I made through an entire week without my laptop and the Internet. All I did was relaxing with Dana, Duke and Davis. Yes, Miles Davis’s albums were the music on my iPod. Each morning Duke got up around 6:30 so I got up as well to change him, brush his teeth and feed him. Around 8am, Duke and I hit the boardwalk. Half an hour later, Duke fell asleep on the stroller thanks to the morning cool breeze from the shore. For two hours straight, I just let walked and enjoyed the coolness of Miles’s records. Now that is what a vacation is all about. All that we did was eat, sleep, and hang out by the beach with Duke’s grandparents. Duke’s aunts and uncles also joined us on the weekends.

The first weekend, I also picked up Sammy and Eric (my niece and nephew) in Lancaster to spend some time with us since I don’t get to see them often. I love the kids, but I am a little worried about Eric. He is a smart boy, but quite introvert. He is very emotional, but damn near impossible to know what’s on his mind. He just doesn’t tell you. The more you ask the more taciturn he gets. He was even more challenging than Duke. After returning him back to my sister, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I wish I could spend more time with him to win his trust so he could talk to me and to change his McDonalds’ diet as well.

I am back in DC now and still have another week off. I did get to go to the Newseum the previous Friday before with Duke before we headed off to the shore. Duke loved the Metro ride and he was very good at the Newseum even though he still doesn’t have the patience for it. The Newseum was quite inspiring, especially for a designer like me. Lots of gorgeous newspaper designs with great use of typography. I will definitely come back again in the near future for longer observations. Tomorrow I have to organize the house so I am not sure if I can get to other attractions in DC.

According to Argentina’s Dr. Donato Vallani: “The players can have sex with their wives and girlfriends during the World Cup.” Not just wives or girlfriends but both. No wonder Argentina is always at the top of his game.

Starting tomorrow I will be on vacation until the World Cup begin. We will be spending a week chilling at the shore in Wildwood, New Jersey with the in-laws and burning some cash (without a lighter) in Atlantic City.

The following week Dana will head back to work so I’ll just hang out in DC. I’ve been living in the Metro area for two years, yet I haven’t been taken advantage of the local attractions. I will try to hit at least one art museum a day with Cu Dao. He’ll get to experience the Metro ride for the first time as well.

This is a take-it-or-lose-it vacation since June 30th is the end of the fiscal year. I also need to relax and refresh myself before the the launching of the unified web project, which is also on June 30th. Two weeks before that will be crazy, but it gets even crazier after that since I have to migrate all of the School of Business web pages to the new template. So this is a very good time for a break.

I am pleased to announce that Cu Dao had slept through the night for the past couple of weeks. The little guy put in ten hours straight without waking up. After more than a year of sleeping interruption, it sure feels like heaven again. He also has a very good appetite and willing to try anything we give him even though he doesn’t pay attention to food. As long as we have something for him to focus on (a remote control, the iPod Touch, or some sort of electric device), he is willing to eat until he gets bored of that object.

Although he hasn’t talk yet, he knows exactly what he wants by pointing to it. He won’t stop pointing until we get him the right one. He is also very alert. He knows exactly where things are. Whenever he goes into grandma’s room, he would go straight to her jewelry box, take out all the pieces, flip the box upside down, dial the winding button, flip it back, pop up the top so he could hear the music. Duke dances to the beat every time he hears a club beat song. He bounces every time Thanh Thao’s “Lien Khuc Nguoi Yeu Cua Toi” comes on. Every time he goes into the car. He has to do his dance before he let me sit him down and buckle him up.

Duke is no doubt a very hard-headed kid. He screams every time I brush his teeth. Even though he knows that he would not get away with it, he still doesn’t cooperate. Every morning and night, I have to hold him tight to brush him. He bites my figure so many times I am getting used to the pain. The same goes with daycare, he cries every morning when I drop him off. Monday morning, he started as soon as we walked into the room. Tuesday morning, he began as soon as we took the elevator to the room. Today, he began as soon as I got him out of the car. Tomorrow, he’ll probably cry on the way to daycare. Can’t blame him though because he only attended daycare every other week. I can’t wait until the day that Duke just waves goodbye daddy when I drop him off. I am sure that day will come.

Still I can’t be any prouder. Here’s Duke at 13 months. And here is Cu Dao rocking in his car seat, per mommy’s request.

Not because Simon Cowell is leaving, but because Lee DeWyze won over Crystal Bowersox. I have nothing against Lee, but Crystal blew him away in all three songs yesterday. Crystal is clearly a stronger singer, but then again I was wrong last season as well when Adam Lambert lost to Kris Allen.

Accompanied and composed by the classical guitarist Walther Giger, Camille Huyen gives a fascinating musical recitation of Han Ma Tu’s “Anh Dien – Em Dien.” Love the way Mr. Giger glides and crushes the notes. Mr. Giger is no doubt a classical virtuoso, but what makes this piece stands out is the Eastern aesthetics he brings to the song. As for Ms. Huyen, I am so glad that she takes on a path of her own. “Ruot Trang” is another sensational interpretation of HMT’s poem.

I got home from work around 6:15pm, but Dana and Duke weren’t home. After taking a shower, I could hear them in the living room. Dana handed Duke over to me to give him a bath so she could cook some dinner. I fed him a bowl full of porridge and hang out with him while Dana was still cooking.

I peeped into the kitchen and there were Vietnamese salad, mussels and lobster tails. I asked her what is the special occasion? She replied, “It’s our anniversary.” Holy crap, I totally forgot about it. I popped open a bottle of white wine, the one that I brought to her place the first time she invited me over for dinner. I was so nervous that I dropped the bottle on the floor and we had to clean it up.

Anyway dinner was delicious. We had to rush a bit because Cu Dao was sleepy and fussy. Dana put him to bed so I just kick back and watched some American Idol. Crystal Bowersox dominated the show and she’ll win for sure. Then Glee came on. I was expecting more of Lady Gaga covers, but it was not the case. The show was still enjoyable though.

After the show, I clean up the table and put the dishes into the machine. Dana came down and now we’re sharing a chocolate mousse and a cup of tea while I quickly put this post together before the night end.

Lately I got tired listening to Vietnamese timeless ballads that had been covered with uninspiring results; therefore, I have turned my attention to dance-pop hits. Thanh Thao’s 2010 Dance Remix is still on heavy rotation in my car stereo. Each morning, the medleys help me stay awake until my grande bold at Starbucks pumps in. The opening track, “Lien Khuc Nguoi Yeu Cua Toi,” is extremely addictive. The Thai-translated “Ok Minh Chia Tay” in particular grooves me and I always get a kick out of the nursery rhymes: “Nguoi doi thay ma toi dau co hay / Vi chot yeu nen dang cay / Nguoi muon quen ngay xua nhu bong may / Ok minh chia tay.” Tien Dat has done a great job of incorporating the lyrics into his delivery and his flow is tight.

My second guilty pleasure is Ung Hoang Phuc’s Greatest Hits, in which he re-recorded some of his signature slow ballads with up-tempo productions. “Toi Di Tim Toi” is addictive as hell and the beat is catchier than a motherfucker. The upbeat version of “Co Don Mot Vi Sao” is also off the hook. The beat speeds up as the song progresses and the lyrics can’t get any sweeter than this: “Nay hoi ong trang tren cao / Co hay toi dang nho nang / Phai chang luc nay nang cung dang nhin ong.” Any man who talks to the moon is simply romantic. I am totally gay for that.

Lastly, I am not ashamed to admit that I get more pleasure listening to Hoang Thuy Linh’s debut than watching her sex video. I viewed the clip once (out of curiosity of course), but I have been enjoying the album over and over again like a bitter cup of coffee. Her sexy voice along with the ingenious beats seduce me. She is more naked on the slow pop ballads, “Cam On Vi Da Yeu Em,” “Anh Co Nho Gi,” “Cho Nhau Loi Di Rieng,” than in the video, in which she appeared extremely uncomfortable even though she was an actress. Her acting on camera had ended, but she was able to transfer her skills to music. When she sings, “Luc em buon anh luon gan ben / Luc em vui nhin anh cuoi theo nhu anh la em,” her emotion is convincing and that is a songstress. As for the rest of the up-tempo numbers including the title track, “Nghe Nay Chang Trai,” “Khoc Lan Cuoi,” I just want to bounce along and she did so without the help from the none-sense raps. Hoang Thuy Linh had done put the Vietnamese pop music on the map and I can’t wait to hear what she’ll have to offer next.

Shakira’s “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” was chosen as the official anthem of the 2010 World Cup and she is encouraging fans around the world to upload clips of themselves on YouTube dancing to the tune.

When I read a piece in Dep magazine slaughtering Quang Dung, I thought he overreacted for suing them. I just read another article in the same publication titled “Quang Dũng chứ không phải Mr. Đàm,” I could see why Quang Dung got offended. Comparing to Dam Vinh Hung sure is a blow in the face and the writer is completely goofed up on this one. True, DHV also covered standards like Quang Dung, but there is a different between reinventing old songs and fucking them up. DVH has done the latter. His Trinh Cong Son album is a sacrilege. His other covered albums are horrendous from the mechanical productions to belt-out vocals. The writer simply doesn’t understand the art of reinterpretation. To him, singing louder and fucking up every note is better. To me, that is disrespectful. Although Quang Dung hasn’t been creative, at least he has been respectful to the timeless ballads and I am glad that he is not Mr. Damn.