Cute baby that has nothing to do with this post
I’ve unofficially become a lady of leisure. I say “unofficially” because I still technically have something that could pass as a job. I just never have any work to do and barely get paid for this lack of work (or get paid appropriately you could now say). Was that a hint of complaining you ask, hand raised about to slap me silly for whining about endless free time. Here’s the situation or lack thereof? – I’m still working for the Vietnamese NGO, and my time there has involved periods of work interspersed with periods of loafing – a healthy balance and what I picture the French do at their jobs with all the vacation time and sane work hours and all. I think about the standard 2 week vacation/50+ hour work weeks in the US and feel nauseated. What was I saying? Oh yes, in the last…er…month…or more…who knows, I’ve had maybe a few days worth of real, actual work to do. I don’t go into the office anymore because I’d rather play with YouTube and Facebook at home, and I wouldn’t even know how to pretend like I’m working. I’m in an awkward position where I want to ensure that I’m available for work if they decide to ever use me, and I keep thinking they’re going to any day now, but then they don’t. But there’s always talk of undefined but near future work trips and projects and pay raises. I kind of feel like the pathetic mistress waiting for her married boyfriend to start paying attention to her again. I don’t go find a new hot man who will appreciate me because I’m sure married dude will come to his senses, and there’s that part of me that wonders if this is as good as it gets or I’ll never find love again. Anyhow, I keep threatening to do something about it, like get a real job or at least a semi-real teaching job, but a) the bosses keep promising of imminent work involving running around the country interviewing people, requiring I leave Hanoi for a bit, b) despite their disorganized ways, they’ve been so sweet and accommodating to me, and c) If I were a more talented and imaginative person, I would’ve dreamed up projects for the NGO myself, but I don’t even know where to begin and feel like a tadpole on the hierarchy. As a result, I can feel my brain rotting, my potential wasting, my self-worth evaporating, and my expensive graduate education vanishing into the oblivions of my brain, being filed away neatly in some drawer I’ll never find again. I can barely remember what epidemiology is, and when asked to define it, I now give the answer, “A skin disease?”
So, do I DTMFA, as my favorite sex guru would advise? Or stick with it and see if things turn out the way they have been promised to? I’ll probably compromise by trying to keep my days free to work for the NGO and try to find part-time teaching work at night for the paycheck and distraction. If only they’d get this work trip figured out. Until then, I’ll do my best to hone my self-entertainment skills.
What does a lady of leisure do then? Why, read, run around, watch pirated shows, and take pictures! Before the engagement, Mitchell and I had talked about taking cheesy Vietnamese-inspired wedding photos for fun. We figured we’d wear something frilly (in my case) and fruity (in his case) and pose hokeishly in front of dumpsters, bia hois, in traffic, and other romantic spots. Once we actually got engaged, we decided we had to do it. I bought a bright lime green monstrosity of a dress on wedding dress block. It’s actually got gold glitter glued all over it, plastic flowers, and sequins. I wanted the most hideous and outlandish dress I could find. The lady at the store thought me an obnoxious tourist and wouldn’t let me try it on at first because she probably feared I would mock it and take pictures and leave. She kept gesturing that I was too fat for all the dresses, making comments to a Vietnamese couple there and snickering with them. I actually choked up with hurt feelings. Luckily, a nice lady was there and she helped me try it on. The dresses lace up in the back so they can fit even foreign girls. Once the mean lady realized I was serious about buying, she niced up. Mitchell had a nice suit made at a tailor because he needed one anyway and didn’t really want to waste money on an ugly tux he would only wear for one photo shoot.
Our role models
We recruited our photographer friend, Brett, for the project and went to wedding photo park where dozens of couples gather each weekend to document and make official their love. Brett immediately morphed into professional photographer man and managed to produce a set of pictures that looks more classy than cheesy. He indulged me some as I pleaded for him to take shots of us peeking out from behind a tree or staring dreamily into the distance. I wanted these to be authentic, dammit! But no, due to Brett’s mad skills, people react to the photos by telling me they’re gorgeous and that even my dress is beautiful. I’m pretty sure only half of these compliments were sheer politeness. This disappointed me at first (They don’t get it! They just think I have bad taste!), but the pictures have grown on me and now I heart them. Mitch and I were quite the spectacle at the park, presumably because white people in Hanoi don’t often do that type of thing. For your viewing pleasure, I’ve cheesified one of these photos using Photoscape:
And slightly less cheesy:
Hanoi Eats Sarah 