I have a 1992 Honda Prelude SI- nice, I know- but, it isn’t in running condition. For starters, it’s been sitting in a garage for the past two years with all fluids still in the system. This is what I’ve done so far:

• Replace battery
• Replace positive cable terminal to battery
• Flush and fill coolant
• Changed the oil and oil filter
• Added a fuel system cleaner to the tank (1/2 full)

Here are additional things that I need, and want, to do.

Need

• Replace 1 stripped wheel stud in rear
• Replace 1 tire
• Replace alternator
• Replace AC system or compressor
• Check/Replace head gasket
• Replace exhaust system
• Replace fuel filter

Want

• Replace wheels
• Fix dented driver’s side door
• Find and install center console

For the stripped wheel stud, I know the procedure involved, but I’ve never done it before. And, I’ll be doing everything out of my garage. It’s probably the easiest item on the list of things to do, even when it includes taking off the brake calipers and drum cover.

Replace 1 tire… I take it back. This is the easiest thing to do. I just haven’t done it yet because… well, you saw Want item number 1. I’m still considering it.

The current alternator does not produce enough juice to charge my new battery. It actually drained it before I noticed the alternator wasn’t working. My problem, here, is trying to figure out if it is indeed the alternator or bad wiring.

For the AC system, I have no clue where to start. I honestly believe there is a leak somewhere, I just don’t know how to find it.

Replacing the head gasket after two years of the car just sitting seems like a good idea. This goes the same for the fuel filter, but I’m holding off on that until after I burn what’s left of the old fuel.

The exhaust system has to go. It is terrible. There has to be a leak somewhere because the exhaust fumes are overwhelming when the car is on and parked.

The Wants list is purely cosmetic. I’ll get by without them, but would like to eventually get to it down the line- if I decide to keep the car. I’ve got to figure out what the total cost will be to complete the Needs list. The value of the car, as it stands right now, is probably in the range of $800 – $1200. Blue Book value is $1600. I can get it up to that value, or more. I just need to handle the repairs, first.

But again, how much is that going to cost me? Would it be better to sell the car? Fix it and keep it? Or fix it and then sell it?

Have a look (http://www.china-airlines.com/ch/temp/090202/index.htm).

Not to say that it’s not impressive, but I thought that- it being a temple meant that- you could go inside it. Nope.

The stone carvings- from lava rocks- were impressively detailed. It was sad to see that some of the Buddhas had either been completely stolen or had their heads taken off. Most likely to be sold to a collector.

alan-???? Gunjou no Tani MV (DVD Ver.)

The song and video by Alan Dawa Dolma is beautiful and it brings back all the memories I have from the study abroad trip to China. The scenery in the video is amazing and it makes me long to see more. I hope that one day Tibet and China can come to a peaceful agreement.

I found the recipe two weeks ago so we planned on cooking it one of these weekends. I decided that that weekend would be during her birthday. She wanted me to meet two of her best friends and thought that that day would be best. During the week, I’m often busy and too tired to entertain company.

Since it was her birthday, I wanted to get everything right. I woke up early that Saturday (10 AM) and got ready to meet her for lunch and go shopping for ingredients. She was already busy with friends and had to meet me later. That left me with the shopping.

First grocery store: Western Canned Goods Store, 1. Beef broth. None. Tomato paste. None. Diced tomatoes? None.

Go to second store.

Second grocery store: Trang Tien Plaza. Bread. Check. Buns. Check. Potatoes. Check. Roma tomatoes. Check. (Is that how you spell “potatoes”? Potatos. Yep, it’s right. There’s a red line on this version.) Onions. Check. Garlic. That’s at home. Check. Dark beer. Too expensive. Pass. Proceed to checkout.

Head home. Drop things off.

Third grocery store: Big C. Ground beef. Awww, this is going to be expensive. Check. Beef sirloin. My vocabulary isn’t that good, but this looks like it. Check. Hotdogs. One of these brands I don’t like. Three of one brand. Two… of the brand.. I think I don’t like… Check. Tomato paste… Nope. Diced tomatoes… Nope. Spices… Too expensive. I think I have some at home. I’m pretty sure we do. Pass. Beef broth… Beef broth… Nope. Dark beer. Will be too heavy if I buy a lot of stuff. Pass.

Go home to drop things off. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Finally! Transfer to second bus. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Waiting for bus. Get on a different bus that might go in the same direction. Damnit! It’s turning! …Wait, I know this street. Get off and wait for third bus. Short wait. Get on; head home.

Unexpected stop.

Fourth grocery store: Western Canned Goods Store, 2. Diced tomatoes. Too expensive. Pass. Tomato paste. Too expensive… I think. Pass. Beef broth… Nope.

Fifth grocery store: Citimart. Diced tomatoes. Expensive… but running out of time. Buy. Tomato paste. Expensive… but… Buy. Dark beer. Yikes!… Buy. Beef broth… Beef broth… Dangit! They don’t have it! Coca Cola. Buy. Fanta. Buy. Bargain with xe om to get a ride home.

Xe Om: 15,000 VND.

Me: 10,000..? Okay.

She’s already at the house- washing her hair. Not making that up. I start cutting onions, garlic, and tomatoes. The cooking is finally starting and I find almost all of the spices needed in the cupboard. However, no beef broth. I think that was a crucial ingredient… One thing I failed to do was compensate for it. I still added the 1/2 cup of brown sugar… Dang… The chili had a sweet taste to it, and I don’t mean cool. We managed to add in salt and other spices to counterbalance the sweetness. In the end it turned out “binh thoung”.

The guests arrive and the meal starts off quite. This is not how a chili dinner is supposed to sound. They were all very new to the experience, minus my girlfriend and roommate. I thought someone was going to hurl because it’s not exactly what Vietnamese people usually eat. They don’t like to mix their foods, and with chili… well, it is what it is. And if you think about it, to the untrained eye, it looks like something else. In the end, my girlfriend’s two best friends praised my dish washing and were able to finish their servings of chili with a polite smile. My Chinese friend gave it a try and said it was too different for him. My Vietnamese friend who eats a lot of Western food loved it. The roommate loved it. My best friend says, “It’s good. Not really spicy, though. It tastes a little bit like Thai food.” Hmm… not what I was going for.

In the end, I think the recipe is still good. If I had the right ingredients and side dishes- especially if I had Frito chips- it would’ve been a blast. I’ll have to try making it again, but only when I have all the ingredients. It did teach me one thing though, chili is too much of an ethnic American food to be served as an introductory meal to people that have had little exposure to American food. Next time, I’ll have to go with turkey, pizza, or burgers.

My Dinh Bus Station to Hai Gon District in Ha Long City = 65,000 (ticket) x 2 = 130,000
Taxi = 25,000
Seafood Hotpot Dinner on Tran Hung Dao with 2 Bia Ha Noi= 230,000
1 night Hotel = 150,000
Lunch = 50,000
Elevator = 10,000
Overnight Ha Long Bay Boat = 1,600,000
- but could have gotten it for 960,000 according to some of the passengers we met
Bus from Cat Ba port to center of town= 10,000 x 2 = 20,000
Beer = 16,000 x 2 = 32,000
Hydrofoil = 120,000 x 2 = 240,000
Crab Dinner at a restaurant in Cat Ba = 430,000
Bus from Hai Phong to HN = 45,000 x 2 = 90,000

TOTAL = 3,007,000 VND ($188 USD)

That’s what a friend and I paid, total, on our impromptu trip to Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba island. He flew in from Kuming where he just finished volunteering on a medical mission. With only three days in Ha Noi, we decided to go to Ha Long Bay. I had already been there once, but it was one of the places on his list of things to do. I was looking forward to the trip because we were just going to wing it, and I really like doing that. No plans; just go.

I cover our trip in more detail in a previous post (but this one was actually written first, just not published until now). Feel free to skip back to read about the adventure. Here, I’ll tell you about my conversation with the crew late at night that was quite revealing about how tourism on Ha Long Bay is run, the real price for tickets, who gets the short end of the stick, and why prices are so high on the boats. Below is everything I found out from our trip in May 2008. Prices, markets, and the tourism industry may have changed since then. Let’s hope so, ’cause it pretty much sucks the way it is.

Who runs the Ha Long Bay tours?

There are 9 companies/tour operators that run the tours in Ha Long Bay. This means that they provide tours of the bay. More specifically, they run the pier where all the boats dock to pick up passengers. The actual “running” of the tour- is contracted to independent ship captains. A tour guide, that works with one of the companies, does accompany the group though. Due to a pretty tight grip on the pier, the only way boats are allowed to dock and pick up passengers is if they play by the owning groups’ rules. If you act up, you get blacklisted and aren’t allowed to dock. If you do dock, you probably won’t get passengers. Still, they should be getting a hefty pay right? The answer’s not even, “Not exactly”.

How much is a ticket?

The price that you’ll pay tour operators varies. It all depends on how much money they want to make and how far down the line the ticket has gone before it’s sold. Let’s bring the 9 companies in for an example, but we’ll call them 9C for short. So 9C runs and operates the pier and tours. They advertise and bring in tourists. Anyone can sell tickets for them. Many hotels in Ha Noi run their own tour guides, which may include tours to Ha Noi. They buy tickets from 9C or larger distributors at a set price, then pass that on to you. Foot patrol agents essentially do the same thing. Whatever price it is, you can almost be sure that a fee has been added for them as well. I’ve found that the range of ticket prices is from $30 to $100 USD for a one night stay on a boat. This includes a tour of one of the caves, and kayaking if you want. What’s the real price? 150,000 VND per person. This is the price that the boats have to pay to 9C if they dock and pick up passengers on their pier. How do you arrange this without getting kicked from the pier? It’s a risk that captains really don’t want to take.

If they make so much money, why the further inflation on the boats?

Like I said, they don’t make a lot of money. The majority of that goes to 9C and other agents able to sell tickets. The boat owner and crew just pick up passengers, give them a tour and take them back to the pier. So how much do they get paid? The captain gets 800,000 VND. The person directly under him, usually the cook, gets 600,000 VND. Other staff may get 400,000 VND or less. This is a monthly salary, not “per trip”. What the captain and crew do get is the cost of maintenance, food, and fuel to keep the ship running and tourists fed. All of this comes out of the captain’s pocket. 9C has limited liability agreements with the boat owners. Anything that happens on the boats is the responsibility of the captain and crew. Anything that needs to be paid for to operate the boat is the responsibility of the owner. 9C just sells the tickets. For this reason, prices of drinks, snacks, and food on the boats are high. They have to be high, otherwise they’d be out of a livelihood.

Why not just start your own tour group?

Even with the difficulties in running the ship, they love their job. They love the sea. For some, this is all they know how to do. Then why not start their own tour group? I asked the captain this question as well as, “Why not tell your passengers the truth about the prices?” To the first question, he responded that the lack of English was a huge obstacle for many of the ship owners. How could they compete and seek out customers if many tourists spoke English and they didn’t? To the question about informing passengers of why they charged so much on the boats, he said this: “Who’s going to believe me? They’re going to believe what they want to believe- that I’m just out to make money from a ‘bunch of tourists’.” This is a belief that many tourists do have, regardless of where you go- especially, in Viet Nam. There is a distrust between buyer and seller. Even the Vietnamese consumers and tourists distrust the people they buy things from.

How many nights do they just lay there gazing at the stars?

Who got the short end of the stick is pretty clear. It took me awhile to sleep that night. Even under the blanket of stars and with a cool breeze, I couldn’t sleep. The truth of their struggles didn’t sit well with me. As usual, my mind was running through possible solutions to make the work for the contracted ships not only fair, but financially worthwhile. Many have families to support. They love their jobs, but I could tell that they hated admitting the difficulties they faced because there was little they could do to change things.

Loose ends to consider

The below are a list of questions/topics to consider, but it’s getting way too late for me to address right now. I need sleep.

1. Can you really be mad at 9C for running a business?
2. Who is responsible for tourism in Ha Long Bay?
3. What do other boat owners and crew think about the situation? Is this a one-boat occurrence?
4. Who is responsible for cleaning up Ha Long Bay, environmentally speaking?

Answer: They were both stories in the O’Colly on Nov. 8, 2007 about a close friend and an advisor that I met while at Oklahoma State University.

Before we get into that, let’s talk about the recent book I finished reading: “Freakonomics” by Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

I first heard of this book two years ago when the book first came out. It received rave reviews at the time and also managed to generate quite a bit of controversy for its abandonment of conventional wisdom in pursuit of real numbers. The book, as the authors say, contains no underlying theme- it’s just a book with many interesting cases that could very much be related. The one that caused the most controversy? The connection between abortion and the drop in crime in the 1980s and 1990s.

The entire book is a fascinating read and I absolutely love the decision to buck conventional wisdom and truly explore other explanations for why certain events transpired. Are these stories and numbers fabricated just to sell books? No. Levitt is an economist. Dubner is a journalist. Both have chosen to live with the curiosity and courage of our youth and continue exploring beyond the boundaries of what is considered “established fact” in our world.

Some people have been, are, and will be offended by some or all of the contents of the book. Others will simply love it. I am one of the latter. If you choose to read the book, I recommend approaching it with an open mind- a real open mind, not the “open mind” that society likes to throw around because it is socially acceptable and beneficial to say so. Here is my reason for why you should read this book.

Looking back at your life, what are the chances that the events that made the greatest impact in your life were “small” and only affected you, rather than worldly events that made the news?

I remember walking to school by myself in Kindergarten because I wanted to show everyone that I was “big enough”. I remember Mrs. Corman being thrilled after reading one of my assignments, encouraging me to “Write more!” I remember Mr. Rider telling our class that the only real limits in life are those you place on yourself. I remember a hug from Mrs. Christman that said it was okay to be afraid. I remember a smile; the time a friend just needed someone to talk to; late nights in the WWC just hanging out; my first Christmas; my first Nutty Bar shared with me by a friend while on a Kindergarten field trip.

These are only a few of the small things that have made me who I am. I’ll go along with Levitt and Dubner and say that I am a “freak” of nature.

How about those two articles? Follow the links to find out.

Click Here for Politics

Click Here for Weightlifting

Question: What are the little things in your life?

1. Take it from Here – Justin Timberlake[Classic. Thanks to TrinityGarcia for the YouTube Kaba Modern video link. If you don't know how to dance, you'll want to learn after watching them perform.]
2. Fragilidad – Sting (Remixed by the Buena Vista Social Club)[This song is smooth. It's comforting to listen to and will get you floating across the floor. The entire album is a must for any Salsa lovers out there. A friend studying in Mexico introduced me to the album and it is fantastic.]
3. Party Like a Rockstar – Shop Boyz[I first rocked out to this one with my sister in the 'Rock. Strange. Now every other song on the radio talks about being a rockstar... I like this beat better.]
4. Sober – Kelly Clarkson[The last CD I purchased before leaving the States for VIA's summer training. I think I went through two batteries on my flight back over. =( Mostly because I fell asleep and left my mp3 player on.]
5. Marry Me Today – David Tao and Jolin[I heard this song for the first time along with Endless Love at the Pearl in Chengdu, CN with two other classmates. I didn't know it was a cover song until later in the summer.]
6. Endless Love – Jackie Chan & Kim Hee Seon[This song was also first heard at the Pearl. It is a beautiful song and I hear that there are multiple versions. It took me the entire summer and multiple emails to a friend in Nanjing to figure out what the name of the song was. If it wasn't for a Vietnamese version that I was able to record and send to my friend, I would have never known the name. I was surprised to find that Jackie Chan is the male singer in the version I have. In addition to that, Kim Hee Seon sings the duet part. I didn't connect the name to the Korean actress until I saw a picture of her. She's the main female lead in "The Sad Love Story". (That series will make you cry.) The song is also a part of the soundtrack to the movie that they both star in, "The Myth".]
7. Way Back Into Love – Hugh Grant & Drew Barrymore[People in Asia love this song. It is the main theme for the movie "Music and Lyrics", a movie that I only saw after being asked a number of times by people I met in China and Thailand if I had seen the movie and know the song. It's actually a pretty charming movie; a great song to boot. The song was sung here at the university's Welcome Ceremony as well. There's no escaping this song.]
8. All Good Things – Mandy Moore[The voice sounded familiar, but it wasn't confirmed until the DJ announced it. "All Good Things" was playing on the airplane while I traveled back to/from the States for my sister's wedding. It's pretty darn good.]
9. Rosas – La Oreja De Van Gogh[A friend, and fellow volunteer, introduced me to her music collection and this album caught my attention, especially this song. Have a listen, then try the whole album. If I could have the same artist twice on this playlist, I would add the song "La Esperanza Debida".]