Hôm qua Đạo hỏi tôi thích món comfort food nào nhất. Tôi trả lời hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho. Đã hơn sáu năm rồi tôi không được ăn món hủ tiếu tại quê nhà. Tôi vẫn thèm hương vị thơm ngon đậm đà của hủ tiếu. Nhớ đến hủ tiếu tôi không thể nào không bùi ngùi nhớ đến ba. Mỗi buổi sáng ba dắt tôi đi ăn một quán hủ tiếu. Có quán nằm trên con hẻm nhỏ chật chội nhưng lại rất ngon. Hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho đem lại cho tôi những ký ức về ba.

Vợ tôi muốn hè năm sau cả gia đình cùng bà ngoại về Việt Nam một chuyến. Tôi vẫn ngại ngùng một số vấn đề như tài chính, đường bay, và tiêu hóa của mấy đứa nhỏ. Nhưng một lý do cá nhân mà tôi không dám trở về quê nhà là giờ đây ba không còn nữa. Mỹ Tho trong tôi không còn như trước nữa vì nơi đó vắng đi hình bóng của ba.

Dù là thế, tôi phải về lại Việt Nam và về lại Mỹ Tho. Tôi vẫn còn anh chị và họ hàng ở quê nhà. Tôi vẫn phải ăn lại những tô hủ tiếu tràn đầy kỷ niệm.

I finally had a chance to watch this weird-ass film. The plot is both confusing and captivativing. The cast is just incredible. They definitely deserved the recognition. I’ll watch this one again in the near future.

I just wanted to watch some Chinese martial arts on Netflix; therefore, I chose this one. Sword of Destiny lacks the depth of Ang Lee’s masterpiece. The English dialogue turned me off. The only reason I tuned in is to see Ngô Thanh Vân.

Gần đây hay bị đói lúc nửa đêm và phải vào bếp ăn cereal với sữa mới ngủ không bị bụng cồn cào. Chắc đã trở thành thói quen vì giờ đã khuya mà vẫn thấy đói. Đêm nay quyết định không ăn nên chỉ viết lên blog. Thôi buồn ngủ rồi. Tạm biệt nhé. Mai rảnh viết tiếp.

As long as they stay the fuck out of my way, I don’t give a fuck. I just need to make my money and get the fuck out. I am done dealing with all the incompetent bullshit.

I keep returning to Pendant World for its natural beauty. I was driving home from work in the scorching heat and yet Balmorhea’s music took my mind to a different space. The melodies, textures, and harmonies are soothing on the surface, yet deeply in the core. I didn’t have to pay attention to the music and yet it was there to please me. I don’t even know what I am writing. Just give it a spin.

Today I dodged the $150 AC service, but spent $200 for a pair of prescription glasses. My eye insurance kicked into this month; therefore, I better get an annual eye exam and a pair of prescription glasses. I chose a Huge Boss frame made in Italy. My first priority is to look at where the frame was made. I didn’t want any frame made in China. Base on my own experience, frames made in China didn’t last long. I had to paid $80 out of pocket for the frame and $120 for the lens. I kept the lens basic with no anti-glaring and no transitioning.

My optometrist is Vietnamese American. She is very nice. We chat a bit and she revealed that her oldest daughter is in her third year of optometry and her second daughter is starting medical school. Her youngest son is in tenth grade. I asked for her parental advice and she told me that she just kept telling her daughters to go to school. She didn’t want anything from them. She just wanted them to school. As a minority in America, school is the only path to success and better future. She didn’t pressure them into becoming optometrist or doctor. She just wanted to to finish school.

Reminding our kids to go to school doesn’t sound like a hard task. I will take her advice and will see if it will work. I paid $200 for a pair of glasses and parental advice. The price might be worth it.

Listening to Octava reminds me of Kind of Blue. Right off the opening “Invocation,” the vibe is laid-back, relaxed, yet commanding attention. “Green Dreams” is meditative yet uplifting. It is a soothing album to kick back to after a long, stressful day. A few glasses of wine will also help.

Driving home from work yesterday was hell. The AC in my 2011 Toyota Sienna was blowing hot air even though I had it serviced less than three months ago. I called up Khang about the AC as well as replacing the timing cover gasket. He told me to bring it in the next day.

I arrived at his shop at 8:00 am this morning. He had his boy pumped freon without even taking a look at the car. After 10 minutes, the AC pumped out cold air again. I also noticed the AC light stopped flashing. He told me $150. I asked him for an estimate on replacing the timing cover gasket. He told me that he would also have to replace the water pump. My natural reaction was, “Oh really!” He went off, “Am I the mechanic or are you?” He continued, “If you knew how to fix it, you would have.” I nodded and thought to myself, “No shit!” He went on, “You have to trust me. I have many cars here. I don’t need to cheat you.” I replied with a bit of a joke, “Of course I trust you, but I am not sure if I can afford your trust.” Then he asked me, “Did I recommend that you replace the timing cover gasket? I can’t remember, but I must have said the timing valves.” I responded, “Yes you did as part of maintenance.”

I asked a follow-up question, “Will the AC last this time or will it stop working again? You did a service on it less then three months ago.” He replied, “Why didn’t you tell me? I fixed so many cars I don’t remember.” He went on, “If that’s the case, there’s a leak somewhere. I still have to charge you because your car leaked.” I nodded and replied, “Sure.” Then he said, “I am a fair guy. I am not going to charge you for the AC. Why don’t you bring your car back next week when you go on vacation and I will check everything.” Fair enough.

Now I am debating if I should bringing back my car for him to service. I do want to keep this car for as long as I can. I don’t want to keep paying for services, but I also don’t want to buy a new car. I have been thinking of taking the free shuttle to work instead. I don’t want to depend on a car anymore. The cost is just too much to maintain a car. We’ll see.

Kaliii has a sexy voice with a laid-back flow. She got hoes in different area codes—a play off on Ludacris’s infamous “Area Codes.” As a female rapper, she turns the toxic, misogynist raps, which dominated by alpha male rappers, on their head. In “Eat It Up,” she boasts, “I’m a classy bitch, never trashy sis’ / Never had a broke nigga on my mattress.” Then she throws in a little political punchline, “If I had a gold digger with a matching wrist / I’d be up a billy’ if they didn’t tax the rich.” Her delivery is a bit monotonous, but the bouncy beats help.