I have visited True Eyecare three times in the past six years. Although I can’t recall my first experience, my first impression of Dr. Mỹ-Hạnh Triệu was friendly and professional. My second visit was in 2014. She and her staff helped me pick out a pair of Polo (made in Italy) I still wear today. In my twenty years of experience of wearing glasses, I found that only glasses that are made in Italy last the longest. My previous pair, also made-in-Italy Polo, lasted over ten years. I had a handful of pairs made in China broke within a year.

A few days ago, my sons played with my glasses and misplaced it. I thought it was lost so I made an appointment to visit Dr. Triệu. Luckily I found it underneath the couch a day before my appointment, but I kept it anyway since it has already been three years. Yesterday I went in for an exam and browsed the collection to find a new pair with the help of her technician Hiếu, who is also nice and helpful. While trying out the glasses, a teenage girl walked in with some issues in her eye. Although the girl has insurance, her deductible would be extremely high. As a result, Dr. Triệu only charged her for a small fee—even less than my deductible. I found that to be very generous of her.

After I decided on a new pair of Versace with anti-scratch, anti-reflection, and transition lenses, the bill came quite high. She gave me some discounts, but I decided to take out the transition. Today I changed my mind and would like to switch to the transition lenses. Even though I thought it was too late, I gave her a call anyway. It didn’t hurt to ask. Fortunately she is willing to do it for me. I just have to pay the difference for the transitional feature.

True to its brand True Eyecare truly cares. I highly recommend Dr. Mỹ-Hạnh Triệu if you live in Falls Church and Arlington.

Theo nghiên cứu của những nhà khoa học cho biết: đàn làm tình thường xuyên sẽ giúp những chức năng telomeres sống dài lâu nên sẽ tăng thêm tuổi thọ. Nhà chuyên môn phát hiện khi người đàn bà giao cấu trong một tuần thì chức năng telomeres tăng 30 phần trăm. Sex cũng có lợi cho sức khoẻ vì nó giúp tăng hệ thống miễn dịch (immune system) và thả ra chất oxytocin.

Tôi không biết những bài nghiên cứu này có đúng hay không nhưng tôi sẵn sàng thử nghiệm. Tuy mệt nhọc nhưng nếu giúp vợ sống lâu thì tôi sẽ cố gắng hết sức mình. Không biết bà xã có muốn sống lâu hay không.

Hôm nay lại phải ra toà vì tháng trước bị cảnh sát thổi vì nói chuyện điện thoại qua earphone. Luật chỉ cho cài một bên mà tôi không biết. Rồi bị phạt luôn cái lỗi quá hạng inspection. Ngày mai sẽ không cãi mà chỉ nhận tội. Cái inspection sẽ bỏ qua. Chỉ trả cái tội dùng earphone.

Năm nay xui quá. Mới tháng sáu mà đã ra toà ba lần. Mấy anh cảnh sát làm ơn tha cho tôi. Đóng tiền phạt kiểu này chắc chắn là bỏ lái xe luôn.

Bốn giờ ba mươi đóng laptop lại. Khuấy ly cà phê đá latte. Lái xe đi đón Đán về. Cả nhà dùng bửa ăn tối thịnh soạn (leftovers) rồi cho ba thằng con đi tắm. Tắm xong hai đứa lớn chơi với nhau còn hai cha con thả bộ quanh nhà. Xuân đã biết đi nên rất thích nắm tay ba đi dạo buổi chiều.

Tám giờ mẹ cho Xuân đi ngủ. Đạo Đán xem Tivi ăn snack còn tôi đọc sách. Một tiếng đồng hồ sau đánh răng lên giường ngủ. Khi cả hai thằng điều ngủ tôi trốn qua phòng khác đọc sách tiếp cho đến khuya. Lâu lâu lucky được vợ cho sướng năm phút. Cuộc sống như thế là đủ rồi.

In her new book, Senator Warren is outspoken against Donald Trump, the Koch brothers, big banks, Wall Street, and the top one percent. To build a better future for our country, she urges the government to invest in education, infrastructure, and research. Despite the devastating lost of the 2016 presidential election, she is ready to fight bigotry, build opportunity, and demand democracy. Except for a few personal accounts, which had been told in her previous book, Warren’s writing is engaging and inspiring. I can’t wait to see her taking out the incompetent president in 2020.

In his engaging TED talk, Michael Bierut shares his passionate involvement with designing libraries that make kids want to read. He concludes:

The unintended consequence here, which I would like to take credit for and like to think I can think through the experience to that extent, but I can’t. I was just focused on a foot ahead of me, as far as I could reach with my own hands. Instead, way off in the distance was a librarian who was going to find the chain of consequences that we had set in motion, a source of inspiration so that she in this case could do her work really well. 40,000 kids a year are affected by these libraries. They’ve been happening for more than 10 years now, so those librarians have kind of turned on a generation of children to books and so it’s been a thrill to find out that sometimes unintended consequences are the best consequences.

Rebecca Solnit:

He is, as of this writing, the most mocked man in the world. After the women’s march on January 21st, people joked that he had been rejected by more women in one day than any man in history; he was mocked in newspapers, on television, in cartoons, was the butt of a million jokes, and his every tweet was instantly met with an onslaught of attacks and insults by ordinary citizens gleeful to be able to speak sharp truth to bloated power.

The world are not laughing at us. They are laughing at him.

Hai thằng anh lớn cãi nhau đánh nhau không ngừng. Hôm qua giận quá cấm hai đứa chơi chung. Thế là thằng anh lớn khóc năn nỉ: “Con muốn chơi với Đán. Con sẽ không cãi với em nữa.” Tôi vẫn không cho để nó học bài học.

Thằng út thì lủi thủi chơi một mình thật đáng thương. Bây giờ nó đi bộ cùng nhà. Mấy thằng anh mà cản đường là nó hét, đánh, và cắn. Thằng này không phải dạng vừa đâu. Cũng mai là hai thằng anh biết nhường em.

Tuy ngày nào trong nhà cũng ồn ào và nhức cả đầu, được an ủi khi thấy chúng nó khoẻ mạnh khôn lớn. Không bệnh tật là may mắn rồi. Không cần tụi nó phải học giỏi hay xuất sắc. Chỉ sống cuộc sống bình thường an lành là quá đủ.

Do you use passive voice, jargon, and weasel words in your writing? If your answer is yes, Bernoff’s practical guide will help you stop wasting the reader’s time and cut to the chase. A good reference for business writing.

Ellen McCarthy:

Every morning, Kevin Federici pulls on a head lamp, sterilizes a sewing needle and prepares to prick his baby girl all over her tiny body. She fights him with everything she has, kicking, screaming, writhing as Kevin’s mother-in-law tries to hold her granddaughter still. This process can take three hours, sometimes four or five.

The video is also heartbreaking.