“We are playing with desires that disappear.” LoveDesireErotics Book:An Erotics of Seeing: The force of photography as philosophy's broken sentence Source: An Erotics of Seeing: The force of photography as philosophy's broken sentence
“Each sentence as it is written is written to lead us to a place of silence. The silence that follows each sentence should endure as long as it has taken you to read the sentence. This silence is different from white space. Silence should fill your body, not simply remain on the page. Your body needs to experience the space between. Silence needs to mark you.” WritingReadingSpaceWhiteSilenceSentencesWritersReadWrite Book:between appear and disappear Source: between appear and disappear
“In these days of living in a dry land that wants fire, we need to find words, or burn. 'I dreamt of rain last night.' Mai stood near my skin, on the bank of the American River, her flesh wet with simplicity. The scent of star thistle mixed with river mud. ' I met people in my dreams who had never known the inside of a lotus flower. Ever.' In the center of each word another word unfolded. Our ankles cold from the river. Her hands trembled. Bewildered fingers. Be careful around those who claim to know the history of fire and yet remain unafraid of rain.” HistoryFireDreamsFlowerRainWordsCaliforniaRiverWordSacramento Book:between appear and disappear Source: between appear and disappear
“Summer in Pittsburgh had a way of hating you, had a way of beating you down, getting into your bones and thoughts. Only the strongest survived the humidity of Pittsburgh summers, until winter came on and brought with it a test of a different sort, to see who was strong enough to make it to summer. All weather in Pittsburgh had an attitude, forced you to submit to it. Dared you to survive.” SummerPittsburgh Book:Here Lies Memory: A Pittsburgh Novel Source: Here Lies Memory: A Pittsburgh Novel
“Born in the Flint, Michigan, big boat sailing on the Great Lakes and skiing in the winter was how most of my youth was spent.” BigsBornYouthWinterBoatLakesSailingMichiganSkiingGreat Lakes Author:Doug Rice
“After high school and a year of College I made a half-hearted attempt at professional skiing in Aspen, Colorado and then found myself back in Flint.” YearsMadeSchoolFoundHalfCollegeHigh SchoolHeartedSkiingColoradoHalf HeartedAspensAfter High School Author:Doug Rice
“The Vietnam War was in full swing, the Air Force wanted me and I wanted out of Flint, so three years in the USA and that fourth one spent here in Vietnam really flipped my life around.” YearsWarWantedThreeForceAirUsaVietnamThree YearsFourthSwingsVietnam WarAir ForceFlipped Author:Doug Rice
“On my discharge, I had the challenge of putting my life back together but Vietnam stuck in the inner recesses of my mind.” MindTogetherChallengesStuckVietnamOf My MindBack TogetherDischargeRecess Author:Doug Rice
“Some 30 years later I found myself back here again [in Vietnam] on what was to be a short visit that lasted months, and since then I've been living my life with one foot in Ho Chi Minh City and the other in Fair Oaks, California.” YearsFoundCitiesFeetMonthsFairsCaliforniaVietnamLiving My LifeOaks Author:Doug Rice
“My home address is a small apartment in Fair Oaks, California but I'm here in Ho Chi Minh City right now staying in a rented room and this is where I spend a good part of every year.” YearsHomeRoomsCitiesRight NowFairsCaliforniaAddressesStayingApartmentOaks Author:Doug Rice
“I'm divorced and have a son and a grandson and it is a problem being away most of the time. Living as I do, if I had a wife and children I think it would be really hard to do.” IfsThinkingChildrenHardProblemWould BeWifeSonDivorcedGrandson Author:Doug Rice
“Indochina gets into your blood and once you have a taste you'll find it's impossible to stay away.” ImpossibleBloodTasteIndochina Author:Doug Rice
“Why Ho Chi Minh City? It is crowded, noisy, scruffy, crazy, but always interesting and things are happening all at a break neck speed.” InterestingCitiesBreakCrazyHappeningsSpeedNecksCrowdedNoisy Author:Doug Rice
“Also Ho Chi Minh City is broken up into districts so it's much like little cities within the city, in your home district folks take the time to smile and wave as you pass by or even try to have a little chat.” TryingLittlesHomeCitiesBrokenFolksWaveBroken Up Author:Doug Rice
“Ho Chi Minh City is crowded, noisy, untidy and chaotic. I miss the orderly life of suburban America and the comfort of my apartment and my truck when I'm here, but when I get back in the USA I miss the craziness of Ho Chi Minh City or Bangkok.” AmericaCitiesMissingComfortUsaGet BackApartmentTruckCrowdedChaoticNoisyOrderlyCrazinessBangkok Author:Doug Rice
“For the most part Ho Chi Minh City is safe but like any large city you need to pay attention to what's going on around you.” NeedsPayCitiesAttentionSafePay AttentionLarge Cities Author:Doug Rice
“I'm always hearing warnings about keeping your belongings close to you [in Ho Chi Minh City] as thieves who ride motorbikes are adept at snatching things off a person as they ride by, but I personally have never seen it. Funny though, I don't hear folks talk about pick pockets but it's happened to me twice. Beware of that cute little sweetheart and stay away from those talented little hands.” LittlesPersonsHandsCitiesHappenedPicksFolksHearingCutePocketsBelongingWarningThievesSweetheartAdeptMotorbikeLittle Hands Author:Doug Rice
“I would say healthcare in Vietnam is so-so. There are several international clinics that are good but expensive and the care offered is limited.” CareInternationalExpensiveVietnamHealthcareClinic Author:Doug Rice
“Thailand has good medical care and even though I haven't tried it, Singapore is said to have high quality care also.” SaidCareQualityHavensMedicalSingaporeHigh QualityMedical CareThailandQuality Care Author:Doug Rice
“Overall the cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City is cheap and if you can stay away from Western restaurants and use just local products in your everyday life it's really cheap.” IfsUseCitiesProductsCostWesternEverydayLocalsRestaurantsEveryday LifeCost Of Living Author:Doug Rice
“For me making friends with locals is hard, mostly because my lack of Vietnamese language skills and being retired I have limited access to locals in the work place. Though for me it is hard meeting expats as well, as most expats work here and make friends through their jobs.” WellsHardJobsLanguageSkillsMeetingsAccessLocalsRetiredVietnameseMaking FriendsWork PlaceExpatsLanguage Skills Author:Doug Rice
“The visa thing can be an issue, if you're going to work for someone here make sure they will help you with this. However, so that you know what you need make sure you research the visa issue on your own. A 90 day visa is not a problem and I saw six month visas being offered through the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, but nothing about one year visas or temporary residence cards. Of course you are probably aware that you need some sort of visa in advance just to gain entry into Vietnam.” IfsKnowsNeedsYearsHelpingProblemCoursesIssuesSawsMonthsSixResearchGainsCardsTemporaryVietnamSix MonthsGoing To WorkEntryVisaVietnameseResidenceCambodiaEmbassy Author:Doug Rice
“If, at the end of my days, the sum of what I've taken exceeds the sum of what I've given, then I have lived in vain.” IfsEndsGivenTakenSocial MediaVainExceed Author:Doug Rice