Rooney’s latest novel revolves around two young couples in their 30s. They live their normal life, which involves work, friendship, and sex. Rooney’s prose is so simple on the surface, but she packs many layers into her story including political, social, and climate issues. Rooney’s sentences are so damn good. Even when she describes a mundane scene like a quiet kitchen, you can see a camera panning through the details like dust or a brown banana. Of course, her sex scenes are so intimate and erotic. I loved all the details. I wish I could write a fraction like her. I am officially a Sally Rooney fan. If you want a guilty-pleasure read, give this one a read.

I started Freestyle 2 ice skating lessons last night. I was the only guy in the class. Our new instructor didn’t show up. We had a sub instead and she turned out to be the Chinese-American instructor I had been observing while she was giving private lessons.

She started us off with the jump sequence: waltz jump, tap-toe jump, 3-turn then one-half flip jump. Lots of jumping. I need to relearn my waltz jump. It’s pretty bad. After class, I stayed for an hour and fifteen minutes to practice. I got the sequence down. I just need to refine my techniques.

One of my classmates asked me how far I would go. It depends on how this one would go, but Freestyle 2 would be my last. I asked her and she said her goal is to do an axel jump. She will go up to Freestyle 5. I don’t think I will go that far. I am just focusing on 2 right now. Like going to school, the stress has started, but it’s a good stress to keep me occupied for a while.

Xuân, Đạo, and I are now taking lessons on the same night, but not at the same time. Xuân has so much potential, but he refuses to learn backwards. He kept saying he wanted to quit and he doesn’t want to practice. I might just take him out after Beta. I wish he would enjoy it.

Đạo is taking Freestyle 1 and he seems to enjoy it. He did wanted to go practice with me at least once a week, which is good. He can keep going as long as he wanted to. I wish he would.

In her latest Netflix documentary, Erin Lee Carr reveals the horrid truth behind Britney Spears’s conservatorship. Britney has been suffered for too long. It’s time to set Britney free from her controlling father. It’s crazy how money can turn a family into foes.

Tarnac is a superfamily typeface, designed by Marc Rouault:

The roots of Tarnac can be found in a variety of 20th century French Egyptian models, both formal and informal–as featured in posters, newspaper headlines, and the classic French road signs plaques Michelin.

I love thick slab-serif typefaces and Tarnac has a modern take on it. Tarnac also supports Vietnamese, which is a huge plus.

The boys have been excited to go back to the skate parks. Now that Đạo can do the coping, he can drop from the half pipe. I knew all along he could do it, but I didn’t want to push him. He takes his time and until he feels confident enough to tackle the higher ramps. He seems to enjoy rollerblading more than ice skating.

Đán is catching up to me as he now can drop beyond the half pipe. He has a bit more confidence than Đạo; therefore, he can be more daring. He rides the half pipe effortlessly. The last time I rode the quarter pipe, I sprained my knee. It has been three weeks now and my knee has not been fully covered. It doesn’t stop me from rollerblading with the kids and starting my Freestyle 2 ice skating lesson tomorrow.

Now that I am back to work, I have been hitting the skate park during lunch to get some exercise and to enjoy the beautiful weather. I take more caution these days because I don’t want to get any more injuries. I am old and my body is taking too damn long to recover.

Xuân enjoys going to the skate parks with us as well. He uses a scooter instead of a rollerblade. He has been dropping from the quarter pipes and straight ramps. I am happy that the three boys joined me at the skate parks after school. It is a fun and thrilling activity to do together.

The other day, Đạo reflects how far we have come with rollerblading. When we first started out, we couldn’t even go down a straight ramp. Now we can ride almost any ramp at skate parks. We still have a lot to learn, but we’re happy with the progress we have made so far. I am proud of my boys.

I have not heard of Phil Wang until I watched his latest Netflix’s special, “Philly Philly Wang Wang.” Phil is half Chinese, half White. He covered topics including Covid, Asian masculinity, and accent. He has decent materials with one-liners to keep the audience entertained for an hour. I enjoyed his dry sense of humor. I wish he pushed it a bit further.

My RSS reader hardly has any notification. Most of the blogs I subscribed to aren’t updating anymore. Is blogging dead? On the other hand, I have been blogging consistently almost everyday, sometimes even two or three times a day. Writing 300 to 500 words about whatever is on my mind has become effortless to me. I could make a post out of something so mundane or so emotional. My posts have become more and more personal. I bare my mind and soul on the page.

I don’t write about politics anymore. I am not afraid of voicing my position. I am just fed up with alternative facts. People have their own facts. While I think they got their information from fake sources, they think I got brainwashed by the mainstream media. Whatever.

I write about music sparingly because I don’t listen to music much anymore. I could no longer get my hands on new music in Vietnam. Most Vietnamese music is being covered to death. New singers burst onto the scene everyday, but not too many new songwriters. They kept relying on the old repertoire.

I write about what I have observed around me. I write about the people who are close to me or who make an impact in my life, positively, negatively, or controversially. I want to take on a new challenge. I want to write about my internalization. There’s a voice in my head that speaks to me often. No, I do not have schizophrenia or mental issues. I am sure we all have that voice where you say things in your head that you can’t say out loud. Most often, my conscious voice drowns out that unfiltered voice. I wonder if I can bring out that voice without upsetting or targeting anyone. I am not even sure what I am getting at.

A new variable font family from Grilli Type that combined both sans and serif into one, GT Ultra:

GT Ultra dances between the worlds of sans and serifs, fusing calligraphy and construction. Achieving a balance between flair and function across a versatile typographic system, the design combines the centuries-old context of serif type with the dynamism of modern sans; challenging its own definition and questioning contemporary typographic expectation.

This typeface demonstrates the power of variable font. I wish it supports Vietnamese.

Lần đầu tiên tôi biết đến tiếng hát Phi Nhung qua ca khúc “Câu chuyện đầu năm.” Tuy cách hát còn thiếu nghiệm nhưng chất giọng của cô khỏe khoắn, cao ngút, và nồng nàn. Cùng với sắc đẹp tây phương dịu dàng của cô, tôi biết cô sẽ nổi tiếng. Hai mươi mấy năm qua, không ai còn xa lạ gì với tiếng hát Phi Nhung qua những ca khúc quê hương và trữ tình.

Tin Phi Nhung từ trần sau những tháng ngày chống chọi với Covid thật đau buồn và đáng tiếc. Phi Nhung chỉ 51 tuổi và trông cô rất khỏe nên tôi nghĩ cô sẽ vượt qua được biến cố này. Không ngờ cô đã vĩnh viễn ra đi như mẹ tôi đã rời khỏi cỏi đời này vì Covid.

Xin cầu mong cho linh hồn cô được yên nghỉ trong bình an.

Đán and Xuân’s school is raising funds for classroom projectors and outdoor learning spaces. Xuân kept asking me to sign him up and I kept pushing off until today. The Fun Run event is on Friday. If you can, please support them $1 a lap or a flat contribution. You can make a pledge on Boosterthon.