Just some random thoughts

It's Christmas Eve, and I'm by myself again. It's not that I'm complaning again at all, in fact, it could be worse if I hadn't known Katie. I could be dying from loneliness in Morgantown, by myself looking at the wall. How come my whole life that I have always been searching for something? Oh, damn it, hopefully this blog is private.

Anyway, I love that movie "The Devil Wears Prada" for a lot of reason, it's upbeat, gorgeous and it's sort of the life that I want. An apartment in a big city, a boyfriend, friends and a newspaper-related job. Since when do I become girly like this? It's killing my purse with new clothes and shoes, damn it.

I always find that the lonely guy is someone who's attractive. Like Anderson Cooper. Somebody who is addicted to work. This sounds so stupid. But I wish someday I would like somebody from the newsroom. And we would work until 2 a.m. in the morning to meet deadline, and then we would come back and talk until the morning about how we love being journalists.

Another year is going to end soon. 2006 isn't a perfect year for me. But I have grown as a person and as a reporter, if I can call myself that. Another year is heading toward us. My family and friends, stay healthy and happy. For 2007, I want a job, an awesome internship in Austin, go back to Vietnam after 4 years, graduation, sister's wedding...A lot....waiting ahead....

Let's be happy for once,

Huong
Syracuse, NY

Lovely Burlington

Nothing more to say. This scene is close to where I lived from June 1- July 31 in Burlington, VT

World Cup 2006

Finally, Italy wins this summer in Germany. Too bad I had to enjoy World Cup 2006 by myself. At least our favorite team wins. Soccer is amazing. It makes you laugh, scream, cry, all at once....When will Vietnam play in a World Cup? Probably in the next 30 years. We hope !

Associated Press Diverse Voices workshop

I was inside a jail in Ohio. This was part of the Associated Press Diverse Voices workshop held in Cleveland --- for student journalists. We did a story on Midge --- the new police dog brought on board by a sherif. Midge was tiny but sniffed out drugs and marijuana quickly !!!
The AP experiences were amazing --- where I learnt from an AP photographer (Indianapolis) how to think visually, where I learnt that in journalism -- every rule can be broken, where I met AP journalists who are dedicated and who have been recording people's lives in words and pictures.

Princeton University

This picture was taken at the campus of Princeton University -- where I attended a conference hosted by the Institute of Humane Studies. The conference --- "Exploring Liberty"--- gathered students across the country to explore the concept of libertianism. All professors who presented at the conference were basically argue toward the idea of limited government. I didn't wholly agree.
It was fun to meet the talented kids from Harvard, George Mason, U of Illinois and realize I need to read and learn a lot more !!

Burlington Free Press

This is outside the Burlington Free Press -- where I was a metro desk intern during summer 2006. Ironically, the Free Press has been criticized for its conservative stand and has been very unpopular among Burlington residents. Like many other newspapers across the U.S., its circulation has been declined from more than 100,000 to now 48,000. However, it was still a newsroom where I learnt how to cover something on deadline, work with editors, interview sources and pitch story ideas. The nicest editor was Jessica Hyman - the town editor. Stories I did include: the closing of Burlington's last hostel, the expansion of Lund Family Center, the new proposal of an artistic bike rack and endless community stories.....

My nephew - the next generation of Vietnam

Ha, this is my 7-month-old nephew, so cute : ) He was born on Christmas Day of 2005. The next generation of Vietnam, hopefully, will do something good for the country. Chep' -- that's what his parents called --- a type of fish that his father caught for my sister during her pregnancy. Hoho, Chep'