The doggy "sploot", some pizza torture, and overpriced apartments

A lot of people that don't know what life is really like over here in Vietnam or the rest of south east Asia for the matter have this very untrue idea in their heads that those of us that have our lives over here just live these existences of constant excitement and glory and while I am sure there are some people that are like that, I certainly don't know any of them. I was that guy briefly in the past when I took on a job as a Scuba Diving guide and later an instructor, but that just wasn't something that could keep paying the bills so I had to move on.

Since then, my life is likely a lot like yours is, just in a country that doesn't cost very much and I don't really talk to very many people because of language barriers. As an extrovert this is something that should bother me a great deal more than it does but I've found myself drifting further towards introvert-dom as I get older anyway, so maybe the cards are falling exactly where they should.

I do spend a lot of time around my dog Nadi though and I believe that I am a very good pet owner because she rarely has to spend time on her own.

Recently, she attended a bowling after-party and she was getting constant attention from the human attendees.

It was a little bit warm yesterday as this is the time of year when the weather is starting to turn hot again, and soon we will not be able to do very much as far as walks are concerned. This is called (at least to me) a "sploot" and it is how she cools herself off. She stays pretty aware of her surroundings but this restaurant that we were in was packed and she was getting plenty of attention.

I've never met anyone that didn't like Nadi outside of one person and that guy was just a miserable jerk who was just mean and rude to everyone around him. He lived in my building and complained a lot to the landlord about my dog being in the common areas such as the gym or at the pool, even though they only thing she ever does is just lie there.

My landlord really likes me and Nadi so when she was getting these complaints, rather than reprimand me she asked me what I think she should do and I said "either evict me, or evict him." He got kicked out at the end of the month. Nobody messes with me and my dog.

Well, except for me. Nadi feels entitled to everything that I eat that is meant for humans and the other day I let her have a little bit of pizza crust but if you have a dog you know that there is no such thing as "enough" when it comes to snacks.

With the pizza box still on the table she patiently sat there for about half an hour before I put the remnants in the refrigerator. PS: I did give her a tiny bit more crust before I did that. I call it doggy-torture but the reality is that she is a little fluffy princess and expects treatment that most dogs might never get in their lives.

I have been looking for a new place for us to live for quite some time and you might be able to tell from the above pizza picture, that I live in quite a small condo. The prices in Da Nang for accommodation are increasing as of late and it can actually be quite dangerous to relocate. I am locked in at a monthly rate where I currently live for about 30% less than other people in the building that have the same units that I do, but I recently went and looked at some "upmarket" places that exist here and man, it is just such a depressing experience.

Take this one for example: Nice view I guess. Reasonably quiet, on a high floor, the hallways were wonderfully clean but the interior of this joint well, I've seen Scandinavian prison cells that were more spacious than this. The bedroom was so small that the bed barely fit inside of it and cabinets were non existent because there was no space. The price for this high-off-the-ground-cement-box was 28 million VND a month which is more than $1000. Now for those of you in the western world I understand that rent is MUCH higher than this but I specifically chose to not live in a place like the west and for me to see that my options for spending $1000 A month on rent, which very few of my friends actually do, well this is what you are going to get.

A view is nice and all but honestly, how long are you going to stare out that window thinking that this is worth double the price what it costs for something similar that doesn't have a view?

When I go on viewings like this it makes me want to just suck it up where I am and not bother moving. My rent right now is less than half what they were asking for this place in the picture and there is no chance that I am going to do that.

In the meantime I think that Nadi is happy to be just anywhere, provided I am there with her as well and that works out fine with me. So maybe instead of pushing for a nicer place I will instead get a co-working space that isn't in my house so I can escape and have my work life be separate from my home life. At least as a trial rather than completely uprooting myself for twice the amount of money only to perhaps figure out that what I have where I am now is actually better than what I think is on the other side of the fence. !