Dana, Dao and I were at Thanh Son today buying some sweet treats. The line was long and Dao didn’t want to stay inside. I took him outside while Dana was waiting to made orders. Outside the store, there were two women selling fruits and banh it (sticky-rice dumplings). The older lady is probably in her late 70s and the younger one is probably in her mid 40s.

The younger one is quite aggressive. She would grab anyone walking by trying to sell them something. One time she grabbed me and offered me some banh it in the bag for $10. I told her that I only wanted half of it for $5. So I handed her a five-dollar bill, but she insisted that I give her a twenty because she needed some change. When I gave her a twenty, she threw it in the bucket and gave me two bags of banh it instead. I took my money back and told her that I didn’t want to buy anything from her. Since that day on, she hasn’t harassed me to buy anything.

Back to today, as Dao and I were outside waiting for Dana, I heard the two of them arguing. The younger lady accused the old lady of spreading rumor about her. She said in Vietnamese something like, “You told people that I have diabetes.” The elderly responded, “I do not spread rumors. I only mind my own business. Yes, I said you have diabetes, but I never said anything about your pussy dripping wet.” The exact Vietnamese words were, “lon chay nuoc.” I couldn’t help laughing, but I had to drag Dao away. When I told my wife, she said, “You don’t need to be in Vietnam to hear Vietnamese gossiping.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph. This is triumphant music.

Over the weekend, I spent an hour updating this site’s CSS for mobile-first, responsive design. I used em unit instead of pixel for breaking point, which I have reduced to just one media query.

I added a new testimonial from my latest client.

Also a big shout out to the Text Link Ads for the sponsor links on the right column. Vistaprint also renewed its ad placement for 2012.

Some of my family members who are avid Amazon shoppers asked me to put up the Amazon.com’s Affiliate link so that they can make me some money. Thanks for the support.

Paul Krugman:

Think about it: someone who really wanted equal opportunity would be very concerned about the inequality of our current system. He would support more nutritional aid for low-income mothers-to-be and young children. He would try to improve the quality of public schools. He would support aid to low-income college students.

Dr. Ken Murray:

Of course, doctors don’t want to die; they want to live. But they know enough about modern medicine to know its limits. And they know enough about death to know what all people fear most: dying in pain, and dying alone.

Insightful and informative. Must-read.

This year we welcomed the newest member into our little family. He’s healthy and lovely. His big brother continues to challenge us and enlighten us. As a father and a husband, I am very fortunate to have such a dynamic, vibrant clan. We’re also very lucky to have the unconditional support from our parents and siblings.

This year I took on a new job and the new position has been nothing but positive. I enjoy coming to work everyday and interacting with a nice group of people around me. Like it or not, work plays a big part of our lives; therefore, work can make us miserable or pleasurable. I am fortunate to have found the latter. Let’s hope it will be that way many years to come.

This year freelancing has been a very interesting. I had much more inquiries than previous years, but landed on less projects than before. The economy might have something to do with it. Clients shopped around for cheaper price than quality of work. Some prefer a pre-made WordPress theme over a customized theme that is tailored to their business. Some would rather pay for an existing template than a unique design for their brand. Even though I have done my research and offer fair prices, I couldn’t compete with lower bids, especially with HTML5 and responsive design as part of my standard offering. Since freelancing is only a side job and my time is very limited, thanks to the two boys, I didn’t worry about losing bids. I want to take on projects that are worth of my time and effort. So a few rewarding projects (big or small) are better than just taking on everything. I will be satisfied If I can get a few of those next year.

I have always wanted an iPad, but my wife wouldn’t let me have it. Her reason is that I don’t need it. She’s right, between the MacBook Pro and the iPhone (both courtesy of George Mason Law), I don’t have a need for an iPad. It’s a luxury that I could do without even though I have used my sister-in-law’s first iPad and really like it. My main use of the iPhone, beside work, is mostly reading online and catching up with social media. I am not much of a gamer. The only app I purchased is Instapaper.

Since my wife is not too crazy about the iPad, even though she also uses it when we spend time over her sister’s house, I wanted to give her the Kindle Fire so she could do her reading. The Fire arrived two weeks prior to Christmas and she couldn’t help using it. What really annoys us is the user interface.

I tried to look past the fact that I can not compare the Fire to the iPad, but the user experience really breaks the Fire. It wouldn’t do what we wanted to do like typing. It keeps recognizing the wrong keys. When I tapped on the web pages that aren’t designed with responsive layout, it doesn’t zoomed in the contents where I want to do my reading.

I have subscription to The New Yorker and Time, but in order to read on the Kindle I have to download the entire magazine, which is about 80mb a piece. The downloading time took forever and the Fire sometimes froze in the process, which forced me to quit.

Even though we’re disappointed, my wife was planning on keeping it just for reading and browsing the web, but now there’s a black line that runs down the screen. Just already three weeks and the screen already has a problem. We’re just going to have to send it back to Amazon.

Came back to work for the first time this week and my supervisor told me to go home at noon. I am off work until January 3, 2012. My two-week holiday break will be filled with sleepless nights with Cu Dan and sleepy days with Cu Dao. Still I am very grateful that our little family is doing well. Hope you all enjoy your time off with your love ones.

Over Thanksgiving break, I spent some time browsing through George Mason’s programs of study to see if I could take advantage of the tuition benefit. I found a few that would not only enhance my job performance, but also further my career interest. For instance, the Server Administration and Management certificate program would be very beneficial to my current job even I have requested a training on Red Hat and my supervisor already signed me up for the end of February 2012. I am also would like to enroll into Web Design and Developer just to have the certificate listed on my resume.

The one that really caught my interest, however, is the Master of Arts in Graphic Design. The courses that stood out to me are Advanced Web Design, Brand Identity Design and Advanced Typography. My job nowadays involves more technical than design; therefore, this program will balance out the two. Although I have always been a self-taught in design, I also believe in academic so this would be a great opportunity.

I am so excited about the program that the first step I did was pull together a portfolio, which is one of the requirements for the program. I selected twenty pieces that showcase my web design and development, motion and graphic design, brand and identity. Tomorrow I’ll schedule an interview with a design faculty to see where I’ll go from here.

Update: The certificate programs aren’t covered by tuition benefit, but 50% off for full-time employee. Not only to take them unless really necessary. MA in Graphic Design is still on.

I am thankful for the great new job and a fantastic new boss. I am thankful that my mom made it through a life-threaten situation and recovering. I am thankful that my sisters were looking out for mom when I am not around. I am thankful that my in-laws are helping us out. I am thankful that Cu Dao continues to surprise us with new words and new skills and be himself. I am thankful that my lovely wife is carrying our love that is growing inside of her. He is getting quite big now. With less than four weeks to go and we’re very anxious to see him. Lastly, I am thankful to those who come here to read my thoughts. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving time with your love ones.