The Wrath

Sometimes it's weird how things can go from great to bad so quickly. The last couple days have been just like that. Things were just moving along going great and then came Wednesday night. We all knew that Georges was back in town, he left to go to Korea and Beijing, because we could hear him yelling at people on Skype all the way down the hall. So we pretty much knew that he wasn't in a such a great mood. When he showed up to our show Wednesday night, we knew for sure that he wasn't in a good mood. We had already done one set and were in the middle of the second set when we noticed him. He usually comes in and makes himself known but this time he was kind of quiet and just sat in a corner where we could barely see him. But it didn't really matter because we were doing a great job like we usually do. As soon as the set ended he called us all over to a corner and let us have it. He just yelled like we had done the worst show he had ever seen. It was so weird. We did the same show we always do and we did an awesome job. But it seemed like all the things he liked from before now all of a sudden weren't good anymore. After that we still had one more set to do, and of course it made us all stressed. Then after the last set we had another lecture, and at the end he told us, "I'll be here tomorrow, the next day, the next day, and the next day, and so on," like it was a threat. After that then we all just went to our rooms and went to bed.
The next day I got up did my normal thing and then came back and noticed I had a missed call from JD. So I called him back and he said, "uh we have kind of an emergency," so immediately I thought someone was hurt or sick. It wasn't anything that bad but he told me that the hotel was overbooked and I had to give up my room so I had like 20 minutes to get all my stuff together and move into Andrea's room. That was not a simple task, my stuff is spread out everywhere like I'm home, because this is my home right now, so it was quite a job. I threw everything into my suitcases and into his room and then it was time for rehearsal, I had to miss lunch and I was starving!! So then rehearsal was alright until about 2 hours in and Georges shows up for more lecture time. So then we get more of the same stuff about how horrible were doing and how it's going to suck so bad in Oman for us if we perform like this and so on and on. And he ended by letting us know he'd be there again tonight. By the time he finished we only had time to run one more song, so now he have to add an extra rehearsal day.
Then dinner time came and that was uneventful other than I was starving so it tasted AMAZING! Then we were up doing shows, the first set passed and it was great. Then the next set Georges was up there watching us again....Goody! We put on a great show again, the audience loved it again and we felt great about it. And you know what? He was in a good mood so things were OK again! Imagine that! How odd. So after everything it was a normal end to a couple bad days and I will take that normal anytime!

Video

I know I haven't been posting much lately but there hasn't been too much to post about. Things are still going great and we only have two weeks of shows left here, then it's off to Oman! I'm mostly excited about that! I love it here, but I also love getting to go somewhere new.
This week the shows were pretty great, some of the nights were a little slow, but we still did our best of course, so no problems there. Then last night the bar manager from Zeta in Malaysia surprised us and came to visit us here! He's going to be staying for a few days, it was a nice surprise! He's the one that had us all over to his house for Christmas dinner, such a nice guy. It's going to be fun to show him around here and stuff because he's never been here before.
Anyway besides that, not too much excitement. So since I don't have much to write about I thought I would attach one of the videos Kyle filmed while he was here. there's no filming or picture taking allowed in the club so he had to borrow my mom's Super Secret Spy Glasses, cool right? Anyway the sound quality is pretty great, but the video itself is really dark, but at least it's something! So enjoy:)

Cu Chi Tunnels and My Visitor!

Last week was such a blast! Kyle came and visited me here and it was like a vacation, even though I live here right now. It was so much fun, first of all it was great just to have someone from home to talk to and hang out with and just be me with! And then secondly, it was awesome to do the touristy things and go eat at different places every day and just have some fun. Also it was great having someone see the shows who I can actually trust their opinion and see if we're really that good ha ha. But ya know, now that I think of it I never really asked him what he thought!
We went shopping all over the place, we did a LOT of shopping, but that's great because it's so cheap. A lot of places were still closed the first couple days he was here because of the Chinese New Year holiday, so I had to just show him around at what was open. We went and walked the big flower street, it was perfect timing because the day after we went to it they took the whole thing down! I can't believe they could take it down so fast! I took him to a different restaurant for every meal, I didn't dare feed him street food because I know it would get to him. We even went to Hard Rock Cafe one night. It was awesome because no matter where you are in a Hard Rock Cafe they still have the same menu, and it was delicious. I also had him try my new favorite fruit, the passion fruit, and he loved it too!
Then on Monday, my day off, we went on a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was so cool! We learned all about what life was like back then and how the tunnels were so useful to the Vietnamese in the war. We even got to climb around inside one of the tunnels, it was freaky, I felt so claustrophobic down there, but it was cool to see what it was like for them. They showed us all the different areas, like the medical area, the kitchens, the weapon making area, everything. It was so much fun! The pictures I posted are all from the tour, so take a look and it will be just like you were there too!
When it came time for Kyle to leave his bag was STUFFED! I wanted to send some of the clothes I don't need back with him, plus all the stuff he bought, but we made it fit! It was so great having him here, but now it's time to get back to the real world, well sort of real world, this still doesn't feel like much of a job.

Chinese New Year

So Chinese New Year is here! They've been decorating the streets and everything for the whole month of January and now it's finally time for the celebration. The biggest part of it is this whole street that they shut down and decorate with all sorts of flowers, statues, lights, and fountains. It's so cool! I watched them each day as they built all the structures and started planting everything, it was fun to watch it all come together. Then on Monday night they opened it up and it was amazing. There were so many people out there. I tried to go take pictures that first night but I couldn't even squeeze into the crowd, it was crazy! So I decided to wait til New Year's Day because everything closes down and everyone stays with their families the whole day so it was really quiet. You can see from the picture how amazing it all is! They spend so much time and money just for this one week of celebration. They even did a big fireworks show on the eve. When we looked out from the club all you could see were people's heads, there were so many people out there celebrating! There is nothing like this back home, I'm so glad I got to experience this while I'm out here, it's really a cool thing and I'm glad I got to see it here in Vietnam since they go all out like this!
Besides the excitement of the new year not much else has been happening. Just been doing the shows, and they have been great. Oh and I did meet two guys that were from Utah! What a small world right? They were both originally from Canada but they moved to Utah to go to BYU. Now the one is a pro golfer in Asia and he lives here in Vietnam and his friend still lives in Utah and just came out to visit him. So crazy! I never would have thought that I would meet a Utahn out here in Asia!
Anyway not much else has been happening, I'm going to go out tonight and try to get some good pictures of everything with the cool lights, but we'll see how they turn out!

Meeting the Boss

I don't know if I have written much before about our main boss, Georges. He is the founder of this whole company and runs everything pretty much by himself. He's also the one that hired me, but that is the only time I have ever met him and even then it was just on Skype for like 15 minutes and that was it. Anyway all I have ever heard about him is how harsh of a critic he is and that he always finds something wrong with every band when he comes to see them. Everyone says that he always yells all the time and he'll put you in your place in a split second. So you can imagine I was a little nervous to meet him in person and have him come see our show. Well the day finally came, he came back to Vietnam on Monday and came and saw us for the first time on Tuesday night.
He came up to the club during the first set and just paced through the whole club going from one side to the other, sitting down for a minute but then getting right back up and pacing some more. After we were finished we all went back and talked to him. He was so nice! He didn't yell, he told us how great we are doing, gave me and Trina a couple pointers and that was it. Then he stayed and watched the rest of our shows and then we all went out to eat with him afterward, and he payed for all our food! He told us at dinner that if he had seen our band a month earlier he would have been sending us to Bangkok next instead of Oman, dang why did he have to say that? He told us that Oman is really going to test us so we better be ready.
So after that I thought we wouldn't see him up in the club again for awhile but then he came up again last night. This time he didn't seem like he was in as great of a mood. Everyone told me as soon as you see him pull his IPhone out then that means he's taking notes that he'll give us at the end of the night. As soon as we started our sets he had his IPhone out and was typing like crazy! I was preparing myself the whole night for all the notes we were going to get. I figured he must have just been really nice the first night since it was the first time he'd met me and seen us as a band. After our last set he called us all over to a corner and Trina said, "get ready for the notes." All he said was that we are a real band. He said we aren't just some group that he has put together, he can tell how much we love music and that it's in our hearts and that's why our band is so good. He said he could send us to a gig anywhere and we would succeed because we are just that great! I couldn't believe that's all he had to say, he must not have been taking notes like we thought. I still feel like the bad stuff is coming though, so I'm not getting too relieved, I just feel like it's buying us time while he's being so positive. Especially since everyone says he's never like that. But hey, maybe we really are just that good, but I don't know, I'm still waiting!

A Bloody Adventure

So today was the day we had to go have tests done for Oman. I guess they are really strict about who comes into their country, so even though we all already had a lot of these tests, we all had to go have them done again. Now if any of you know me you know I am terrified of giving blood, OK not just terrified, I almost pass out every time, I don't know why, I know it's not a big deal but I can't help it! So needless to say I was a little nervous.
When we got there we had to fill out some paperwork and then just sit and wait. Then I was called first, I thought that would be a good thing, getting it over with, but I was wrong. First they took me upstairs and took my height and weight. Then I had to go sit and wait some more. Later a doctor called me into his little office and asked why I was there, and I told him we just had to have these tests done so our band can go to Oman, but he had no idea what I was talking about. The only test that I knew for sure we had to have again was the HIV test so I told him that and he filled out my paper and told me to go back to the waiting room. After about 5 minutes the girl called me back and I headed in trying not to show my nerves. But immediately after I sat down I told her how scared I was and to be gentle, not that she understood me but I felt like I needed to say that. So the first bad thing was she couldn't find my freaking vein, that always happens, and by the time she finally did I was ready to scream! So she took my vial of blood and I was so relieved to be done. Then she sent me back out into the waiting room. After another few minutes the doctor from earlier called me back into his little office and said, "oh I'm so sorry, I just got the e-mail from your company and it lists all the tests you need, and the nurse only took one vial of blood and we need two." I was SO mad!!! Why did I have to be first and be the experimental guy, I'm the one that hates having my blood drawn more than anyone and now I have to do it twice!? I calmly said, "OK" and then headed back into the nurses room. Now since she already took blood from the only vein she could find in my arm, she decided to use my hand. And boy oh boy I do not recommend that to anyone. I don't know why but having blood drawn from your hand hurts about 10 times more than having it taken out of your arm. I was so close to passing out, I wish I had just so I didn't have to remember it!
Finally that part was all over and I got to go back downstairs for the rest of the tests. We had to have some X-rays, an eye test, and then just a basic physical. What a fun day right? All I can say is that I am SOOOOOOO Glad it's over. Whew.

Finished Product

This week has gone by so fast, I feel like I hardly did much of anything but somehow the week is gone! The shows have been going great and I've met a lot of really nice people. There are tons of foreigners here so it's cool to talk to them and find out how they ended up in Vietnam, most of them are here for work, and the others just for vacation. I didn't realize Vietnam was such a touristy place before I came here.

I also met this girl, and about 5 minutes after I met her I knew something was weird. She wasn't like the other girls here, she was really forward and pushy, reminded me just of the girls from Malaysia. So we were talking and she kept telling me that I need to come hang out with her after the shows, and I kept making excuses but she wasn't buying into any of them. It was like Deja Vu, right back in Kuala Lumpur. Then I come to find out that's where she's from!! How in the world did a crazy, pushy girl from Malaysia find me in Vietnam? Ahhh!! It's like I am a magnet for them! As soon as I found out, I told her I had to go to the bathroom, just so I could get away, because I know how those girls are. On the downside I'm pretty sure that she'll be back. I also found out later she was on X and offered some to all the other guys, so next time I see her it will be easy to get away because I'll just tell her I don't deal with druggies.

Alright now onto some awesome news, I got my suit on Saturday and it is awesome! It fits so perfectly and looks so great, I've never had anything custom made to my body, and now that I have I feel like I'll never want anything else. We all wore our new outfits last night and we looked great! Now in a couple weeks I'm going to go have a white suit made, and I can't wait!