Happy Tet!

There's a lot going on this week. Hope you've all had a fantabulous Super Tuesday/Fat Tuesday celebration. I'll keep my political commentary to myself, or else I'd have to start an additional blog.

Lent starts tomorrow, and I've yet to decide what I am giving up, or what charitable works I will pursue. Open to suggestions!

February 7 is the first day of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. It is a huge celebration in Vietnam, and many offices - including those relevant to the adoption world - are closed for a couple of weeks.

According to Vietnamese tradition, tomorrow - the equivalent of New Year's Eve - should be spent cleaning and decorating homes in anticipation of the celebration. Here are some beautiful photos that show some of the preparations. There are so many traditions surrounding the holiday. For instance, it is believed that the first visitor to your home during Tet determines your fortune for the next year, so someone who has been deemed lucky or who has a happy disposition is invited to visit before other guests. Hmm, who would I invite if I was to adopt that tradition? :)

2008 is the Year of the Rat. In Googling for more information, I just encountered the most disturbing quote ever: "A party without rat meat is so boring." I hadn't realized that being a rat hunter was a viable occupation in Vietnam. Since we'll be traveling to Vietnam, I choose not to ponder this aspect of the Year of the Rat any further. Next topic...

Pier One has decided I'm worthy of receiving oh, say, a catalog a day in the mail. Not that I'm complaining. I'm currently loving the paper lanterns you can see on their home page, which were also on the back of today's mailer. I wish they came in colors, but wouldn't they be a cute nursery accessory? I also just noticed that they have a page dedicated to Chinese New Year celebrations, which coincide with Tet.

I suppose I should be off to bed now. I stayed home sick today, and my regular doc couldn't see me until Thursday, so I visited the urgent care clinic tonight. Apparently all of OKC is sick right now. People were sitting on the floor and leaning on walls in the waiting room. I managed to snag a chair near the door and proceeded to huddle with a plant for the next two hours, desperately trying to avoid germs that were, no doubt, worse than mine. Sure enough, the doc directed me to hand sanitizer before I left since they'd had so many flu patients through the office. I sprinted for the door with my prescription in hand before any other cootie bugs could latch on. Hopefully I can give this one a swift kick.

I need a cootie shot.