It’s hard to believe that my final thesis is 10 years old today. To celebrate this special occasion, I wrote about “A Decade of Vietnamese Typography.”

I tuned up a young man’s snowboard for $50. Yesterday he came to pick it up and tipped me $10. I didn’t expected it. As far as I could remember, it could be the first tip I ever received in my life. It made me even more appreciative of his generosity.

I taught snowboarding last season and I received no tip at all. I was not complaining though. I was doing it for fun and, of course, for the free passes. Although it is not required, you should tip the instructors if you take skiing or snowboarding lessons and if they had done an excellent job. We get paid very little.

On the other hand, these group and private lessons aren’t cheap either; therefore, don’t worry about tipping if you can’t. We do our job regardless to help you enjoy an experience of a lifetime.

Mùa hè hai năm trước, tôi có dịp qua Ottawa, Canada và được nghe ca sĩ Đào Nguyên hát live. Tôi có quay lại một clip ngắn chị trình bày ca khúc “Tình lỡ”, sáng tác của nhạc sĩ Thanh Bình. Cuối tháng này sẽ được nghe chị hát live tại Reston,Virginia. Anh em nào thích nhạc acoustic thì đến cùng thưởng thức nhé.

Saturday morning, I opened up Facebook’s Marketplace and spotted a free piano. To my untrained eyes, it still looked good. I messaged the seller and got an immediate response. She told me that her family just moved into a new house. It was smaller; therefore, she needed to get rid of it as soon as possible.

I told her that I would need to hire a mover. I fell right into her trap. She told me she could recommend a mover who moved her piano yesterday. They did a great job carrying it to the second floor. She gave me their phone numbers.

I called and asked for a quote. A man answered and said that his company will charge $500. The company policy was that half must be paid first then the rest must be paid when the job was completed. I told him I couldn’t pay $250, but I could make a $50 deposit. He said that the piano was on the second floor; therefore, he needed to get a crane. He was willing to take $100. I asked him if he would take credit cards and he said no. I said how would I know if he was not scamming me. He told me to hire another local mover. We ended our conversation.

Of course, I was texting my wife during the whole transaction. She told me to be careful of scammers and advised me to ask for the piano owner’s address. When I asked for her address, she stopped responding. I reported her account.

My wife was right and she saved me from being scammed. I went back to the Marketplace and saw lots of similar listings. Beware of the free piano scams.

Hân hạnh mời anh chị em ở vùng Hoa Thịnh Đốn (DMV) đến tham dự đêm nhạc acoustic, khiêu vũ, và karaoke cùng với hai khách mời đặc biệt đến từ Ottawa, Canada: ca sĩ Ðào Nguyên và pianist Viết Tấn.

Xem poster thêm chi tiết!

Tôi đã từng nghe Ðào Nguyên hát live ở Ottawa, Canada. Cô có chất giọng bốc khói và hát rất truyền cảm. Hãy nghe thử ca khúc “Cần thiết” của nhạc sĩ Nguyên Sa và Hoàng Thanh Tâm do Ðào Nguyên trình bày.

Anh Viết Tấn thì một người bạn thân và anh đánh đàn piano rất sành điệu. Anh Tân đam mê âm nhạc lắm nên tổ chức cho vui. Thậm chí anh còn bỏ tiền túi ra.

Bạn nào ở Virginia hay gần bên muốn đến tham dự và ủng hộ thì email Doanh để giữ chỗ nhé.

I have been looking forward to reading weekly update from our manager at Whitetail Resort as we are getting closer to the winter. Here’s a little except in which he teases us:

As I sit here this morning looking over at the bottom of Northern Lights, I can’t help but get excited knowing that before we know it. The guns will be running, the lifts will be turning and all of us in blue jackets will be getting ready to circle up and have our morning meeting. I can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces and the smiles that you all put on the faces of our guests.

I just can’t wait!

Mỗi lần bà xã giận vì tôi lười biếng, tôi giả thích, “Bởi anh lười nên anh đâu có làm gì đâu mà em giận”.

Buyer: Hello, how long have you been using this? Thank you

Me: 2 seasons

Buyer: May I know why do you have many skis?

Me: 2 reasons:

1. It’s my business.
2. It’s none of your fucking business.

Me: Are you still interested in buying the skis?

Needless to say, I didn’t make the sale.

Kristin Bair, my longest client of more than 16 years, will release her forth novel, Clementine Crane Prefers Not To, tomorrow, October 14, 2025. I pre-ordered my copy. I read all three of her previous books and can’t wait to read her new one soon. Check out her website designed by yours truly.

Á đù… Đến giờ mà còn bắt học DEI? Đám Vail này chắc chưa đi mưa nên chưa thấy lạnh. Thì ra toàn là dân trượt tuyết nên đéo biết lạnh. Chẳng những đành phải học DEI, mà tôi rất vui vì còn có công ty xem trọng giá trị của DEI.