Pickle ball and Amersterdam. Come January I’ll be joining my friend via KLM to the Netherlands. I have never been and heard from people who have visited recently. “You’re gonna love it”. I’m accustomed to going places off season which allows me to stay longer. I plan on riding a bike to the automat. Until then I will indulge in my most favorite obsession.

I don’t have an obsession with pickle ball it just sounds nice. I do find great pleasure in the terms that make PB much like golf. Words like Mulligan is replaced with a Nasty Nelson and “dink”. One must stay “out of the kitchen” during the first service. I attended a clinic which taught me the fundamentals I was not aware of. I’ve decided to develop an alcoholic beverage based on the name. A Nasty Nelson is a shot where the server serves the pickleball to intentionally hit the opposing player nearest to the pickle ball net. That’s not very nice but I’ll make a drink to ease the pain. Rum, pineapple and pickle juice please. I have not tried it yet. Friend of mine said ” Pickle juice snowcones were the first to run out…” referring to a time she worked at a park food stand. Interestingly enough I once babysat a toddler whose mom said he was constipated. I mixed 1 part pickle juice 3 parts water. The baby bottle concoction was a success.

So here’s to some PB and A. I am grateful that I have a nice group of people to play with but I do recall a player that warmed up with piston squats. I lost of course but its still fun. I’m curious if the paddle has a sweet spot like a tennis racket. I have a sweet spot for pickleball thats for sure.

On the heels of a new year, the Wood Snake 2025 is introspective and wood is a Yin(Yang) element. It is meant to be adaptable and flexible. As my research continues I read something profound. Snakes have “no limbs, voice, external ears or eyelids”. I had a pet snake, a coastal rosy boa whose body colour was muted grays and browns. During the summer I would take the snake out and put her on my shoulders and neck, the coolness of this cold blooded animal was a relief.

I too am looking for relief from the past few years which have been a mix of loss and restlessness. I move differently than before. Each step I look peripherally and see all that is good. I continue my quest for that perfect cup of coffee having been told I do not make it right. I continue to be overwhelmed with simple beauty that is now the geese that roam the neighborhood. Amusing is the idea that I’ll stop the car and introduce myself thinking the voice will resonate with them on some kind of cosmic level but really to ask them to move aside so I can keep driving. I still miss my cousin Cathy who I accept left this dimension on her own accord. It was still hard to see. It is not for me to “do something” to prevent a desire so strong disguise as something else.

I would like a snake like the one that is coming in 2025.

I REALLY DON’T KNOW, I REALLY CAN’T SAY MUCH ABOUT THE VIETNAM I VISITED IN NOVEMBER. THE HON GAI AND VUNG TAU SEAPORTS WERE DAY TRIPS. LUSH GREEN ON BOTH SIDE OF 2 LANE ROAD AS WE DROVE TO THE CITIES. THE DRIVER IS MARRIED TO A “LION” AND THE KICKBACKS HE RECEIVED TAKING US TO SEAFOOD RESTAURANT AND A STORE THAT SELLS GIANT MARBLE EFFIGIES MADE ME THINK I WAS A COMPLETE TOURIST AND NOT A TRAVELER I CONSIDERED MYSELF TO BE. THE FRENCH INFLUENCE AS TOLD TO ME BY A DOCTOR ” A BIBLE IN ONE HAND AND A GUN IN THE OTHER”. IT EXPLAINS THE BAGUETTE AND NIGHT LIFE INFLUENCES. HAVING WORKED IN VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY (SURGERY CENTER) IN WESTMINSTER CALIFORNIA I OBSERVED THE SAME HARD WORK ETHIC AND CIVICALLY MINDED ACTIVITIES IN BOTH COUNTRIES. AN EXAMPLE A DR. V. TRAN WENT TO HARVARD OR CORNELL AND RETURNED TO WORK IN THE COMMUNITY SHE INITIALLY CAME FROM. AND THE CAMPAIGN FOR A THEN PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH SR. LINED THE STREETS AND MADE LOCAL TV NEWS SHOWING SUPPORT. FRIENDS MAKE ME LAUGH BY SHARING THAT THE WOMEN ARE PREOCCUPIED WITH BEING SMALL. A GAL SIZE 0 NOW A FIVE AFTER HAVING CHILDREN CAME IN TO HAVE A RIBBON LENGTH TUMMY TUCK. I SHARE THIS WITH VIETNAMESE GALS THEY LAUGH AND CONFIRM ITS TRUE. AND THEN I SAY VIETNAMESE MAN IS LIKE A RUBBER CLOCK WHICH CONTINUES TO STRETCH OVERTIME TO PUT OFF MARRIAGE, MORE LAUGHTER FOLLOWS. WHEN I DIE I WANT TO COME BACK AS A VIETNAMESE POKER PLAYER, THEY HAVE THE BEST LUCK WITH THE WORST HANDS…ITS TRUE.