August Is A Slow Month

"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved." -William Jennings Bryan

I've been home from school for about a month now and without a doubt, it's been a slow month. The first two weeks after coming home have been pretty eventful, even somewhat chaotic! Maybe chaotic is the wrong word to use but events from weddings to air shows to siblings leaving home have happened. And then, everything just changed. My sisters (one leaving to serve Church a mission and the other having just left for college) have both left home and things at home have become noticeably quiet. I have to admit, it felt strange at first but that's all a part of growing up. My parents are pretty much empty-nesters since we all go do our own things and it's really official when I leave again for school in January... But I don't want think about THAT yet (I'm saying I don't want to think about school, not the leaving home part; I'm actually getting quite accustomed to leaving home for periods of time.).

Needless to say, this month of August has been a slow one. Normally, the month of August is when I have stuff to look forward to but things turned out differently. Normally, the Oregon International Air Show is held in the month of August but that ended up being held in the latter part of July. A local aviation event usually held right here in Salem this month wasn't happening either. And all that excitement usually carries over into the month of September (now that's around the corner!), when I take the annual trip with some of my relatives to Reno, Nevada. But it is what it is and now I've been having to deal with slight slump regarding the variety of activities that's supposed to keep my life a tad bit more interesting.

So what have I been doing? Well, I've been looking for a job.... And believe me, landing myself a job while being off from school has been in the back of my mind ever since the end started nearing for Spring term last semester. I know the value of good work; don't get me started with that! I've spent this last month going around town walking into businesses asking if they're hiring, picking up applications, filling out those applications, and turning them in. These days, it takes persistence to accomplish all that. But sometimes, I don't think my persistence is even enough. Being part-Japanese and having been in Japan recently (as of last year) has had an effect on me where I feel like I'm being rude (and annoying) when I get persistent in asking, especially to places I've already been talking to the same people. It's called "saving face" for those of you who study sociological concepts and the Japanese do it all the time as is custom in their culture.

Before I go further, I just want say that I don't regret my time spent in Japan as an LDS Missionary. I've seen this happen but these missions change the lives of every young man or woman who ever served. And sometimes, these LDS missions do weird things to people. Without going into too much detail, I think missions can really alter the mindset of a lot of young men and women who ever served; sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst... Every time you knock on someones door to talk about religion in Japan and you get rejected (For example, when they say "Kekko desu," which roughly translates to mean, "I kindly reject"), that was the end of it, you don't press it on them any further. It's one of the reasons why it's hard to be a proselyting missionary in Japan sometimes...

Going back to my whole job-hunt situation, I'm trying my best. I've filled out and submitted quite a few applications. But with my luck with regards to finding work, I have to admit that it's been generally a discouraging month because of that. The way I see it, I still see less opportunities. I remember when this all became a factor a few years back and so many people in their careers got laid-off and had to find work where high school and college-aged people usually worked. That of course led to less opportunities for the the high school and college-aged student groups. I usually don't like to make political statements publicly, but the economy was disgusting back then. The current condition of the economy still disgusts me today, right now. And I have to blame my current situation partly on that. Opportunities are still more towards the scarce-side right now. But playing the blame game is not going to make things any better.

I have to keep pushing forward and continue to stay persistent; it's all I can do right now. But one way or another, I will prove myself and prove MY worth; I need to prove that I AM competent and capable of holding a job and being among the American workforce. I'm not giving easily, and no one's going to get in my way to discourage me further than how I'm feeling, even if it is from the people I'm close to, the people who I expect to receive the greatest encouragement from.

As William Jennings Bryan said:

(Heck! It's already above at the beginning of this blog post! No point in typing it again...)

Good Eatin' at 'The Brick'

Those of you who know me pretty well should know that I don't drink. But I think some of the best food (well, at least 'American' food) is usually served in sports bars. Downtown Salem has a decent variety of good places to eat and one my parents' favorites is a sports bar simply known as 'The Brick'. Do you happen to remember me bringing up a place known as "The Gay Bar" (a.k.a. Southside Speakeasy) and how this place serves the best Fish 'n Chips in town? No? I recall only slightly touching upon it but I'll have to do another blog post about it later... Well, I'm gonna have to take back what I said about the Southside Speakeasy being the place to get the best Fish 'n Chips in town because at 'The Brick', I think it's a lot better. Officially known as The Brick Bar & Broiler, they do a special on Fish 'n Chips on Thursday nights from 6PM to 9PM:

Steak fries and tarter sauce included.

Taste-wise, it's better at 'The Brick'. Like a lot of places known to do specials deals, it all depends on what day of the week it is. I hear they do a 'Wings Wednesday' so that's something to try out in lieu of a decent wings places. The place also has other pretty-decent menu items as well. Last time I was there, I got a Reuben sandwich:

Ever since I was at Reno last year, I really got turned on to Reuben sandwiches so I usually order those wherever they're served and then try to determine which tastes best. And to be honest, I haven't had a crappy Reuben sandwich yet! Now if only there was a good enough wings place... But there's always good eatin' (and sports to watch!) at 'The Brick'!

A Taste of Pho Noodles; Another way to my heart!

(Okay, so there are SEVERAL ways to my heart!)

When my family and I were living in Maryland, we enjoyed going to many great restaurants because living in the D.C. area, there were just lots to choose from. One of my personal favorites were the Pho noodles at two different restaurants called Pho 75 and later Pho Nam, a little closer to where we lived at the time but both had the same exact menu. A bowl of the Pho Tai soup & and noodle dish with some Hoisin sauce to flavor the soup was enough to satisfy! It was only about this time last year when we found this place simply known as Vietnam Restaurant. It's a little bit hidden but it's just off the intersection of Liberty Street NE and Center Street NE in downtown Salem. Their sign still displays "Vietnam Restaurant" but on Facebook, the place is known as Fresh Elements-Vietnam; sounds like the place is having a little identity crisis to me...

Being the Asian-food connoisseur, I love this place! I pretty much go for the Pho Tai soup and noodles:

It's quite a large bowl.

And yes, you eat them with chopsticks!

Thin-sliced beef, green onion and regular onions add to the flavor, plus Hoisin sauce.

When we first started eating at this place,  a bowl of Pho Tai went for $6.50 but the price got jacked up to $6.95 recently. But that's still not bad in terms of good-quality and quantity. Plus this place here in Salem is a little bit cheaper than what we enjoyed while living in Maryland. And without a doubt, I highly recommend this place if you love Asian and in particular, Vietnamese food.