Pullin’ the covers back, I expose what you disguise
My presence is felt, the pressure is on
A 4-11 Cuban helped us weather the storm
Pyrex and powder, it was back to the norm
Through all the adversity, the fury was born

Pusha T (An excerpt from “We Got It for Cheap”)

I read this collection in one sitting. I didn’t get too much out of it. Bidart is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry; therefore; his work must be good. I’ll reread this collection again, but I also found something I like from “The Moral Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Justice”.

Minhaj had excellent materials in his latest Netflix Special, but his performance borderlined silliness and clowness. If he toned down his acting, I am sure his jokes would still come through. The expensive “Powerpoint presentation” was well-executed. Even though I found his delivery distracting, his writing was solid. Stream it.

I had been shied from poetry because I didn’t get it. Lately, I have read more poems online and even started a poetry category on this blog to share poems I liked. Over the weekend, I went to the library to look for poetry books to read and came across Amanda Gorman’s Call Us What We Carry. It’s a beautiful, powerful collection. From politics to pandemic, equality to justice, her writing is sharp and accessible. I didn’t understand everything I read, but I just loved her craft. I am going to get myself a copy so I can reread it and read it with my sons. Of course, I saved my favorite verses.

I have been doing some snowboard training on carpet in my basement. I didn’t realize pre-season training can be done until I came across several YouTube videos. I am learning 10 beginner snowboard skills from SnowboardProCamp. Kevin Pearce breaks down 10 beginner skills including heel edge, toe edge, and hop turn. His “10 Snowboard Tricks for Pre Season Training” is also helpful to learn 180 jumps and butter 180 jumps. I also find 5 Snowboarding Skills You Can Improve From Home” from Snowboard Panda to learn presses, ollies, and nollies.

With these preseason learning, I hope to get myself ready when I hit the snow this coming winter. Since I already invested into all the gears, I have determined to learn snowboarding, but I won’t give skiing though. I still love skiing; therefore, I will do both if I can pick up snowboarding. If not, I will just focus on skiing.

I also keeping an eye on a snowboard package for Xuân since he also wanted to learn with me. We’ll learn together. He’ll pick up the skills much faster than me I am sure. Đán has left me far behind when learned snowboarding together. He is such an athletic though. He could figure things out on his own. I won’t be taking any lessons either. I’ll try to learn on my own through YouTube videos. I think I will learn better that way then having an instructor.

Say tomorrow doesn’t come.
Say the moon becomes an icy pit.
Say the sweet-gum tree is petrified.
Say the sun’s a foul black tire fire.
Say the owl’s eyes are pinpricks.
Say the raccoon’s a hot tar stain.
Say the shirt’s plastic ditch-litter.
Say the kitchen’s a cow’s corpse.
Say we never get to see it: bright
future, stuck like a bum star, never
coming close, never dazzling.
Say we never meet her. Never him.
Say we spend our last moments staring
at each other, hands knotted together,
clutching the dog, watching the sky burn.
Say, It doesn’t matter. Say, That would be
enough. Say you’d still want this: us alive,
right here, feeling lucky.

Ada Limón

The Mason brand has served the university well. It communicates our key brand messages including academic quality, innovation, diversity, entrepreneurial spirit, and accessibility. Mason is evolving, but its visual identity is dating. To be a competitive school, Mason should consider refreshing its brand. The Mason visual identity needs to be simplified and unified.

The current University Logo is too complicated. The full lockup takes up too much space, especially when it is combined with a unit name (Antonin Scalia Law School). Although the M alone has some issues with the quill, it has the potential to carry the Mason brand like the swoosh for Nike, the apple for Apple, and the Siren for Starbucks. When the University Logo is simplified, the unit name could be better unified and balanced.

The Mason typefaces are over the place and they show no personality. The unit names are set in TheSans and that’s it. I don’t see it being used anywhere else. Myriad Pro and Minion Pro are the primary typefaces. Adobe Garamond and Helvetica Neue were thrown into the mix for no apparent reasons. Myriad and Minion are well-designed typefaces, but they are ubiquitous. They were designed to be neutral; therefore, they lack personality. Anyone who uses Adobe products would have access to these two font families. In fact, they are the default fonts for graphic tools including InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. I have been noticing universities, such as Northeastern University and The New School, commissioning their own typefaces. I wonder if Mason would invest in custom typefaces to give the brand a unique typographic voice.

As for the colors, I would like to see the change for its primary colors or the expansion beyond the green and gold. Here are the notes on colors according to the brand guidelines:

Use Mason green and gold as the primary colors in your layouts.

Use secondary colors in combination with our primary colors to express the many facets of Mason.

Do not use secondary colors alone or as the primary color in branded materials.

Apparently we are not adhering to the guideline because the green and gold are so hard to work with.

Sau khi nhậu ba chai whiskey Nhật cùng với mấy phụ huynh trong hướng đạo buổi chiều thứ bảy, tôi về nhà ngủ một giấc đến khuya. Trong giấc mộng tôi cũng đi nhậu về bỗng nhiên thấy mẹ đang nằm ngủ. Tôi mừng rỡ chạy đến ôm lấy mẹ. Mẹ thức dậy nói chuyện với tôi. Khi tôi hỏi sao mẹ lại được phục hồi và nói được, mẹ chưa kịp trả lời thì tôi thức giấc.

Tôi tỉnh ngủ với tâm trạng hụt hẫng. Nỗi đau và nỗi nhớ ùa về. Tôi ngủ lại không được nên thức trắng nghĩ về mẹ. Thời tiết bắt đầu trở lạnh. Mẹ nằm dưới lòng đất một mình lạnh lẽo lắm. Tôi không cầm được nước mắt. Tôi hận cuộc đời này đã cướp đi người mẹ yêu dấu của tôi dù biết được rằng sớm muộn gì cũng phải xa lìa cha mẹ. Một ngày nào đó tôi cũng sẽ rời khỏi thế gian và rời xa con cái. Chỉ là không biết lúc nào sẽ chết. Nhậu nhiều ngủ ít càng chết sớm nhưng nhậu đến say sưa mới thấy được mẹ.

Mẹ ơi, con xin lỗi mẹ. Con biết mẹ không thích con uống rượu nhưng con không thể nào xoa dịu được nỗi đau mất mẹ. Nhưng mẹ yên tâm và an nghỉ nhé. Con vẫn biết được chừng mực. Con vẫn còn có đàn con thơ để chăm sóc.

Just like a revival, the verse tends to steer ’em
Through a life in the fast lane, like German-engineer ’em
No serum can cure all the pain I’ve endured
From crack to rap to back to sellin’ it pure.

Pusha T (an excerpt from “We Got It for Cheap”)

I took the minivan to the gas station close by our house for inspection. It was failed because of brake. The technician gave me a quote for $960 plus tax to replace all 4 pads and rotors. I called another auto shop and the price was $900 plus tax. I called the dealership and the price was $1,400 plus tax. I placed one more call and they gave me a quote for $780 with tax included and they would also throw in the inspection sticker.

Ravensworth Auto Service, runs by Vietnamese folks, is the shop I had used many years ago. I stopped because location was not convenient for me. Now I work remotely on Mondays and Fridays, I can just drop my car off and walk to a fast-food spot nearby to do my work. Their price had always been reasonable and they had done good jobs. I will be returning to them in the future for car services.

I told my wife that I am done with cars. When this minivan becomes too expensive to fix, I will get an electric bike.