Cranes

Say Sesame!

Seeing that Paco has discovered Paco's true inner self through the Sesame Street personality quiz, I had to take a test run. And, ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to announce, albeit slightly perturbed by the some of the findings of this quiz, I am Bert.

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you lovable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

In case you missed it the first time, notice the part about "just a little evil." Mwwaaahhhaahhaaa...

Mum: Not Mai, But Cuc

This is a retraction, apology, whatever, for the post Me and My Mum If you were to read my post, then go back to Vietnam during Tet, go to Cho Hoa (flower market) and point to a Mum and called it "hoa mai", they'd have no idea what you're talking about and would think you're crazy. That's because I'm crazy. Perhaps it's been too long since I was in Vietnam, but mums are not "mai" but they are "cuc." Just as beautiful, but not really called the same thing. Mai comes in different colors and the yellow ones are called "mai vang". So sorry for the mistake during language lesson!

Incidentally, because I need to tell someone about it, on the day that I purchased the mum, I also wanted to by a tree of "mai vang". Well, the one I wanted was $70.00. Should I have gotten it? I felt like I was about to rip my arm off and give it to the woman. She didn't seem to care that I desperately wanted the tree but did not want $70.00. Was I wrong? Does it not seem excessive that they would charge that much? I suppose if it were a Christmas tree, I would hesitate less. Still, $70 for a tree? Am I pulling a Scrooge here?

Anyway, so what I did, brilliantly might I add, was to purchase a bunch of fabric yellow mai so that I can hot glue it to a tree branch. It sounds tacky, and tedious. So, after taking it home, I promptly dropped it in a bowl where it still sits. :)

Chuc mung nam moi, ya'all!

3 Colors of Tet

Green: A must-have for Tet is Mut Dua, which is basically candied coconut meat. The young coconut meat is glazed, sprinkled, dipped, covered, what have you, in sugar for a sweet combination of chewy coconut and sugar. The green color, of course, is added afterwards, but the great thing about candied treats during Tet is this: anything can be candied and colored -- Loquats, kumquats, peanuts, cashews, coconuts, ginger, lotus seeds, soursop, tamarind, sesame, etc. The different varieties of sweets add the necessary colors to the household, and green is always important for my house.

The yellow of flowers such as Hoa Cuc and Hoa Mai cannot be left out. During Tet, in every household you will find at least one flower pot with yellow flowers. Might I add, yellow is an auspicious, lucky number for me, and my name even refers to the yellow of royalty.

The red of Li Xi (lucky money envelopes) and of firecrackers are a must during Tet. But red also appears in the form of red roasted watermelon seeds. Eating these tiny seeds is a favorite past time, especially for young kids. It takes SKILLS to crack these things open without breaking the shell so that you can pull out the creamy, crunchy meat in the center. I can't tell you how many I'm able to eat in one sitting, but they are quite addictive. Splitting them open, breaking the shells down the side, then pulling out the meat -- it should take no more than 1.5 seconds, if even that, but you'd be surprised how long it takes some folks to tackle one single watermelon seed. The telltale signs of eating these things? Red finger tips!

Goat Meets Rat in 2008

I was born in the Year of the Goat. When folks ask how old I am, I say that I am "tuoi Ky Mui." Most people would not know how to quickly calculate the biological years -- 20? 25? 30? It is enough for them to know I'm giving them an out by not dueling them. Plus, it's also an interesting turn in the conversation -- their amazement at my ability to count according to the Chinese/Vietnamese calendar diverts their attention away from pursuing the quantitative answer to their question. I cannot recall when this perverse tendency began, but for many years now I've enjoyed the ability to thwart people's inquisition. No matter how casual or kindly the intention, the question, when posed by certain individuals, causes me much irritation. So I say I'm Ky Mui. You figure it out. I didn't ask you yours, so I'm not telling mine. This annoyance I believe comes from the "negative traits of the Goat." According to Wikipedia:

Negative traits of the Goat: (In Vietnamese, Goat = Mui)
Irresponsible, anxious, lazy, self-pitying, capricious, indecisive, insecure, violent, vengeful, resentful, judgmental, discriminating, careless, ultra-sensitive

There you have it. Ultra-sensitive.

Another thing? When I put in my birthday on the Blogger profile, Blogger tags me as a Sheep, and Virgo. Vietnamese would know that we do not call it the year of the sheep even though it can be translated either way (sheep or goat) from the Chinese character. As far as I know, the Chinese call it the Year of the Ram or Year of the Sheep. But Vietnamese call it Year of the Goat. Why? I don't know (more research, anyone?) Sheep or Goat, says Wiki, no one ever calls it the year of the Ewe. Eeeew. Haha.

And the Virgo thing? Well, when calculating my birthdate according to the Gregorian calendar, I'm Virgo, but in actuality, my equivalent western sign is Cancer, not Virgo. And, my lucky number is 2 (I'm the middle/second child. coincidence? I think not).

There's more.

My element: Earth
(In Vietnamese, "tho) earth bears metal in the Generating Cycle of Balance, and earth absorbs water in the Overcoming Cycle of Balance

My polarity: Yin
(In Vietnamese, "am") the dark element: it is passive, dark, feminine, negative, downward-seeking, consuming and corresponds to the night.

The Goat/Sheep/Ram is the 8th sign of the Vietnamese (and Chinese) zodiac. The Goat is the creative sign -- the artistic, temperamental one. Given that 2008 on the lunar calendar is the Year of the Rat, I have to find out what it means for a Goat to enter the new year on the tails of my rodent friend.


*For a good, general description of Vietnamese Lunar New Year, go to this blog, but I suspect there's some plagiarizing from Wiki... but, what do I know?