Fishing in Florida

Ah, sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while. I've been so busy in Florida! Well mostly, I've been fishing with my dad and cousins. The other day we caught a total of 100 fish and caught 50 this morning. I haven't been getting much sleep because we've had to wake up at like 4/5 am to get to the pier. The pier reaches out into the Ocean alongside the beach and has a great view of the ocean and the coastline. I wish I have pictures but I never brought my camera because I'm afraid I'd drop it and lose it (with all my recent bad luck).

On an interesting note, this morning when I went down to the pier with my dad and cousins (at 4 am) I saw two people on the empty beach. At first I thought "Oh, people camp overnight" but then when I looked closer, lets just say I saw a lot of skin on both of them, and thought "THIS IS A FAMILY BEACH." Haha it was an interesting sight but really, that kinda thing should be done in private. Lucky Lucy or Ricky didn't see them, or my dad for that matter.

Well besides the beach and fishing, I've been watching a load of soccer, especially Euro 2008 and I gotta say the Turkey vs Germany match was great. I was really impressed by how Turkey played even though I never paid much attention to them before. Even though they were favored to lose and were missing most of their key players, they kept playing to the last minutes of the game. The way they scored at the beginning and closing minutes of the game made the game so enjoyable. The German's last goal was a heart breaker but I thought the Germans deserved to win cuz even though Turkey played hard, the Germans definitely played better.

Spain vs. Russia was also a great game to watch. Spain played awesome and David Silva impressed me. He had great ball control and his goal was pretty classy. Anyways, what sucks is that I'm going to miss the Euro 2008 Final. What the heck!! I'm traveling back to Virginia on Sunday so I won't be able to catch the final. Sux =/ well I gotta go. See ya!

Florida: Day 1

Well the trip to Florida was exhausting but I gotta say that it was well worth it. I woke up at like 5 am yesterday and went on a 14 hour road trip with my dad and cousins down to Pensacola, Florida. During the trip I listened to my mp3 player, read (for realz), and slept. I gotta say that I had the right idea staying up the night before the road trip because I was out cold for about 1/3 of the trip. So as we drove down to Florida I had a lot to think about. My main focus was how I was going to stay in touch with everyone while I was away and lucky enough, my aunt and uncle have let me used their computer with internet access :D

So at around 7 pm yesterday my dad stopped by a motel where we rested. I had to sleep with my cousin but he was chill and we stayed up watching movies on FX and other cable channels. The next morning we got up around 9 am and got to my aunt's at around 12 pm. After settling there for a while, the first thing I saw greet us were Bo and Drey, my uncle's two Boston Terriers. I was glad to see that they didn't change at all except for Drey (who got a little pudgier). I then saw my aunt and uncle who I haven't seen in 2 years.

The first thing when I thought when I saw them was that I realized how old everyone is getting. I didn't notice it before but my Uncle looked kinda frail and I could see wrinkles grow on my aunt. I looked down at Drey and also noticed gray hair growing around his face. It was a little sad but nothing really changed. Sure people get older but the love is still strong as ever. It seems as though the dogs still remember me and both were happy to see my dad and me.

The first thing we ate at my aunt's house was homemade Pho. It was SO GOOD, one of the reasons why she's my favorite aunt (her cooking). Every year she would also cook pancakes for me and my sister so I'm looking forward to that. Right now it's really storming down here in Florida but I'm not that upset, I'm chilling watching a movie and spending time with the family while writing this blog. I should be putting up some pictures soon. Until then, Later from Florida! :]

Driving Down to the Sunshine State

Ah, right now I'm packing for my family's annual vacation down to Pensacola, Florida. The trip this year is going to be a little different from previous years because my mom and sister have chosen to stay home due to family conflicts (mom vs. dad's side). I personally think its kinda stupid but its never a good idea to get involved in these things, especially when it involves my mom. So it's pretty much going to be my dad, me, grandma, cousins, and aunt who are going to Florida for about 10 days. I'm excited because my favorite aunt lives down there with my uncle and 2 Boston Terriers, Bo and Drey. Those two dogs are really sweet and I love spending time with them and my aunt.

Down in Florida, I plan on going to the beach everyday and go fishing at the piers with my dad and cousins. It's been a long time since I've gone a trip with just my dad and me so that should be pretty cool. Also, I can finally watch Euro 2008 at my Aunt's. Back here at home, I don't have ESPN, so I've been having to chill at Sean's or my cousin's to catch the group matches. I really hope the Netherlands win the tournament because players like Van Persie, Van Nistelrooy and Van Der Saar are some of my favorite to watch.

Well today started off kinda depressing but it picked up I guess. My sister is taking care of our cousins for the summer (which is why she's not coming with us to Florida) so the little ones were messing up the house when I got up. Then I got to say bye to Sean as he went off to Cornell for a summer college program. Everyone is leaving this weekend or the next. Government school, summer programs, and vacations are splitting the group up haha. But that's how it is, and it got me thinking about senior year and college. To tell the truth, I feel like I should've applied for a summer program this summer. However, a series of bad luck stopped me from applying. Firstly, I didn't apply to Governor's school because I had no idea what that was. I assumed it had something to do with politics because it was called "Governor's school" but it wasn't until all the deadlines were due that I found out it was a collection of enrichment programs at different universities. I think that's kinda unfair because that name is very deceiving. I mean governor's school? What does that program have to do with becoming a governor? What ticks me off is that being selected for that program would have looked REALLY GOOD on my college apps, but I guess I have to settle for summer school studying physics.

Well after eating Pho with my cousins, (which was DELICIOUS), my dad took me to buy the books I'm supposed to read for AP Lit. After collecting those three books, I realized just how much I'm going to have to read this summer. All together, the books totaled up of over 1200 pages. To add to that weight, I have AP Chemistry problem sets and 2 major AP Art works that I have to finish by September. I never thought about it before but that is a lot of ****in work to do before school starts.

I played tennis with Andria, Steven, and Jason today at Rutherford Park and I just got back. I'm kinda tired but I guess that's good. I plan to stay up all night today so that I can fall asleep more easily in the car. I hate all day road trips and the more hours I'm asleep in the car, the less I have to put up with when I'm awake. I'm really looking forward to just chilling out at the beaches and maybe catch up on some AP Lit reading...


...SIKE, I'm going to go swimming, fishing, boating, and get a nice tan. Maybe find a summer fling there? Haha man. I'm one lonely dude but I got good friends looking out for me. Andria and Sonny both agreed that they would look out and help find me a girl. But there is already one girl for me... and she's taken. Guess I can only wait. So off to Florida, and maybe I'll be able to post another blog about how I'm doing there. Anyways back to packing. Later!

How Do You Know When You're a Senior? When You Make a Bonfire Out of Your Junior Papers.

Well today ended up being one of those crazy days that you would never expect when you wake up in the morning. I certainly did not see myself burning and trashing all my junior papers at 10 pm when I woke up today. Then again, life always finds its way to surprise you. Corny huh? well I really was surprised by this last week. So many bad things happened but a lot of good things have come to balance it out. I lost my cell phone on the last day of school, but played one of the best soccer matches of my life. I kicked off my summer fun by going to six flags with some good friends... then my parents found out about my lost cell phone. I'm not getting a new cell phone but I ended up having a fun night with Sean, Sonny, Andria, Peter, and Youngjoon.

Our planned Bonfire almost didn't happen after we got together. Around 8 pm, a group of us went down to Safeway and bought stuff for bonfire. We got charcoal, lighters, etc. and planned to go to a place a friend of ours knew to finally send our Junior papers to hell. However, our friend ended up being an hour late! During that time we chilled at McDonalds and got around to talking about Peter and Youngjoon's upcoming college life and roommates. Well at McDonalds, some things happened that led to a somewhat emotional night for a person in a group. Luckily she had the support of her friends and boyfriend.

Haha, now here comes a sappy part that I want to get off my chest. My good friend Sean is going out with a girl that I'm also friends with. It was weird at first because I used to hang out with both of them and would imagine them becoming a couple without truly believing in it. Now that it's happened, I'm happy for both of them. I genuinely believe they make a good couple and in the last couple of days it was refreshing seeing them so close together. With this happiness, I admit I'm also slightly envious. I'm envious of their relationship and what Sean has found. He's found someone that willingly cares and supports him. Now moms and dads care for you by nature but to find that someone who likes you solely for who you are is special. I've been in relationships but they have never been like Sean's. It's so mutual and mature. I'm proud of him and hope he and his girlfriend find great happiness and prosperity. Sean's always been there for me and I owe him for all the rides he's given me. It's funny because I used to see him as a rival, but now he's become one of my great friends.

Sean's relationship also really got me thinking about the future. Where will he be in 10 years, where will I be? Will we still be tight? Will I still keep in touch with everyone? Will I find that someone? Will I be attending Sean's wedding as the best man?

Well after chilling at McDonald's we decided to go to a park to quickly trash some of our junior papers before going to a friend's house. There, we started a fire with our junior papers and roasted marshmallows. The fire was HUGE and the smores we made were delicious. There was just something nostalgic about making smores under the night sky with a group of friends before splitting up for a month. All of us are going to some summer program or vacation in the next 7 weeks so we wanted to make a special farewell. Well it's past midnight and I'm actually tired from a great night with my friends. I hope they have a great time wherever they're going and that we will meet up and party again in the next month or two.

My First Blog

Wow, I never thought in my life I would start blogging but after reading my cousin's blog and how insightful it was, I'm inspired to start one of my own. I'm new at this so bear with me but I feel that maybe I should introduce myself.

My name is Vinh Nguyen, I'm a teenager who's going through one of the first of many major transitional years in his life. I'm a Vietnamese American who fully embraces his culture and am proud to say that I have a family that comes from all over Vietnam, North and South. I am Buddhist, I speak and understand Vietnamese, and my family and culture are both priorities to me. I love soccer, I play guitar, and I like making Art.

Now that we're acquainted (hopefully), I can talk about my life and the reason I'm blogging. I'm blogging because a couple weeks ago, I attended my cousin's graduation from medical school. As the younger cousin, a lot of pressure has been placed on my shoulders to be just like him. In a way, I really do want to be like him. Since I was a little kid, my older cousin always was successful. He was a great athlete, excellent scholar, and of course, became a doctor. I always hated his success because I was always in his shadow, but after getting to know him more during his last days in medical school... he's actually not that bad a guy. In fact, I admire him.

After his graduation party, I happened to come across my cousin's blog. Reading his thoughts, feelings, and experience really got me thinking about my life, so I decided to start a blog of my own. Now I know that my friends will probably stumble across this blog and maybe make fun of me for it, but I think blogging may help me get some thoughts out of my mind. It may clear some space in my head so I can focus on more important things. In a way, I'm trying to dump my memories into this blog so that I can hold new ones. Maybe in 10 years, I can find these blogs and look back into my youth... but I'm getting ahead of myself. For an introductory post, I think this may be enough to read :]