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Happy holidays everyone, wherever and whatever you're up to
Tom
~a1106047
www.facebook.com/profile.php?r…
Happy holidays everyone, wherever and whatever you're up to
Tom
~a1106047
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Mozzies, Muua and Motorbikes
4 min read
For some strange reason I am compelled to type here once again! (must be because I'm starving... I'm not sure)
So how is everyone passing time on dA?! The last couple of months have been rather eventful, so to catch up I have made a shortlist of events, misdemeanors and all kinds of ill goings-on!
- returned to adelaide in september, found nothing had changed in 6 months so came back to vietnam after 3 weeks
- further development on my SPCC arch. projects- nhon trach 3 industrial park will get to detailed design phase now
- not to mention new projects, including design of a petrol station in dong nai province (2 hours drive from HCMC) and a clubhouse here in district 7
- new recruitment blood from australia (someone else can do the dirty work and look bad in front of the vietnamese staff now
)
- I JOINED FACEBOOK!! um, no comment- was kinda pushed into it because I really wanted to watch the rest of avatar and owed my sis something p.m. me for my username and be my fwend! 
- d. gray-man finished!!!!! zomgwtfbbq. THE greatest gothic anime will be coming back next year though, apparently
- Survived a "chairman's dinner" on my first night back in HCMC - all it involved was constant toasting with alcohol out the wazoo and barely any food!
So that's a quick rundown, did tons of other stuff while I was back too, like arch. ball '08 and meeting Fangie too! My girlfriend is coming to Vietnam in November so I hope she can forgive my flying visit back!
one last rant; the new dA web design sucks big time, took me 5 minutes to figure out where to type a journal ffs!! Guys, there is fluid, minimalist web design, and then there is INHIBITIVE web design- this falls in the latter!
til next time!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xin cháo & Ni Hao to the following DA clubs!
si-tooterie, si-tooterie, how much we love thee, sitooterie!
www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…
oh, and 'muua' = rain in vietnamese. Now you know
So how is everyone passing time on dA?! The last couple of months have been rather eventful, so to catch up I have made a shortlist of events, misdemeanors and all kinds of ill goings-on!
- returned to adelaide in september, found nothing had changed in 6 months so came back to vietnam after 3 weeks
- further development on my SPCC arch. projects- nhon trach 3 industrial park will get to detailed design phase now
- not to mention new projects, including design of a petrol station in dong nai province (2 hours drive from HCMC) and a clubhouse here in district 7
- new recruitment blood from australia (someone else can do the dirty work and look bad in front of the vietnamese staff now
)- I JOINED FACEBOOK!! um, no comment- was kinda pushed into it because I really wanted to watch the rest of avatar and owed my sis something
p.m. me for my username and be my fwend! - d. gray-man finished!!!!! zomgwtfbbq. THE greatest gothic anime will be coming back next year though, apparently
- Survived a "chairman's dinner" on my first night back in HCMC - all it involved was constant toasting with alcohol out the wazoo and barely any food!
So that's a quick rundown, did tons of other stuff while I was back too, like arch. ball '08 and meeting Fangie too! My girlfriend is coming to Vietnam in November so I hope she can forgive my flying visit back!
one last rant; the new dA web design sucks big time, took me 5 minutes to figure out where to type a journal ffs!! Guys, there is fluid, minimalist web design, and then there is INHIBITIVE web design- this falls in the latter!
til next time!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xin cháo & Ni Hao to the following DA clubs!
si-tooterie, si-tooterie, how much we love thee, sitooterie!
www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…oh, and 'muua' = rain in vietnamese. Now you know
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It's like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest meets The Office... or even a scene from Noah Wyle's African sojourn in ER... multiple long queues of men and women in identical white business shirts burst outward from the bunkerhouse building.
All I have to do, they tell me, is pass the employees' annual health checks in Vietnam. Standard procedure, apparently.
I'm under the impression that the company is as curious as I am to see how I survived here for so long;
mosquitoes, traffic, bacteria, unexploded bombs, women with small bags (don't ask, secret men's business, ok!) ...they're all out to get me!
Thoughts of a Ned Flanders 'reconditioning' factory enter my mind as I'm quickly ushered into line; why are those small girls in the queue opposite me huddling together and looking so terrified?!
Ah. I get it... blood test! Piece of cake, just a prick on the finger, right?
...WRONG!
In order to get an accurate sample, they need a LOT of blood. After what seems forever the nurse finally takes the needle out of my shriveled arm, then subsequently hands me a 75mL plastic flask- urine sample time!
Great. Good thing I went 30 minutes before! Just thinking of waterfalls wasn't enough, so I added a bit of water to top it up Also during this time, many men accidentally stumble into the women's pap smear test area. Hilarity and blasts of high-toned vietnamese from behind the curtains ensues.
I then proceed to the next few tests; blood pressure, weight + height, eyes, ears, mouth, lungs, circulation & ultrasound.
...I also perform cpr on the GP, who turns comatose when I tell him I've never smoked in my life!
Having completed these superhuman feats in unbearably humid conditions, I have finally received enough stamps to get something at the gift shop!
Damn, all the steak knife sets are taken already..
I finally reach the last test: a sinister dark van is parked in the alley awaiting me.
As I peel back the black curtain, a pair of hands pulls me in and launches me up against the wall.
Aha! chest x-ray! Thought they left something out!
Bewildered and lightheaded yet with dignity mostly intact, I stumble back to my cubicle at SPCC HQ. Can't help but feel as though the locals are sniggering behind my back... maybe they know something about my test results I don't, and that's totally not roi* by me.
(* = 'okay', aka. 'dog' in big brother speak)
Cháo from Vietnam!
Tom.
aka. ~a1106047
NUMBER OF COLLECTED BUSINESS CARDS: 65
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xin cháo & Ni Hao to the following DA clubs!
my sitooterie, it's still there! www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…
All I have to do, they tell me, is pass the employees' annual health checks in Vietnam. Standard procedure, apparently.
I'm under the impression that the company is as curious as I am to see how I survived here for so long;
mosquitoes, traffic, bacteria, unexploded bombs, women with small bags (don't ask, secret men's business, ok!) ...they're all out to get me!
Thoughts of a Ned Flanders 'reconditioning' factory enter my mind as I'm quickly ushered into line; why are those small girls in the queue opposite me huddling together and looking so terrified?!
Ah. I get it... blood test! Piece of cake, just a prick on the finger, right?
...WRONG!
In order to get an accurate sample, they need a LOT of blood. After what seems forever the nurse finally takes the needle out of my shriveled arm, then subsequently hands me a 75mL plastic flask- urine sample time!
Great. Good thing I went 30 minutes before! Just thinking of waterfalls wasn't enough, so I added a bit of water to top it up
Also during this time, many men accidentally stumble into the women's pap smear test area. Hilarity and blasts of high-toned vietnamese from behind the curtains ensues.I then proceed to the next few tests; blood pressure, weight + height, eyes, ears, mouth, lungs, circulation & ultrasound.
...I also perform cpr on the GP, who turns comatose when I tell him I've never smoked in my life!
Having completed these superhuman feats in unbearably humid conditions, I have finally received enough stamps to get something at the gift shop!
Damn, all the steak knife sets are taken already..
I finally reach the last test: a sinister dark van is parked in the alley awaiting me.
As I peel back the black curtain, a pair of hands pulls me in and launches me up against the wall.
Aha! chest x-ray! Thought they left something out!
Bewildered and lightheaded yet with dignity mostly intact, I stumble back to my cubicle at SPCC HQ. Can't help but feel as though the locals are sniggering behind my back... maybe they know something about my test results I don't, and that's totally not roi* by me.
(* = 'okay', aka. 'dog' in big brother speak)
Cháo from Vietnam!
Tom.
aka. ~a1106047
NUMBER OF COLLECTED BUSINESS CARDS: 65
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xin cháo & Ni Hao to the following DA clubs!
my sitooterie, it's still there!
www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
a hitchhiker's guide to vietnam
5 min read
This is for those of you wondering what I've been up to for the past month... it's kinda disjointed, but hey, shouldnt all the best things in life be disjointed as well as free? This way, you can have a fulfilling life without chasing those blighters down! 
DAY 1: Step out of the airport terminal to a rockstar's welcome; realize that foreigners don't come here often to work...
DAY 2: realize that persistent tropical haze in ho chi minh city prevents all flights out... situation looks dire
DAY 3: Finally recover from strange time difference, eat so much food I don't eat at all the next day
DAY 4: don't eat at all but drink. A lot.
DAY 5: eat so much food I don't eat at all the next day
DAY 6: well, you get the picture by now...!
DAY 7: get bicycle, get laughed at by passers-by on motorbikes
DAY 18: get motorbike, get laughed at by passers-by on bicycles
DAY 8: get introduced to Pho, most addictive noodle soup ever created
DAY 9: find out company is buying its first 'legal' software... after 15 years
DAY 10: learn first chinese word!
DAY 11: Owners of Pho shop now know exactly who I am & who I work for... learn that the waiter's sister fancies me!
DAY 12: realize that all coffee in vietnam is made with condensed milk; panic for first time
DAY 13: Go to spanish architects' conference, speak spanish in vietnam... go figure!
DAY 14: have first stomach ache problems, cant figure out why but overdose on pills anyway
DAY 15: mystery forces move my fridge & unplug my toothbrush
DAY 16: fridge moves again, hire local shaman to exorcise it
DAY 17: become an instant millionaire at an ATM, realize it's only about $60 AU!
DAY 19: person nearby finally realizes I've been sucking the speed from their wireless network for the past 2 weeks... busted!!
DAY 20: learn first vietnamese word!
DAY 23: get sunburnt badly at vung tau, swim in pristine yet highly polluted waters
DAY 24: start of 4-star hotel schematic development at work... 4 days to prepare!!
DAY 25: owners at highlands coffee now know me as a regular too, start making house calls
DAY 26: challenge colleagues to a rice wine drinking contest and win... but lose motor function 30 minutes later!
DAY 28: recover from rice wine, though strangely remember every sobering detail (and the phone number of some guy named Binh for some reason)
DAY 29: after giving a 45-minute presentation to hotel clients, they then demand a 1000-seat restaurant as well...
DAY 30: stomach problems die down... maybe the alcohol killed it!
Cháo from Vietnam!
Tom.
aka. ~a1106047
NUMBER OF COLLECTED BUSINESS CARDS: 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xin cháo & Ni Hao to the following DA clubs!
my sitooterie, still there... somehow! www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…
www.engrish.com < warning! bad grammar and hilarity awaits YOU!
DAY 1: Step out of the airport terminal to a rockstar's welcome; realize that foreigners don't come here often to work...
DAY 2: realize that persistent tropical haze in ho chi minh city prevents all flights out... situation looks dire
DAY 3: Finally recover from strange time difference, eat so much food I don't eat at all the next day
DAY 4: don't eat at all but drink. A lot.
DAY 5: eat so much food I don't eat at all the next day
DAY 6: well, you get the picture by now...!
DAY 7: get bicycle, get laughed at by passers-by on motorbikes
DAY 18: get motorbike, get laughed at by passers-by on bicycles
DAY 8: get introduced to Pho, most addictive noodle soup ever created
DAY 9: find out company is buying its first 'legal' software... after 15 years
DAY 10: learn first chinese word!
DAY 11: Owners of Pho shop now know exactly who I am & who I work for... learn that the waiter's sister fancies me!
DAY 12: realize that all coffee in vietnam is made with condensed milk; panic for first time
DAY 13: Go to spanish architects' conference, speak spanish in vietnam... go figure!
DAY 14: have first stomach ache problems, cant figure out why but overdose on pills anyway
DAY 15: mystery forces move my fridge & unplug my toothbrush
DAY 16: fridge moves again, hire local shaman to exorcise it
DAY 17: become an instant millionaire at an ATM, realize it's only about $60 AU!
DAY 19: person nearby finally realizes I've been sucking the speed from their wireless network for the past 2 weeks... busted!!
DAY 20: learn first vietnamese word!
DAY 23: get sunburnt badly at vung tau, swim in pristine yet highly polluted waters
DAY 24: start of 4-star hotel schematic development at work... 4 days to prepare!!
DAY 25: owners at highlands coffee now know me as a regular too, start making house calls
DAY 26: challenge colleagues to a rice wine drinking contest and win... but lose motor function 30 minutes later!
DAY 28: recover from rice wine, though strangely remember every sobering detail (and the phone number of some guy named Binh for some reason)
DAY 29: after giving a 45-minute presentation to hotel clients, they then demand a 1000-seat restaurant as well...
DAY 30: stomach problems die down... maybe the alcohol killed it!
Cháo from Vietnam!
Tom.
aka. ~a1106047
NUMBER OF COLLECTED BUSINESS CARDS: 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xin cháo & Ni Hao to the following DA clubs!
my sitooterie, still there... somehow!
www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…www.engrish.com < warning! bad grammar and hilarity awaits YOU!
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2008: The Vietnam Project
4 min read
Wha?! Vietnam, you say?! How? When? Why?!
Sit down!! Let me explain!! (dodges chairs and tomatoes)
It's simple, really... I have been offered a position at an arch/construction firm in Vietnam! This puts off my quest for completing my Honours for a while, but I hope to someday get back to my academic roots~ strange how I miss uni life already!
What this decision really means, however, is the chance for real practical experience in my postgrad era... I'll be working on visualisation for REAL projects that will be exciting and inspiring; this, i believe, can't be said for what exists here in Adelaide... sure, we have building projects, but this is on an entirely different scale!
It has always been a quiet ambition of mine to work on overseas projects somewhere at the beginning of my career~ this way I can make the most impact and be the globe-trekkin' arch graduate I always wanted to be!
The company I'll be working for has a main client base in China and the employees themselves include Aussie ex-pats (such as one of my old lecturers, Bruce- he's the one who spread the word!)
Anyways, understand that this will probably conspire to suck up all my time... and it may impact on the time I spend on dA...
Above all else, I'll miss the sleepy backwater that is Adelaide (hey, 68% of Advertiser newspaper readers agreed on that one!!) but especially my girlfriend, who still has 3 years left on her Dental course... not to worry, I get a 2-week break every 6 months sweetie
On other news, in case anyone was interested, I managed a Distinction for my architecture final; apparently Ian 'Dougie' Mcdougall knew my project well enough to pass me! Thanks for all your comments on what's been posted peeps! Muito Obrigado!
I also ordered a laptop from Dell a couple of days ago... check out the specs!
Intel c2d T7700 @ 2.4ghz // 3GB sdram // 200GB 7200rpm HDD // 256mb Nvidia 8600gt // Vista Ultimate
in the immortal words of Borat, it's very niiiiice!
It's still about a month before I go, 'til then I'll be sorting out Visas and health insurance, as well as stocking up on software and bug repellant for the trip.
But hey, that's the arch. business for you...!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
homie ~a1106047 shows max re-spec' to the following dA clubs!
sitooterie, 2 years strong n' still goin' on! www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…
wedginald, Where art thou?! www.cheddarvision.tv/
Sit down!! Let me explain!! (dodges chairs and tomatoes)
It's simple, really... I have been offered a position at an arch/construction firm in Vietnam! This puts off my quest for completing my Honours for a while, but I hope to someday get back to my academic roots~ strange how I miss uni life already!
What this decision really means, however, is the chance for real practical experience in my postgrad era... I'll be working on visualisation for REAL projects that will be exciting and inspiring; this, i believe, can't be said for what exists here in Adelaide... sure, we have building projects, but this is on an entirely different scale!
It has always been a quiet ambition of mine to work on overseas projects somewhere at the beginning of my career~ this way I can make the most impact and be the globe-trekkin' arch graduate I always wanted to be!
The company I'll be working for has a main client base in China and the employees themselves include Aussie ex-pats (such as one of my old lecturers, Bruce- he's the one who spread the word!)
Anyways, understand that this will probably conspire to suck up all my time... and it may impact on the time I spend on dA...
Above all else, I'll miss the sleepy backwater that is Adelaide
(hey, 68% of Advertiser newspaper readers agreed on that one!!) but especially my girlfriend, who still has 3 years left on her Dental course... not to worry, I get a 2-week break every 6 months sweetie On other news, in case anyone was interested, I managed a Distinction for my architecture final; apparently Ian 'Dougie' Mcdougall knew my project well enough to pass me! Thanks for all your comments on what's been posted peeps! Muito Obrigado!
I also ordered a laptop from Dell a couple of days ago... check out the specs!
Intel c2d T7700 @ 2.4ghz // 3GB sdram // 200GB 7200rpm HDD // 256mb Nvidia 8600gt // Vista Ultimate
in the immortal words of Borat, it's very niiiiice!
It's still about a month before I go, 'til then I'll be sorting out Visas and health insurance, as well as stocking up on software and bug repellant for the trip.
But hey, that's the arch. business for you...!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
homie ~a1106047 shows max re-spec' to the following dA clubs!
sitooterie, 2 years strong n' still goin' on!
www.deviantart.com/deviation/3…wedginald, Where art thou?!
www.cheddarvision.tv/
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In