‘Cause I’m Mr. Highside

This is a re-post from someone who was very special to me. Even years later she still manages to impress me…

I believe..
That just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.
And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.

I believe..
That I don’t have to change friends, if I understand that friends change.

I believe..
That no matter how good a friend is, he or she is going to hurt me every once in awhile, and I must forgive him or her for that.

I believe..
That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distances.
Same goes for true love.

I believe..
That I can do something in an instant that will give me heartache for life.

I believe..
That it’s taking me a long time to become the person I truly want to be.

I believe..
That I should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time I see them.

I believe..
That I can keep on going long after I think I can’t.

I believe..
That I am responsible for what I do, no matter how I feel.

I believe..
That either I control my attitude or it controls me.

I believe..
That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe..
That sometimes the people I expect to kick me when I’m down will be the ones to help me get back up.

I believe..
That sometimes when I’m angry, I have the right to be angry..
But that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.

I believe..
That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences I’ve had and what I’ve learned from them,
And less to do with how many birthdays I’ve celebrated.

I believe..
That it isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, I have to learn to forgive myself.

I believe..
That no matter how badly my heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for my grief.

I believe..
That my background and circumstances may have influenced who I am, but I am responsible for who I become.

I believe..
Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe..
That my life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know me.

I believe..
That even when I think I have no more to give,
When a friend cries out to me - I will find the strength to help.

I believe..
That credentials on the wall do not make me a decent human being.

I believe..
That the people I care about most in the world are taken from me too soon.

I believe..
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything;
They just make the most of everything they have.

Having realized it’s not 2010 and the millennium is already over a decade past (technically not a decade yet since it was in 2001… but eh you get the idea…), my photo gallery with dates like 2003 and 2005 seem ages ago. So much has changed, my 20s nearly over, my career flip flopping about, my destiny still uncertain long after it should have already been settled.

It’s a bit late for contemplation, or not? I got everything I asked for when embarking on this journey… life experience, adventure, broadening views and horizons… life in VN has changed me in many ways I hadn’t anticipated, and hasn’t changed me in ways I did expect. Go figure. If anything it has only helped reaffirm my unwavering belief that I am American; the home, the flag, and the freedom that I grew up so used to is never to be taken for granted.

I miss the States, with all its beautiful insanity. Because wherever you go, the world is a crazy place so in the end there’s no insanity more beautiful than that of home…

I finally had my first ‘great’ idea for an iPhone app to make millions of dollars… then I found out Apple wants $99 enrollment fee just to develop it and there’s no guarantee it will even be published to the App Store. On top of that, *if* I decide to charge people to buy the app, Apple takes 30% of that as well…

So the million dollar idea stopped by a $99 investment… hm… doesn’t sound like such a great idea after all. Not to mention I’d have to get a Mac or else develop in one of those other hacky ways to get around it.

Should I do it for the experience anyways, or go get a nice juicy steak…

My poor blog has been so neglected… stupid twitter and facebook. Random 1 sentence blurbs are so much easier than writing entire blogs…

But browsing through some old stuff, I found a video of some fun I had in 2009’s big storm.

I miss home.

Ever notice those ‘phases’ you go through in life become longer and more significant as you get older

Family time is the best. Surgery time is the worst. 3 days til then…

caught sleeping at work today

Never has being home felt so good. Finally back where I belong!

Another stretch of neglecting my poor blog… only fitting that I renew it with one about riding eh?

I finally found the new ‘freeway’ that they opened in Saigon. It runs along the river and is technically not complete and stretches between usable onramp/offramps makes the freeway almost completely useless unless you’re traveling outside the city. It was a nice brisk Sunday morning, I happened to be up and about at 6:30AM, and I decided to go for a quick run to see what the road was like.

The new freeway has of course nice pavement, slightly dirty in some of the areas still under construction, but the early morning air today was nice and cool (a rarity out here in the tropics). I took the chance to open my little 110cc and wind it up to 100km/h, iPod earphones blaring, and coooool wind in my face. It was bliss. It’s the closest thing I’ve come to real riding that I have so desperately craved for the past year. Riding skills may be perishable, but thankfully good habits stick around. Keeping my eyes always scanning and looking far in the distance alerted me to a random market that had planted itself in the #2 and #3 lanes. Of all the places… sigh.

I miss my SV #1. I miss my SV #2. Ready for SV #3? What is this Gladius thing?

Been so long since I’ve kept up with it. I took a auick glance at the schedule and it seems like there are some new tracks? Missing out on the fun… but hey more tracks in the US! w00t USA

I just realized I never finished my post about the roadtrip. Now I don’t remember what I was going to say… pity.

I saw my first rainbow in Saigon yesterday. It was a fuzzy one that appeared while it was still raining, oddly enough. It was nice.

Sometimes you forget to appreciate your country til you leave it for a long time…

This is an old song but I saw some dudes jamming to it on the street the other day and the guitar tabs turned out to be relatively easy and it reminded me of myself…

Sometimes when things don’t go smoothly or I just feel plain lonely because all my true support is across the ocean, Saigon can ironically be a pretty empty place. Then out of nowhere a little spitfire of an angel comes to my rescue. Even though she’ll soon be 1 ocean + 1 continent far away, she still has the power to save my life.

It’s that paradox again where there’s been so much to post that I just don’t write anything at all because I don’t know where to start. Crazy riding adventures, new love, family trips (her family)…
and somehow it ended with this.

For some reason Home Alone always makes me homesick. And for whatever reason Star Movies always plays it, nomatter what time of year. Go figure. But it’s such a good movie that everytime I run across it I end up watching the entire thing. It’s like Top Gun. You can’t just not watch… plus Christmas movies are always super.

Here’s my mom hanging at the hospital. Still her old self luckily. Few more days til she comes home and I can breathe a big fat sigh of relief.

Saddest image of the day…