Please come into my office

A peak into what I do. Much more explaination to follow- but essentially, I draw and develop bags all day long.

Testing out a prototype- (not my design- but soon enough!)

I actually have made my first bag- but it came back looking like crap. It's currently in a pile waiting to be burned, along with other fruitless design endeavors.

I'm loving my job (thank-god) but it's definitely a difficult transition for me from fashion. I'm learning a ton though, and almost feel like I'm getting another education in Industrial design- which is amazing. Hopefully, I won't get the kicked to the curb for my lack of color-sense and will have time to actually make something you might see in stores.

Lazy Sunday

Supposedly, wake-boarding on the Saigon River is a great way to catch Schistosomiasis, but Patrick isn't afraid. So, I won't be either!


I'm placing in my trust in these two. If they get in the water, I will too.


Screwing around on the boat


The ladies~ Ann, myself, Tu & Nga

to git somewhere you gotta give up some things some times

...like, a shower stall.

I've moved out the famed Bao-house and found a place to stay. Next door! Just like "Friends"! Except, my place isn't nearly as nice. I'm living with a Vietnamese family in their converted psuedo-apartment/hotel thing. It's just a room w/ bath- and it'll do until I can a friend or two to rent a house with. Although most things are super cheap in HCMC, interestingly enough- property is expensive. Which is why, sadly, I'll still have to find roommates. (Since none compare to my lovelies in bk.)

Ok, pictorial explaination time:


My new home! The tall lime green one. Did I mention that buildings can only be materialized in 3 varying shades of pastel?


My little room...


Shower, toilet, laundry room and spider-killing saloon- all in one!


The view out my window. And, oh- those other two shades of pastel.

Cake & Karaoke

I was invited to celebrate a new friend's birthday the other day- and obviously had to document it for you all. You know what it's like in the States- cake, candles, tears, so nothing too exciting here, except for...

Karaoke!
In HCMC- we take singing seriously folks.



I edited out my singing for your sake. Trust me.


The Birthday boy...


...and the party attendees.

Riding around on a XeOm:
And this is on a relatively quiet street...



Somehow I will figure out how to maneuver in this traffic myself.

~New Years in Saigon~
Some photos from New Years Eve at Q-Bar in District 1...



Phillipe and I outside Q-Bar



Cheese! New friends in Saigon

~First day in Saigon~

Dec. 31 2007

I have my first meal in Vietnam on the street with Bao & Phillipe. Hot noodle soup with mystery meat for 75 cents. Iced coffee, 30 cents. Building an immunity to local food-borne illness, priceless.



The rest of the morning I spend walking around HCMC trying to get familiar with the streets. As Christmas has just passed, shops are covered in priceless decoration. This stuff is everywhere.




The afternoon is justifiably consumed by the internet. On a positive (human interaction required) note, at the internet café is where I meet my first friend, Rejean- a very nice Canadian who invites me to join him and his friends for New Years Eve dinner. Normally I would pass up such offers to be gracious but extraneous, however, I realize that now is not the time to be turning down offers of companionship- so I agreed and a very lovely evening ensued. Ironically, Rejean had reservations at my (now) favorite restaurant in HCMC, Quan An Ngon (thanks for the heads-up Mai-Hien!)


Dinner with Rejean, Daniel & Josiane

~First night in Saigon~

Dec. 30 2007

I got into HCMC late last night and was feeling a little nervous about my move to Vietnam. Everything seemed a little more overwhelming at first: the sights, traffic, language barrier and the noise. I had forgotten about the noise in Saigon- the glaring sound of horns and peddlers and motorbikes and street vendors and beggars- all clamoring for your attention. After a while, the sounds all meld into one- and in its own way, it’s slightly soothing to me. I remembered that this organized chaos was one of the things I found most appealing about Saigon- and why I felt more than comfortable coming back.

I’m met at the airport by Philipe, a friend of the only person I know in Vietnam, Bao. Bao is a friend-of a friend-of a friend (thanks Chi Be!) And Philipe has agreed to pick me up and help me a bit with getting acclimated into Saigon- thank god for these two, as they’ve been my lifesavers!

For the meantime, I’m staying at Bao’s place in the Binh Thanh District. For those who don’t know- HCMC is divided up into various districts- (kinda like neighborhoods in Brooklyn) each invoking a certain connotation when mentioned. Bao’s place is lovely, as you can see from the photos below, very Fort Greene worthy- (which means I probably will be looking for a place in District Bed-Stuy.)