During this time, I was staying in Hanoi after half a year in Saigon. My mom last month had an accident where she got hit by a motorbike, she is basically trying to get across the road but the bike didn’t see her because there was a car blocking their vision, hence she got a broken leg, her lower right leg bones, both tibia and fibula snapped in half and required a year of recovery, basically she is a disability for now. It was a big moment for all of us in the family; it was a shock, and I was really sad. But the lesson learned the hard way, we cannot just cross the street in Hanoi easily, or any street in Vietnam, there are always risks of getting hit by a car or bike. To be frank, most cities in Vietnam, especially Hanoi, are not pedestrian or bicycle-friendly.
My company has a big cut this year, trying to reserve its profit expectation for its investors to keep investing in the business. There is expectation of growth, but the IT service market feels like a downturn this year since our clients are trying to cut costs, and IT expense is one of those. It’s difficult to see new works coming in nowadays since most companies have difficulty accessing a loan. Most travel expenses are cut, and so are our bonuses and the opportunity to get a raise. But that makes sense since COVID-19, IT services have been hyped, and now that AI is also hyped, it could be a boom someday where everybody loses money, and the capital will be redistributed in those fields that matter most. Energy sector (like EV and batteries, clean energy) and IT & Automation will still be a long-term focus of humanity since we are trying to reduce reliance on human labor, and we also need huge energy to enable other fields, like we need to harness clean energy for sustainable development and feeding our AI workers.
Housing cost is still at an all-time high and has a chance of getting downward, this definitely hestitates me from owning a house, but rather I want to stay alert on the market, like seeing if there is a chance to get a loan from the bank with low interest rates. I’m having a thought of returning to Saigon once more for market investigation, my focus is still around District 9, but again, if my company fails, then it’s no point to stay in D9, like who wants to stay on a sinking ship. Of course, regardless of my working location, I committed myself to delivering great results through hard work.
This month, in November, I had a chance to visit Atlanta, GA. The flight was great, and the passengers who sat next to me were polite and clean. Foods are good. In the hotel, it’s spacious and clean, breakfast is so-so, food is a bit processed and high in calories. I would try to get a Rotisserie chicken that can probably keep me full for 3 days. I was trying to get a tennis hitting partners. I got a racquet here for 300 USD The price is a bit high here, but it’s an American racquet (probably produced in China) and it’s in an American store, so I could say that it’s some memories to have. Of course, if I have a chance to find a hitting partners, then I will definitely have some fun here. Other than that, I expect my trip here will be mostly business and no recreation.