bad Breakfasts, Leaving Binh Hoa with Tien
2009-07-19 07:07:00-0700
Wednesday morning I slept through my alarm and the noise of the other people in the house and didn't get up until after 9, which never happens. Shortly after I got up the power went out, which is now pretty normal. Tien and I decided to head into Long Xuyen …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …The Engagement Party
2009-07-16 20:07:00-0700
Tuesday was the day of our engagement party. We woke up and went to the bank to withdraw some money that was a gift from my parents and my grandmother. This took a long time. We then went to a jeweler and Tien bought a lot of jewelry, then we …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Visa Issues
2009-07-14 20:07:00-0700
Sunday was a rainy day. Everybody was hanging out because there's not much to do outside when it's rainy, and it's difficult to get places on a scooter while it's raining. I was on my computer fiddling around when Tien came in looking a little sad and told me that …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A Tragedy in Binh Hoa
2009-07-14 07:07:00-0700
Saturday morning I woke up to Tien climbing back into bed. “I have some bad news from the people in my village..." She went on to tell me that the father of her best friend Trinh, whose family lives across the street, was on his way back from taking his …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …The Trip from Binh Duong, Conspiring About Visas
2009-07-12 01:07:00-0700
At about 1:40am the bus finally arrived at our guesthouse in Binh Duong. 40 minutes late is par for the course in Vietnamese transit. As we were getting on a man in a brown shirt shook my hand and tried to talk to me in Vietnamese. I just passed …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A short stay in Binh Duong
2009-07-11 06:07:00-0700
While we were in Vung Tau Mai was on the phone quite a bit talking with a friend of hers who she knew online and he invited us to stay at his place in Binh Duong, which was on the way to Saigon, so we decided to go. Unfortunately when …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Trip to Vũng Tàu
2009-07-08 01:07:00-0700
My layover between Vientiane and Saigon was Phnom Penh. I thought this would be great because I could call Tien using my Cambodian SIM card and let her know that my flight was an hour late, but she didn't pick up. We were on the ground for about 15 minutes …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Lazy in Laos
2009-07-03 20:07:00-0700
Having arrived late to Vientiane and taken the first guesthouse with an opening, Thursday morning I went to find a better option, an option with Internet. That is vital if you want to stay in touch with people who are scattered around the globe.
I checked into a nice looking …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Bye bye Bangkok, hello Laos
2009-07-01 08:07:00-0700
I'm in one of those mid range SE Asian guesthouses again. The kind with the mini fridge stocked with soda, water and local beer. They're nice enough to have an air conditioner, but not nice enough to have free wifi. There's a shower, but no bath tub. Along with the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …More Thailand
2009-06-30 08:06:00-0700
SE Asia has very deep roots in Buddhism. I didn't know this when I came here. I'm beginning to see that pretty much everything in the history of Asia revolves around politics and religion. I don't think that there is anything to see that is not modern that isn't a …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Visiting The Emerald Buddha
2009-06-27 09:06:00-0700
When I woke up and came down stairs, My's mother Ratana greeted me. She had been in India for work and arrived while I was sleeping. She was really nice and outgoing and made me feel at home. She was the only one I'd e-mailed with about my visit and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Ancient Siam and the King's Museum
2009-06-26 05:06:00-0700
When I woke up this morning the first thing I noticed was the sound of songbirds outside, which has so far been absent from my Asian trip.
Michael Jackson had died while I was asleep.
Everybody was gone from the house except Max. I had coffee and a muffin and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …24 hours from Cambodia to Thailand
2009-06-25 08:06:00-0700
As I was planning, and thankfully the hackers were keeping up, I was able to jailbreak my iPhone and install network unlocking software on it which would enable me to use it as a phone outside of AT&T's network. I downloaded the tools to do this and did so …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Second day in Siem Reap
2009-06-23 20:06:00-0700
After the first day at Angkor Wat, Taka went to a nearby travel agency to square away his plans to go to Phuket. While I was waiting outside for him I saw a motorcycle with a food stand sidecar drive by.
We went and got dinner at some dead lounge …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …First Day at Angkor Wat
2009-06-22 04:06:00-0700
Along the way to Siem Reap it began raining heavily and shortly afterwards we pulled off for a rest. Some kids were playing in the warm rain that was dripping off the roof, running back and forth under it. Some of us ate little meat filled buns. Taka ate some …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Melancholy in Phnom Penh
2009-06-21 00:06:00-0700
In the morning I went to find a bookstore and ended up first having breakfast and photographing the graffiti that had been done by Londoners. I found the bookstore and it was closed but a man told me it opened at 9:30. When I was on my way back …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …First day in Cambodia
2009-06-20 09:06:00-0700
The road north to Cambodia was immediately nicer than other roads I've taken into or inside of Saigon. They were more like the roads on Hanoi, more modern and maintained, and this gave promise to the many construction site billboards showing the future office complexes and industry sites that I've …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Photographed and gone to Cambodia
2009-06-19 19:06:00-0700
I spent the morning on the subject en of a Kodak DSLR in a photo session reminiscent of that in "Lost in Transaltion". The photographer was good though, and Tien looked ƒ incredible. I felt like a doofus next to such stunning beauty, but her sisters flattered me into a …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Rings and things
2009-06-17 18:06:00-0700
The fact that I didn't have a ring when I proposed to Tien did not mean I didn't intend to get one for her, even if Vietnamese girls don't traditionally get them. I wanted to get something for her before I headed off to travel so she'd have something to …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Living the Dream
2009-06-14 01:06:00-0700
After a morning out with Tien walking around Saigon in the hot sun, after I asked her to marry me, we did what most people do during the mid day heat and napped it away in a cool place. We talked and were happy with all that had happened and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Engagement
2009-06-12 21:06:00-0700
As I finished my whiskey the flight to Saigon began boarding, so with Kaskade in my ears I took my seat. I gave up the music for some more Jack Kerouac, which I'm really enjoying. My aunt recommended "On the Road" to me, and Rob had gotten it for me …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Last day in Hanoi
2009-06-11 00:06:00-0700
This morning I woke up in Hanoi and went to work developing the photos I had meant to develop before I laid down. Around 7am I went upstairs and ate breakfast by myself. I peeled a banana for myself and thought about meals with Tien.
I looked around the building …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A day among the islands of Ha Long
2009-06-10 04:06:00-0700
So there I was, back in the bathtub in my room at the Chains First Eden Hotel in Hanoi Vietnam. I was drinking a Tiger beer and had just used up all the hot water washing away the sweat from a long day of hiking and boating in Ha Long …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Catching up with Ha Long Bay
2009-06-09 06:06:00-0700
I am currently sitting on the patio of my hotel
room on the 5th floor looking out over Ha Long Bay and the bridge, and
watching the moon rise above the hills on the opposing shore. I'm just
one girl and a bottle of wine short of the most romantic …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Finally found WiFi
2009-06-09 03:06:00-0700
I've been in Vietnam for a week
and a half and have finally found wifi. It's in the lobby of the hotel
I'm staying at in Ha Long Bay. It is not in my air conditioned hotel
room. The lobby is hot, and they don't refrigerate their beer so the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A day in Hanoi
2009-06-08 16:06:00-0700
Hanoi was immediately recognizeable as a more modern city than the rest what I've seen of Vietnam. There were many cars on the streets, there were less shanty shacks and more tall buildings, there were large bridges, a railroad, cleaner streets. There were mountains visible in the near distance and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Leaving Binh Hoa and Saigon
2009-06-07 23:06:00-0700
At 5:30 yesterday three long shadows headed for the bus to Saigon. Thu, Tien's sister, saw Tien and I off. One week after arriving in Binh Hoa we were headed back to Saigon, back to the airport.
One earbud and one earplug each, Tien and I lost ourselves in …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …A relaxing weekend
2009-06-06 20:06:00-0700
Sunday morning in Binh Hoa village, the plans to go to the beach fell
through two different ways due to cultural customs. That stuff sure can
get in the way... That's OK though, one more relaxing day in Binh Hoa
will be fine.
Yesterday afternoon was relaxing and wonderful. Nearly …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …One Week in Vietnam
2009-06-05 22:06:00-0700
Saturday morning in Binh Hoa, I've been in Vietnam for nearly a week now and I it's been a good gentle immersion in to Asian culture in the tropics. Tonight Tien and I will go by overnight bus to Vung Tàu Beach, which is about 20km outside Ho Chi Minh …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Another day in the shop
2009-06-05 00:06:00-0700
There's nothing incredibly exciting going on yet. We were going to plan my trip to Ha Long bay yesterday but the power outage kinda messed that up. Today we're going to square that away, and tomorrow we'll probably be going back to Ho Chi Minh City.
This morning I woke …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Crusin' and Relaxin'
2009-06-04 01:06:00-0700
Today I was planning on taking part of the morning to check online for options to go to Ha Long bay and to call Igor to ask him about some comments he left concerning traveling Laos and Cambodia. Before doing that we had a somewhat American breakfast with eggs and …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Anime Lunch
2009-06-03 01:06:00-0700
Today Tien and I sat at the market where her family store is and talked a long time about language, world culture and classical music. I tried to also explain some things about computers and networking, which was preceded by my saying that I was intrigued by the problem of …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Trip to Câm Mountain
2009-06-02 16:06:00-0700
Yesterday morning I was greeted by a large spider on the floor of my hotel room. Mai showed up shortly afterwards and brought me back to their house where we ate and talked and showered.
We eat frequently here, though not a lot. There are 8 females in this house …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Blogging from a VN Hotel
2009-06-01 07:06:00-0700
Tonight I am staying near Tien's house in a $4 hotel room with no toilet seat and a dirty bidet nozzle.
One hour ago I was on the back of a scooter riding
through a warm gentle rain, sharing an earbud with Mai listening to
Kaskade off my non-phone-functioning iPhone …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Scooters and stuff
2009-05-31 07:05:00-0700
I haven't been in Saigon one day yet and I already know the one word that would sum it up. Scooters. It's like everything here is a scooter. I see people doing everything possible with them, from selling corn to hauling TV's 4 at a time. It's actually really really …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Good Morning Vietnam
2009-05-30 19:05:00-0700
I woke up on a mattress in Saigon this morning, a rooster crowing outside the window and a lizard crawling up the wall.
I decided to throw caution to the windo and went against what everybodytold me to do: be safe. I jumped on a scooter with Tam and headed …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Made it to Tokyo
2009-05-29 23:05:00-0700
My flight to Tokyo was fantastic, best
flight I've ever had. There were video games, movies, fresh fruit, wine,
two meals served with metal silverware complete with wine, hot tea and
coffee and ice cream for dessert. I almost didn't want to get off when
we landed...
So here I …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …1 hour left
2009-05-29 11:05:00-0700
Waiting for airplanes is always the same, they just can't arrive soon enough, but then you know you'll just be stuck on it for a long time anyway, so what difference does it make? It's a waiting game... So you wander around, look at cute girls and wonder what music …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Waiting at SFO
2009-05-29 09:05:00-0700
I am currently sitting in the check-in area of SFO's
international area, waiting. I'm a little underwhelmed by having to wait
in this boring section of the airport, but Lisa may come visit me before
I pass through security so I have to wait out here.
I managed to pack …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …12 Hours Left
2009-05-28 22:05:00-0700
My last night in the USA is being spent sorting my things
into ziplock bags and fitting them into my backpack in a way that will
be conducive to easy traveling.
Liquids are in the TSA standard 3-1-1 fashion in the top-front pocket where they are easily reachable at the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …48 Hours
2009-05-27 14:05:00-0700
In 48 hours I'll be flying over the Pacific Ocean on an airplane bound for Tokyo.
This morning I woke up and wasn't sure where I was. The feel of the bed and the Wall•E bed set reminded me that I realized I was in Maks' room. Looking out …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Memorial Night
2009-05-25 22:05:00-0700
It's the night of Memorial Day, the Memorial
Night. I'm sitting in 4211 #1 having finished a bottle of Bogle 2006 Old
Vine Zinfandel with
Lauren. I was
just developing photos from a day out with
Donna and
listening to jazz as
Brianna got
dressed for a date.
I love …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …4 Days left
2009-05-25 10:05:00-0700
Today is Memorial Day and it will be the most memorable for me because as of today my brother is now out of Iraq forever! He's finishing his second tour and is now officially out of Iraq, waiting only one day in Kuwait before returning to Germany. So so so …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …5 Days Left
2009-05-24 10:05:00-0700
It's been crappy weather in San Francisco this weekend, honestly I've been thinking about heading back to the south bay. This is the freedom that being a vagabond gives you. Instead of doing that when I woke up on the 4211 couch, I went to Java Beach instead. I've been …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …My Last Friday
2009-05-22 23:05:00-0700
Today I headed out from work up to Lila's house to drop off some photos and pick up some stuff I had left up there. On the way up to SF to meet Rob and Donna for dinner I stopped to take some photos of the clouds spilling over the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …1 week left
2009-05-22 11:05:00-0700
This morning I woke up at Kyung and Kat's
place.
Every morning I wake up and think "What do I need to do before I leave?" Buy a backpack. Get a shot. Sell my car. Find a place for my bicycle. Port my phone number onto a pay-as-you-go phone. Buy …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …8 Days left in the USA
2009-05-21 11:05:00-0700
Every Wednesday my friend Bernadette goes sailing
with friends in Santa Cruz, so yesterday Blake and I headed down there
to enjoy some time on the water. This was going to be Blake's first time
sailing. It was a small group, just 9 of us. The weather was beautiful,
the …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …9 Days Left
2009-05-20 10:05:00-0700
Last night after work I went out with Julian and Jason Nassi to a great mom and pop style Mexican place called Las Palmas near downtown San Jose. The food was good in the "cooked at home" sense and we all enjoyed it. We talked about traveling, work, culture. Good …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …10 days left
2009-05-19 10:05:00-0700
Ten days left until I'm on my way to the airport.
Yesterday my replacement at work started his job. He fell right into step, so that's good as I don't want to leave my co-workers in a tough spot with IT support issues.
On my lunch break I had my …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Life is good
2009-05-17 21:05:00-0700
I am sitting nearly on top of the coastal range in the SF Bay Area at a familiar place, Lila's house. This place is as close as home as I have right now, as home as 4211 is. I have a dog and two cats nearby, a glass of wine …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Demystifying the miniatures at Dream not of Today
2009-05-17 16:05:00-0700
For those who don't
know, I do a lot of the photography for Dream not of
Today, a gonzo blog run by my good
friend Rob Spectre. I also do a weekly photo set every Sunday called the
(d)SPOT. I just finished posting the 9th (d)SPOT
article, an …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Drinking in the Tendernob, Post Street Divas
2009-05-17 02:05:00-0700
After getting back from Santa Cruz, Brianna was the only one home at 4211. Shannon and Lily were already well into their evening somewhere out in the city and I was pretty late meeting up with them. Brianna decided to go out, so we got in the car and headed …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Thoughts from the back seat of a VW on the way to Santa Cruz
2009-05-16 15:05:00-0700
In the back of Blake's car cruisin' down highway 1 on the way to Santa Cruz after a crazy morning running around trying to handle my travel visa's. It looks like everything is going to work out, so that's good, but apparently Laos and Cambodia only give single entrance single …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Back in the office... on a Saturday morning?!
2009-05-16 10:05:00-0700
*sigh* I forgot some paperwork at the office that I need in order to get my Visas for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It's funny how my mind works, I get so much good thinking done when I should be in deep sleep. And by "funny" I mean "kinda lame." Anyhow …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Securing data while traveling
2009-05-15 16:05:00-0700
One of the first things people mention when I tell them I'm going to Asia is the possibility of getting robbed or having my possessions stolen. The security minded individual would then immediately consider ways to keep private data private in such an instance, and that is exactly what I …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Finally finishing up the move
2009-05-14 22:05:00-0700
Another night at Gecko's. I just got back from an evening with Amie. She's letting me borrow her pickup truck, whose name is Truck Truck, in order to move the rest of my things out of Lauren's place. That'll be a relief, and I'm wondering if the trouble of keeping …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Remembering the South Bay
2009-05-13 22:05:00-0700
Just arrived at Gecko's place after dinner and drinks with Kyung at Kat at 99 Chickens in Santa Clara. Driving towards 101 on Great America Parkway with Kaskade on, anticipating the freeway with that electronic music pouring in my ears and filling my veins, I recalled some of the exciting …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Rebranding
2009-05-13 14:05:00-0700
Today I am rebranding and redesigning my website. In the near future this is where you can keep up with me and what’s happening in my probably to be mostly off the grid life as I backpack around SE Asia.
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Tuesday in the Office
2009-05-13 09:05:00-0700
I slept on Gecko and Brian's memory foam bed last night! It was interesting, I've never slept on memory foam before. They are letting me stay in their Menlo Park cottage while they attend a wedding in Arizona.
A girl named Megan Lau from Logitech came to my office to …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Geeking out with Donna
2009-05-10 22:05:00-0700
Went to How Weird with Karen today and had an
awesome time. Afterwards I realized I probably would've had a more
exciting time if I hadn't had my camera on me. I'll have to keep that in
mind while I'm over in Asia... remember to have camera-less days. One
thing …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Mother's Day
2009-05-10 11:05:00-0700
Crashed at Rob's place again last night. Just got back from picking him up at the airport.
Yesterday I taught Donna how to drive stick and moved some more stuff out of Lauren's place. I kinda freaked out about having too much stuff and nearly just threw most of my …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Planning to meet my brother
2009-05-08 23:05:00-0700
I'm crashing at Rob's house to night. Right now I'm on his couch chatting with my brother in Baghdad. He's planning to meet me in Bankok on July 30 and we're working out the details right now. I'll probably arrive early and meet up with My. Hopefully she can show …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Location Update: 2009.5.8
2009-05-08 18:05:00-0700
Last night I crashed out on Rob's couch. He's out of town until Sunday and I'm staying at his place.
I may go to Angel Island tomorrow with Sara and her BF. Really though I ought to be moving my shizz out of Lauren's apartment. Meh, we'll see.
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Gearing Up for Asia
2009-05-07 15:05:00-0700
I'm trying to not gear up too much for Asia. That is, I don't want to spend a ton of money on this trip, I want to make it cheap. Reason one is so there's less liability for lost, damaged or stolen gear. Reason two is that since I'm quitting …
By Daniel, Category: blog
Continue reading …Location Update: 2009-05-07
2009-05-07 13:05:00-0700
So much for keeping track of where I will be
staying. I ended up crashing at Lila's place instead of B's because of
some work stuff that was going on. Lila's house is on top of a mountain
range looking out over the forest down to the ocean. It was …
By admin, Category: blog
Continue reading …Location Updates 2009-05-06
2009-05-06 12:05:00-0700
I suppose I should keep track of where I go. I'm looking for a way to embed some kind of map about my journey, it will be great to have a geographically aware journal with geotagged images. For now I'll just log it.
By admin, Category: blog
Continue reading …Resuming the Journal
2009-05-04 11:05:00-0700
A lot has happened since I last updated this journal, and now I feel like resuming this introspective personal outlet for my own benefit. I'm going through some changes in life right now and would like to keep track of the thoughts that are developing in my mind. The two …