Snailkiller

Life has been a whirlwind since graduation.  I started working for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s office June 17th.  Hong has finished his pastry arts program and had a summer stint baking at Cafe Soleil- perhaps the best bakery in Madison.  He is now working at Sucre Patisserie on the Square- his specialty??- a green tea mousse cake.  He is also back to teaching science full time at Cherokee Middle school in Madison.

I love my job- it is what i love doing- being an advocate and empowering others.  I am always in the courtroom or meeting with clients.  It is sometimes frustrating but always satisfying.

Friends and family are going through many exhilarating changes- my cousin Kalyn had her second son- his photos are all over my work wall- what a cutie.  My sister Padee is now living in Texas- I can’t wait to visit her.  My great friend Angela is getting married in Nov…so awesome and my friend Niti is still one of the bravest and strongest person I know.  Jasmine’s baby girl is getting so big and I miss baby Erielle’s lovely smile tremendously.  I miss lots of people- but it is nice to be settled for once- I miss my baby brother Russel and niece Kalysta most of all.

We are renting our condo to a graduate student and living closer to downtown Madison. I walk to work and Hong takes the bus to work.  We are car-less which is allowing us to save money.  We live with our wonderful friend Angela.  We are considering getting a dog—we are testing one out right now…but I already know we will keep Baxter.  He is the cutest and most good dog ever—he hardly ever barks, is very loving, and so sweet.  He is mixed with Terrier and bichon…such a cutie.

We have been going to the Madison’s farmers market every Sat…since we live downtown, we can pretty much access everything via bus or walking…it is very liberating.  In a couple weeks, we will go apple picking.  I peel the apples and Hong bakes the apple pies.

I feel like I am in a really stable and good place right now.  Life could not be better.  Please e-mail me and let me know how you are doing: nanvue97@gmail.com.

I did not go outside today AT ALL!  There was 12 inches of snow in Madison.  I basically telecommuted using Skype and e-mail.  But the snow is really beautiful.  I am going to try taking some pics wearing my Hmong outfit with the snow as my backdrop.  It is the sort of cheesy photo that a Hmong mom would looove- such as my mom.  She gave me a Hmong outfit to bring back to Madison and wanted me to send her some pics with the snow.  We’ll likely go to Milwaukee so my friend Lee can get her mama to dress us.  Well, school is well.  This semester is easy-breezy.  Can’t wait to graduate. 

About two weeks ago, Hong and I went to visit my cousins in the Twin Cities.  It was a nice sunny weekend.  However, Quang’s had closed for the week.  I was so sad.  They have the  best Vietnamese desserts.  Speaking of desserts, Hong’s pastry arts program is going splendid.  He brougt home this awesome raisen bread that I have been gnawing on all day. 

Gotta get to bed….good night.

Hong and I are back in Oakland after a horrible 13-hour flight from Hanoi. I was dehydrated and ended up having a mini-faint on the airplane. I sort of collapsed on the floor by the bathroom and scared Hong. But I’m all good now. It was while most folks were sleeping. Anyways, our airline serves nasty food which they kept feeding us- like every three hours. Ugh!

Haven’t seen many people. Before we leftfor Vietnam, we managed to visit my family and Hong’s and saw Jagjeet, Edwin and their sweet baby Erielle. We also stopped by and saw Cy, Loi and their new baby Minh. (Check out their photos.) We also celebrated my little brother- Russel’s fifth birthday- dinosaur theme. He is really into dinosaurs but he can’t pronounce or recognize the types of dinosaurs yet.

We got into Hanoi on December 18th and met my classmate Emily at her law firm. We spent lots of time with her and friend Vijay. We ate lots of coffee egg at a cafe that you get to by walking though an art gallery. Very hidden but best coffee whipped with egg whites. Sounds weird but delicious! We also ate lots of kem com which is spring rice ice cream- only 25 cents! It’s located in this cool drive-in looking place where folks can park their motorbike while socializing and eating ice-cream.

Hong and I did lots of touristy things like visit Ha Long Bay- a very beautiful place. It seriously looks like all the scenes in paintings that I thought were just some artist’s imagination. Nope- it is very real and very beautiful. We also went to Sa Pa in northern Vietnam. It is a small town with many ethnic minority villages. I met up with some contacts there and had a blast. My new best friend is Shu who is a 21 year old Hmong woman. She works as a tour guide and is so bright and inspirational. She and I spent hours talking about Hmong issues, life and travel. While we live worlds apart we both thought the same on many issues.

On our last leg of the trip, we went to Saigon to visit Hong’s cousins. They took us out to dinner and then made an amazing sea food lunch buffet for us at their home in District 13. They sell seafood so the crabs, shrimps, prawns and clams were all super fresh and delectible. We ate for two hours straight- just amazing grilled seafood.

The best part about Vietnam was where we lived. While in Hanoi, we lived in a house near Hoa Ba Mau. Since our friend Emily stayed in the house during the semester, we had free lodging. Every district has mini-street markets, Most mornings, we would walk through a winding alley which we only followed by instinct and landmarks since there are no “alley names.” Then we would find our favorite food ladies for a breakfast of 30-50 cents. My favorite meal while in Hanoi was this sticky rice dish served with a sucy tofu and egg broth. It cost 30 cents a bowl and all we know is that it is served by the lady in house number 75 in the alley. We often ate this noodle dish with pork and eggrolls- 60 cents a person. Of course we tried restaurants too but we always returned to street food for the best food. We usually got around via taxi (super cheap- costs about $1.50-$2.00 one way to Old Quarter). We also took the bus which costs 3000 dong or about 18 cents a ride.

I also had a chance to interview some attorneys in Vietnam since that was the main purpose of my trip. My legal research produced interesting perspectives and I can’t wait to see Vietnam in another five years after it’s participation in the WTO.

I miss the food but I do not miss the persistent honking. Traffic is scary and there are really relaxed traffic rules so pedestrians have to cross busy streets with motorbikes and cars coming from everey direction.

Please enjoy our pics in the first folder.

We’re in CA until Monday morning then we return to Madison. Hong starts school on Tuesday. I start school on Jan 22nd.

For spring break, we’re thinking of hanging on the beach with some school friends- maybe Miami??

XOXO- nancy and hong

so- civ pro exam ended at 11:32 a.m. today- possibly my last law school exam forever!!!! Hong and i fly into SF 12/14 and will be in sac 12/15 for my little bro’s b-day. Then time in Oakland on 12/16 and we fly out eve of 12/16 to hanoi. please visit if you can….510-282-1506. we miss all and wish we had more time in ca but i got a travel grant and could not pass it up- free moolah is awesome.

Will be back in ca on 01/11-01/12 then fly back to madison 01/13.

Love you all. Pleae let me know how your year has been…i am keeping a log of all’s successes.

XOXO- nancy and hong

It’s been a while now. Time moves fast but slow enough to miss home. School is almost over- well- 1.5 semesters to go and then I’ll be a lawyer. Still not sure what I’ll be doing. Maybe live in Germany for a year or two. Or Thailand. We’re going to Vietnam for the winter- 3 weeks. Me- to study International Commercial Arbitration and Hong to eat and visit family. I wish it would snow. I’ve grown accustomed to the cold. It makes me feel alive. So much good news- Congrats to Jagjeet and Edwin for their new bundle of joy- Erielle Payal…congrats to Cy- she should be delivering her new bundle of joy soon. Hong is gonna start repainting the condo in a few weeks- perhaps a lighter shade of grey. My green stripes in the dining room will have to go.

I’m nearly done reading “Inheritance of Loss.” An okay book. Gonna start on “100 Years of Solitude” soon. Or maybe “Native Son.”

XOXO- nv

Yaaahh! Today, May 2nd, was the last day of instruction for my second year in law school. I still have finals- one on Sunday, one o n 5/15 and a final paper. But whatever- the end is here and soon, I will be working.

Hong and I are living in St. Paul again for the summer. I will be working at the same firm I worked at last summer. I’ll be working from June 4-August 4. Then we fly back to CA on Aug. 11 until end of Aug. So- Cali folks- please let me know if you can hang out.

So much has happened this semester. The UW professor who made derogatory comments about Hmong people has not recanted his comments. As a law school, I think we ought to aim to have attys who will advocate for all their clients fairly and justly. His comments were said to a class of students who will most likely work in Wisconsin- the second state with the largest Hmong population. Given that, UW should aim to make sure that whatever their professors say are accurate. The major issue was that three female students (2 Hmong and 1 Cambodian) respectfully met with this professor to ask him to provide context to his statements but then, he basically dismissed them and fueled more fire by treating them like little girls with psychiatric problems. Clearly, we are in law school as adults, paying tuition for a service. The professor should have done what he knew he should have done which was to simply admit that he did not know SHIT about Hmong people and to at least provide context for why he made the comments he did. But he did not- and now we are where we are which is not very far….but of course, I am used to this kind of crap- even in CA- it’s just that at least in CA- people don’t hide their ignorance behind closed doors like in the midwest- I guess it is the midwest politeness and neighborliness thing- CA folks tend to say whatever- and I’d rather people do that so I know what they are thinking and can listen to them and respond in kind.

Anyways- that is the drama I faced this semester. If you want to learn more, simply google in “Kaplan- University of Wisconsin.” You will obviously get the biased, sexy media perception but then you can ask me more about the insider perspective if you’d like. It is not about fighting justice or standing up for Hmong people. It is a complex racial and gender issue that plagues our society and I just wanted to let people know that people in positions of power cannot dismiss minority voices. I seriously considered transferring from UW. But I think Hong and I will finish out my last year in Wisconsin. I have made such awesome friends- friends who will be phenomenal attorneys. Plus, Hong and I know that we will not be settling down anytime soon so I know if we go back to CA, we will become too comfortable and not want to do anything. Plus our families in CA will probably encourage us to stay close- I know I would feel personally compelled to stay in CA. I will feel like my family NEEDS me when they must learn to be fine and probably are fine without me.

I plan to study in Vietnam this winter and Hong will be going also. I would like to study inter-ethnic couples in relation to marriage laws, citizenship laws, etc. If I don’t get any domestic offers after law school, I will try to find an international job or federal job. There is just too much to visit and learn about. We may try to live in Europe or Southeast Asia for a few years.

There are lots of photos from this semester in the photo album labeled, “Aardvark.” Check out the photos from our Vienna trip and law school Hmong Art Exhibit show.

I am excited to get my finals over with and to enjoy the St. Paul summer. Do come visit us in St. Paul- in July- the Hmong community throws a HUGANTIC soccer/sports tournament- almot like a Hmong Olympics. It is awesome and we can eat papaya salad all weekend.

Please keep in touch.

XOXO- Nancy (nanvue97@yahoo.com)

Hi All:

Thanks for all your warm b-day wishes. Life has been hectic- it’s hard fighting racism in the midwest. Anyways- let’s just say, I have a lot to say when I come back to CA. Maybe by then, I’ll have my book out and made my appearance on Oprah already:)

Anyways, please see my lovely birthday pics in the “28th Bday” folder. I celebrated my b-day with two other Californian law students. On Friday, 3/9- the three b-day girls- Robin, Emily and Nancy wore white dresses and b-day crowns. We were princesses:) We sang karaoke at a noodle restaurant for five hours. It was uber fun. Then, we went dancing afterwards. On Saturday, 3/10- we went dancing at a restaurant called “Mercury.” The owners let us use the space at no cost and played whatever music we wanted. Hong and I left at 2 a.m. but the other b-day girl celebrated until 6 a.m.

Hong and I leave for Vienne this week. I will be in Austria on Thursday….I cannot wait to sit in a Vienna cafe and watch the world pass me by. Maybe we won’t return to the U.S.?? We will be there for ten days. Coincidentally, Jenn and Andrew will also be there backpacking through Europe.

I compete against a law group from Latvia on Sunday- wish me luck. Hopefully I will advance. It is the International Commercial Arbitration Moot…..Can’t wait to meet all the folks from all over the world.

I miss my family sooo much. We were hoping to go back to CA for Spring Break but now we won’t make it until summer.

I have heard soo much good news lately- babies, marriages, and much more. You know who you are and I am so excited for you!

Well, Hong and I are well. I’ve been busy fighting institutional racism so I’ve lost a lot of face time with my baby….it hurts to only see Hong in the evenings. But at least we’ll have ten days to ourselves in Vienna.

Okie doke—check out my bday pics. I also included one pick of our bathroom. Hong did the flooring and he installed the sink himself. Isn’t he crafty??!!

XOXO- NV

Hi Folks:

So Hong and I are back in Madison. CA was uber fun- we got in on the eve of the 22nd of Jan and basically hung out with family and friends. We had dinner at Mekong Gardens in Piedmont with Drew, Jennifer, Andrew, and Meredith. Yummiest Tamarind Fish ever! I also had Thai food with Sara in Sac. I can’t believe her little bro is getting married. Congrats Robert! We spent NYE at the Rockit Room in SF. Vicky came out and we drank rum and coke from the trunk of the Passat. Saw cool bands. Miss Judy and her man also came out with us on NYE. The morning after NYE, we had brunch with my sister and her friends in SF.

While in Sac, we had to eat at Jumbo Seafood. I actually ate there twice in one week. We also had Vietnamese food with my cousins in Sac. Celebrated Liz’s b-day at Zokkus- the food was pretty good and the club upstairs was fun. Lots of young-looking people or, perhaps I am just old-feeling. Happy Birthday Liz!

We also visited Jas and Grant at their beatiful new home. They got a Wusthof knife from us as their house-warming gift- sorry guys, that’s all we can afford right now. They took us out for a boat-load of delicious sushi. Thanks guys!

Hong and I brought BBQ from Everett and Jones in Sac and spent an afternoon visiting Janet, Moises and Katie at their new home. Katie was a little sick. They have the neatest and cleanest home I have ever been in.

While at my moms’, Jagjeet and Edwin dropped by and showed us pics from their wedding and honeymoon. We cannot wait to visit them at their new home when we return to CA this summer.

While Hong returned to Madison for a week to work, I had dinner with Angela and Leina at Elephant Bar. Leina- “Best wishes for med school.” I also spent a lot of time at the Port City Cafe at Laguna and Big Horn. Hong’s good high school friend Cindy owns the place. The coffee is strong and they have wifi. I highly recommend the place for a nice break. They also have a large flat screen and comfy couches.

My fam is crazy as usual. But I love them. My neice and I had an argument about the “Rain, Rain” song. She thinks the song goes: “Rain, rain, go away. Come again some “mother’s day.” Of course, I know the song goes, “Rain, rain go away. Come again some “other day.” She is soooo silly. She was pretty adament that her version was correct so I let her win.

We also went to a lovely wedding in Fremont/San Jose/Milipitas for Hong’s nephew. It started out at 6 a.m. when Hong and I woke up to pick up the roast pig. Then we drove to his sister’s house for the procession to the bride’s house. From the bride’s house, we returned to the groom’s house and had lunch. The ceremony was at a hotel in Milipitas and then we drive one minute across the street to the reception at a Chinese restaurant. Everything was beautiful. They did such a good job- it ran smoothly and drama-free.

I am now at school working on my brief for my Vienna moot court. Hong and I are running out of toilet paper and groceries. Itt is freakin cold over here- it was 12 degrees this morning with a -4 (yes, that is a negative sign) wind chill.

For pics from our holiday, please see album on your left titled: “Winter 2007.”

It was great seeing everyone. Please keep in touch: nanvue97@yahoo.com

XOXO- Nancy

I am nearly finished with my exams- only one more to go- Con Law on Mon. Our Thanksgiving was fun- we had five people over for dinner. I cooked a turkey that turned out half-decent. We planned to have Thanksgiving with fam in MN but decided against it after realizing my finals were coming up.

We are leaving Madison to Oakland in 12/22. We’ll be there until 1/16 so pretty please e-mail me if you’re in Sac or bay area for the holidays cause I would love to hang out with folks. I must go dancing, eat a burrito, eat sushi, eat pho, drink pearl drink and go to Club Monaco. We have no concrete New Years plan yet but am hoping to do something in SF. So, if you wanna join Hong and I for New Years, lemme know.

I am going to Vienne, Austria in March for my International Commercial Arbitration moot court competition. I am uber-excited. I am also applying to a Chinese language program inTaiwan for next school year. It would be awesome to learn Chinese.

I have been studying so much lately. And downing at least two cups of coffee a day. But it’s all ending soon and I cannot wait to go home. One of my aunties passed away last week. She was close to my family and I wish I was home to attend her funeral this weekend.

During Thanksgiving, I crafted all my holiday cards. The problem is that my personal laptop died on me last week so I don’t have access to my addresses which were on that computer. I have been mailing cards to those whose address were handwritten in my addressbook. BUT, e-mail me your address so I can mail you a one-of-a-kind Nancy designed holiday card.

It’s gotten pretty cold here in Madison (40′ish degrees or lower). Today was sunny but chilly.

I know this update is pretty choppy. Maybe because it is 12:49 a.m. Hong is asleep- he’s been a bit sick lately. My schedule is all screwed up from my studying. During finals, I lose track of time because I spend nearly all my time reviewing or meeting in study groups. Plus, I have extracurricular things to worry about. Every Tuesday, I co-facilitate a Hmong Girls Group at the elementary school Hong works at. I work with about nineteen girls- kindergarten, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. SOOOOOO cute. I love them. They make me laugh. We play silly games like “Virus-Antivirus” which is like “Mafia” except the virus is the killer and the anti-virus is the cop. They also like to draw.

So remember how I said Trader Joes has finally come to Madison? Well, TJ is so great. I am glad it’s here because now I can get the Indian food I love. $1.99 a box for very yummy and authentic Indian food. TJ also has this very delicious Orange, Mango, Peach juice. Love it!

There are a few updated photos under “Madison Winter.” Enjoy and see you soon should you have time to hang out with us. E-mail me: nanvue97@yahoo.com

XOXO- NV

I am nearly finished with my exams- only one more to go- Con Law on Mon. Our Thanksgiving was fun- we had five people over for dinner. I cooked a turkey that turned out half-decent. We planned to have Thanksgiving with fam in MN but decided against it after realizing my finals were coming up.

We are leaving Madison to Oakland in 12/22. We’ll be there until 1/16 so pretty please e-mail me if you’re in Sac or bay area for the holidays cause I would love to hang out with folks. I must go dancing, eat a burrito, eat sushi, eat pho, drink pearl drink and go to Club Monaco. We have no concrete New Years plan yet but am hoping to do something in SF. So, if you wanna join Hong and I for New Years, lemme know.

I am going to Vienne, Austria in March for my International Commercial Arbitration moot court competition. I am uber-excited. I am also applying to a Chinese language program inTaiwan for next school year. It would be awesome to learn Chinese.

I have been studying so much lately. And downing at least two cups of coffee a day. But it’s all ending soon and I cannot wait to go home. One of my aunties passed away last week. She was close to my family and I wish I was home to attend her funeral this weekend.

During Thanksgiving, I crafted all my holiday cards. The problem is that my personal laptop died on me last week so I don’t have access to my addresses which were on that computer. I have been mailing cards to those whose address were handwritten in my addressbook. BUT, e-mail me your address so I can mail you a one-of-a-kind Nancy designed holiday card.

It’s gotten pretty cold here in Madison (40′ish degrees or lower). Today was sunny but chilly.

I know this update is pretty choppy. Maybe because it is 12:49 a.m. Hong is asleep- he’s been a bit sick lately. My schedule is all screwed up from my studying. During finals, I lose track of time because I spend nearly all my time reviewing or meeting in study groups. Plus, I have extracurricular things to worry about. Every Tuesday, I co-facilitate a Hmong Girls Group at the elementary school Hong works at. I work with about nineteen girls- kindergarten, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. SOOOOOO cute. I love them. They make me laugh. We play silly games like “Virus-Antivirus” which is like “Mafia” except the virus is the killer and the anti-virus is the cop. They also like to draw.

So remember how I said Trader Joes has finally come to Madison? Well, TJ is so great. I am glad it’s here because now I can get the Indian food I love. $1.99 a box for very yummy and authentic Indian food. TJ also has this very delicious Orange, Mango, Peach juice. Love it!

There are a few updated photos under “Madison Winter.” Enjoy and see you soon should you have time to hang out with us. E-mail me: nanvue97@yahoo.com

XOXO- NV