NeverSeen

can we do anything about it? Can We?

In semi-seriousness:

Get a job with the USCIS and work your way up the ranks until you end up in a posistion that can make a differance. You could also try writing to various Government people but the ones that can make the changes are busy playing golf. You could also vote to get the right politicians in office that can make a differance, but I think you will find they talk a good game to get into office... then they will just join the other guys on the golf course.

Hang in there, it'll all work out!

......

who thehell thinks that black face is fun,or amusing

I do, and I thought the Jefferson's was funny and so was All in the Family, South Park, Mind of Mencia, and Chris Rock. Comedy about sterotypes and racism is typically histarical, until it's your race being picked on.

I'm going to guess the guy that wore the costume was white. If he were any other race trying to be sterotypical of another race this would be a non issue.

Why are movies like White Chicks allowed to be made, marketed and laughed at? Two black guys dressing up as white girls poking all sorts of fun at sterotypical white people is more acceptable than a white guy dressing up like a black one at a costume party? Oh it must have been the prison suit, because only white people go to prison... right?

Get over yourselves people. Do your part to end racism: marry and reproduce outside of your skin color. As soon as the world is all carmel colored maybe we can stop with this rediculasness.

Opps! I forgot, I'm white so my opinion does not count about racism... Sorry! I keep forgetting that my people were never prosecuted and slaughtered like pigs over their religion or made fun of because they eat potatoes or like to get boosed up. Oh, and I forgot they weren't slaves, they were indentured servents, which is so much better than being a slave. Guess there isn't any history in my Native American blood either, yeah, they weren't killed off for land or anything. Obviously I just don't know where other races are coming from when it comes to racism because none of my people have ever suffered anything in the past. I guess I better get started on writing my appology to everyone I've offended. If you are that person, hold your breathe until I send it!

/sarcasim

......

who thehell thinks that black face is fun,or amusing

I do, and I thought the Jefferson's was funny and so was All in the Family, South Park, Mind of Mencia, and Chris Rock. Comedy about sterotypes and racism is typically histarical, until it's your race being picked on.

I'm going to guess the guy that wore the costume was white. If he were any other race trying to be sterotypical of another race this would be a non issue.

Why are movies like White Chicks allowed to be made, marketed and laughed at? Two black guys dressing up as white girls poking all sorts of fun at sterotypical white people is more acceptable than a white guy dressing up like a black one at a costume party? Oh it must have been the prison suit, because only white people go to prison... right?

Get over yourselves people. Do your part to end racism: marry and reproduce outside of your skin color. As soon as the world is all carmel colored maybe we can stop with this rediculasness.

I like the Chinese thinking: if it moves, it's food

This week I've had duck bill, roast duck, chicken feet, rice gallore, various parts of cow, pig and chicken, all types of rice and grain noodles, tons of differant kinds of fish, shell fish and various types of shrimp and all sorts of fruits and veggies. I'm currently trying to convince my wife to let me eat dog or cat before I head back home but... no go. Oh well! I'll eat just about anything as long as it doesn't smell rancid and i'm at least 65% sure that i will not die from eating it.

WOOOHOOOOO!!!

Tram and I were going through all our paperwork to get her prepared for the interview when ever it comes. She told me she hand delivered the packet 3 to the consulate, but i found a mail reciept for it that she kept. She explained they would not accept it and they told her to mail it. Apon hearing this news i had her promptly call the consulate to confirm they received it and to ask if they have an interview date for her yet...

They did!! They say they received the packet 3 and sent her the packet 4 (have not seen it, but we will go bug the guys at the consulate tomorrow about it) and they have given her an interview date of December 10th!

Baring no delays she will be here for Christmas! This has been our goal all along! Wooohooo!!!

Current Visit in Oct/Nov:

Lunch at Aunt Hue's House

It's been a couple months since I had roast duck back home so I decided to have some here. Good stuff!

An Afternoon Ride in Saigon

These are pictures I took while on the way to and from the duck vendor.

Cooking With Tram

We made some Ka-Bobs today!

Visiting the Reunification Palace *NEW*

Tram and I went to the Reunification Palace today after having breakfast at a nearby Cafe.

Cooking with Tram 2 *NEW*

Tram is perfectly fine with me cooking now that she's convienced I know what I'm doing. We cooked up some pork for lunch today. Very good stuff. I think I'm working on my 2nd or 3rd pound of MSG now. hahaheheh. I'll google the effects of it... later.

Previous Visit in March:

Vietnam

This is just some pictures I shot while I was there last time.

Tram in Da Lat

These are some pictures I took of Tram during our honeymoon in Da Lat.

Wedding Pictures That Did Not Make the Cut

These are some pictures from the studio that we did not use, but my mother decided to post them online. Thanks...

Wedding Ceremony

Our wedding day pictures.

Pictures of Tram and I

Some more pictures of the two of us.

Another round of Tim and Tram Pictures

As the title says .

Enjoy.

I have a question that I'm sure I'll get laughed at for asking but as I've never driven an automatic before I have to ask...

The gear stick (if I should call it that) is quite easy to read. P for Park, D for Drive, R for Reverse, N for Neutral.. but there are some I've no idea what they are for? I have two D's one with a circle around it and one without whats the difference? I also have an L which I've no idea what it's for?

D no circle is Drive. You can use it around town

D with circle is Overdrive. Use it always. It will get you the best MPG around town and definantly on the highway. If your car has a Tachometer (RPM gauge) you can see how low the RPMs stay when you are just cruisen around.

L is low. Use this when going up hills where you need more power to climb. This will burn gas and result in poor MPG so only use it when needed.

If you want to see the differance feel free to drive a little bit from a stop in L, then put it to D, and then to OD and you will feel (or see if you have a tach) the differance in the engine. Do not bother doing this on a regular basis, there is no point and it is just extra work for your older transmission. No need to overwork something that is expensive to fix!

Typically when i drive an auto car i will just leave it in OD (overdrive, D with a circle around it). I do not live near any hills so i've never used L in an Auto. I have used L in my manual shift jeep, but thats for a completly differant reason .

Current Visit in Oct/Nov:

Lunch at Aunt Hue's House

It's been a couple months since I had roast duck back home so I decided to have some here. Good stuff!

An Afternoon Ride in Saigon

These are pictures I took while on the way to and from the duck vendor.

Cooking With Tram

We made some Ka-Bobs today!

Visiting the Reunification Palace *NEW*

Tram and I went to the Reunification Palace today after having breakfast at a nearby Cafe.

Previous Visit in March:

Vietnam

This is just some pictures I shot while I was there last time.

Tram in Da Lat

These are some pictures I took of Tram during our honeymoon in Da Lat.

Wedding Pictures That Did Not Make the Cut

These are some pictures from the studio that we did not use, but my mother decided to post them online. Thanks...

Wedding Ceremony

Our wedding day pictures.

Pictures of Tram and I

Some more pictures of the two of us.

Another round of Tim and Tram Pictures

As the title says .

Enjoy.

Thanks for the reply!

I'm hoping that all the evidence i will provide will be more than enough. I guess time will tell!

Wow I love the one of you starting the charcoal fire, was that on a patio I hope and not inside the house?

Yup, they have a nice little patio out from of her house that we used. It did not stop the house from getting a little smoky but it all worked out okay .

I am a little confused by your timeline. You have applied for a K-1 visa but are already married. Is there something about getting married in VietNam that does not make you "married"? Should you not be filing a K-3?

Someone always notices that . We had a traditional wedding and party for her family. This will count as our traditional engagement party. We did not file paperwork for the marriage. Because we had a traditional wedding Tram and I and all of our families in VN and States side consider ourselves married.

An update on going out:

Last night Tram said we were going to go to a theater to watch people sing in vietnamese. I'm thinking traditional ping ping pong dong type music and girls in Ao Dais. I was wrong! We ended up at a night club watching a variety show. It was one heck of a blast but MAN did they get me on drinks! we spent $20 on 2 drinks and a plate of fruit (i could eat for like 5 days off that here hhehehahah) and tram was kind enough not to finish her drink and i barely touched the fruit. Ah well, it was still fun .

Right now i'm about to leave to go eat breakfast and then we are going to a museum. I guess she overread me whining about not going anywhere hahaha.

More to come!

Current Visit in Oct/Nov:

Lunch at Aunt Hue's House

It's been a couple months since I had roast duck back home so I decided to have some here. Good stuff!

An Afternoon Ride in Saigon

These are pictures I took while on the way to and from the duck vendor.

Cooking With Tram

We made some Ka-Bobs today!

Previous Visit in March:

Vietnam

This is just some pictures I shot while I was there last time.

Tram in Da Lat

These are some pictures I took of Tram during our honeymoon in Da Lat.

Wedding Pictures That Did Not Make the Cut

These are some pictures from the studio that we did not use, but my mother decided to post them online. Thanks...

Wedding Ceremony

Our wedding day pictures.

Pictures of Tram and I

Some more pictures of the two of us.

Another round of Tim and Tram Pictures

As the title says .

Enjoy.

Congratulations .

I am waiting on packet 4 and i want to make sure Tram has eveything she needs to avoid a blue slip for evidence.

I am curious what evidence you submitted the first time that they gave you a blue slip? Can you tell me everything you gave them so i can see if i have enough?

What evidence did you add after the blue slip?

Thanks!

My current arguement is I want to go back when she gets the visa to accompany her on the travel to the US, but she says it is a waste of money. I told her I am worried she will get lost in airports and she replied "Then you will be unlucky to have lost me" ...grrrrrr

That's what she said about my 2nd trip (the current one), now she could not be more happy that i am with her. I pretty much just bought the tickets and told her "Sorry, no refunds" and she gave in heheh.

Their decisions are so final and not up for negociations. To think I was worried that my SO would be submissive to the point of being boring. LOL

That is what all my friends think about her being submissive... man will they get to find out otherwise!

I'll suggest going somewhere and its too hot. When she wants to go, its never too hot.

So very true! I continued pushing her about going places and she finally said "Fine, but i will not go to Ben Thanh Market with you" She hates getting hounded by everyone just because i am with her. She told me her mom will take me anywhere that she will not.

Yesterday i was bored and alone (Tram at school, sister at school, Mom at work) so her Mom came by and picked me up to work with her for an hour. She is basicly a messenger that does paperwork for everyone. She knew everyone from the guy on the side of the road to all the police officers and everyone in the government buildings she went to. It was a blast . I got to see all the new developments in Q2 (TONS of new 4 story houses going up) as well as all the poverty and jungle looking area as she got outside of the city.

yup, welcome to VN.... they cover from head to toes...hahahaa.... over here you pay to have your skin tan, over there, they pay to have their skin white

The best part? I live in the Tampa Bay area. I'm 15 minutes away from about 10+ beaches, 364 days of sun a year in my city and it stays about the same toasty humid weather until the very end of winter when we get a couple of cold days. I have a Jeep that I drive with the top down and a Subaru with a sunroof that i'm not about to close. She already told me she hates both, and will buy her own car and will not get tan. She gets such a devestated look on her face when i talk about being tan, and then she hates on me because i'm out in the sun all the time and i'm still lighter than she is hehahha.

That's all for now, we'll see what this afternoon has in store for me. I might put up some pictures of all the food i've been eating. (It cracks her mom up that i'm taking so many pictures and last time i was here i didn't take very many at all).

Lunch at Aunt Hue's House

It's been a couple months since i had roast duck back home so i decided to have some here. Good stuff!

An Afternoon Ride in Saigon

These are pictures I took while on the way to and from the duck vendor.

Enjoy.

Oh there will be pictures . I'm working on uploading another 100 pictures of a typical moto ride with Tram to downtown and back again. I won't be traveling outside of HCMC this time. I'm just here for 2 weeks visiting Tram. I'm having the hardest time convincing her to show me her city.

It goes like this:

Tim: "I want to go to ___"

Tram: "No, I hate, they will all say, you buy buy buy"

or

Tram: "No, it is too hot, I am too lazy"

or

Tram: "No, it is too far"

or

Tram: "No, I don't want my skin black, later at night"

or

Well, you get the picture heheh. The worst part? I can't argue with her. If I try to, she just looks away and ignores me... nice... heheheh. Now she is trying to pawn me off on her mom if i want to go out and do things. I'm like... right... and then i will die of thrist because i don't know how to speak vietnamese heheh.

How on Earth do i get this girl to take pride in her city and culture??? Oh well, i'll just keep nagging her until she caves in heheh.

Oh another thing, because i'm such a "Handsome American" It bothers her that people talk too much about me and try to get me to buy things, and she HATES when they raise the prices because i am with her. She is more than happy to stop everything and go get me something but does not always like to bring me along because of the prices.

/Rant

SURPRISE! there is a little bit of time in the afternoon where everyone is sleeping and i am bored. So... i decided to post some pictures of whats going on while i'm here online to share with all my friends and family back home. I'll post the links up here while I'm at, just because .

Roast Duck Lunch

It's been a couple months since i had roast duck back home so i decided to have some here. Good stuff!

I have a ton of pictures already and its only my second day here, but unfortunatly i'm using DSL and Dell and not really liking it . Depending on my fustration level with this thing i may or may no put up a lot more pictures while i'm here.

I work at an electronics manufacturing company and the majority of my coworkers are asian, mostly Vietnamese. So the on going "joke" for the 1 or 2 white boys to say when one of the guys is going back home is "do you have any nieces to bring back."

Needless to say i said this to a guy, next day he had a picture and i said... why not? Sent a picture of me along with him to his niece and thanks to Yahoo! mail, messanger, and web cam, i am now very happily married to Tram . (she's over my shoulder reading hehehe.)

Ahhhhh yes, the internet!

OUTSTANDING! Looks like it took about 1 month 2 weeks from packet 3 to packet four and then a month until the interview. I've submitted packet 3 about 1 month and a week ago so if it continues to follow suit i might see packet 4 before i leave for the US in a couple weeks. Maybe my girl will be spending christmas in america??? how great would that be!

I wish you the best! God bless!

Its been almost a month since Tram submitted packet 3 in person. Should i be expecting about a 2 month wait on the packet 4?

I will be going to VN next week. Am i able to go to the consulate and ask them about it? How does that all work? Can anyone explain who i'd need to talk to or what to say etc? Is it a differant place than where the interviews are held that i can get to or? Can Tram come in with me? Am i able to pick up packet 4 in person?

Any and all knowlege of this would be GREAT! I'd love to have Tram here for Christmas but it looks like i'd be cutting it too close assuming a 2 month packet 4 wait and 1 month interview wait.

I had no problems useing my debit card in any of the Vietcom bank ATMs there. I never bothered to check about the fees and stuff because it didn't matter to me, i needed the money .

I also did some cash advances and i got hit with fees all over the place, but hey... i didn't have to bring tons of cash along with me so i didn't care about that either.

This time around i am going to send Tram cash via my travel agents money transfer program. Its only like $2 per 100 and will be delivered to Tram the next day. Everything will be cash unless i need to purchase something rather expensive ($100+)

For resturants i go to the local spots for all meals and try my hardest to avoid tourist places. I cant stand tourists, bad enough i have to be one. When i went the last time, the only English speaker i bumped into was there on business from the Philippines. My wife new all the places to go for whatever we were doing that night.

It would crack me up seeing the European backpackers wondering around the same 2 blocks of the city armed with about 5 water bottles. Silly people. I loved being "The first american (white person) to come in here" around the neighborhood businesses. The little kids were just too much, too cute heheh.

Thanks for the post it will give me a couple things to look out for next time i go (end of this month).

These are all great ideas! Keep them coming! Thanks so much. I think i'll do far more this time around than the last.

Truly I find traveling in Vietnam is great. So I was going to recommend visiting places like Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hue, Da Nang, Ha Long, Ha Noi, Sa Pa, Ha Tien, Phu Quoc, Can Tho, etc. But... you said otherwise.

I went to Dalat last time around and really enjoyed it... we might go for a few days. Unfortunately i will only be there for 2 weeks so i really don't want to travel too much.

If you want to hang out in Sai Gon. Well, does she have college-age friends? If so they can recommend places. Youth music, singing contests among high schools, colleges, groups are truly fun to watch. The atmosphere, the audience are amazing. But can you find such an event coincidental with your trip. I doubt it. On the other hand I'm sure there are plenty of concerts anytime of year, ranging from classical guitar, piano to traditional instruments to Vietnamese pop music if you look / ask hard enough.

She has some friends there and we will probably go out with them a couple times. I plan on trying to attend some sort of concert or play as i missed out on that last time around.

I'm not a fan of bars and dancing clubs so I can't speak for it.

Me either .

If you know Vietnamese, maybe try some live music/comedy. I don't know where, maybe google "nha van hoa thanh nien", "nha hat Hoa Binh", ...

I think i can count all the vietnamese i know on 2 hands. I did go to a variety show with comedy and bands and enjoyed the music and watching the very active comics. Of course i had now idea what was going on heheh.

Karaoke is a fun and popular pastime for the youth.

I'll have to check out some places that do that.. could be fun to drink too .

Bowling: Super Bowl right by Tan Son Nhat, or Diamond Plaza.

I don't bowl but i did play in an arcade at a bowling ally. It was pretty fun.

You didn't mention riding motor scooter around Sai Gon. If you get bored, just ride your motor scooter everywhere and immerse yourself in the chaotic Sai Gon. Sometimes it's truly amazing. Be concerned about safety, though. Not all areas are safe and don't stay out late!

That is the most fun . just being seen. enjoying what is going on around you etc. I really had a great time when she took me through neighborhoods and around more rural areas so i could see everything.

Food scavenger hunt: ask for and seek out the well-known local eateries. Food vendors/restaurants are everywhere, but there are truly outstanding places that everybody knows by word-of-mouth. Your dining experience will be enhanced.

Thats what most of my time will be spent doing. She's also so excited that there is a new pizza hut opening up hahaheheh.

A great link to a site I used to check often while living in HCMC for nearly 2 years.

Link: Asia Life HCMC

STL_HCMC

I love this web site . thanks!!

She told me she wants to go to a zoo too. I'll have to check that out...

I'll be going to see Tram later this month for a couple of weeks. I found last time our days went a little something like this:

8-9am wake up

9-10am breakfast

10-11am ca phe

12-1 lunch

2-5 sleep

5-6 ca phe

8-9 dinner

10-? ca phe

?-1am bed.

Sometimes we ate at home, sometimes we stopped off at a market, sometimes we ate at a resturant... There were a couple things we did like going to an arcade, shopping, just hanging out downtown, nothing too terribly exciting.

What can we do for fun there? She never really got out before as she was always working or going to school and she wasn't ever as financially well off as she is now. We did a few fun things from time to time but not too much. Most of our time was taken up by the party planning and other stressful events. This time we have the whole time to our selves with no worries or cares. I'm not a HUGE fan of tourst events and traps and i perfer to hang out in the local scenes.

I'm not too concerned about spending money so don't let that be a limiting force in any recommendations. Let me know of any places or spots to hang out at and have a good time at any time during the day.

She lives about 5 minutes from the river that you need to take the boat to cross on your moto in Q2. I don't mind traveling anywhere in the city and i went all over it multiple times during my last visit.

Also, if it makes a differance we are both on the young side of things, 23 and 21. So if its a place where the younger crowd hangs out, thats all the better .

I'll be going to see Tram later this month for a couple of weeks. I found last time our days went a little something like this:

8-9am wake up

9-10am breakfast

10-11am ca phe

12-1 lunch

2-5 sleep

5-6 ca phe

8-9 dinner

10-? ca phe

?-1am bed.

Sometimes we ate at home, sometimes we stopped off at a market, sometimes we ate at a resturant... There were a couple things we did like going to an arcade, shopping, just hanging out downtown, nothing too terribly exciting.

What can we do for fun there? She never really got out before as she was always working or going to school and she wasn't ever as financially well off as she is now. We did a few fun things from time to time but not too much. Most of our time was taken up by the party planning and other stressful events. This time we have the whole time to our selves with no worries or cares. I'm not a HUGE fan of tourst events and traps and i perfer to hang out in the local scenes.

I'm not too concerned about spending money so don't let that be a limiting force in any recommendations. Let me know of any places or spots to hang out at and have a good time at any time during the day.

She lives about 5 minutes from the river that you need to take the boat to cross on your moto in Q2. I don't mind traveling anywhere in the city and i went all over it multiple times during my last visit.

We delievered packet 3 to the embassy about 2 weeks ago. Shame it takes over 2 months to get packet 4 and another month after that until the interview... we're hoping she can get here before christmas. I'll be taking another trip over later this month to see her... waiting sucks.