It started with Đạo last week. He had a fever and headache. Then Đán had a stomachache. He used the bathroom every half an hour. I was debating whether I should cancel their Summit camp, but my wife let them attend.

I volunteered to drive the Scout troops to Summit, which was five hours away. Last Saturday, the night before the trip, I started coughing. In addition, I worried too much, I couldn’t sleep. I worried about Đạo and Đán. Because our newer minivan was still in the shop, I had to take the old minivan. The AC minivan had been inconsistent. I worried about their comfort.

Due to lacking of sleep, I asked my wife to come with me on Sunday. I needed help driving back. As soon as we got back home after over 10 hours on the road, I took a bath and went straight to bed around 8:00 pm. I took some cough syrup and it seemed to help. I am feeling better today, but still can’t rollerblade because of my gout.

Today both my wife and Xuân got sick. I hope they will recover before Friday so we can go to Canada as planned. Nothing seemed to work in our favor. This summer is not going too well so far. I hope Vương and my mother-in-law won’t be next.

My toe gout is slowly going away. I can’t wait for it to be completely gone so I can go back to the skateparks. I must have gained 10 pounds in the last two weeks from eating and sitting around waiting impatiently for my foot to heal.

We’re about to head to Canada next week, but our minivan is still at the dealer. At this time, our insurance is still investigating the damage. It is most likely that our car won’t be ready by next week. We’re screwed. I am going to fight this battle all the way with the insurance company. So if they want to drag it on, I’ll keep dragging it on.

I hate dealing with these types of inconveniences, but I have to. I putting myself under these pressures? It comes down to spending issue. I am not like going broke any time soon, but I keep worrying about it. Anyway, I just need to chill the fuck out. I tell myself that all the time, but I still can’t do it.

It’s already been 12 days and my gout flare is only getting worse. I could barely walk yesterday. Last night, I was in so much pain I couldn’t sleep. Aleve doesn’t do the trick any more. I am still limping around the whole day today. This is my worst gout flare yet.

I haven’t done any physical activities in the past 12 days. I am going to spend my weekend resting—both my foot and my mind. I can’t be stressed out anymore. There’s no point in putting myself under stress. Whatever happens let it happen. I can’t control anything.

I need to get over this gout flare. I also need to think about my lifestyle. The food I eat and the alcohol I drink. I am getting older now. I really need to take things easy. I will be much more careful in the winter. I can’t afford getting attack during the skiing/snowboarding season.

After 9 days, my gout attack hasn’t gone away. I am still limping on the right foot. I missed rollerblading at the skatepark and practicing snowboarding in my basement. It is such a drag.

After 14 days, Ourisman Toyota has found the root cause of the airbag warning light. It will cost over $3,000 to fix the issues. I am waiting on our insurance coverage.

Our home has become funereal after I created the Wifi schedule. The kids are upset with me. Even my wife is not happy. In fact, she hasn’t been happy in a long time. I am deeply concerned.

Just when I thought we were heading in the right direction, things begin to derail. The last few weeks has been stressful, but I have to keep moving. I can’t let money holding me down. I can’t let stress holding me back.

I can’t make everyone happy, but I just have to continue to do all I can for this family.

Đúng ngay ngày thứ hai tuần vừa rồi, tôi ăn 2 cái hotdogs buổi chiều ở Costco. Tối đến bàn chân phải của tôi bắt đầu đau. Tôi uống ngay viên thuốc Aleve nhưng vẫn bị gout tấn công cho đến ngày hôm nay vẫn chưa hết.

Thấy hai năm rồi không bị gout nên cũng hơi cẩu thả. Rượu bia không cai. Thịt bò không tha. giấm táo uống mỗi ngày tưởng là tìm được phương thuốc. Nào ngờ lần này kéo dài hơn cả tuần. Thuốc Aleve không còn dám uống nữa vì đã quá lâu. Cả tuần không được đi rollerblade. Chỉ ở nhà là nhiều. Giờ đây chỉ đợi cho hết đau mà thôi.

Sau lần này tôi phải tự kiểm điểm lại lối sống của mình từ rượu chè đến những món ăn. Sẽ bỏ thịt bò và hạn chế ăn nhậu. Hy vọng sẽ không bị gout tấn công nữa.

After consuming two hotdogs at Costco last evening, I had a gout flare in my right foot. It was not a severe attack, but definitely prevented me from rollerblading for a couple of days. In addition to drinking beer or Yoju moderately (a can a day) and not avoiding beef, I had been overstressed myself out. The combination did it. I am treating the gout flare with Aleve for a couple of days. Hopefully, it will be done by Wednesday. I don’t want to take Aleve more than three days. Gout flares put me in checked. It is time to slow down the fun.

A few weeks ago, I asked my wife if she loves me. I was half joking, half curious. She didn’t give me a straight answer; therefore, I asked her if she trusted me. She said “yes” without any hesitation. I can live with that.

If our marriage depended on love, we might not lasted to this day. Love is like a faucet. It turns off and on. Once the romantic period was over and reality kicked in, love could turn into hate.

Fortunately, our relationship has built on trust. We trust each other enough to stay together. Trust is the foundation of our marriage. If our trust was broken, everything we had built together would have collapsed. As a result, we guard our trust with our lives.

We never had any financial conflicts between us because we trusted each other. We never had any infidelity issues because we trusted each other (“ain’t nobody humpin’ around”). Trust not only keeps us tight, but also frees us up so we can be independents. We never had to worry if one of us was up to no good. We trust that everything we do, we do it for our family, our kids, and our relationship.

Trust helped us weathered through many storms in our marriage. Even when we faced serious issues, trust prevented us from walking out of our relationship. If we could make it through the night, we trusted that we would see a brighter day.

This past year has been fantastic for us. We made peace—not war. Of course we still argued, but we made up quickly. We still stressed the hell out, but not because of our relationship. We got out more and socialized more. Meeting and getting to know other people made us appreciate each other. We gave each other space to do our own things once in a while. I could go skiing by myself or out drinking with my friends while she held down the parenting floor. In contrast, she could spend time with her family while I held down the parenting department.

This has been the best year of our marriage so far. It took a decade and a half for us to finally figured out each other. I hope we will do even better many years to come.

I love you and totally trust you. Of course, I always know you love me too. Happy sixteenth anniversary!

I haven’t had a gout attack for more than a year (knock on wood). I haven’t avoided steak, phở bò, and liquors either. I eat and drink pretty much whatever I want. How do I have my gout under control? I think apple cider vinegar has something to do with it.

I don’t know for a fact that apple cider vinegar is the remedy, but I think it helps. I asked my internist and she informed me that there’s no scientific evidence to prove it. Nevertheless, I am popping 2 pills of apple cider vinegar (along with K3+D3 and Zinc) each morning with 2% milk. That has been my breakfast for the past 6 months or so.

Even if apple cider vinegar doesn’t work for my gout, it doesn’t harm my kidney like other gout medications including Allopurinol. In addition to apple cider vinegar, I put a lot of pressure on my feet through rollerblading, skiing, and snowboarding. Again, I am not sure if these sports helped, but I am so damn glad that I don’t have to deal with gout attack.

If you have gout, try out the Nature’s Truth apple cider vinegar and let me know if it helps.

Hôm trước có người hỏi tôi, “Bất cần đời” dịch ra tiếng Anh làm sao. Miệng thì nói ra từ như “careless”, “needless”, và “disregard”, nhưng trong đầu tôi nghĩ dịch chính xác nhất là, “don’t give a fuck”.

Tôi dùng câu châm ngôn này để tự nhắc nhở bản thân mình rất nhiều lần. “I don’t give a fuck about you” hay “I don’t give a fuck about her” hay “I don’t give a fuck about him” hay “Shit, I don’t even give a fuck about myself”.

Những câu này tuy không đẹp đẽ nhưng đã giúp tôi vượt qua rất nhiều khó khăn trong đời sống. Khi bất cần thì không bị cảm xúc vướng víu. Từ chuyện công đến chuyện tư, tôi bất cần mọi vấn đề phiền phức.

Tôi không cho phép mình bị lệ thuộc vào công việc cho dù việc làm nuôi sống gia đình. Ai muốn làm gì thì làm. Tôi chỉ hoàn tất nhiệm vụ của mình. Không nhúng tay vào những chuyện mâu thuẫn.

Trong đời tư, tôi càng không cho phép mình đặt cảm tình vào những mối quan hệ không xứng đáng. Ai ghét bỏ mình hay tránh né mình, tôi cũng chẳng quan tâm. Ai giàu hơn mình, tài giỏi hơn mình, tốt cho họ. Không có gì phải ganh ghét. Tôi chẳng cần hơn thua gì với ai cả. Có đấu tranh thì cũng với chính mình.

Khi có thể nhắc nhở bản thân mình, “I don’t give a fuck”, thì mọi phiền muộn cũng tan biến. Những cơn trầm cảm cũng trôi qua. Cuộc sống sẽ tốt đẹp hơn khi ta bỏ đi hết những tiêu cực và chú tâm vào những tích cực. Những mối quan hệ trong gia đình, bạn thân, hay người dưng nước lã, tôn trọng nhau thì tốt. Ngược lại, hãy đưa ngón giữa lên cho những ai không biết điều, ganh tị, và ích kỷ.

Hôm nay lễ Mẹ. Những ai còn có mẹ hãy dành thời gian với mẹ mình. Đừng bỏ lỡ cơ hội. Mẹ không ở bên mình suốt cả đời.

Vợ tôi may mắn vẫn còn mẹ bên cạnh. Không phải ai cũng có được cái diễm phúc đó. Có người muốn lo lắng cho mẹ mình cũng không được. Mỗi người có mỗi hoàn cảnh khác nhau. Thấy vợ chăm sóc cho mẹ chu đáo, tôi cũng vui. Bổn phận làm con là phải như vậy.

Hy vọng sau này mấy thằng con cũng sẽ biết lo lắng cho mẹ nó. Đừng vì vợ mà quên mẹ mình. Chỉ cần chúng nó hiểu được điều đó là tôi an tâm.

Mẹ tôi đã lìa xa cõi đời. Mẹ ra đi nơi này vẫn thế. Vẫn có mẹ trong tim chúng con.