Happy Thanksgiving!

Family Firsts

Even though the first generation of the Nguyen family (i.e. my immediate family) does not observe Thanksgiving like most Americans (see prior post),

members of the Nguyen children have happily adopted thanksgiving with all the traditional fixins and

The second generation of Nguyens

This year I spent thanksgiving dinner with my brother Dean, his wife Miriam, and my two absolutely adorable and beautiful nieces, Mailynh and Katelynh.

Also there tonight were other family members on Miriam's side. That's Mailynh's BFF Madu.

Can you believe the tree was already up when I arrived?

Now the food was fabulous, but even better was the post-dinner fun.

I love to goof off.

And I'm a cool aunt.

And thanksgiving is not so bad with those who mean most to me. Kids make it awfully fun.

And I am very thankful.

Cheers and happy thanksgiving!

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul.

And sings the tune

Without the words,and never stops at all. "

- Emily Dickinson

Odd and Onerous Observations

Holidays at Heart

There is something about the advent of the holiday season that always seems to find me in an awkward emotional predicament.

I don't get super excited this time of year. So a few days ago, during one of my runs, I psychoanalyzed why this is...why it is that I am ambivalent this time of year.

Cultural Identity

Thanksgiving and Christmas are largely American traditions, and ones most immigrant families have embraced over time. But growing up, there were no Thanksgivings at the Nguyens. I mean, our ancestors weren't pilgrims who landed east to settle into this fledgling of a country, so mom and dad did not make any deal of it.

So what was thanksgiving to us? I think we would go to a Chinese restaurant and eat. Truth be told, it carried little significance. I think one year I actually spent it with a friend's family.

And Christmas? Sure we were raised Catholics, so the Jesus thing we got down. But the whole notion of Santa was spoiled by my older brothers, and there were no presents under the tree. Instead, the kids got to go to the toy store and pick our favorite toys. Not the same Christmas tradition as most.

Vegas Deja Vu

Holidays devoid of American traditions were evident last Christmas when I flew to Las Vegas to visit my parents. My childhood best friend, Michelle, also came to spend "Christmas" with the Nguyens.

We had a nice "Christmas Eve" dinner, Vietnamese and family style. Then Michelle and I hit the strip around 11pm, went to the Ghost Bar and a nightclub called Light at the Bellagio Hotel.

So I'm thinking there would be few if anyone out. Wrong. The place was packed with Asians and Middle Easterners. Yep, those who observed the holidays just like the Nguyens.

I think we left the hotel around 6am. Seems strange? Maybe. But holidays seem different to me.

Now I'm not trying to be a curmudgeon about the holidays... I find it a wonderful thing that this is the time of year to focus on family. That matters. But I try to treat anytime I see my family as a holiday... as a blessing.

Notwithstanding, I wish I was spending this thanksgiving in Seattle with "he who shall not be named."

Cheers and happy training!

"Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is. "- Williams James

Tri-less training, Commune Cooking

A Hiatus Helping

It has been a few days since Pinkgurugal posted a blog to recount the inanities of my life. But there is good reason.

1) I have returned to the masses of those who "work-out" and not "train". I may work out 4-5 times a week for 1 to 1 1/2 hour a day...instead of that crazy ironman 15-25 hours a week...

2) Having divulged that, I have gained a few pounds. It's a simple math game. Eat more, exercise less= weight gain. Evercise more, eat less= weight loss.

I know, 2 or 3 pounds sounds like NOTHING, but it is when you are 4"11 or... okay 4"10 3/4.. it matters.

3) And I have happily "let go" of the HAVE to TRAIN neurosis associated with those used to our uncommonly excessive thoughts of physical inadequacies.

4) Ooh thats right, the Houston marathon is ,mmm.. 8 weeks away... oh whatever, i never train for these.

Notwithstanding, I feel like I finally have my life back and am not confined to the rigors of hard ironman training...

Pledging

Welcome to the newest member of the tri commune, we shall name "he who shall not be named".

Now mind you, this is a VERY exclusive club, so in order to be a member, there are some initiation requirements... like... mmmm

Tri Commune Cooking

We put HWSNBN to work. First order of business, make us his best meal... This Putanesca.... which apparently means "whore sauce"

HWSNBN's secret recipe includes an amalgam of olives, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic and other yummy goodies. Now I understand that this may sound nc 17, however....

"Whore" or not, the tri commune happily lopped up this...honestly, probably, the BEST pasta I have eaten... kinda like the stuff you find in Italy...

Of course, other regulars joined in on this culinary affair. . tastes so good when it hit the lips...

Cheers and happy training!

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." Henry David Thoreau

Tiger Talk

Mai Lynh Lovin I know I have written about my adorable 4 1/2 year old niece in a previous blog, but this is my blog, and dammit, I love her so much I'm writing about her again.

Plus Papa Nguyen was in town for the weekend, so we had a sleepover at pinkgurugal's casa.

Friday night I taught Mai Lynh how to growl like a tiger. GRRRR! She was so scary she frightened her grandpa. I also told her I would take her to the zoo in the next few weeks, to which she precociously responded, "Don't forget, because I have a lot going on." Mai Lynh is a little me. She's very social, garrulous, and just downright sweet and silly. Okay enough already. Okay, so I like myself...mmmm a little too much. But I absolutely love my niece and father. Family matters. Cheers and happy training "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. " Sir Winston Churchill

Kelly Kudos

BFFs

Outside of mmmm.... me, I write most about Kelly. She's my best friend, my sister soulmate. Chau and Kelly make "The Chelly." We are a statement, a lifestyle, a trend.

Over the weekend, Kelly and Liam headed to Clearwater, Florida for the ....

Yep, my studly galpal is that fast that she got a slot.

Now for you non-triathletes out there (sorry, you don't what you're missing)...this is like the superbowl of the half ironman race.

While the meager Ironstar half ironman officially ended my season a few weeks, this race ends hers.

A full race report will follow when I will ask The Chelly to be a guest writer, but here are her results.

HOLY SMOKIN SHIT!

Carrington, Kelly

1324/1181/946 (these are her ranks as she finished each part of race: swim, bike and run...notice how her rank just gets better and better and she passes 378 people!)

:40:44 SWIM

2:39:22 BIKE

1:38:05 RUN

5:04:04 TOTAL

Kelly, We are all SO proud of you. What an amazing race year it has been for you. Thank you for making this ironman journey with me. I love you!

Now let's go do some well deserved partying!

Cheers and happy training!

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing." Abraham Lincoln

Career Comradery

Television Tales I am still processing this whole ending my TV news career thing. I have unequivocal trust I'm doing the right thing. Having said that, I will dearly miss many things about this business.

The Men in My Life

Among them, the relationships I have with my colleagues, especially the photographers and engineers I've known since the beginning of my 15 year career, most of which has been spent in Houston save for Saipan, Guam and Atlanta.

This is Kevin Greer, Eddie McCain and Jaime Zamora. I have known Kevin and Jaime from my early days as a 22 year old writer at the ABC station. I remember shadowing these photographers when I was just a young cub aspiring to become a reporter. Some of them even helped me edit my resume tape together.

And shit, Jaime's once baby twin girls are now 14... time really does fly!! As for Eddie, he is an engineer at our station and runs the live truck. He calls me "Miss Chau" and aside from stuffing ourselves into a tiny live truck countless times to edit and beat deadlines, we've had some great, deep and personal conversations. There was a time in our lives we were enduring some similar personal ordeals. Next is is me, Craig Bell and Gus Pereyra. Craig is a brand new reporter at the ABC station, but Gus works with me. We work with many photographers, but Gus is among my favorite with whom to work. He calls me his little sister. And we share a love for cycling. In fact, Gustavo was the first person who took me for my first long ride on my bike. 47 miles and all I had was one gu. How things have changed... In corporate America, I presume your cohorts are limited to watercooler talk. Not in TV News. Not as a field reporter. You get close to these guys. You learn from them. You hear their life stories. They've heard mine, whether it be fun and silly, or serious and depressing. Man I'll miss these very human moments. We cover real life stories. On this day we covered a very terrible murder trial. But set aside work, we bond.

What an honor it is boys... keep doing the great work you do, and don't let middle management bring you down!

Cheers and happy training! "The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. " Carl Jung

Laying down some common cents

Expensive Energy I am a coffee addict...a junkie, a bitch to a cup of Joe. I really shouldn't be, since I have way too much natural born energy and seem to be wired all the time. But for some reason, I want more. That's how I roll. Now I typically make my own coffee at the Tri commune, but today I was RUNNING WAY LATE to work thanks to he who shall not be named. So after doing a drive by at the bank ATM, I noticed a coffee shop called Maui Wowi. Cool, I'll try something different Holy Maui Wowi Money! This large cup of Nonfat, one Splenda latte costs Pinkgurugal $4.87. Let me repeat: $4.87!!!! Now I'm far from cheap, but think of all the things I could have for five bucks... Like a WHOLE lunch at my favorite Chinese restaurant China Garden. Like a six pack of beer. mmmm....beer Like a sandwich from Brown Bag Deli....mmm...egg sandwich. Like 3 bags of Swedish fish.... mmmm for long rides.... Like a spare tube...mmmm...when there's a flat Like a lot of crap!!!! Pinkgurugal goes down! I had to cover a murder trial today, so after the trial recessed for the day, I stayed back in the media editing room to lay down. No I wasn't taking a nap, but I tweaking my aching back. It always hurts, but it was especially sore today.

This is my massage therapy ball I NEVER leave home without. It's kind of like a tennis ball but is stronger. Basically I roll it and hold it in the sore areas of my back, but and legs... oooh....ahhh.... feels so good.

Not as good as a Cheryl Francisco massage, but it does the job on a crunch. Find me some carpet, and I'm down.

Cheers and happy training!

"Eternal delight and deliciousness will be his, who coming to lay him down, can say with his final breath--O Father!--chiefly known to me by Thy rod--mortal or immortal, here I die. I have striven to be Thine, more than to be this world’s, or mine own. Yet this is nothing: I leave eternity to Thee; for what is man that he should live out the lifetime of his God."

Moby Dick by Hermann Melville

A Show Stoppin Story

Steppin' Out

I know they look like garden shoes and look dorky and granola, but Crocs Rock! Dorky and granola I do very well. Actually I do it best.

This is one of three pair I own, and wearing Crocs makes Pinkgurugal a happy camper. In fact, I pretty much wear them all the time, even at work....really! Here I am sitting on some curb at story whatever of the day, I don't remember.

Today I spent the day with roomie Liam riding around the park and stopping for Starbucks. It was so relaxed and nothing short of a perfect Monday off.

WHERE MY SHOE WENT?

Silly, silly stuff. Silly is fun though, especially with pictures! Cheers and happy training! "I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers." Mahatma Gandhi

An Entertaining Affair

Halloween Party Pics (NC-17 Versions Only) Even though Pinkgurugal hasn't always been a big fan of Halloween, I happily dressed up this year with many of my pals.

That's me, in...ahem... let's just call it a cat-like outfit. Jane's Addiction had on a highly creative outfit... she's Michael Vick after the dogs attacked. I think she looks adorable.

John Robertson was a nun. He and his fiance Anna hosted a small party.

Liam went as the ugliest woman I have ever seen. Also at the party, Sugar Daddy Phil and Sugar Mama Natalie as Hugh Hefner and one of his bunnies. Then's there's Kelly. She's also dressed cat-like. This was the least exposing photo I found. I think she looks HOT in a black wig too!

Liam tried another look, but still looked...well, you be the judge.

And TriRyGuy threw on his trusty Indian suit. Scalp me baby!

Kids, let's do this again next year! :)

Cheers and happy training!

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pandering my Pithy Self

Weather Worthy

November is finally here, and the weather in Houston has been nothing short of divine. We have had several consecutive days of cool, sunny skies. These are the days that make Pinkgurugal a happy gal and mmm.. happy to have a cubicle by the window.

Of course, my view is terminal, now that it's official that I'm quitting my job to see the world. Crazy? Maybe. Afraid. Nope. Excited? Definitely. I think a quick dive trip will be first priority.

T Minus....

My final days in TV News will be at the end of December. I looked at my calendar and counted approximately 40 work days, or more accurately (assuming I work 8 hours a day, though usually its more) 320 hours before I lower the curtain on this part of my life....

Yesterday, the whole wide world (okay maybe not the whole world, but a lot of people) found out. Here's a cut and paste of the article that ran in our local newspaper:

More to life than TV job

By KEN HOFFMANCopyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

CHAU Nguyen has a job that TV journalists work their whole careers to get. She is the solo anchor of the Saturday morning news and works as a reporter the rest of the week for Channel 11, the CBS affiliate owned by Belo Corp. in her hometown Houston — a top 10 market. Nguyen is only 34 years old. Last week, she quit her job. She doesn't have another job lined up. She's just had enough of TV news. She isn't running away to join the circus. She's running from the circus. She wants to travel the world, by herself, with just a backpack and no luggage, for several months. And when she returns, she'll try her hand at something new. She has no idea what that may be. She didn't ask for a leave of absence from Channel 11. She flat-out quit. It's the fantasy of many people. Change is exciting. And frightening. Nguyen is either very daring and courageous and bold ... or very foolish. She knows that. This could be the best thing she'll ever do — or a terrible mistake. She knows that, too. "This may be the only chance I'll have to do this. I'm unattached. My finances are in order. I want to do it, and I'm going to do it," Nguyen said. "My friends are very supportive of my decision." Her parents? "Oh, they're flipping out," she laughed. "They're my parents. It's their job to flip out." Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and moved to Houston when she was 2. She graduated from Katy High School and the University of St. Thomas in Houston. She got right into television, working as a writer, reporter and anchor for Channel 13, Channel 26 and stations in Guam, Saipan and Atlanta before joining Channel 11 almost five years ago. "That's 15 years in TV news. I'm ready to pursue a new challenge. I loved working in TV, and I'll miss the friends I've made here, but I want a normal life. I don't want to work weekends. I want holidays off. I want to take Christmas off. TV news doesn't fit who I am now. I'm not a glamour girl. I'm an introspective person. Fifteen years is a long time to do only one thing." Her travel plans aren't definite. She will start by flying to Europe, then making her way to Tibet, Bhutan and Vietnam. "I have no real itinerary. I'll have a bunch of Lonely Planet guidebooks, and I'll see where they take me. I'm going to be by myself, which some people think is scary, but I'm a pretty experienced traveler. I'll be safe. I'll be gone for a few months, maybe more. I have no idea what lies in store." While she's away, a friend will watch after her house and dog, Ally, an English bulldog. "I am going about this the same way I approached doing the Ironman triathlon (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run) last month in Wisconsin. I was determined to do it, I trained for it, and I did it. It took me 13 1/2 hours, but I did it," Nguyen said. She is a physical-fitness addict, riding her bike or running several hours a day. She's been doing it for years. "Maybe the running is part of my searching. It gives me time to think. I'm very introspective. Leaving TV has been itching me for about a year. I want to hike, I want to see Mount Everest. I want time alone to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I know what I don't want to do — television news. Now I need to see what else there is," she said. "I know I have skills that will get me a job when I come back. I can parlay the skills and connections I got from television into a different career. There's no doubt I'll miss parts of television. I got into TV to tell other people's stories. It's time I created my own story. I'm extremely self-confident. I know I'm a smart girl. I'll make it OK." "Hey, if anybody in Houston wants to hire me, give me a call."

Cool. Now my resume is out there! :)

Cheers and happy training!

"Love is an irrestible desire to be irresistibly desired"

Robert Frost