Ba Vojdaan! with James and Sana
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In this hair-raising, no-frills edition of Ba Vojdaan, James and Sana discuss actionable steps to take prior to travel in the event the airline loses your luggage. As was the case with James, who arrived in Vietnam last Friday only be told his bags were not on the same plane as he was. In fact, it took over 4 days to locate the bags and get them to the right place. James and Sana recorded this on the car ride to the airport to retrieve the bags. Thankfully nothing was lost, stolen or damaged, and life in Paradise continues. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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Yesterday was a bit difficult. It was an emotional time because it was my final day with my son, Gabriel for it's going to be some time I expect it'll be a few months. It was a different goodbye from my son. Yesterday than it has been in the past. I've left a couple of times before. And he's to the age where he's able to perceive his emotions and he's able to be aware of his emotions and express emotions in a way that he didn't when he was five and six years old, he's just about eight years old now. And it was just, it was different and it was very, it was tearful for him. For me, it was very much. And there were some things that I said to him that I wanted to, it was just, I guess you could call it fatherly wisdom passing on to a son. And I did this in the spirit of helping him to cope with this. So oftentimes that you go with the principle of what is said versus the actual letter of the law, so to speak. So the first thing that I told my son that I wanted him to do while I was away is to be good to his mother, to do what his mother says to Listened to his mom and be respectful to his mom because it's difficult. The second thing that I said to my son was it's okay to cry. I don't want my son to think that he has to hold his emotions in he's to the age he's at the age where he's going to be inclined to think that crying is for wimps it's for sissies big boys don't cry. We all think that men think that. We think that we're too good to cry, but I told him Gabriel, it's okay to cry. If you feel like you need to cry. It's okay. It's totally human to cry when you get emotional, when you get sad. It's okay. And then the third thing that I told them, Was to when he is feeling angry, when he's feeling upset and he feels like he's going to get angry at something, just take a deep breath. I told him, oftentimes when you get angry at something really small, like something really small will trigger your anger and you just, whatever you have a reaction. And it's not that one little thing. It may be, maybe it's something that is upsetting in and of itself, but it doesn't warrant the reaction that some that we sometimes have at that small little thing. And I told him when you feel like you're about to get angry at something, just take a deep breath, breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. And I don't know if he is going to remember that exact instruction to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. But I think that he will remember to breathe when he's feeling upset, angry at something. I asked him to repeat what I had said a couple of times and he said it right back to me. He said, be good to my mom. It's okay to cry. And. Take a deep breath when I'm feeling angry. Those three things I wanted to share with you, because I think that they could be of use that could be a value to really anyone that listens and is dealing with any type of stressful situation. Not just a separation from a loved one, but really anything. I hope that this little recording that I made is a value to you and we'll be in your ear ball soon. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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James revealed an idiosyncrasy about the army that drove him crazy; Sana talks him off the ledge. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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ENJOY THIS ARTICLE SANA SHARED THE OTHER DAY WITH JAMES: 30 JOKES THAT ONLY GRAMMAR NERDS WILL UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE. https://thelanguagenerds.com/2021/30-jokes-that-only-grammar-nerds-will-understand-and-appreciate/?fbclid=IwAR08p781INW6lhLaynEuahSsILar2t7mn6X-uclOlNqn-z8e1IWAUmFK5kA How well do you know James and Sana? Take the quiz and find out! jamesandsana.com/quiz /jamesandsana.com/quiz Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
BBC article mentioned: Why is Rumi the best-selling poet in the US? https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140414-americas-best-selling-poet Read the list at jamesandsana.com /jamesandsana.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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James and Sana get into a spirited discussion regarding gender roles in the family. Probably won't hear these views on the mainstream family values station any time soon! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Imagine Batman without the Joker, or the Penguin, or any of the other villains in the comics and movies. Or Superman without Lex Luthor, or those three individuals with equal powers to Superman but who broke bad in their spirit and wished harm and destruction upon Planet Earth? How utterly boring would that be? It was the villains that made those shows and comics watchable/readable. A villain who did an awful thing made Batman himself if I recall correctly. We revile the villains, the misfits, the outsiders. It gives us a sense of security in our bubble of righteousness. "Maybe I've got issues, but at least I'm not ..." "What a mess is..." And so on and so forth. But can you imagine life without them? Superman and Lois Lane just flying around looking gaw-gaw at each other? I'll give that a hard pass. How about a movie with Batman giving a David Attenborough style tour of Gotham City? I'm laughing at the thought of it. Our society has lost its character in many ways, because a character has become taboo. The 1970's was a generation of misfits, and I dare say this world was better for it. Contrast that with the totalitarian sameness of a communist society, and you would probably be quick to take the flaws of a misfit society. We certainly would. That generation had character, because people were allowed to be characters. Things that people routinely lose their livelihoods over, have their reputations ruined here in 2021 was part of life not that long ago. Someone had an unsavory opinion on something? You just accepted it, lived with it, and maybe even learned something from a differing point of view, albeit with language you'd just as soon not hear. It used to be part of life. These days? Not so much. Humanity with all its flaws and errors, dare I say it, helped form people's character. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The idea of conscientiously objecting to the idea of war has been around for as long as wars have existed - which is to say for all of recorded history, and undoubtedly prior to that too. The United States has had more than its fair share of conscientious objectors. While it's thankfully not as big an issue in the last 50 years or so with an all-volunteer military, there are in fact members of the military today who seek to be discharged because they realize their personal beliefs are incompatible with their commitment to the military. James found himself in that exact predicament about 5 years into his stint in the Army where he was employed as a musician. This is circa 2014-15. Although in a non-combat role, the very participation in - not to mention garnering public support for - an activity he deeply objected to led him to seek discharge as a conscientious objector. In this episode of Ba Vojdaan, Sana asks James questions about: __ __ It's kind of a heavy topic, guaranteed to invoke an emotional response whether positive or negative. So fair warning before you press play ;) And be sure to check us out on the web at jamesandsana.com Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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In this fact-free, fun-filled episode, James and Sana explain "Ba Vojdaan", the new name of the podcast, an embarrassing and hilarious gaffe James made with Sana's mother, a prank we played on James' mom and just a little bit more! Enjoy the show! Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/james-and-sana. * See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? What comes first, love or marriage? Sana and James discuss love, marriages - both arranged and "free-will" and the drawbacks to both - and much more. Bottom line: Love isn't an emotion; it's an action. It is experienced when we put in the work to make it happen. Like making your husband eggs for breakfast, but we digress. Lust is often mistaken for love, and many a marriage has been founded on that shaky ground, with no real outcome than its demise - especially in this culture of hyper-individualism and where the sacred institutions of society have more or less abdicated its authority in such affairs to the state. James and Sana also recount their very first phone call together in March 2019. Enjoy! If you enjoy these podcasts that James and Sana produce, perhaps you'll consider supporting us financially. As you may have heard, we are in the process of obtaining a visa for Sana to reside in the United States. And boy it aint cheap. If you'd like to help us out with covering the attorney's fees, filing fees, copying fees (it cost nearly $200 just to make copies of all the materials in our application), and many more things, we'd be tremendously grateful. If you choose not to, that's okay too. We love making these podcasts as it has grown us closer together as a couple, and we're glad other people are able to share in our exploits as we grow our new family! https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=AGV7XV97SF6L8 (Click here to send your contribution)
It's been awhile since Sana and I made a podcast. It turns out we sort of missed it, and wanted to record a quick update for y'all who apparently tune in. I was pleasantly surprised to see well over 150 downloads for some of our episodes, so it looks like there's something of a demand for what we say. And for good reason. I cling to every word that Sana says, which is why I married her! So enjoy this short little chat, and we promise there will be more to come in the future!
If we were merely interested, we would not have made it through our first year of marriage. This is our story.
"Mr. Newcomb..." said the voice on the other end of the line. "Yes." "This is the hotel manager. Did you break the rules of the hotel this morning?" Silence. I could practically feel the white-hot lights in the interrogation room burning into my skin, my freedom hinging on what I would say next. "Mr. Newcomb, did you break the rules of the quarantine this morning?" "Did you see me breaking the rules?" "I saw it on the video camera." "I see." "Mr. Newcomb, would you like me to assist you in moving to the army barracks to do the remainder of your quarantine? Because I'll be happy to do so if that's your wish." "Now why would you do that?" "We notified the local authority, and they told us we should send you to the army barracks because you broke the rules of the hotel this morning." Silence. "I need some water sent to my room." "What size?" "The big 19 liter jug." "Okay, it's coming right up, sir." Click. The water arrived a few minutes later. The above conversation actually happened this morning at the hotel where I'm serving my mandatory 14-day quarantine upon my arrival in Vietnam to live with my wife Sana. What was my crime? you're probably asking. I walked outside my room in the hallway, attempting to mimic something that resembles a walk. It was 6 am, and not a soul was in sight. But the rule clearly states that "guests" are not permitted to leave their hotel room for any reason. Now, I don't mind rules that are intended to keep Covid out of the country. It's their home, I'm more or less visiting. What bothers me, whether for disease prevention or anything else, is rules that exist just to exist. And people who enforce them for no other reason than they're there - common sense, or the mental health of paying guests at a hotel be damned. As petty and childish as the hotel manager was, there's an important lesson to be gleaned from this experience. From my perspective, these people are unreasonable, to the point of being even fanatical in their hyper-compliance with the rules. But it kind of puts to shame many who have a business, a side-hustle, a ministry who don't have the same zeal. I'm not saying we should emulate the indifference to the welfare of other human beings. But in the spirit of not throwing out the baby with the bath water, there is an important lesson to be learned from this other wise negative experience.
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