It’s time for the annual performance review. Started last year, I am keeping track of my responsibilities. Since I write on the daily basis, documenting my work flowed smoothly into my routine. Around this time of the year, I had always dreaded the self evaluation. This year, I am going incorporate my year-long tasks into the evaluation.

Specific examples which demonstrate the employee’s job knowledge and execution:

• Created Scalia Forum Save The Date Invitation
• Worked with the alumni office on class notes
• Worked on WordPress update requests
• Worked with University on moving to GA4
• Provided ITS access to our Google Tag Manager account
• Reworked the slides to double up the dimensions to ensure better image quality on large-screen TVs
• Attended 2023 Computer In Libraries Conference
• Created promotions for the 23rd Annual Judicial & Legislative Reception
• Met with Beacon Technologies to get quotes on HTML and migration for Cascade
• Met with Cascade to get quotes for portion of migration and templates
• Recommended specs for the production server: Cloudflare Add-on for CDN and security, 16 CPU Cores, 20GB Memory, 160GB SSD Space, and 5TB Data Тransfer
• Compared monthly price for cloud hosting services including DigitalOcean, SiteGround, etc.
• Worked with colleagues on Google Tags.
• Provided feedback to a fellow designer on banner designs
• Worked with director of technology on the calendar
• Work with the web content specialist on site updates
• Worked on WordPress support with colleagues
• Researched on Cascade to understand more about its architecture and to ask questions.
• Discussed server administrations with Beacon Technologies
• Upgraded MODX to 3.0.3
• Upgraded PHP to 8.1 on production server
• Upgrade MySQL 10.3.34 on production server
• Rewrote the NGINX web rules to force HTTP to HTTPS on production server

Specific examples which demonstrate effectiveness in organizational relationships:

• Published MVETS’s 2022 Year in Review. Highlights of what they had done in 2022.
• Worked with Law Review staff on developing their new website. The current site was a huge mess. It was powered by the Elementor Full Site Editing plugin. The plug-in was not working correctly. They kept running into issues. I had a meeting with them and I suggested that they need to get off Elementor and migrate over to Gutenberg. They hired developers to do the redesign. I gave them advice and guidance.
• Made ppdates for Voices for Liberty’s Call for Proposal Request
• Worked with Admissions staff to show them how to update the CAS intranet so they can link to videos and PDFs
• Restructured Working Papers on our site and on SSRN
• Posted course schedules
• Attended 2023 Computers in Libraries Conference
• Discussed whether higher institutions should continue to use social media. Why do we send our users to other social media sites where we don’t have control of the content? The sources aren’t reliable. We should instead draw the users from other networks to our site where we have complete control.
• Discussed Open AI (ChatGPT) and Metaverse (VR)
• Attended sessions on web content strategy and web security, which I found useful.
• Tested out WordPress 6.2 release. The Site Editor was out of beta and very stable. You can do anything without knowing any code. It’s quite impressive.
• Worked with the Director of Technologies to move the courtroom videos to WordPress so he can shut down the server upstairs. We should consider moving it into Cascade as well for the migration.
• Renewed SiteImprove for another year.
• Worked on Scalia Forum graphics for print menu, signages, and digital screens.
• Collaborated with the Web Content Specialist to take care of change requests.
• Supported WordPress sites for the Centers.
• Worked on the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic website in WordPress.

Status and results of previously agreed-upon performance goals and objectives:

• Launched Student Bar Association Website
• Launched the Art Clinic Website
• Published the Request for Proposal for Voices for Liberty Website
• Put together the landing pages for the IP program
• Handled update requests
• Added new adjunct faculty members
• Updated profiles and People Finder
• Updated course schedule
• Updated tuition costs
• Updated student organizations and their officers
• Published the web version of the fall 2023 course schedules.
• Fixed the Events Calendar Issues with duplicating titles.
• Published the Transcript Information for International Students for LLM and FLEX LLM pages.
• Work with the Dean of Admissions on the admit/incoming switchover.
• Designed Voices For Liberty’s speakers page with bios and photos.
• Finished putting up the summer course schedule
• Put the fall course schedule together. The page was ready. Just waiting for the greenlight to publish.
• Added 3 new courses: Law 246, Law 370, Law 427
• Worked with career staff to post the job fair on the CAS intranet
• Worked with career staff to upload videos to the CAS intranet
• Worked with Director of Admissions to add transcript evaluation on LLM and Flex LLM pages
• Worked on adding Google Scholar for faculty members
• Worked with Gray Center to give vendor access to their site
• Worked on the IP Program landing page.
• Worked on updating MVETS pages.

Examples which demonstrate the supervisor’s Operational Leadership

• Created email invitation for the Annual Fall Kick-off Reception.
• Ran a report in Eventbrite for the Capitol Hill Alumni Reception.
• Worked with students to put together the announcement for the Moot Court Competition.
• Participated in the Law Library’s summer workday & Learning institute.
• Updated and added new Faculty pages.
• Created Mason Mentors Profiles for Fall 2023
• Created an online form for students to submit their profile pictures.
• Worked on admissions orientation agendas
• Updated JD Tuition & Costs
• Added new full-time faculty members
• Updated the course schedules for David and Margarita
• Updated forms for Record Office
• Added and trained new content editor for Trial Ad student organization
• Added request form for Event Planning
• Added new content editor for Admit Intranet
• Updated Incoming information for the intranet and switch from Accepted homepage to Incoming homepage
• Worked with Beacon Technologies to set up SSL certificates and sFTP access for the new server.
• Took the FREE Annual Cascade CMS End User Training Webinar.
• Worked with outside consultants to set up 4 WordPress microsites: JurisMasters.gmu.edu , JMCyber.gmu.edu , JMCriminalJustice.gmu.edu , and JMGovCon.gmu.edu
• Worked with ITS and HR to get outside consultants access to our VPN.
• Updated the Fall 2023 Incoming Class Profiles
• Updated the ranking page
• Worked on revising the Online LLM in U.S. Law and Online Global Antitrust Law & Economic landing pages.
• Attended the WordCamp Conference. Since I had been getting lots of requests for WordPress sites, the conference was very helpful. It had a very strong, passionate, and ambitious community. They focused on Gutenberg, accessibilities, and longevity. They were working on a 100-year goal.
• Removed all course schedules and syllabi.
• Republished 2 years course schedules and syllabi.

Examples which demonstrate the supervisor’s Mentoring and Coaching

• Fixed CAS login issues.
• Contacted an alumna about accessing the alumni directory site.
• Completed training: 2023 Mandatory Role-Based Technical IT Security Awareness.
• Completed training: University Policy 1204: Prohibited Relationships with Students.
• Updated webinar pages for Online LLM.
• Updated course schedule.
• Created HTML version of course schedule.
• Updated course descriptions.
• Designed Sixth Scalia Forum’s save the date, invitation, and graphics.
• Replaced the WordPress sliders for the monitors. Soliloquy cut off the top of the slides every time new sliders were added. Smart Slider solved that issue.
• Fixed the WordPress Events Calendar for Voices for Liberty website.
• Re-uploaded course schedules and syllabi from 2021 to 2023.
• Relaunched the Online LLM U.S Law and Online Antitrust pages.
• Updated admissions pages requested by Sabrina.
• Supported outside consultants on WordPress for the 4 JM sites.
• Assisted the Gray Center WordPress site including adding new editors and authors.
• Assisted Law & Liberty WordPress site to provide editors and authors access.
• Continued to update Fall course schedules and syllabi.
• Updated the WordPresss kiosk site.
• Upgraded to MODX 3.0.4
• Created Alumni News block on the homepage and archive page.
• Trained alumni staff to make updates in MODX.
• Updated Voices for Liberty pages.
• Designed Sixth Annual Scalia Forum Invite
• Updated Records language
• Created a faculty site for a faculty member
• Created and updated Voices for Liberty pages
• Updated Admitted Student Intranet
• Updated Mediation Course Description
• Updated Arts Clinic webpages
• Created a form for Alumni Newsletter
• Updated Flex LLM Spring 2024 Course Schedule
• Migrated CDN and Firewall from StackPath to CloudFlare
• Created a Thanksgiving card.
• Created a holiday party card.
• Updated requests from the Records office.
• Updated U.S. Law and Antitrust Online requests.
• Updated MVETS requests.
• Updated course schedules.
• Created new events pages for Voices for Liberty.
• Created a new site for Global Wealth Management.
• Reviewed the testing pages and templates for the new law.gmu.edu.
• Switched to CloudFlare’s CDN and Firewall for MODX Cloud.
• Switched the Admit Intranet from incoming landing page to accepted landing page.
• Created a new subscriber user for Admit Intranet.
• Changed student org’s descriptions.
• Fixed the job links on the homepage.
• Fixed SSL Certificate issue for JM landing sites.
• Created save the date card for the Sixth Scalia Forum.
• Created graphic banners for CMEIL.

Performance and development goals and objectives

• Complete the migration to the new content management system (Cascade)
• Make the transition to the new CMS
• Learn the admin side of the new CMS
• Provide support for the new CMS
• Collaborate with colleagues on the new CMS
• Continue to support WordPress Multisites 
• Grow the network of WordPress-powered sites
• Make the transition to the Gutenberg editor
• Create new WordPress theme to meet the Mason new branding
• Support the law school members (faculty, staff, admin, students) with web-related technologies
• Support the web team members
• Collaborate with the library technology admin
• Attend web development conferences to sharpen up my skills
• Attend design conferences to stay on top of the trend
• Dive deeper into web accessibility
• Get ready for AI, especially ChatGTP

Yesterday, my wife notified me that our Samsung washing machine displayed a UE error message, which meant unbalanced load. I powered it off and tried to spin it. It spinned for a bit and then added more water. Of course I looked up YouTube and came across this video. I didn’t do the second part. I only opened up the bottom and tightened up the screw, which was already tightened. In the process, I cleaned up all the nasty gunks that had been collected over the years. I hope this will fix the issue. I didn’t run the machine because I broke the cap when I pried it open with a flat-head screwdriver.

We let our kids cut school today to celebrate Vietnamese New Year. I decide to ring in the Lunar New Year on the slopes. Our whole family plus my mother-in-law headed to Liberty at 7 am. Since it was still a week day, it was not too crowded.

Since the weather was so warm, I had the idea that we would ski in our áo dài. My wife didn’t go for it. She was not comfortable skiing in áo dài. Obviously the teenage boys (Đạo and Đán) were too embarrassed to wear them. Only Xuân and I were up for it. Here’s a clip of me snowboarding in áo dài.

I was able to do two double-black-diamond runs. I wish I had more time because I started to enjoy snowboarding off double-black-diamond slopes. We headed out around 1 pm to get ready for the Lunar New Year eve.

We stopped by Vinh Kee on the way home to have dim sum. It was a great day with the family. I loved it.

Yesterday, I went to Breeze, one of my favorite Korean bakeries, to pick up a birthday cake for my son. After choosing a chocolate cake and paying for it, I asked the cashier if I could put some words on the cake. She handed me a piece of paper and a pen. I wrote down, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO XUÂN.”

She told me they can’t do the thing on the letter A. I said to her, “You can’t draw two connected lines,” as I held up my hands above my head to show her the circumflex. She said, “We can only do English words.” I replied, “99% of the text is English. I just need one tiny diacritic.” Again, she said, “No, only English words. We don’t want to mess up.” I thought to myself, “She’s Korean. She’s not even American,” but I insisted, “I already paid for the cake. It’s fine if it is messed up.” She still declined.

Five minutes later, she handed me the cake. I peeped into it and the text reads, “Happy Birthday To Xuân” with the circumflex on the letter a. With delight, I said to her, “That’s perfect. Please say thanks to the cake decorator.” With a bit of defeat, she replied, “Only this time. Not next time.” I smiled and replied, “Well, there won’t be next time because I won’t come back.”

If she can’t accommodate a small request, I don’t need to buy a cake here even though this is one of my favorite bakeries. I was not asking her to draw a complicated Nôm character. I asked for a simple diacritical mark.

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I went back to Liberty to work on snowboarding down Upper Ultra, which is the double-black-diamond slope. Despite the warm weather, the conditions were decent. Upper Ultra was not only steep, but it had big moguls. The moguls made it challenging, but they also saved me from sliding down on my ass the whole way down.

I did about six runs on Upper Ultra. The first time I fell when I turned to my heel side. Fortunately, the moguls saved me. The second time, I fell on my knees. As I was reflecting on what I did wrong, I realized that I pulled my body back when I make quick turns. The third time around, I bent my knees and leaned toward my front foot. That was it. By just leaning forward, I could make my board turn quicker and maintain my balance.

I did several more runs and I didn’t fall at all. It felt great conquering the double-black-diamond slope in just a few hours.

My Sweetest Xuânshine,

Yes, you are our sweet boy. You take meticulous care of your baby brother. You always play with him. You give him a bath. You even wiped his butt for him. In return, Vương adores you. He listens to you more than me. He comes to your defense when others mess with you. You get into heated arguments with him sometimes, but you never hit him. In fact, you don’t get physical with anyone.

I love your self constraint, but I am also a bit worried. That’s the reason your older brothers irritate the hell out of me when they don’t care to protect you. I can see that you look up to them and want to hang out with them, but they don’t want you to join them. They say I am biased, but I call them out when I see it. Until they figure out how to take good care of their younger brothers, I will always grill them.

Even though you have your sensitive side, you are a tough kid. You can always keep up with me and your older brothers in the sports we play. Thank you for keeping me company at the skatepark when your other brothers don’t want to join me. Thank you for skiing with me. You are a fantastic skier who can take on any terrain. I am also glad that you are trying out snowboarding. It is challenging at first, but you will love it once you get it.

With academics, you are a bit behind. It is my fault. We will get you the help you need to catch up. Once you can focus, you will do well. As you are getting older, you need to start paying attention. Happy eighth birthday, my Xuânshine. I love you with all of my heart.

Love,
Dad

I missed the terrains. I wish I could just ski or snowboard everyday during the short winter. I loved these winter sports. My wife isn’t happy that I want to hit the slopes every chance I get. In addition to taking advantage of my seasonal Epic pass, which cost around $700, I am not getting enough time to hone my skills. Since I am skiing and snowboarding, I have so much too learn and I am obsessed with learning new skills.

My kids are getting bored with skiing and snowboarding because they are not picking up new skills. After hitting the double-black-diamond slopes, they have nowhere else to go. I encouraged them to learn carving, hit the trick terrains, or picking up new techniques, but they didn’t want to. In fact, they would rather sit in front of their computers then skiing or snowboarding. Đán, in particular, is such a fantastic snowboarder. If he puts his mind into it, he could go really far. Unfortunately, his mind is stuck on his PC. It is such a shame.

Having access to the slopes is a privilege not every kid could have. Last weekend, Đạo met up with his friend who wanted to try skiing for the first time. Her dad spent $600 for the three of them just for one day. The price included lift tickets, rentals, and lessons for her, her dad, and her brother. With skiing and snowboarding, you are either all in or all out. Imagine our family of six going for one day skiing. That’s $1,200. I can’t afford that.

At this point into the season, all of our passes are paid for themselves. I don’t even make my kids go anymore. If they don’t want to go, they can stay home and rot their brain on their devices. I don’t have any issue hitting the slopes myself. Even on the weekends when the lift lines were packed, riding single was always faster. In addition, the backside was always less crowded.

My obsession is creating a bit of a friction between my wife and me. She introduced me to this game and I am now all in. I made it clear with her before we decided to renew our passes. If we wanted to do this, I would need to hit the slopes as much as I could, even if she and the kids wouldn’t want to.

Những ai theo dõi kênh YouTube hoặc trang Facebook của tôi sẽ thấy được gần đây tôi đăng lên những video clips tự mình hát. Lý do đơn giản là 20 năm qua tôi viết phê bình ca sĩ rất nhiều. Giờ đây phải đăng lên để người khác phê bình cho công bằng.

Tôi không ngại bị phán xét vì tôi đến với âm nhạc bằng trái tim. Tôi không biết gì về âm nhạc. Chưa từng học nhạc lý bao giờ. Tôi chỉ học qua một lớp đại học nhận thức nhạc jazz (jazz appreciation). Những gì tôi viết chỉ theo cảm nhận và cảm xúc riêng của mình. Giờ đây tôi đến với ca hát cũng thế.

Dĩ nhiên tôi yêu nhạc từ lúc còn bé nhưng nghĩ mình không được chất giọng hay nên không dám ca trước đám đông. Giờ vẫn rụt rè như thế. Thậm chí tôi không được tự tin để ca karaoke. Mỗi khi đi nhậu với bạn bè, tôi chỉ ăn, uống, và chịu bị tra tấn. Không phải ai hát karaoke cũng dở, nhưng khi tiếng nhạc quá lớn, quá ồn ào. Nhiều bài karaoke có tiếng đàn với giai điệu đệm theo tiếng hát để người hát không bị lạc giọng nên nghe chói tai.

Khi nhậu, tôi thích được thưởng thức tiếng hát được đệm với tiếng đàn guitar mộc mạc hay tiếng đàn dương cầm nhẹ nhàng. Những lúc anh Trần Viết Tân từ Canada qua Virginia chơi, anh thường đánh keyboard tự sướng và đệm cho những kẻ không biết hát như tôi mặc sức phiêu.

Sau lần cuối cùng gặp gỡ, nhậu nhẹt, và ca hát cùng với anh Tân vào những ngày lễ Giáng Sinh vừa qua, tôi lấy cảm hứng muốn hát theo phong cách acoustic, nhưng anh Tân đâu có ở gần đây để đánh đàn. Thôi thì đành nhờ vào YouTube. Tôi nghĩ mình đã phát minh được chữ mới karacoustic (karaoke-acoustic) nhưng khi Google thì chữ đó cũng đã có rồi. Tôi không thích hát karaoke, nhưng karacoustic thì OK. Có lẽ là karacoustic chậm hơn nên tôi có thể từ từ hát không cần phải vội vã chạy theo chữ.

Ngày xưa tôi rất ngại ca hát nhưng gần đây tôi có cái nhìn khác. Tôi xem ca hát như một môn thể thao giải trí. Cũng như skating, skiing, hay snowboarding, tôi đến với những môn thể thao này rất trễ. Lúc mới tập những môn thể thao này tôi cũng rất ngại ngùng. Bị té thì không đáng sợ. Chỉ sợ bị quê. Nhưng rồi nhờ chịu khó rèn luyện, những khó khăn ban đầu cũng vượt qua. Tính cách của tôi là mỗi khi làm chuyện gì phải bỏ công vào. Giờ đây trượt không giỏi hơn ai nhưng thỏa mãn cho chính mình.

Ca hát thì chẳng sợ nguy hiểm gì cả. Ca ở nhà rồi đăng lên mạng thôi đâu sợ ai ném đá hay ném cà chua. Ca chỉ để không quên chữ Việt. Ca chỉ để đỡ nhớ quê hương. Ca chỉ để thỏa mãn chính mình.

Cách thâu của tôi rất đơn giản. Mở tiếng nhạc trên máy vi tính, bấm nút thâu trên iPhone, rồi chỉ ca hát thoải mái. Không cần dùng microphone. Không dùng kỹ thuật (vì có biết kỹ thuật đâu mà dùng). Không để ý đến đúng hay trật nhịp. Cũng chả cần để ý đến cách phát âm. Tôi chỉ tập trung vào cảm xúc của chính mình.

Lúc trước mê ca sĩ Don Hồ nên cũng bài đặt hát nhỏ nhẹ như anh. Sau này mê danh ca Tuấn Ngọc cũng bài đặt lên cao như anh. Bắt chước cũng chẳng giống ai. Thôi thì tại sao không hát giọng thật của mình? Có dở hay tệ cũng là phong cách riêng. Giờ đây tôi phải tìm giọng hát cho chính mình từ tâm hồn.

A growing, public, collaborative collection of type design resources. Everything from learning the basics to running your own foundry. Vietnamese Typography is listed under character design for Vietnamese.