tet festival & american presidents

i've felt crummy and wiped this past week, thanks to a full-fledged flare which has had me sleeping and resting a lot, pacing myself at work, exercising gently through the pain, and getting acupuncture. i'm bummed that my hands and wrists are affected, but i think it's better. on tues, dr. glick tried out some new points: he put needles in the sides of my feet (!) (called "bladder points", which he says he sometimes help with systemic arthritises), and another needle near my navel, among others. i think (hope) it works. if not, at least vioxx is returning to market! (i'm half joking/half serious). BUT despite the joint woes, there are still things to be happy about:

on saturday i went to a Tet celebration. i'll go ahead and call it a highlight of this weekend, even though it's not over yet. i'd never been to a vietnamese festival before. ("Tet" is a vietnamese new year celebration). vietnamese people celebrate their new year on the same lunar calendar that the chinese do. hence, it was a party to welcome of the year of the rooster. daisy told me about the tet show late last week, and we decided to go check it out. (a perk of being friends with your local university's dean of students, is that as you get the inside scoop on many fun & interesting events happening on your nearby campus)!

and wow, what a treat this was! the tet festival was colorful and fascinating, and the college kids who organized the event radiated contagious energy and enthusiasm. there was a traditional lion dance, and i loved seeing people dressed in their traditional garb of ornate silk/satin tunics. the cultural richness stood out, and it was interesting to observe how close-knit their ethnic community is, both in general, and as a student organization. as a bonus, there was plenty of food to go around! i really enjoy vietnamese cuisine, and not surprisingly, my favorite item was the spring rolls. those bite-sized delights may be no bigger than your thumb�but they certainly pack so much flavor in them. sometimes, good things really do come in tiny packages!

what else? no work today! "president's day" really means "three-day weekend". i won't complain. although a couple of my friends still have to work today (boo hoo) i've got lunch plans this afternoon, and sushi is on tap. afterwards? i'll play it by ear. gotta love them presidents--let's hear it for february!