Just when I thought I got all the car dramas out of the way, I had to go back to Costco yesterday evening to drop off our 2011 Toyota Sienna. My wife drove over a nail and punctured the rear passenger tire. I brought the car in at 6 pm and they called me at 9:30 pm to let me know it was finished. I still need to pick it up after work today. Did I say I hate dealing with cars? There’s a saying in Vietnamese, “Ghét của nào trời trao của nấy.” It’s true. Whatever you hate, God will give it to you. All these times, I thought God only give me good things.

Dear Đạo,

I am sorry about your phone issue. Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s fine to experiment with it. That’s how you learn.

You have been asking me for a new phone and I don’t have a problem with getting you a new one. I am deeply concerned, however, when you don’t know how to control your usage.

You don’t like it when I remind you about your education, but you haven’t proved that you can take responsibility for your school work. School should be your first priority, not digital usage. I worry about you, but my words have fallen on deaf ears.

I just don’t know what else to say to make you understand–or you just don’t want to understand. My priority is you and your brothers, but I am not doing a good job as a father. When talking to other parents about digital usage, I had learned that they were able to limit their kids to one hour a day, one hour a week, or none at all. I have not done that and I can’t now. I know the repercussions of limiting your usage.

Now that you are old enough, I hope you will figure out what to do with your life. Your mom and I do anything for you, but we can’t do anything without your participation. It’s still not too late.

Love,
Dad

Thứ bảy vừa rồi mưa cả ngày không đi trượt tuyết được. Nằm trên giường viết vu vơ trên Facebook, “Gọi em là hoa vì anh bị dị ứng nên đành phải sống xa hoa”. Ông bạn nhậu trả lời, “Giỏi lắm, vậy giờ bò qua tao nhậu để xa hoa”.

Đang rảnh mà có người rủ đi nhậu thì sao đành từ chối. Trời mưa lành lạnh thèm thèm hương vị Yamazaki cho ấm lòng. Tôi chạy qua ABC nhưng không có hàng. Thấy em Ohishi cũng dễ thương nên bê em về vậy.

Em được ủ từ gạo trong thùng đảo Islay nên em có chất khói hơi nồng trên môi nhưng vẫn êm dịu khi em nhập vào tôi. Anh bạn nhậu và tôi ngồi cụng ly nói chuyện trên trời dưới đất mà cạn hết chai hồi nào không hay. Mà tôi còn tỉnh táo gì nữa mà hay.

Trọng lượng rượu của tôi rất kém nhưng trọng bạn hữu thì mạnh. Bạn thân tình đếm không đủ trên một bàn tay. Được quen biết nhau, hiểu nhau, và hợp gu nhau là vui rồi. Tôi thì rất ham vui mỗi khi có mồi ngon, whiskey Nhật, và bạn nhậu.

Tôi cũng biết lâu lâu mới vui thôi chứ vui hoài chắc chết cái thân. Uống vài tiếng đồng hồ nhưng phải mất mấy ngày mới hồi phục.

Dear Xuân,

Thank you for telling us about your week at school. I am glad you had a chance to meet Illustrator Alicia Robinson. I must confess that I didn’t know who she was; therefore, I had to look her up online. She is indeed a talented illustrator.

I always appreciated people who can draw. I wish I had drawn when I was a kid. I never liked drawing because I didn’t think my drawings were any good. I have seen your sketches. You can draw way better than me. You have a creative way of creating your characters.

Don’t make the mistake I made. Please continue to draw. Practice makes perfect. The more you draw, the better you will get. Once you figure out your style, you can become even more creative. You can even become an illustrator like Ms. Robinson.

You have a whole lot of future in front of you kiddo! Just enjoy yourself if you enjoy drawing. Talk to you in the next letter.

Love,
Dad

The car maintenance has become expensive and time draining. In the past two weeks, I had been working remotely at auto shops more than at my home office, which is my bedroom.

I dropped our 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE off at Costco for balance and rotation. Then I dropped it off at a Toyota dealer for an oil change. Then I did the same services for the 2018 Toyota Sienna LE. I also dropped the 2018 LE off at the Toyota Collision Center to fix the liftgate. That took almost a week. Then the 2018 LE’s airbag debacle that cost us $1,250.

This morning, I had to come back to the Toyota dealer to fix the door for the 2018 LE. The technician didn’t connect the cable to the latch. The passenger door couldn’t open from the inside. I am now working in the waiting room at Firestone to get an alignment for the 2018 LE. Later on, I have to take my 2011 XLE back to Firestone for another alignment.

Needless to say, I am fucking sick and tired of maintaining these two vehicles. I need to take some auto mechanics courses to fix some of these issues myself. My oldest son will take a course in auto mechanics. I hope he can help fix these damn vehicles.

The days of pop-jazz are gone. Norah Jones has moved on. Visions, her latest album, is a pop-rock album full of life and filled with joy. Even when she’s “Staring at the Wall,” the vibe is energetic. She also takes listeners into a rocking “Paradise.” She’s the “Queen of Sea” who “Just Wants to Dance.” Jones’s smoky voice is aged like fine wine and her keyboard skills are sharper even though her style is still less is more, which makes her collaboration with Leon Michels a fruitful one.

I was reading Pete the Cat’s Groovy Guide to Life, by Kimberly and James Dean, with my five-year-old son, who chose the book from the library, and falling in love with the quotes the author had compiled. I decided to translate the quotes into Vietnamese and created a sample page with both languages. To make it groovy, I chose vibrant colors for each quote and typeset in Calistoga, designed by Yvonne Schüttler and Eben Sorkin, combined with Neue DIN, by Hendrik Weber, Andreas Frohloff, and Olli Meier. Check out Hướng dẫn đi đến nếp sống hấp dẫn.

As stated in my letter to Toyota regarding to the melting of electric wires in my 2018 Toyota Sienna LE’s passenger door. Here’s the breakdown of the repair:

• Wire Front Door Right-hand – Toyota (82151-08250) $300 (even though its website discounted for $202.68)
• Side Airbag Sensor (82151-08250) $90 (the website lists for $76.74)
• Labor: $720 for 4 hours (that’s $180 per hour)

With tax and environment fee, the total was $1245.54. Ouch! Ourisman Toyota.

This is my first time listening to Guitarist Julian Lage and the first track, “Hymal,” on this album pulls me in immediately. What a hypnotic, soulful bass-guitar duo. “Northern Shuffle” continues with blues-rock sensational riffs. “Serenade” is just so beautiful. I enjoyed the album immensely from start to finish.

After I sent Toyota a letter yesterday, a Brand Engagement Advocate, responded:

Dear Donny Truong,

Thank you for contacting us about your 2018 Toyota Sienna. We are sorry to learn the electrical wires on the inside of the passenger door are melting and causing the air bag sensor light to turn on and we appreciate you contacting us for assistance. Thank you for the attachments.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. understands your concerns with your Toyota Sienna. We apologize; as this issue is no longer covered under the vehicle’s warranty due to time and mileage limits, and as we do not show any recalls or other support programs applicable to the vehicle, Toyota respectfully declines your request for financial assistance towards the cost of these repairs.

In the interest of customer satisfaction and retention, based on your product loyalty, we would like to extend an offer of $750.00 towards future service(s), using genuine Toyota parts at an authorized Toyota dealership.

Once you have incurred the full amount of $750.00, or, if it is more convenient, you may send in documents for smaller amounts as they occur, and we will reimburse them on an ongoing basis until the total offer amount has been reached. Please forward the complete paid dealership invoice(s) and your receipt(s) to:

Toyota Brand Engagement Center
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
P.O. Box 259001
Plano, TX 75025-9001

You may also scan and attach your documents as case attachments to this comment thread. Upon receipt of your documentation, we will send you a check.

We are sincere in our efforts of keeping you a satisfied guest and appreciate the opportunity to further review. Please know, we have documented your experience here at Toyota National Headquarters under your reference number. If you have any other questions, please contact us.

Sincerely,
N

Toyota Brand Engagement Center

That was not the answer I was hoping for. They should have covered the electoral malfunction on their part regardless of year and mileage. That’s not a wear and tear issue. It’s a safety issue.