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Although the snow has melted and the sun has shined, Poughkeepsie is still a place where, “Pho nui cao pho nui day suong / Pho nui cay xanh troi thap that buon,” just like what Pham Duy has described in his lovely “Con Chut Gi De Nho.” Plenty of time I feel like Poughkeepsie is not a place for me. I need to be surrounded by my Vietnamese community so I could have a bowl of Pho, a dish of rice or a loaf of bread whenever I crave for one. What I truly miss are just the simple greetings between the Vietnamese folks. Somehow hearing my own language warms up my heart. Although Poughkeepsie has none of that, “May ma co em doi con de thuong.” When Nguyen Khang pours his heart out on, “Xin cam on thanh pho co em / Xin cam on mot mai toc mem,” I definitely feel that shit. Thanks Khang, I owe you a cig for that.

While I was away, Auto Elegance (recommended by dealer and charged like dealer) put my baby back into her original condition. With two grants, which were over what Geico had estimated, dropped, I felt like I was driving off with a brand new baby. She was clean and polished in and out. Elegance sure lives up to its name.

Still hanging around Virginia for Vietnamese New Year. Bumped into my boy from Lancaster yesterday at Eden Center. Hommie’s now a frequent drummer at Diamond Night Club. There goes my free admission to the joint. Caught up with him for a bit before heading into Viet Royale for the worst seven-course beef ever. How could such a fancy restaurant fail the simplest dish that requires only fresh beef and vinegar? The beef was as good as McDonald’s patties. Why the rare beef with lime (bo tai chanh) was cooked is beyond me. The suppose-to-be fatty beef (bo mo chay) tasted like American sausage.

Friday, had a chance to meet up with my men HmL and Ducster. These guys are off the hook. With their friendliness and down-to-earth attitude, look them up if you’re in the area. Brother Ducster has all the connections (including free Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Vietnamese hoagies) you need. Thanks both for the lunch at Viet Bistro. It’s a nice place to hang out, but I must confess the bun bo hue wasn’t good. The beef was so chewy that I felt like I was eating beef jerky with broth. Maybe I should have tried something else. Still, it was a great pleasure to finally meet my two big brothers, and you know I am going to be down there more often now. So don’t even try to hide from me. Next time we’ll be chilling in Cafe XXX.

The beta version of Textpattern is available for download. Word up!

Back to work

Snow is out, back to work. After many hours of playing around with different layouts for nfsahc.org yesterday, it’s finally coming together. It’s time to send it off to the client. Also waiting for the contents to arrived. Hopefully it’ll launched some time next week.

Cooked Rice

Mom bought me a rice cooker and a bag of rice when I first moved to Poughkeepsie. Being stuck in the snow yesterday, I finally started to cook my first rice. Added a little bit too much water but it was eatable. Ain’t nuttin’ better than sticky rice and burnt hot dogs. Ghetto style, baby!

Wishing you a prosperous new year filled with love, cash, and kids. According to Wikipedia, “To bear children in the year of the pig is considered very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest.” So break out the champagne glasses, toss away the condoms, and start making babies. Of course, a little bluesy vibe from “Mua Xuan va Tinh Yeu” (music and lyrics by Nguyen Tuan, vocals by Bao Yen) will help tremendously.

Happy Vietnamese New Year!

In “Bai Khong Ten So 28 (Anh Cam On Em),” Vu Thanh An has written and Tuan Ngoc has articulated what I wanted to say: “Anh yeu em nhu yeu dong sua ngot ngao.” That’s right my sweet Valentine, I love you like I love my milkshake or a chubby kid loves cheesecake.

Thanks to the inclement, Vassar is closed today. Didn’t have to drag my lazy behind to work; therefore, I spend my snowy morning with Anita O’Day. Of course, her music could be played at any occasions, but for the lovers’ day in particular, “My Funny Valentine” is perfect. “What is This Thing Called Love,” however, is also necessary to lift your spirit out of the stormy blue. In addition, “Four Brothers,” which has nothing to do with V-day, is included just because I love way she scats. You can listen to these three tracks at my Dope Jam station courtesy of Multiply.com.

Even though Google had intentionally left the “L” out of its Valentine’s logo, Gawker had put it back in for them. Nice job!

Bebe Pham‘s profile reads, “This beautiful and mysterious Vietnamese [model] is not just about good looks and fashion – for the head on her shoulders is not only beautiful, but most importantly, intelligent.” Isn’t it what all the models claim? If you’re intelligent, you don’t really need to say it. Action speaks louder than words, baby. But I do like this portrait shot.

Somehow listening to Nguyen Chuong’s “Nhung Gi Con Lai” performed by Nguyen Khang reminds me of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, especially with the idiosyncratic lyrics: “Bay gio nguoi ta noi chuyen doi thay trai tim / va muoi nam sau nguoi ta se noi chuyen thay tri nho… / Bay gio nguoi ta noi chuyen doi thay mat moi / va muoi nam sau nguoi ta se noi chuyen thay qua khu.” That’s the mind game of love. Romantic relationship is indulging to get in, but excruciating to get out, and takes some memory hacking to move on. Therefore, one should approach a relationship with both heart and head, not one without the other. The problem is that most fellows started out with their little head then work their way to the heart and up the big head.

Julia Thuy sings Pham Anh Dung’s “Mua Xuan Anh Yeu Em.” The lyrics and the arrangement aren’t exciting, but Jblues’s raspy voice is quite attractive.