Elton John had it right

He wrote a song about this day of the week and so could I. It is such a pleasure to have the W/E to myself. This is one of three I have to myself since my Sweet Thing returned home the week before this. Work was hectic late in the week. I had a really bad case of writer's block with a document I was working on but the floodgates broke Friday when I got to the office. I had a 2PM meeting with the client and IBM which turned into a 2-hour technical discussion that ended with us all agreeing on an approach! I split from the office early. I went into Trang's office and announced I was leaving early. I expected her to say that I was not, but she bought my suggestion.

I cabbed it to a spot close to the Silver hotel and picked up a tie to wear to the opera. I thought I had packed a few but could not find them, If you need any guidance on my not being able to find stuff in a suitcase, just speak to ST about the t-shirts I packed for Halong Bay that I could not find when needed. They were in the front zippered pocket where I never thought of looking. I got back to the hotel, had a beer, then Junie and i headed out for dinner. Lo and behold, we ended up just around the corner at a nice Vietnamese restaurant that she mentioned her and the Sweet Thing had been to that ST liked. We had some beef that Van Anh (Junie's traditional name) found too hot. Then we went for a stroll, stopping in at the Hilton WC on the way. We sauntered by the opera house which, still an hour from show time, was close to deserted.

We headed down to a familiar street then crossed amidst a small drive-past by the familiar assortment of scooters. As we crossed, it became obvious that the couple on a bike on the other side of the street she seemed to know. I immediately remembered how I had been wondering every time I do something with Junie how she never runs into people she knows. It's her parents! I tried motioning to them in Englamese (mixture of my and their languages) how lovely their eldest daughter is but it did not get through. She visited with them for a few minutes, we had some pictures, then the journey to the lake to pass some time continued.

We walked by some very familiar territory at the corner of the lake then made our way back to the opera house. The show started late as the place finally filled up by 8:10. The jazz ensemble was piano, bass, drums, vocals, guitar, and a 4-piece horn section. I would classify it as modern jazz. The first set was about an hour and the second 45 minutes or so. It was very enjoyable and a treat to see the inside of the opera house I have walked by so many times. What a treat meeting Junie's parents :).