Archive for category Viet Nam
Bob Dylan in Viet Nam
On 10 April, 2011, Bob Dylan played at RMIT University in District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City. Estimates put the crowd somewhere between four and five thousand. David and I were there, along with friends. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and was glad to have been a part of a legendary performance.
Following the concert, there was much todo in the media and the blogsphere. Many media reports focused on the music that Dylan didn’t play. Many bloggers complained about the music he did play. I had intended to write a counter piece to all this, but I find that I no longer have to.
My friend, Eric Burdette, wrote a great review of the show, saying pretty much everything I felt much more eloquently than I. Go read it–it’s really a good summation of both the evening and the issues.
The Bangkok Post has an excellent article about the concert. It’s the sanest media coverage I’ve read. It’s also a pretty good review.
Finally, I’d like to make a comment about the VIP seating: bwahhhaaahhaaahaaaa! If you paid full price for your “VIP” seats, you were suckered. At least one negative review of the show came from someone sitting in the “VIP Section” and I can’t really blame him for the bad review: those seats were crap. Sure you got a chair, but you were angled to the stage in such a way that your view sucked and you were out of the main cone of the sound system! That’d piss me off, too. I bought cheap seat tickets and had a fantastic view and a great time.
Daring iOS devs and sysadmins needed!
Posted by chris in General SysAdmin, Linux, Viet Nam on 15 April, 2011
You’re an iOS dev. You’re bored. You need some excitement in your life.
You’re a Linux sysadmin. You have a lot of experience with Linux in the cloud (AWS). You’re bored. You need some excitement in your life.
If one of these statements describes you, I have some great news! The company I work for is desperately seeking iOS devs and another Linux sysadmin. We’re located in Viet Nam, in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. We have a warm, wonderful work environment that’s very much in “startup mode”. We’re a great group of people that occasionally resembles a UN tech meeting with members from Germany, France, the US, Canada, Australia and, of course, Viet Nam.
If you’re interested in stepping outside of your comfort zone and exploring SE Asia, leave a comment. We’re definitely interested in talking to you.
Just a few minutes…
One interesting aspect of Vietnamese (and other SE Asian) culture is the whole ‘estimating’ thing. Whenever a Vietnamese gives me a rough estimate, I go a little crazy inside.
“Just a few minutes” means anything from 5 minutes to three hours or more. “Just a little further” can mean many kilometers, or it can mean 20 meters. It’s so hard to say.
This morning, I had to drop someone off at a bus station on the main ring road that surrounds Ho Chi Minh City. I wasn’t sure at all where it was, but was told: “You remember Susi Cafe? It’s just a bit past there.” It turns out that “just a bit” was 9 km.
Things are, overall, pretty laid back here. Nobody worries too much about stuff like this. If you’re going to live here (or some place similar) you have to relax and learn to let go. If you, for example, schedule a tradesman to come to your house, you’re generally lucky to get a day, let alone a time. If they say “Tuesday at 10am”, expect them Tuesday.
Driving quiz…
Say you’re driving a truck on a narrow road also occupied by scooters. There’s a puddle up ahead. Do you:
A) Slow down before hitting the puddle so as to minimize splash to the other road occupants?
B) Swerve suddenly to the right, ignoring any scooters that might be beside you?
If you chose A, you’re not ready to drive a scooter in Viet Nam. On a positive note, nobody gets splashed.
Catching up…
It’s been a while. Things have been very busy and hectic as we wind down the really hot season and move into the merely hot season.
We’ve moved to a new house in the Vinh Loc area of Ho Chi Minh City. It’s a little further out from the centre than our previous house, but it’s a much nicer and quieter place.
The rains have not yet officially arrived, but there have been auditions. The other night there was so much rain that our trash basket began to float away. Some kind soul happened by and moved it to higher ground.
As usual, I have immigration issues to deal with. We’re off to Cambodia as a family this time, and the boys and I will tour Angkor Wat. Daniel is looking forward to seeing the temple of the Tomb Raider.
I have a bunch of blog posts saved up in my head, and I hope to get them out over the next few days. Sorry for being so slack in keeping everyone up to date!