Alrightie… here’s my philosophical entry for the month. Recently Michel asked my opinion on an anti-Iraq war website and their internet broadcasted conference. I thought this might be a good way to share my thoughts since it’s slightly interactive.

Winter soldier – I was only able to watch a couple of the testimonials and the "trailer" that is posted on the site. I apologize for my lack of proper research but the download speeds here really are deplorable. And just a little warning, my thoughts on this are a bit circular and contradict themselves continually. But back to the point, watching the clips on the website was really difficult for me. I didn’t care much for the "trailer" (it wasn’t actually called that, but it seems appropriate to me) and I can’t quite pin point why. I felt like it was a series of images that were clearly put together and arranged to music to make me feel a certain way. I hate stuff like that. Propaganda is stupid, regardless of who puts it out. Getting unbiased facts is difficult in this era, but responding to events emotionally is something I can handle just fine on my own.
On the other hand, the few testimonials I watched I thought were really well done. Here’s where it starts to get confusing – I felt so sad for all of us. The events that I experienced in Iraq (with the obvious exception of friends dying) have never cost me a second of sleep. Actually I did wake up once in a complete panic. Hmmm, I had forgotten about that until just now. Anyway, I’ve never felt sad for the events of Iraq. The bad moments have never haunted me and I don’t spend time thinking about it. However, watching those guys tell their stories I felt so much sadness for them. But I have so many of the same stories and somehow I felt sad that I had the same stories locked away. I know I’m not saying that effectively. I guess I’m trying to say that I could imagine myself being one of the testimonial people and the fact that I could tell those stories saddened me. But don’t misunderstand, I don’t feel bad for what I did or what happened over there. Which feeds into my next big thought.

War is horrible. Nothing has ever changed, war is awful. I keep thinking back to the POW museum on Phu Quoc. In one of the cases was a human skull piece with an old corroded nail driven through it. I didn’t need to read the Vietnamese caption to understand what I was looking at. I keep thinking of it and somehow it makes all of this Iraq craziness make sense. This has been such an incredible chance to interact with the two wars that have shaped my and my parents generation. What I’ve come away with is that war is war… period. There is no amount of technology or rules of engagement that can separate war from a barbaric act. War exists to settle a dispute by means of violence and might. There are two basic options for a war to end – defeat or total destruction. In defeat, one side concedes that they are weaker and is thereby the loser. In total destruction, both sides battle until one is utterly annihilated. Either option requires that the participants must use every bit of violence and terror that they can muster to overcome the enemy. War cannot be anything else. It is violent and it is ugly. Iraq is a terrible place to be, Somalia was/is a terrible place to be, Vietnam was a terrible place to be, and the list goes on and on through each generation. And yet we are shocked to find out that war is ugly.

This is where I disagree with the Winter Soldier website. I felt that their platform is to show all of the terrible things that happen in Iraq and to use that as a justification for leaving Iraq. Our presence in Iraq isn’t wrong because war is shitty, our presence in Iraq is wrong because it is unjustified. I believe that the war is wrong because we have no cause. Of course, I also must say that if we made that entire place into a parking lot I wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep. I honestly say that entirely out of vengeance because my friends are dead at the hands of Iraqis. My personal justification for the war is entirely vengeance which I realize is wrong, but it is honest. I believe that is what guides most of this war. There was never any reason for us to enter Iraq, but now that we’re there we’ve got a whole laundry list of grievances. My point is that this war is wrong because we shouldn’t be there period, not because of what happens to the soldiers over there. However, the fact that we’re enduring a war with all of its impacts seems especially tragic since the war is plainly illegal. War is something that should never be embarked upon on a whim. The responsibility to wage war is incredible and should be treated with the respect and reverence that it deserves. It is the responsibility of the people of this entire country to ensure that our government remembers what it is gambling with. I have a hard time believing that our politicians had forgotten what war meant and what it would do to its citizens. Our politicians are the same men and women that fought in (or more accurately - to avoid going to) Vietnam. How dare they send us on such a ridiculous mission for no clear reason…again.

A military exists physically protect its country. This means fighting. And to be a great military to protect a great nation, you must be able to win the fights. This means that bad things are going to happen on both sides. Long gone (if they ever even existed) are the days of noble wars and chivalry.

Vacation Time!

The island is just wonderful. We showed up yesterday but I spent all day drinking so plugging into the internet was not high on my list of things to do. The beaches are absolutely breath taking. It's one of those places that you would imagine a celebrity jet setting off to for a hush-hush wedding. Yesterday we did a lot of swimming and ocean football, rode one of those giant water bicycles, laid in the sun, ate cheeseburgers and drank a lot. Unfortunately the Pina Coladas pretty much sucked but it was alright because I drank all sorts of other fruity drinks instead.

Here I am about to pass out asleep on the boat ride out to Rach Gia where we caught the helicopter.

The rockstar helicopter

A couple of scenery shots from the flight

Our hotel is wonderful - mostly because it has A/C which is pretty much the greatest invention ever! This is the view from my balcony.

So first thing this morning we got up and headed out for a boat that we chartered to go fishing. There were six Americans and about ten VNO going on the trip together. On the way we stopped at this place:

Turns out it's an American POW camp from the war. Basically this island was held by the U.S. and used for R&R and holding prisioners (yes seems a little paradoxical). So we had no idea what kind of museum we were going to. The VNO only told us that it was a prison so we were all a little confused about what we were doing there. Once inside there were all sorts of relics from the camp and photos. I was absolutely sick to my stomach (and not just because I drank too much yesterday). It seems that our hands were far from clean when it came to brutality during the war. There were statues that depicted a large, broad shouldered American torturing Vietnamese. I felt so horribly awkward and stupid and ignorantly arrogant. When I went to visit Pearl Harbor I was very bewildered by all the Japanese there, so I guess the tables turned on me today.

But after we'd left the POW camp we were able to cheer up quickly. We picked up the boat and headed out for fishing.

This is me, Jayme and the VNO colonel

We stopped to fish for a while but I didn't catch anything except for my thumb and my ring finger. It still freaking hurts. Of course the Vietnamese guys and the one Samoan we have with us caught fish.

This is where we stopped to buy crab for lunch since we didn't catch diddly squat.

Here's Mrs. Thu showing off a crab...mmmm yummy.

After lunch we swam in this bay for a while...

and then passed out in these hammocks :)

Oh and here's one more pic of me - that should satisfy the need to prove that I am actually here and not just downloading pics from the internet to post on here!

That's it for now. It's late and I think I want to finish up my vacation with laying in bed watching a couple episodes of Futurama and eating the delicious Oreos that I found at the market today. Sweet dreams!

Photos galore

As promised here are the photos from the site. Digital cameras have an amazing way of making people act so goofy. I let one of the girls take photos with my camera and she nearly dropped it when she took the first one. I think she may have been expecting it to shock her or something!

The first photo is of the guys during our break. The guy on the left is named Chom but I call him Tom Tom instead.

This picture is of some of my favorite girls. Honestly I can't tell who's hiding under the hat on the left, but next is Ho, me (obviously) and then Guhn. But I call Guhn "Mea" which means Momma in Vietnam. She's had 12 babies - the oldest is 32 and the youngest is 4. She's definately one of my favorites :)

This is Lin and I.

I just love this picture

Awwww, beautiful Mea, Lin and Lunh. I call Lunh "Ame" which is the Vietnamese word for little sister. We're such a happy little family.

Another pic that I just love.

Party Like A Rock Star

Tonight I'm back in Rach Gia and heading for an island oasis. Tomorrow morning the helicopter will take us out to our much deserved and long awaited vacation. I've been singing the Pina Colada song so much that my workers can recite some of the lines. It's hilarious. They are also now singing "Macho Macho Man...". I'm so glad to have shared the important parts of the American culture with them. :)

Rain finally came and cooled everything down amazingly. Unfortunately it also raised the water level so high that our latrine is no longer a sanitary place to be... yup, you can't have your cake and go potty in a clean place too.

I took a couple of photos today at work so I'll be sure to post them tomorrow when I can download them to the internet that I'm hoping to have in my room.

Oh and just to piggie back off of the last post - we managed to find 2 kilos of spaghetti noodles about an hour away by boat. It's the only four bags of spaghetti in southern Vietnam... and the darn things cost us almost 10 dollars a bag! Holy crap - the next time I come here I'm not going to pack anything but bags of 1 dollar spaghetti so I can mark it up and sell it on the pasta black market. Somehow I'm sure that socialism is to blame for this! hehehehehe

The Quest for Spaghetti

Woohooo going to town tomorrow. Really not much to say… still no rain. Unless you count the 2 minutes that happened a couple of days ago. I am excited to go to town again. We’re cooking Italian tomorrow night for everyone on the site so this whole trip is to collect pasta and garlic. Who knows how successful this will be.

I’m concerned that my fruit snack supply is starting to run low. I don’t know how well I’ll be able to stay in a good mood when it dries up. I think I’ll put that in the AAR… mission participants require a fruit snack resupply by week 4 to ensure mental stability.

We’re actually going to take a little vacation because we all really really need it. In a couple of days we’re going to take the big helicopter out to some island resort. All day, while I’m covered in filth and dirt, I dream of all the Pina Coladas that we be consumed. Oh how I hope that the cabana boys are cute.

Singh Ciao Suuan? Singh Ciao Jgunng?

So far we’ve sifted through 30 4 x 4 meter units and still no sign of the good Lt. I keep trying to keep in mind that he is an Air Force Lieutenant so naturally he’s not going to be where he’s supposed to be. It is very hot and dry out here. Last night a most amazing lightning and thunder storm started at one a.m. I think everyone was just laying in bed waiting for the rain to start falling on the tarp, but it never happened. Even the marsh that we’ve been wallowing through is drying up. I think we’re all getting to the point that we really need to find something. It feels like we’ve come so far to be here and worked so hard already… really the Lt needs to meet us part of the way. It’s not even half way, I think we’ve come far more than half of the way for him. All he needs to do is send a femur up through the ground or something… maybe send out some sort of signal. I think everyone has started talking to him when it’s their turn to dig. Today was my turn and I sure had a lot to say. The workers are really antsy to find him too. While we were digging we came across a piece of burnt wood that had whitish parts and was kind of shaped like a chunk of bone or a tooth. The workers got all excited and frankly I got a little excited too. But it turned out to be nothing. I’ve started saying "Hello Bone?, Hello Tooth?" in Vietnamese to all the buckets of dirt and the workers have started doing the same. It’s quite the little site out here.

I can’t help but think about what the war here was like. I look out across this field and think of the crash and how the copilot ran for his life only to be captured. When the witness that buried our guy comes out here I try to imagine that this man took him and put him in the ground. Forty years later the Americans return and everyone is friends now. There’s an older woman that calls me daughter and countless other bonds that mean a lot to both sides. But nothing really has changed here since the war. These are the same people that we fought. The same people are helping us sift through tons of dirt, dust, clay and rock looking for our lost. It’s impossible not to compare this place to Iraq. I wonder if Iraq will find a way to behave in a civilized manner in the next forty years. I wonder if in forty years our descendents will be in Iraq giggling with the descendents of the roadside bombers over the graves of our lost. I can’t help but wonder if the Lieutenant would be appalled or relieved that the American’s and Vietnamese are becoming friends as they search for him. Honestly, 40 years puts a war into a bizarre perspective.

Oh, but on a good note – I made it out to the field and the projectile is now wayyyy out of the way of the field and the school. I did it without any approval or telling anyone. I just did it. I know that I owe my allegiance to the U.S. and whatever their mission is. But frankly I don’t care. Even more important than that is a responsibility that I know I have and will have to live with long after my service time. Needless to say, I don’t care what happens when one of the chuckle heads realizes that the round isn’t in the field anymore. :) Guess they should have known better than to send my hippie ass through EOD school!

Off to work in the morning





Yup, if there’s anything I’m consistent at, it’s being inconsistent when writing. Oh well, guess its just part of my charm. This whole Vietnam thing is still trucking along. I can’t believe it’s only been 6 days since the last time I wrote. So much has happened. Backing wayyyy up… Women’s Day was great. The VNO did a big huge dinner for all everyone and they did a little thing to honor the women. Both the VNO and American leadership gave each of us a bouquet of flowers and gave a little speech about their appreciation of us. I can’t even tell you how unworldly the whole thing was. I kept wondering if the first women in the military ever imagined that a scene like this would ever take place. I’m the only single female here, so Mr. Bing made a big old toast to how he hopes and believes that I will find love this year and of course everyone echoed his sentiment. Then Mr. Bing decided that since the anthropologist and I are both "alone" that we should get married. Oddly enough that has set a whole weird chain of events into motion. Once I figure out what all that is, I’ll try to write it down.

All moved in


My humble abode - mine is the tent in the back

Going to town on the 9th was nice but required too much travel time for such limited relaxation time. Obviously I managed to get to the internet café which was interesting since the boy had finally manned up and admitted that he’s back with his ex… sounds familiar doesn’t it?? Whatever, that whole thing was stupid and I hope that’s the last I ever write about that. On a completely different subject about going to town, we went to get pampered and when I walked into the "nail salon" I had my first chance to see myself in an actual mirror in a while. I can’t even believe how dark my skin is. I didn’t even look like myself. I rarely even wear sunblock out there anymore if that gives you any idea of what an amazing transformation my pasty self has made.

The next big event was a couple of days ago. One of my favorite workers, Ka, was watching me wallop (yes that is a technical procedure) a corroded grenade when he got all excited and started pointing toward the school and making the international gesture for explosion. Ironically, Ka is mute so I actually find him to be one of the easiest Vietnamese to communicate with. Anyway, we managed to communicate enough for me to understand that there was a bomb at the school as big as his arm and as wide as a dinner plate. You know that got me all twitterpated. So the Captain, team sergeant, Ka and I took off for the school. It was one of those moments when you think ahead to the inevitable mishap report and how stupid everyone is going to think you were. Ka was walking at the speed of light through overgrown fields which of course is the worst idea ever in Vietnam. But eventually we made it to the UXO and sure enough, there was a 105mm projectile sitting in a freshly plowed field next to the only school for fifty miles. Yes, the whole scene was very NAVSCOLEOD style. I nearly expected to see Sgt Ray or Sgt Martin jump up out of the rice paddy to start heckling me. At this point, no big deal… the UXO isn’t dangerous and I want to move it out of the field so the people can keep working their field. Then the politics step in… the Captain tells me that I absolutely cannot move it and then suddenly we have an international incident on our hands. The American side flips out because we left the site to examine a UXO that wasn’t a direct threat to us and then the VNO side flips out because the worker came to me instead of them. The whole scenario was ridiculous. The VNO wanted to fire Ka, his mother, and his sister for their egregious mistake. Of course I’m all fired up because there’s still a stupid HE projectile in a field that I could have quickly fixed if people weren’t stupid. Then the anthropologist got all pissed off because he wasn’t really in the loop on all this and somehow he thinks it has some important bearing to this site – which it doesn’t… it’s pretty clear that a war took place here so yeah, there’s crap everywhere. At the end of all this drama the round is still in the field next to the school. The anthropologist is all pissed off about us leaving him out of the loop so now he wants to go map it with his specially calibrated GPS – I’m hoping it will provide me with the perfect opportunity to huck the stupid thing out of the way of these people’s lives.

Fast forward to the next day… this site is very high profile for lots of reasons that I won’t get into now, so a delegation of very high ranking Vietnamese and Americans came out to visit. They couldn’t be bothered with the mind-numbing car and boat ride combo, so they managed to get a humongous helicopter to bring them out here. That morning I tried to explain to my workers what was going to happen in my very broken Vietnamese. I basically said "nuouh mai bai" (small airplane) and pointed to the landing zone accompanied by chopper noises and ridiculous hand gestures. Unfortunately I haven’t learned how to say that a bunch of rich, fat, pale, old men from both of our countries will be flying in to distract us from our work for a few hours. I don’t think they really understood what was about to happen, but one of my workers, Wong, got the gist. I’m pretty sure he spotted that helicopter when it was about 10 miles out. It was just a little tiny speck but there was no getting something like that past him. Some of the Americans tried to get their workers to keep screening but it was really hopeless. Everything just stopped. It was so easy to get caught up in the magic. I can’t imagine how amazing something like a helicopter looks to these guys. In truly dramatic fashion it made an approach to the LZ, hovered for a moment and then flew over our work area to get a better approach. Then it landed in the field right next to where we were all working. It was like watching the space shuttle land.

Of course work continues here. The area that we’re searching just keeps on expanding. I would say that this is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but I think the truth is really more accurate… we’re looking for a 40 year old molar in a fallow rice paddy the size of several football fields. Mystery people keep showing up to declare that they buried him in a different spot – it’s getting a bit frustrating. The heat is becoming especially intense as well. I’ve stopped sleeping in my tent because it’s just too hot. I have the greatest hammock on earth (because it has mosquito netting attached to it) and that is where I sleep now. It’s actually quite divine to be out under the stars in the quiet of the delta.

Sunrise - the blue building in the distance is the local school


Sunset over a vietnamese burial

OK, that’s a lot of catching up for one night (and the heat from my laptop is just a bit much) but that nearly gets me back on track. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll hit dog tags with my metal detector (keep your fingers crossed for us!)

stars

It’s only 8 pm so the generators are still running. I simply cannot wait for the fuel to run low and the lights to die out. The stars here are amazing. I know I’ve already mentioned it but it’s really breath taking. Anyone who knows me well knows how significant the stars are to me and I don’t feel like explaining it again at the risk of sounding like a broken record. It is so bizarre that such a foreign place can make me feel so close to precious moments of my life.

Rambling again

There’s something about the intensity of the stars out here that stops me in my tracks. To see something so fabulous without any of the filters of city lights is phenomenal.

My quasi relationship has certainly come to a close and all this time in the field listening for little beeps has given me a lot of time to reflect on it all. Since coming back from deployment I have had the most ridiculous string of failed relationships. I have certainly been rejected more in the last five months than the rest of my adult life combined. It makes me wonder how I am contributing to this entire situation. All three relationships have started and ended the same. Each one began with so much hope and passion. Of course each one ended with the same sudden stop of phone calls. What is that about? I think everyone has a checklist that is based on past relationship failures. All future woo-ers will have to sign an affidavit swearing that they will not end the relationship by suddenly ceasing contact without explanation or warning. says, "you’re a loon and I’d rather bone some other chick" or maybe he could hire a singing telegram to launch into Get Out by JoJo. Or perhaps he could use that funny looking and sometimes smelling mechanism on the front of his face for something other than a Sonic cheeseburger disposal unit.

But what I was trying to get to was the one tidbit of wisdom this wonderful opportunity has provided me with. The first guy taught me that I shouldn’t have my heart so walled up. The next guy taught me nothing because guy number 3 came along too quickly for me to really give a damn. At first guy number 3 taught me that I need to be realistic and guard my heart again. But after thinking about it, I’ve changed my mind. I’m choosing to learn nothing from any of these situations. It turns out that sometimes relationships end because the guy was a total jerk off and frankly that’s just the end of it. I walk into these relationships with an open heart and automatic trust. It’s naïve and causes me to get hurt a lot, but I just don’t really care. One of these times I’m going to finally run into someone who isn’t a total idiot and I don’t want to miss the chance because I’m too untrusting after dealing with all these morons. Besides, statistically one has got to come along before too long :)

work work work

Well tomorrow will be our first opportunity to make a run into town and of course I haven’t written a single word yet. Actually, now I’ve written several. ;) I should have known that I wouldn’t stick with it… oh well. So now I’m going to try to make up for it.
We’ve already started excavation and sifting through all of the ground. This whole process is incredibly tedious. First I swept the entire field trying to figure out the general area of the crash. The crash site has been a field for the last forty years so it’s been plowed over and over. Bits and pieces of the plane have been spread all over the place. Every time I get a hit it has to be dug up to determine if it’s from the crash or naturally occurring metal. Sometimes the metal is so small that it takes ten minutes of sifting through the dirt clods to find it. Of course I’m also looking for anything that could possibly indicate a burial site. I wish I could post a photo of the scene right now. This huge field is just covered in engineer flags of assorted colors. It’s pretty cool though because you can definitely figure out where the crash concentration is. Once everything was marked the anthropologist builds a big old grid and then we start excavating. It consists of clearing all the soil above the clay out of each unit and sifting through it with screens. Oh lordy it is a lengthy process. We’ve only been screening for three days and still nothing substantial.



Before we started screening we put up an MIA/POW flag. I’m sure you’d agree that it’s quite beautiful. Fortunately the wind was cooperating with me when I shot this picture.




This pic is a close up to show the screening process.




Today is "Women’s Day" in Vietnam. I don’t really know what that means but the VNO (Vietnam officials) have been making a huge deal about it and are cooking us a big dinner to include lots of kookaloi. Last night we drank with them too and it didn’t turn out so well for one of the other females. It rocked her little world all day today. So hopefully this little women’s day thing goes well tonight. I am looking forward to going to town tomorrow… the four hours of travel time, not so much.

I'm out like trout!

Last night we made the two hour drive to Rach Gia to get the rest of the team from the airport. Finally, we’re all together. I feel really good about it all. Everyone seems to be getting along pretty well and there doesn’t seem to be any weird personality conflicts yet. Tomorrow we will be pushing out to the site so these entries will probably stop for a while. I "plan" to keep up with them on my laptop and post in mass when we come back to town for resupply. But we'll see how those intentions turn out. ;)

One of the guys on the team is a mortuary affairs guy and we were talking about all of our deployment experiences. He was talking about the challenges of processing the personal effects of friends. It seemed to weigh very heavy on him. And of course that stirs up all sorts of crap for me. Here’s something that’s been bothering me: Brenda called me a few months ago to tell me that Adam hadn’t come back home all at once. I just cannot fathom how it happened. How in the hell do you lose part of someone?? Brenda was under the assumption that they had found part of him in the truck but I know that’s not really possible. I didn’t do it personally (for obvious reasons), but I know that vehicle was cleaned out for equipment and that our guys had to clean up what was left. I’m so disturbed by the whole situation. It was such a big deal to load them onto the plane. And I think it meant a lot to all of us that their team was together in their departure (I know that doesn’t sound right, but if you were there you would know what I’m saying). I’m so mad to know that something was forgotten. I just wish I understood how it happened. Mostly, I’m so sad for his wife. When they brought the second part of his remains home, they exhumed the body so he could be all back together. They also held another mini-funeral when they reburied him. How many times does she have to go through this? And what a horrible reminder of how violent his death was.

Of course death is the big topic of my life right now. It’s hard to believe what lengths, both financial and physical, we’re willing to go to in this mission. But there’s no doubt in my mind that this is worth whatever it takes. I’m so disgusted to know that any part of Adam stayed in that crap-hole country for one second longer than it had to. I can only imagine what the last forty years have been like for these families.

Once again, Ani has my words…

"Back Around"
-Ani Difranco

My lipstick jumped ship to a Styrofoam cup of the coffee – gone.
The conversation strong.
All I’ve got left to give, baby is up.
But sentiments like shadows grow
Ah so long

Guess I got to go.
Don’t get up,
Don’t cry.
It’s really very simple,
Just kiss my cheek and say goodbye.
I never really go anywhere anyway.
I just pass through from time to time,
From time…

Bye bye baby.
Baby bye bye.
Maybe I’ll see you next time I’m in town.
Maybe when I’m through falling off the face of the earth,
I’ll come back around.
You know I’d love to come back around.

10 hours of driving will make your mind kind of numb.
But it’s better than 10 dollars an hour slamming a hammer on my thumb.
Better than 5 dollars an hour selling peoples shit I wouldn’t buy myself.
At least at the end of the day, I’m always somewhere else.

Bye bye baby.
Baby bye bye.
Maybe I’ll see you next time I’m in town.
Maybe when I’m through falling off the face of the earth,
I’ll come back around.
You know I’d love to come back around.

My lipstick jumped ship to a Styrofoam cup of the coffee – gone.
The conversation strong.
All I’ve got left to give, baby is up.
But sentiments like shadows grow,
Ah so long.

recentering

it's incredible how much going to the spa puts my mind back into the right place. No longer am I pissed off at the world. Everything was made right by an $8 massage/facial/pedicure/manicure/haircut. :) I love this country again.

annoyed

Today I am such a grump. Everything just seems to be getting on my nerves. I think it may have started with work. We have been working our asses off since the day we arrived here. Today we were going to take a half day off and enjoy some down time. So we got the camp all finished up and ready for the rest of the team to arrive. As we were getting in the boats we notice a blazing fire a little more than a kilometer away. OK, honestly we had noticed it quite a bit earlier but figured it would just go away. We decided that the best thing to do is to move our water pumps so the Vietnamese military guards could fight the fire if it got too close to the camp. As we're setting up the pumps, a wind from Hades kicks up and suddenly the fire is quite threatening to the enormous camp that we had just finished. Suddenly we were all out in the stupid field trying to stop the fire. Just when I thought this place couldn't get any hotter. Four hours later, we managed to stop it and hopefully it didn't start again after we left.

"oh crap"

Then tonight we went to this big festival/concert thing in town. On the way we had to stop and get a drink at some crappy place because the guys thought the waitresses were hot. I am so annoyed with spending so much time with men. Watching their feeble attempts to pick up women who they can't communicate with is rapidly losing it's entertainment value. After that little adventure we headed to the concert and this big group of kids were daring each other to run up and touch me. Holy crap, I nearly punched a small vietnamese kid. I am so quickly annoyed with people invading my personal space and to combine that with my very small amount of patience for children.... oh it was almost too much.