Chúc mừng năm mới!

Happy Chinese New Year! I went to Cambodia during the holiday to get away from the craziness of Saigon. Since I returned I have been working non-stop.

It's true.

After 2-plus years of goofing off I am now overworked! As a result of too much play in Cambodia and too much work in Vietnam I have been sick as a dog for the past few days. I think my body just conked out. Tomorrow I don't work at all so I plan to sleep, read and watch movies all day. I hope to catch up on the blog this week too.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to work. No, really. I mean it.

Super Monday

The Saints just won the Super Bowl. I can't imagine how crazy Bourbon Street is going to be last night.

Here it's already tomorrow. Saigon is 12 hours ahead of the East Coast, so I was getting ready for work in on Monday morning while the folks back home were tapping kegs and demolishing pans of nine-layer dip on Super Sunday. I'm typing this on break at the school where I'm substituting today.

It's tough to be a sports fan here because of the time difference. I saw a few NFL and college football games, but I was usually watching in my hotel bed at 6 a.m. It's not quite the same, somehow... There are plenty of expat bars that show sports, mostly soccer and cricket. Finding somewhere to watch NFL games is tough. Not many sports bars are open at dawn.

A friend of mine here found "the place to be" for Super Sunday/Monday. I was going to go, but then I was asked to substitute at the swanky international school. I couldn't turn that down. I missed the Super Bowl last year, which turned out to be a classic. What are the odds lightning would strike twice? Pretty good, unfortunately.

My buddy sent me score updates on my celphone. He left "the place to be" because he got there at 6 a.m. and there was nowhere to sit! Apparently I missed another great one.

Next year I'll be sure to catch the game. Which means the score will probably be 48-3.