In the past month, I had successfully uninstalled Twitter and Facebook apps on the iPhone. In the next few days (before the new year), I will deactivate Facebook as well. I will need to activate it occasionally for work, but other than that I will be off Facebook for a while or maybe for good.

I am not anti-Facebook. I don’t have a problem with the social media network. It gives me a chance to keep up with family members, friends, and colleagues. I just need to cut back on it to be more with the people around me, especially my kids. I haven’t checked Facebook much and haven’t written any update status. I thought of keeping it that way, but when people mentioned me or messaged me on Facebook, I have to response. Otherwise, it feels rule. So the best solution for now is just deactivate it.

As for Twitter, I use it mostly to keep up with the web industry; therefore, I don’t need to be engaged. I just weed through what I need to do when I get a few minutes at work or at lunchtime. I no longer have the app on my phone so it should not be a big deal.

I will keep this blog running. I will write everything on here and not on Medium or LinkedIn. I will write more about this in the future. For now, the best place to find out what I am up to is here.

1. Làm ăn
2. Làm tình
3. Làm thinh

K took D’s brand new toy without asking. D wanted it back. The kids got into a fight. The parents pulled the kids out and explained to them the important of sharing.

K’s mom opened a brand new toy for K. It’s the toy that D also loved. D asked to play, but K said no and K’s mom said that it is K’s toy and he can’t play with it because he didn’t share his toy. D went crazy.

Instead of teaching the valuable lesson on playing together, the adult took the revenge on the kid.

Spent the entire rainy morning cleaning up the house and listening to some holiday music. Here are the three albums I am enjoying:

Big Band Holidays by Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: Classic holiday songs orchestrated in big band jazz led by Marsalis and joined by Cécile McLorin Salvant, Gregory Porter, and René Marie. What more can you ask for?

Believe by David Benoit Trio with Jane Monheit holding down the vocals: The David Benoit Trio crafted a beautiful album for the holidays. Their rendition of “Believe,” which comes from The Polar Express, gives me so much memories of the kids. They used to love this movie.

Seasons of Love by Bích Vân & Vân Anh: Although this is not specific for the holidays, the broadway tunes and the classical and jazz arrangements made it an exceptional album for this time of the year.

Check these albums out if you have a chance and happy holidays.

Took the boys to see The Peanuts Movie and they both enjoyed it. The film is better than I had expected. The timeless storyline combined with the new 3D rendering brings Charles M. Schulz’s classic comic strip into the modern era. It is a proof that good storytelling never gets old. Đạo, my six-year-old son, told me that he had learned about compassionate, honest, brave, funny, and kind. What more can a parent ask for from a movie? The Peanuts Movie is worth-watching with the family.

Although I am no longer keeping up with Vietnamese music, I would like to point out two notable Vietnamese-jazz albums released this year: Phạm Thu Hà’s Hà Nội…Yêu and Giáng Son’s Bống Tối Jazz (The Shadow of Jazz). Both albums came out about a week apart and both have their own target audience.

If you are new to jazz, Hà Nội…Yêu is a good introduction. Chances are you already familiar with ballads such as “Đoản Khúc Thu Hà Nội” (Trịnh Công Sơn), “Gửi Người Em Gái” (Đoàn Chuẩn & Từ Linh), and “Yêu” (Văn Phụng). The arrangements and orchestrations under the direction of Vũ Anh Tuấn are jazzy, calm, and enjoyable.

Right off the opening track, the upright bass, the muted trumpet, and the drum brushes create a soothing vibe inviting the listeners into an autumn afternoon in Hà Nội. Phạm Thu Hà’s slightly raspy voice is a perfect match for the instrumentations. In delivering these ballads, she doesn’t deviate much from the original compositions. In “Yêu,” she sings with ease and maneuvers her way around the bossa-nova arrangement. Hà Nội…Yêu is an ideal album for late-night relaxation and introspection.

Bống Tối Jazz (The Shadow of Jazz), on the other hand, is more for the adventurous jazz listeners. Unlike Hà Nội…Yêu, all the compositions are written by Giáng Son and arranged in contemporary styles including funk, soul, and rock. Despite its modernness, Bống Tối Jazz is not a challenging album if you can get past the idiosyncratic wordless singing from Trần Thu Hà and Tùng Dương.

Trần Thu Hà, in particular, makes all sort of weird vocables ranging from groaning to moaning to screaming to who knows what she’s doing. On “Thu Cạn (The End of Autumn),” for instance, her emphatic phrasing damn near ruined her singing and the beautiful melody. Her acapella version of “Cỏ và Mưa (Grass and Rain)” irritating and detracting from the essence of the ballad. In contrast, the result is stunning when she just sings and only scats two bars on the title track. “Nắng Muộn (Late Ray of Sunbeam)” is hypnotizing when she plays with her timing rather than her emphasis.

For Tùng Dương, his finest contributions are the fusion pieces such as the jazz-rock “Vệt Buồn (Stain of Sadness)” and the funk-jazz “Những Mùa Hè Lạnh (Chilly Summers).” His signature cadences are all over the tracks. The bossa-nova “Đêm Đợi (Lingering Night)” and “Chạm (Fondling)” are not as strong, but intoxicating nevertheless.

As a whole, Bống Tối Jazz is a fine album thanks to Giáng Son’s skillful lyrics, melodies, and harmonies. It would have been even better if Trần Thu Hà refrains herself from making all the vocal gibberish. Still, if you are into Vietnamese music with some jazz flavors, I recommend both albums.

Email from a reader:

Hello Donny,

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By Dr. Seuss

The first time I heard of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! was in a graduation speech at Vassar College delivered by Samuel L. Jackson. Mr. Jackson’s charisma drew me in. I bought the book when Đạo, my first kid, was born. I never imagined that I would apply it to myself, but here it is. I am sure you have read it many times already, but I still want to post the full text without the illustrations. Enjoy:

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And then things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That’s not for you!

Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you’ll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You’ll be as famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t
Because, sometimes they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times
you’ll play lonely games too.
Games you can’t win
’cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike,
And I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life’s
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So…
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,
You’re off the Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

Happy graduation!

My graduation ceremony will be on this Saturday. I hope that my mom will be able to make it. Because of her health issue, I understand if she couldn’t come to celebrate with me.

Graduation is not big of a deal, but the only person besides me who is excited about it is my niece. I am so glad to hear that she wants to come to share the special day with me.

Again it’s not a big deal, but a moment like this shows who is your real family, who supports you, and who is pretentious. Even if no one else cares, I am still proud of my achievements in the past two and a half years. It is something that I never thought I could accomplish.

Up until I enrolled into the master program, school was never exciting to me. I don’t know how I made it through high school and four-year college. After finishing my undergrad, I promised myself that I am done with school forever. Needless to say, that was not true.

All those years in school, I fluffed my way through. I hung in there and did everything I could just so I could get that piece of paper. I didn’t truly earn it. Grad school was the opposite. I put in my time and effort. I had done the work that I am proud of. I truly earn it; therefore, it is a big deal for me.

On Saturday I will close out this chapter of my life. My next step is refocusing on my expanding family. I will spend the the two-week holidays with the two boys and getting ready for the third boy coming early next year. Looking forward to exciting and exhausting time ahead.

I am now in the fifth season of Mad Men. I knew if I started to watch it I will be addicted to it. What I love about the serious is the drinking. From the sounds (of bottle caps popping, ice dropping on the glass, and liquor being poured into the cup) to the expressions (the way the characters hold their cup, take a sip, and engulf the spirit), drinking takes center of the series. They drink to celebrate. They drink when they get upset. They drink for almost in any occasion and at any time of the day. As a result, I like to drink when I watch them drink. It’s part of the escaping experience. I like to drink, but I am not an alcoholic. The people around me don’t drink so I drink with the Mad Men. It’ll be sad when I get through the entire series, but for now I am enjoying it.