Today at work I was minding my own business, having freshly pulled some charts from the records department downstairs. I had just collected some 20 charts and plopped them on the research department cubicle until Tiffany notified me of where there was vacant space. I also had to make poopy, so I went ahead and did dat. when I got back to the area on the central filing cabinet in the middle of our area was a large assortment of foods sprouled out everywhere. To give some context, the research cubicle area is surrounded by vietnamese folks and everyday when I'm not listening to mixes on my headphones I get to listen to the music of their voices gossiping about some issue in their lives or describing to one another the interesting aspects of the process of living their respective lives. as you already know, there are a few things in this world that make my brain release some type of relaxant chemicals that put me at ease: when someone's reading something and they lick their finger then turn the page, acrylic nails tapping in a sequence on a nice hard surface, and most recently the sound of middle aged vietnamese women chit chattering about their lives in a well lit office building. going back to the original story, the food was everywhere and one of the AHS workers Tina Diep was offering me some of the food. she told me that it was for vietnamese new year and described to me how the night before new years is like thanksgiving and that's when all the family gets together and stuffs their faces with home cooked foods infused with love. my boss was there and she asked me about my ethnic background. Her and Tina asked me about when Thais celebrate their new year. Tina told me that she's part Teo-Chew and identifies more with her Chinese side, and that she has family in Thailand that do business (a common Teo-Chew thing, apparently they can hussle...hope I inherited those genez ahahaha..hah). It was at this point where in hindsight I told mahself, "francis good ish for asking questions, it really opens doors to lands of wisdom and perspective that you may never have known". I asked my boss Thu if she cooks Vietnamese food at home. she told me that her mother passed away already but she does remember some of the dishes that she used to make and actually made pho a few nights ago. She told me about how as she got older she was more sensitive to MSG, somehow ended up venting about her life schedule, how her and her husband coordinate cooking, putting the kids to sleep, finishing up work late at night, and getting up to go to work and do it all over again. most of all when concluding this vent she emphasized, "ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE NOW!!!" to me. Stuff like that just reemphasizes the fact that I really do need to just go for things like traveling etc while I still have my youth and before I settle down. at the same time though, I truly look forward to being a father and can't wait to have a family with someone that I love some day. going back to the initial story (for the 2nd time lololol) I am thankful for even the smallest things and these women who I feel are like my 2nd aunties. thank you for the love and I hope to infuse that love into my being to share with others around me.