It rained all day. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop us. The conditions were slushy, but skiable. I had to use my legs more. After the first run trying to keep up with the kids on the long green trail, my legs were burning.

I am not sure if I am getting old or I just needed some liquors to kick in. I had a can of beer for lunch and I was recharged. My wife and I had a bit of a skiing date on the green trail then I headed to the back side. After 2 black runs, they closed down the trails. The ski patrol told me, “Time to go home.”

I took the long green back to the base. I took my time to carve and it felt great to see the train tracks I left behind. Even it was raining, we had a great time.

Hồng Nhung ca nhạc Trịnh qua phần hòa phối khí theo giai điệu jazz thì còn chỗ nào phê bình được nữa. Giọng của cô như rượu vang. Càng ngày càng thêm độ sâu, chẳng hạn như cô hát “Vết lăn trầm” với chất blues nồng nàn. Với “Ru ta ngậm ngùi”, cô nâng giọng alto của minh lên khi hát những nốt cao nhưng vẫn giữ được nét êm dịu. Đặc biệt là ca khúc “Như cánh vạc bay”, cô được Clara Simonoviez hát lời Pháp rất dễ thương. Hồng Nhung cũng hát lời Pháp cho ca khúc “Bống bồng ơi”. Dĩ nhiên tôi không biết cách phát âm tiếng Pháp của cô ra sao. Nếu có phê bình thì chỉ phần đó thôi. Ngoài ra đây là một album có giá trị để thưởng thức và tôi sẽ nghe đi nghe lại nhiều lần trong tương lai.

I switched to snowboard today. I did 4 runs on the long green with the younger kids. They skied way too fast for me. I couldn’t keep up on my snowboard. Maybe I was just too exhausted on the third day. My legs gave up.

In the afternoon, I went to the backside to do my runs on the black slopes. The older kids joined me for a few more runs before we headed home. We had the whole black trail to ourselves.

It was a great day. I got a good work out.

Giọng hát mộc mạc truyền cảm của Nguyễn Hồng Nhung rất thích hợp với phong cách acoustic. Cô hát “Chuyện tình không suy tư” (Tâm Anh) chậm chạp từng chữ như đang tự sự. Tiếng đàn guitar giúp cô nói lên những lời từ con tim. Cô trình bài “Lệ hoang” (Trịnh Nam Sơn) với tất cả tâm hồn. Đáng tiếc là cô lại chọn những ca khúc ngoại lời Việt. Tuy cô hát những ca khúc giai điệu Hoa rất tốt nhưng chỉ nghe qua một vài lần là cùng. Những ca khúc thuần Việt thì tồn tại dài hơn.

The conditions were great. The crowd was spared. We headed to Mount Snow around 10 am. We went to Long John first with Vương, my wife, and others. Although Vương enjoyed it, he was done after 2 runs.

I went to the back side with the older kids and my brother-in-law. I led them to the mogul terrain. The kids navigated their way down. My brother-in-law was struggling so I decided to cut to the blue trail. Unfortunately, it led us into a bigger mogul terrain. He had to slide down on his butt while I side-slipped my way down.

I did a few more runs on black and blue trails and it was already 4 pm. We headed back to the rental house to relax. We’ll do it again tomorrow.

I planned to drive to Mount Snow at 1 am on Saturday so we could get an extra skiing day, but it didn’t go too well. My wife was working until midnight and I wanted her to get some sleep. As a result we didn’t leave our house until 4 am. The rain was pouring almost the entire trip. As we were getting closer to Mount Snow, rain turned to icy rain.

Our Toyota Sienna LE couldn’t make it to the top of the hill. A local man drove by and offered to help. He reversed the minivan to the top then asked us where we were heading. He told us our car wouldn’t make it through the road we were on. He suggested that we headed back to the flatter road. We were doing fine until we had to take the small road to our rental place. Once again our minivan got stuck. A very nice couple helped us push through. I love Vermont people.

We arrived around 2:00 pm and checked in. Icy snow continued to fall; therefore, we didn’t go to Mount Snow. We just relaxed for the rest of the day. I was over-worried about our car. I hoped all that spinning and backward driving didn’t damage the transmission. I could barely sleep. I woke up around 2 am and tried to read about the transmission.

Around 7 am I tried to see if I could drive to Mount Snow, which is 1.5 miles away. I couldn’t back my car out. The front wheel kept spinning and rocked. I tried to press the gas slowly all the way, but the wheels were no longer spinning. I freaked out. Then again, my brother-in-law’s Honda Odyssey was also stuck. He said the TRAC system prevented the wheel from spinning.

I took my three older kids and their cousin to Mount Snow via the MOOver shuttle service. The conditions were great. We skied mostly blue and black trails. I snowboarded because I didn’t want to wear my heavy ski boots to the shuttle.

With a lack of sleep, shoveling snow in the morning, lack of food for lunch, and drinking some beer, I was exhausted after about 5 or 6 runs. We had a great time.

In the meantime, my wife, her sister, and her sister’s husband got both of our minivans out. I was so relieved. My mother had come through again with her hidden powers. I talked to her when we were stuck and both times people came to help. I also talked to her about the car being stuck and the transmission and we are OK now.

When it comes to content, I am pretty clueless. Content design is new to me. Even after reading this book, I don’t quite get it. I have always been a visual designer first. For content, I just want to blog. That’s it. I have no content strategy.

Nghe Thùy Dung hát Tình khúc nhạc Pháp khiến tôi tưởng nhớ đến Ngọc Lan. Như Ngọc Lạn, Thùy Dung phát âm tiếng Pháp nhỏ nhẹ và êm dịu nên nghe rất mát tai, đặt biệt là “Chàng (Lui)” và “Giọt sầu trong tim” (Quelque chose dans mon coeur)”. Khác là giọng hát của Ngọc Lan chín mùi hơn một tí. Chẳng hạn như “Chuyện phim buồn (Quand le film est triste)”, nghe Thùy Dung hát mà buồn dùng cho nàng. Còn nghe Ngọc Lan hát thì phải rơi nước mắt cho nàng. Tuy nhiên cả hai nàng thảm thương như nhau. Hơi ngạc nhiên một chút là phần trình bài của Thùy Dung qua ca khúc “Say tình (Méditerranéenne)”. Cô bốc cháy một cách rất dịu dàng chứ không thét gào. Tôi không thể hình dung được Ngọc Lan sẽ hát ca khúc này ra sao. Hơi tiếc là những tình khúc này không được hòa âm theo giai điệu jazz như những ca khúc cô đã trình bày. Tuy nhiên nghe vẫn phê.

Dear LDHV Cub Families,

I concurred that phở gà was off the hook. Thanks to everyone who lent a hand in making all the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious dishes.

Big props to all the leaders for creating all the wonderful experiences for the kids as well as unforgettable memories for the parents. Your dedication and commitment to the kids are appreciated.

Most important of all, kudos to all the kiddos. Without their presence and participation, the parents wouldn’t have the opportunity to bond. I am one of the younger parents, but I have been with the Cubs the longest. Many parents have moved on to the Troops, but I am still here—and will be here for a while. My advice to the new parents is to take advantage of the activities while your kids are still Cubbies—unless you have tons of kids like I do.

Have a great day and enjoy your spring break. We’ll be in Vermont skiing and snowboarding to Lệ Quyên’s ballad remixes. LOL!

Yours truly,
Donny Trương

Dear Tonkin Voyage,

My name is Donny Truong and I created the “Bonjour Vietnam” video you uploaded to your YouTube account. The video also includes the Tonkin Voyage logo. You never asked for my permission to use the video; therefore, I kindly request that you take down the video, which is already existed on my YouTube account.

Thank you and looking forward to hearing back from you.

Donny Truong

Update: 12 minutes later I received a response from Tonkin Voyage:

Hello Trương,

I want to extend my sincerest apologies for the oversight in uploading your video. It has been removed now. Your video featured stunning imagery, and I truly appreciate your contribution. Thank you very much, and may you continue to find joy in your endeavors.

Thank you for the swift action. I appreciate it.