This section below was written sometime back in June...
It's been a busy 2024 so far and time has definitely flown.
Back in late January, my wife and I were feeling a little worn out and we figured we could use a quick break. We visited Ho Chi Minh City back in 2019 - ahh, the days before Covid - and again last September, and we felt that a week of not doing anything in sunny climes would be just the ticket. So we booked it and jetted off just before Good Friday.
Up above is a photo of the Independence Palace (also known as the Reunification Convention Hall), which has been left virtually intact since the 1970s. And it's all absolutely beautiful!
The Cabinet Room, seen here with its magnificent board table where ministerial meetings took place. I was stunned by the sheer breadth of these rooms. The entire palace is made up of these spacious areas, each made to be used for differing purposes and events.
The palace was rebuilt and completed in 1966 after the original palace (built in 1873) was damaged by a bomb attack by dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots and its overall design is representative of the era and heavily influenced by a Vietnamese aesthetic.
We had no firm plans for this trip. No major sightseeing, no straying too far from our hotel. We spent the days walking around, visiting a nearby shopping centre, talking about future plans, our jobs, the kids, and we basically took things easy. It was nice not to be at work for a while.
And once again, I must've eaten something slightly dodgy because I ended up with a gut-ache on the last couple of days, but I didn't let this spoil the trip. I just ate a little less, and stuck to soups and easy to digest stuff.
Example - when we were in Ho Chi Minh City back in September/October last year, my wife and I went to get a massage.
I got onto Google Translate on my phone in our hotel room and quickly punched in the sentence; Please do not massage my feet. I had an operation on them last year.
We found a respectable massage/beauty salon in a nearby street and made our way in. I showed my message to the young lady who would be treating me and she looked at it and laughed. We explained my recent bunion operation to the owner of the place and she instructed my masseuse not to work on my feet.
Later that afternoon, once we were back in our hotel room, I translated the Vietnamese phrase that I had shown the masseuse on my phone back into English and it read as; I am a magician. I had to send my brothers to another dimension.
That explains the giggling, bless her.
Somewhere along the line, Google Translate had removed the accents and tone marks from the letters in the phrase and completely (and I mean completely) altered the meaning. Chances are high that I must've hit a wrong key somewhere.
Either that or I'm a magician who sent his brothers to another dimension.
Okay, back to the steak at Café Runam. This steak was a 250gm piece of Angus beef served on a hot stone. I had mine served with sautéed potatoes and a mushroom sauce on the side. This stone stayed hot throughout the duration of my meal. I could feel the heat coming off it as I ate the steak. I rested a potato on the stone and it continued cooking. It was a filling steak, for 530,000.oo VND, which translates into about $31.ooAUD (about $21USD). I could have eaten these every day.
Next time, I just might.
In the photo above, you can see a slice of tiramisú, which can be had for the princely sum of just over five Aussie dollars. And by 'just over', I mean $5.01.
Next to this slice of cake is a coffee concoction that my wife tried. In a wide tumbler, some black coffee, with milk, with a lot of ice, topped up with a thick coffee-flavoured cream. And served with a little round shortbread biscuit.
Also in the frame is my Seiko Prospex Divers 200m, the solar-powered watch that I brought for the duration of the trip. Set-and-forget reliability.
It was a nice relaxing holiday, just the kind of quick break that we needed.
And, despite the gut issues toward the end, I'd go back in a heart-beat.
The people were very friendly, the sun was out, we did a lot of walking around, and nothing hurt. My feet didn't ache at the end of the day. Maybe it was the heat?
I had a disastrous typewriter transaction in February. Not wishing to relive it in any great detail, since its now pushing seven months since it all first occurred, I'll be brief;
* I bought an early '60s Antares Domus typewriter on eBay from a Seller in the UK.
* It arrived a couple of weeks later, packed in a re-used card-board box from Amazon, with a flattened edge and one corner slightly torn open.
* The typewriter was in its carry-case inside this box. The carry-case was wrapped in one single sheet of brown wrapping paper.
* I opened up the case, took the typewriter out of it and, as I did so, the carriage slid quickly over to the left.
*Hmmm, I thought as I placed the machine down on my desk and slid the carriage return lever over to the right.
*No dice, the carriage didn't wanna play along, and it kept slipping back to the left.
*Next day, I contacted the Seller and explained the situation. He offered to refund me some of the money that I paid for the machine. Is it of any use as it is?, he asked.
*Yes, I replied. As a paperweight. I basically have a three-legged greyhound here, I added. I then explained that I might be able to get it repaired by a fellow who's worked on my typewriters in the past, but this would no doubt be a costly endeavour. The typewriter repairman was Tom, the guy who has worked on nearly all of my typewriters. The wild card is that he last fixed one of my machines back in 2015. He was 68 years old back then and A) I'm not sure if he was still in business, and B) Lord knows what it would cost to get this done.
* I was thinking about getting a full refund, but the Seller explained that the item had been shipped through eBay's Global Shipping Program, so any discussion regarding shipping cost refund would have to be directed to eBay.
* This was all getting complicated and convoluted. And, to be honest, I wasn't in the mood to have to pack this typewriter up again to send it back to the Seller.
* I thought about keeping it and
The Facts & Figures
The typewriter cost me 45GBP, which translated into about $90AUD.
Shipping was about 82GBP, which worked out to about $170AUD.
Total outlay so far was $267.79AUD.
Okay, back to the point-form explanation;
* Seller offered me a refund of 50GBP, which was decent of him, I suppose, since this is the amount that he received. He didn't pay for postage, it was done through eBay's GSP. They basically paid for the shipping.
* I wasn't finished with the Seller, though. I told him my main issue with this whole transaction was how poorly packed the item was, despite the fact that it was in a carry-case. A little more care and attention on his part would have possibly resulted in my receiving a properly working typewriter, as advertised.
* He told me he had done all he could do.
*Cool. I left Negative Feedback on eBay, explaining it all withing the confines of Feedback word limits and he countered my Feedback with a reply stating that 'the buyer had used eBay's Global Shipping Programme'-
* What!? I had no choice but to use eBay's GSP. No other shipping method or option was offered.
* Like I say, it was getting convoluted and I didn't wish to prolong this saga any further. With this Seller, I left it at that.
* It was time to tackle the next stage of this situation.
* I called Tom The Typerwriter Man and was glad to hear that he was still in business. Not so glad to hear that it would cost me $250.oo to get this machine fixed.
* I dropped it off to his workshop. He remembered me from way back, which was nice. We chit-chatted for five minutes or so, and he told me to call him in a couple of weeks. He used to be the Authorised Distributor and Repairer for Antares typewriters back in the day, so I figured the machine would be in safe hands. As mentioned, he's worked on every one of my typewriters, bar one, so I had full faith in him.
* Called him two weeks later and he said it was ready for pick-up. I headed over to see him and picked up the machine. He discounted the price down to an even $200.oo.
* I got the typewriter home, set it up, and fed a sheet of paper into the platen roller and started typing out that sentence about the quick brown fox.
* This Antares Domus worked well enough, with a feel like an ultra-portable Olympia SF or Splendid 99, but not quite exactly like one.
* And then it did that annoying joining up of twowords! I hateit when thathappens. It didn't do it often, and there's no rhyme or reason to it. It's just one of those things, to do with the escapement or space-bar. I wouldn't know exactly, since I'm not proficient with the inner workings of these things.
Needless to say, I'm about $470AUD in the hole with this thing, which on any given day, is a $120.oo typewriter.
So, I left it alone since I picked it up from Tom's workshop. And nothing against Tom. This might be as good as this machine will get. Or maybe my typing speed is the cause.
Either way, it's all been a poor experience from the get-go.
So, I think I'll donate it to a place in the city that people visit to create zines and such. They already have a few typewriters, so maybe they'll appreciate one more.
Could'a sworn I said I wasn't gonna go into any great detail with this.
Anyway, onward and upward. Fast-forward to the first week of September, and picking up from the typecast that started this post...
Wristwatch-wise, the Rolex Explorer got a lot of wear since my last post;
READING
I have to say I haven't been churning through books the way I did last year. Twenty-twenty-three saw me go through 12 novels and 3 novellas. This year seems to have stagnated considerably.
I read a Marlowe novel called The Second Murderer, by Scottish crime writer Denise Mina. I have to say that finally, somebody - besides Chandler - got Philip Marlowe right. And I think it's great that it took a dame to show the boys how it's done.
Hard to know when the story is set. It could be late 1930s or possibly mid-1950s. There are a few mis-steps, such as somebody being referred to as a 'railroad magnet' instead of magnate, but I think this has more to do with poor editing rather than writing. So impressed with it I was, that I had planned to write a letter to Ms Mina or her agent, but I think it might need a re-read before I do this, as I had some questions I had wanted to ask about it.
The story concerns Philip Marlowe's search for a missing heiress. Mina does a great job with Marlowe, making him a much better facsimile of Chandler's character than other male crime writers who made attempts over the last four decades. Although, I've yet to read Robert B. Parker's two Marlowe books, entitled Poodle Springs and Perchance To Dream.
Mina's book captures Philip Marlowe's solitary nature and sharp mind, and she illustrates a seedy and down-town vision of Los Angeles in this tale.
Yep, I'll definitely have to read it again.
What else, what else. Oh yes, I was struggling to get through Bullet Train by Japanese author Kotaro Hisaka. My main bug with it is not the story itself, but the use of present tense narrative. I've never been a fan of the he-does-this, he-does-that form of storytelling. One review praises its use, saying that it adds to the immediacy and pace of the story.
Maybe I'll get back to it at some point. Because, unless I really don't like a book once I've started it, I hate to leave it unfinished.
After reading so much fiction last year, I thought I'd take a stab at non-fiction throughout 2024. I bought a Humphrey Bogart biography a few years ago. This book was begun by Ann M. Sperber, who had previously written a very well regarded biography on Edward R. Murrow.
She conducted around hundred-and-fifty interviews throughout the 1970s and '80s with people who had known or worked with Bogart, from childhood friends to movie industry names from both sides of the camera. Sperber died in 1994 and her manuscript of the book was continued and completed by Eric Lax and published in 1997.
The result is an exhaustive and very well-written biography, a rich portrait of a man with complex and varying sides to his personality. He could be quite cruel and cutting, more-so after a third Martini, yet he could also champion the underdog. Bogart had a privileged upbringing in upstate New York, the son of a surgeon and a famous illustrator.
He spent ten years working on the New York stage on Broadway and had no prior acting lessons. He was known to complain about a lot of things, earning himself the nickname "Bogie The Beefer".
However, he was also punctual every day, and would be in his dressing room with the script while the lighting guys rigged up the set. Then he would arrive on-set to deliver his lines in a couple of takes.
He spent a majority of the 1930s on the New York stage and delivered a great performance as escaped convict Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest in 1935 during its theatrical run. Leslie Howard was the star of this stage production and he soon purchased the rights to this story so, when Hollywood came calling, Warner Bros. signed him up for the screen version and he stipulated that production would not commence until Bogart was cast as Mantee in the movie. The studio wanted to cast Edward G. Robinson as Mantee, but Leslie Howard was adamant about Bogart. The studio relented in the end, but Bogart's career would be marred by his ongoing contract battles with studio head Jack Warner.
All in all, it was a thoroughly interesting book.
Another book that caught my eye was A Waiter In Paris, by a fellow named Edward Chisholm.
As the title suggests, this book is about a waiter in Paris. Our narrator is a young Englishman with aspirations of becoming a writer. Currently living in an apartment in Paris with his girlfriend, she soon tells him that she's landed a job at a gallery in London and plans to leave in a couple of weeks and would like him to go back to England with her. He has no plans to return to the UK, figuring that he'd like to follow in the footsteps of George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway, hoping to be inspired by the City of Lights. Of course, he hasn't really thought things through and by month's end, he's living out the remainder of the soon-to-expire lease on the apartment, with around 200 Euros in his pocket and no other possessions to his name.
In a country where he doesn't speak the lingo, either.
So, he sets out to get a job in a restaurant, but without any hospitality experience or French speaking skills, he winds up as a runner in a small and seedy - but busy - bistro where the waiters work very long hours and try to cheat each other out of tips and scraps of food. It's a very bleak position that he's put himself in and the book outlines his attempts to find someplace to live and sleep while trying to earn enough money to buy a packet of cigarettes. All the while, the other waiters (and one of the managers) view him with distrust and contempt.
The introductory chapter felt a little clichéd, but it soon showed itself to be a very well written book. Made me go out and buy Orwell's Down And Out In Paris And London, which I'll tackle some other time.
I've also been slowly working though a book called The Notebook - A History of Thinking on Paper, by Roland Allen. It's a history of how notebooks were first used and their evolution throughout the centuries and how they derived and expanded from early accounting practices and ledgers in Florence and other cities of the world throughout history. Some chapters are slow, to be sure, but it has been an interesting read.
Other watches worn since March...
The 1982 model Rolex Submariner 5513 has been worn sparingly so far this year. I've found myself reaching for the Tudor Black Bay 58 more often.
Whilst this Rolex was a Grail Watch for decades, I've found myself babying it a little in recent years. Its plexiglas crystal is more prone to scratching than modern sapphire crystal, for one thing.
This has had me thinking about whether or not this particular watch will stay in the collection. It has a deserved iconic status in the history of dive watches, without a doubt, but I view my watches as things to be worn and used. That's what they are for, after all, so if I find myself being a little too careful with a watch, then I begin to rethink its place in the collection. This will require a little more thought and consideration. If I do decide to move it along, I'll first have to give some serious thought to what will replace it. And, just as importantly, if not more so, whatever I decide to do, there can be no regrets. I've been down that road and it sucks. If or when the time comes to sell this watch, I'd better be damn sure.
For now, though, it's a stayer.
Not much I can fault with this watch. My only quibble is the clasp, or rather, the length of it. It doesn't perfectly follow the curve of my wrist, which has more to do with the small diameter of my wrist than it does with the clasp itself. Still, I managed to fit an after-market half-link to the bracelet and this alone has improved the fit of the watch. It now fits about 95% perfectly.
Good enough for me.
I've had this watch since Boxing Day 2020, so it may be ready for servicing in about a year or so, but something tells me it may still be a few years away from requiring attention.
The Rolex brand gets a lot of well-deserved and earned attention. It makes some phenomenal watches, without a doubt. However, Tudor is nothing to sneeze at, as far as I'm concerned. While watch snobs will refer to the brand as 'the poor man's Rolex', one needs to remember that Tudor was devised by Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf to be the Rolex-type watch for the working man. Tudor cases, crowns and bracelets were supplied by Rolex, while the actual movements were out-sourced. This helped make Tudor watches affordable and they were always considered the sister brand to Rolex.
This has changed over the last ten or twenty years, as Tudor and Rolex have put a little separation between them, but this here is a brand with its own history, classic models, and personality.
I like the simplicity that you get with a simple three-hand watch. No date, just the time.
Okay, I think I'll wrap it up here for now. There's more that I could write, I suppose, but I'm running out of steam as well as inspiration right now.
I hope you've been well this year so far, and thanks for reading!
