After work we both starving and craving for some seafood, so we decided to skip cooking and go to a Chinese seafood buffet. Our friends recommended Blue Pearl, which located close by Springfield mall, over our favorite Green Olive, so we wanted to check it out.

First impression of the setting is much nicer than the ghetto style at Green Olive. The food selection is somewhat similar, but not at good. The main drawback is that the hot food aren’t kept hot and the cold food aren’t kept cold. So everything is pretty much warm, but the major disappointment is that the seafood isn’t as fresh as Green Olive’s.

I was disappointed that Blue Pearl didn’t have grill shrimp like Green Olives. I also really miss the ice cold, big, fresh, raw oysters at Green Olive. So we’ll stick to the ghetto buffet not only for the food, but also for the closeness to our apartment.

Over a small strumming guitar, Khanh Loan croons, “Bat dau lai thoi ban cua toi oi / Dung khoc them cho nguoi da xa roi / Muon phien nhieu cang lam doi u toi / Hay lau kho di giot nuoc mat tren moi.” With her high, slightly scratchy voice, she delivers the title track on her second album, Bat Dau Lai Thoi, like a songbird trying to heal her own wound. Breakup is excruciating and she determines to start over. She wrote the song and invited Jimmy Nguyen for the duet. His role is to share her pain and to comfort her.

By the time she gets to “Tro Cut Bac Trong Tinh Yeu,” another track under her own pen, she has completely erased him off her memory: “Gio toi xoa vet dau / Gio toi xoa het u sau / Gio toi xoa moi tinh dau do dang.” Yes, he is gone and she makes sure he knows so on “Thoi.” Over a club mix, she declares, “Thoi anh dung khoc nua lam gi. Ky niem sau an tinh cu xa xua.” It’s not the most innovative mix, but it helps break up the emotional tracks that run throughout the album.

Although she could ride up-tempo beats, her dark, soulful voice is more suitable on slow, heart-rending tunes. Hoai An’s “Khong The Xa Hon” is perfect for her voice. She soars out the hook with power and carries out the words like she needs to get them off her chest. Bat Dau Lai Thoi is not a bad pop record at all.

It’s about time Giant Food replaces its ancient, horrendous logo with a new one. When I first got to Virginia, I couldn’t tell Giant was a grocery store by looking at its current logo.

“Excuse me Mr. Attitude, why you got an attitude?” Young Jeezy rhymes in his new joint “Welcome Back.” It’s a pretty hot track.

Simple, one-page portfolio of William Smith. Nice use of brown.

Friday I went to the DMV to get a new license. (I think my wife lost it when we bought some drugs.) The man behind the counter was so friendly that we had a bit of a causal conversation. He asked me where I work and followed up with the most frequented asked question, “Are you a professor?” I replied, “No, just a web designer.” To my surprised he complemented, “Web design is not a just. It’s big.” He really made my day. Visiting a DMV not so bad at all.

Saturday we spend the entire day with my family and celebrated Samantha’s ninth birthday. She is such big girl now with a big appetite. Watching her eat is a joy. She could clean up a regular bowl of Pho and an avocado shake with no problem. Our typical weekends have mostly spent with our families, and we alternate between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. I can’t even look at our credit card’s monthly bill just for eating out and gas for the weekends.

Sunday we drove back to Virginia for house hunting and only one out of eight looked decent. I am getting tired of looking at houses, but also feeling bad for our agent for putting up with us. If we want to see fifteen houses, she would take us to fifteen houses. She just had a knee surgery and couldn’t take us, but still making sure that her husband is taking us. Real estate is quite a job.

One of my favorite Vietnamese female singers, Hong Nhung, has an ageless voice, a face of a young girl, but an ass of an old woman.

“Fuck Fox News,” the crowd chanted

T.I.’s new joint “Swagger Like Us” featured Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Kanye West showing off their rapping skill. Not sure why Kanye is on because he has none and Auto-Tune makes him sound even worse. Auto -Tune also wrecked Lil Wayne’s verse. Jay’s verse is dope, but T.I. has the most swag up on this track.

Nguyen Vinh Tien’s Giot Suong Bay Len was a phenomenal debut thanks to Ngoc Khue’s extraordinary performance. The architect/songwriter continues to explore the contemporary-folks direction on his sophomore Ngoi Tren Vach Nang, but without Ngoc Khue.

What obviously missing on Ngoi Tren Vach Nang is Ngoc Khue’s playful idiosyncrasies, the unique elements that made Giot Suong Bay Len so damn hypnotic. Even the elastic Tung Duong is so rigid on “Mot Hat Com Nho.” He doesn’t bend notes or toy with words the way Ngoc Khue would have done. Although Trong Tan’s voice is very charming and he has done a great job of controlling his obstreperous vocals, I can’t help but imagining what Ngoc Khue would sound like on “Ong Toi.”

Anh Tho is the only female vocalist on the album, and she only contributes one track, yet her performance stands out. Her high, crystal-clear soprano floats like ghost passing through glass on “Song Oi Dung Chay.” Tuan Anh (not the weirdo one) is the main singer who is responsible for five of the album’s eight tracks. He has a warm falsetto that is perfect for romantic ballads, but he could also work his way around Nguyen Vinh Tien’s folksy tunes, particularly “Chon Hoang.” Tuan Anh rides in and out of the exhilarating arrangement that made up of both old and new sounds.

What makes Ngoi Tren Vach Nang pulled through is the excellent production. Phan Cuong has done an exceptional job once again behind the board mixing and weaving electronic beats with Vietnamese traditional instruments. Still the album isn’t quite like the one-of-a-kind breakthrough without Ngoc Khue.