Last September, I passed a young woman at La Salle University. Plainly dressed in white and black, she was Asian Amish. She was completely non-descript and would have passed for any college student in uniform but for the small black ring in her nose. Without saying, this was totally hot. I found my hand pinching the small of my nose. I returned to Saigon and waited for the image to dissapate. It didn't. So, a few days ago on a break from the conference, on a whim, I went into a body art shop at the Free Asia Plaza, laid down some cash and had my septum pierced. I'm impressionable.

The test was coming back to Vietnam. For the first time I managed to get through the immigration without a small hassle and there doesn't seem to be any problem at the University (yet). I've met design clients in meetings. So far so good. A friend from the US will be arriving with a retainer in the next weeks. I'm counting on needing at least another month before the hole is reliable. Because the horseshoe-shaped ring is small, black and centered, it sort of looks like a thin mustache from a distance. That kind of grosses me out.