5/7/07

Time for a break

Dear Everyone (all 5 of you who ever read this blog - Triet, Jennie, Linh and Anonymous. And of course mai wife):

I love blogging but it takes me forever. I know some people who can crank out a sweet post in 15 minutes - it takes me at least one hour for something even decent. Also, the winds of change are blowing through my life - just like the 90-degree winds of Santa Ana are blowing through my window right now - pointing me in a different direction. For now.

Currently, my whole day is taken up by thoughts such as "What can I blog next?" and it's not so healthy for me. God's been hinting to me for some time that I better get back in the swing of things (like, ummm, helping other people instead of sitting in front of my laptop all day), but I've been trying to lay low and hope he doesn't notice me. Yeah right. That just means he puts away his cell phone, skips the bull horn and goes straight for the 2x4. He pummeled me last week and I'm still sore from it, but that's what it usually takes for me to acquiesce - a good solid hit to the head, then a helping hand to lift me back up. So I'm done blogging for now, hopefully I can take care of everything that needs to be done in the next few months.

I have a sneaky suspicion that the nature of my blogging might change when I get back. I started this thing to keep in touch with my family, but as of now I don't think it even gets read by them. Once I finished (or gave up on) the layout, I found that deviating from the strict "travel-log"-style blog was enjoyable and actually quite fulfilling. Finding interesting tidbits in the news or in a recent event in the Vietnamese community that doesn't directly relate to me, but is nonetheless in the society that shapes me, and then dissecting it and analyzing it and taking a stance on it, then posting it all on my little cyber soapbox has been quite a treat. It reminds of my days in school, when I would read a book in a week and have to write a paper for or against it as if I had been arguing it my whole life. Except there's no deadline. :) The intellectual stimulation from researching an issue for an hour, then acting as if I was an expert is fun, too, even if I sound like a dork.

But all of that takes so much time for me. I might revert back to just telling what's going on in my life. As for right now, I don't have much of a life, except for blogging. So I have to make things up to write about. hic Ahh... the dilemma. We'll see what happens.

I'll be taking a break until the end of June. Once I start up again, I'll be in Vietnam. Yes, my wife and I are going this summer - we've decided to put out the money and go on a real honeymoon (not that we minded having our friends with us on our last one!) We'll be there until mid-August, and I'll try to keep the 5 of you updated with pics and all.

So friends, adieu until next time (or for the phim tàu fans, hẹn ngày tái ngộ).

p.s. The blueberries are ripe. Click to see the Flight of the Blueberry......

4 comments:

Jennie said...

We'll miss your posts! All I can say is that I'm jealous you and your wife are going to Vietnam! It'll be awesome and I'm sure you'll have several stories to bring back with you.

I agree blogging takes a lot of time, especially when you actually put research and thought into your articles (which you do). Have a great trip!

Anonymous said...

WELCOME TO VIETNAM ! ^_^ Hom nay, Linh ranh duoc mot ti nen vao blog Xanghe choi. Chuc anh co mot chuyen di vui ve va rat vui neu gap anh o VN.See u soon.

Triet said...

I'm bored now that you are on sabbatical...

and I'm jealous that you are going to VN while I am stuck in America for my last summer...why can't I just be rich so I can go to Vietnam anytime I want?

xanghe said...

no Triet, you're bored because you're done with finals :)

And I'm not as rich as you make it sound - we had to cut the trip to 3 weeks because I don't have enough time off or money to take unpaid leave. poo. That's like just enough time to visit relatives, then we'll be back on the plane. I think we're going to try for Đà Lạt around July 1st, since it is our anniversary and all. Can you tell Thi có thai by looking at her tummy yet? :)

travel log
  • 02.13.08 - to the temple with Luan and his mom, good to be back
  • 02.14.08 - Mẫu's alive! and staying for the weekend
  • 02.15.08 - floor hockey and Thái food makes for some strange dreams
  • 02.17.08 - frisbee and swamp monster at the park: fun but I'm pooped!
  • 02.19.08 - just read Triết's response to my last post - game on!
  • 02.20.08 - raining and expected to continue through Sunday - thank goodness!
  • 02.21.08 - 3-hour nap is a bad idea right before bed
  • 02.23.08 - to the beach to watch kites, a baptism @ 5pm, and homemade bulgogi - what a day!
  • 02.25.08 - just gave myself a haircut - woo, cold head!
  • 02.26.08 - 75° and spring cleaning - couldn't feel better
  • 02.27.08 - fed the elders bún đậu tonight - think it's their first time
  • 03.01.08 - working on new background...
  • 03.02.08 - finalized javascript to change background without muffing up my other scripts
  • 03.03.08 - fhe: "In his strength I can do all things" (Alma 26:12)
  • 03.07.08 - some decisions are harder than others, but some are downright excruciating
  • 03.08.08 - there is life after work... i almost forgot
  • 03.11.08 - the distance between good and bad is much shorter than between better and best
  • 03.12.08 - conversion is sometimes a gradual process, so much so that we don't even notice
  • 03.14.08 - for some reason everything was a little harder today, looking forward for bed!
  • 03.15.08 - last night after blog reading, I missed OnlyBlue, today I find she's back
  • 03.16.08 - best day of my life!
  • 03.19.08 - "Pray for the answer that they've been looking for"
release notes v1.0 - FINALLY DONE!
  • 12.07 - first thought of starting a new blog
  • 01.08 - busy with election stuff but blog design still on back burner
  • 01.13.08 - first idea to imitate jk rowling with the "desk" theme
  • 01.28.08 - start sketching current design, breaking down development into phases
  • 02.02.08 - election only days away but still drafting final plans
  • 02.04.08 - v0.6 LAUNCH
    • main components (blog body, sidebar, header, etc) designed and implemented
    • styling for font, links, drop caps, etc. finished
  • 02.07.08 - v0.8 LAUNCH
    • image style to imitate polariod
    • moveability - post-it notes and static clings can be repositioned by drag and drop
    • release notes styled and written
  • 02.16.08 - travel log (beta) added in hopes of catching the mundane
  • 02.22.08 - lightbox 2.03 reinstalled and working fine (hopefully - let me know otherwise)
  • 02.26.08 - v0.9 LAUNCH
    • travel log seems to be working, so I'll keep it
    • lightbox also seems to have passed the test, so it's a keeper
    • some credits/info added to bottom (will expand)
    • keeping old Viet terms in archive for future viewing
  • 03.18.08 - v1.0 LAUNCH
    • installation and testing of time-sensitive background completed (for now)