Oct. 1, 2019
My bridge city breakup means I won’t be seeing the dragon all the time.
The news was bittersweet. Last month I found out that I got a great job but that also meant an inevitable bridge city breakup, a day in which I would have to bid adieu to Da Nang. And not only would I have to leave Da Nang, I would have to return to Saigon, something I mentioned last month after my trip to Ba Na Hills.
I can’t say I went through the five stages of grief but if I had, this is what it would look like:
1. Denial
No. I will not leave Da Nang. I’d rather be poor and struggling and stay here than go back to the contaminated chaos in the concrete jungle of Saigon. In Da Nang, I can walk to the beach in 10 to 15 minutes. In Saigon, I can walk into a speeding motorbike even when I’m on the sidewalk. In other words, Da Nang rocks, Saigon sucks.
2. Anger
How the fu*k do I get such shitty ride share service so often in Saigon? It should be statistically impossible! It’s almost always something. My driver can’t read the GPS so he struggles to find me. Or my driver doesn’t have the instincts or common sense to figure out that the GPS is not providing the best route to my location. And sometimes, the app doesn’t work at all because it says it is updating rewards. I’m so tired of this shit.
3. Depression
Fu*k my life (deep breath, sad face).
4. Bargaining
Maybe there’s a way I can negotiate a contract that will allow me to work remotely. Then I wouldn’t have to live in Saigon. I could stay in my comfortable apartment in Da Nang.
5. Acceptance
Well, the job is a great opportunity. I need to carpe diem. This could lead to great things, and now that I’ve experienced Saigon’s worst, I should be able to deal with it better the second time around.
This is gonna be interesting.