Quote of the Day

“Being poor means there’s potential for becoming rich.” From True to Love, a Korean TV series I am addicting to.

“Co Nhung Dieu Ky”

A gorgeous jazz tune from Jazzy Da Lam gets dressed in string orchestration. Ngoc Anh’s slightly raucous timbre sounds intoxicating on the low register. On the climax, however, her voice gets too operatic.

Birth Story

After reading “Chuot Con’s Birth Story,” I have a much deeper appreciation for women who have to endure all the pain. In 15 weeks, Dana will give birth to our first joy. But before the joy comes, she has to get through all the pain. Just thinking of the experience makes me love and respect her even more. I can’t say that I can share the pain (I wish I could), but I can definitely feel it. I’ll be there with you in every step of the way, baby. Then again, I am pretty sure all the pain will go away after you hold this little angel in your hands. Now that’s a real joy!

Chinese Buffet

Somehow I have been craving for Chinese buffet all week. It must be the rain and the darkness after work. We’ll definitely go to a Chinese buffet tomorrow, but don’t want to go to our usual places. Any good recommendation around Virginia and DC?

Married and Old

New Year day, we went to a friend house for a little get together. The place was packed with about five or six couples and about half a dozen of kids. There was one single lady in the house. Guess what happened? That’s right, she left early. She probably got bored of all the kids’ stories and wanted to do her single thangs.

The next morning, we went to Thanh Truc for some rice dishes. Sat next to us was a little chubby kid about seven or eight years old. He ate the pork chops first then literally cleaned up the dish full of rice. His mom ordered him another dish and only allowed him to eat half. In the meantime, I was struggling to clean up my first plate. For a whole day, I couldn’t eat anything else. Damn, I am getting old.

Free Prostate Cancer Screening

If you live in D.C. Metro area, come to GW Cancer Institute this weekend for free screening of prostate cancer. For more information, head over to GW News Center.

Dianne Reeves on Jazz

“You know, people always talk about ‘what jazz is,’ and it’s really hard to describe. But one thing I do know is that it’s a very intimate exchange between everyone on stage, giving inspiration and ideas to each other; and the other part that’s magical for me is when the audience is in on it.”

From Ben Ratliff’s The Jazz Ear: Conversations over Music, the book I am enjoying during my train ride.