It’s official. I am joining Vail Resorts as a ski and snowboard instructor at Whitetail. My first day will start as soon as we get some snow. My job depends on you, Mother Nature.

When I first started to ski, I learned my first lesson at Whitetail. Now I am part of the team. I would like to teach skiing and snowboarding because I love both sports. Skiing is easier to get started. I taught a few kids to ski and they could get on the lift themselves and ski down the green slopes at the learning center.

Snowboarding is more challenging to get started. I struggled quite a bit and I had to figure out how to get over the learning curve. I only snowboarded for two seasons. All the learning techniques are still fresh in my mind. If I have to pick one sport to teach, I would go with snowboarding.

It’s going to be an exciting winter!

I picked up this book at a public library book sale. I didn’t care about a listicle book, but the author is Pamela Paul. I used to listen to her podcast, read a few of her books, and enjoyed her writing. This book, in particular, didn’t do it for me. I liked some of the things she wrote including “Boredom,” “The Period,” and “Looking Out The Window.” For many, I just needed to read titles such as “The Phone in the Kitchen,” “The Rolodex,” and obviously “Old Tech.” With 100 things, they either hit or miss. I love the typesetting though. Scala, designed by Martin Majoor, is such a readable typeface.

Album đầu tay của Hồng Nhung, Đoản khúc thu Hà Nội phát hành vào năm 1997, với những ca khúc sâu lắng về Hà Nội. Chẳng hạn như “Nhớ về Hà Nội” của Hoàng Hiệp, Hồng Nhung hát với những hoài niệm, “Dù có đi bốn phương trời lòng vẫn nhớ về Hà Nội / Hà Nội của ta, Thủ Đô yêu dấu / Một thời đạn bom, một thời hòa bình”.

Sau 27 năm, cô hát về Hà Nội qua những ca khúc của nhạc sĩ Nguyễn Duy Hùng, trong album Đài phát thanh công cộng, với tâm trạng tươi vui và lãng mạn. Với “Đọc báo công cộng”, cô hát hồn nhiên trong nhịp điệu bossa nova như đang tung tăng trên đất Hà Nội: “Đã qua, mùa đông lạnh tê người từng lối đi / Hàng cây lại rung động vì nắng xuân / Rực rỡ cùng hoa cỏ và lá non”.

Từ con beat dập dìu trong “Gốc Hà Nội” đến giai điệu r&b dồn dập trong “Cà phê Hà Nội” đến một chút funk trong “Phố cổ”, Hồng Nhung, Nguyễn Duy Hùng và nhạc sĩ hoà âm đã đem lại một không khí mới và tươi trẻ về Hà Nội.

Tuổi 50 em đang chín muồi (chưa rụng rơi). Trong đôi mắt anh, em vẫn như lần đầu mình gặp nhau. Trong đôi tai anh, em chỉ hơi cộc cằn hơn xưa. Hơn 16 năm thành vợ thành chồng, chỉ thay đổi tí xíu là hạnh phúc rồi.

Trong suốt mười mấy năm qua, em đã tập trung cho gia đình, nhất là con cái. Đến lúc em nên dành thời gian cho chính mình. Chuyến đi du lịch Pháp gần đây, em vắng nhà, mấy cha con anh vẫn sống sót. Em đừng lo lắng gì nhiều. Anh mong em có những giây phút riêng tư để thư giãn tâm hồn lẫn tinh thần vì em là nền tảng của gia đình mình và là nơi nương tựa của anh.

Đời anh mà thiếu em như cây thiếu nước, nhà thiếu nóc, hủ tiếu thiếu nước lèo, bánh bèo thiếu nước mắm, thịt bò nhúng giấm thiếu mắm nêm. Đùa tí cho vui thôi chứ bây giờ anh bị gout bỏ mẹ thịt bò rồi.

Chúc em bước sang tuổi 50 nhiều sức khỏe để lo lắng cho mẹ già, chồng trẻ, và đàn con thơ.

As of today, I have created 500+ connections on LinkedIn. I am not sure if anything will change. I hadn’t had any job offer on LinkedIn. I hadn’t found any meaningful connection. I use LinkedIn primarily to promote my work. Even that doesn’t bring much visibility. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to use the platform for that. At least it is an additional space for me to share my new projects. I still use this blog to share my latest works.

I had to read William Golding’s Lord of the Flies for an English class in eighth grade. I didn’t understand a darn thing.

At the time, I got pulled out of the regular English class to join a diverse group made of a Caucasian boy, a Spanish girl, and me, a Vietnamese kid. Our teacher was from Ireland. We took turns reading the book and I loved our teacher’s accent.

In the past few weeks, Đạo had to read it for his English class and he recommended it to me. I read it again more than 30 years later. This time I understood the book much better. When there were no rules and orders even kids became savages. It is such a dark fiction for young adults.

I enjoyed Golding’s writing. While I was reading it to escape the current events, I couldn’t help wondering about the future of our country. The majority of America had made the decision to take us back. It is just a matter of how far back we will go.

Đạo had been asking my wife and I for a new laptop. His first laptop, which was purchased two years ago, was getting too slow to render his 3D models. He has been creating digital arts for a while and he has been posting his work on Instagram. I have no problem supporting his artistic passion, but I am concerned about his digital usage.

I hesitated to buy him a new laptop because I just didn’t want him to glue to his screen. At the same time, I wanted him to have a creative outlet. Any form of art is good. I studied digital art in college, but I was not good at drawing. I was better at designing. Even though I am no longer nagging him about his grades, I would like him to care about his education. Furthermore, I wanted him to be a role model for his younger siblings.

I asked him to write to tell me why he needed a new laptop and he gave me legitimate reasons. I also asked him to write to tell me why he deserves a new laptop. Once again, he delivered.

Yesterday, I took him to Micro Center to buy the laptop he had been researching. He did his homework and picked out a good deal. He was excited about the new laptop. It’s his early Christmas present. I do hope that he keeps his words on grades, priorities, and brothers.

I met with Xuân’s teachers last Thursday. His English teacher informed me that he has been struggling with language arts. Part of his struggle has been my fault. I hadn’t read Let’s Read with him for a few months. He hadn’t practiced writing much. Somehow our routine had messed up. I took him to the skatepark more than spent time reading and writing.

After Vương busted his chin, Xuân had been reluctant to scooter. He still scootered, but not as much anymore. My foot had been hurt as well due to gout; therefore, I hadn’t rollerbladed much neither. It was time to refocus on the kids’ education.

After my meeting with Xuân’s teachers and his first report was not looking so good, I asked him to study with me. Xuân still does what I ask him to do. I encouraged him to pick up blogging again and he has been doing it. He could write whatever he liked. I am glad to see that he is getting back to it. His recent posts are so cute. I hope he will continued.

In June, I helped brought badòngthơ (tercets) by Physician-Poet Cao Nguyên online. At the time, the site only featured 15 selected poems. Today, the entire book, which features 119 poems, is available on the website.

When Cao Nguyên decided to publish all 119 poems, I made some changes. I added the alphabet listing as a way to navigate between the poems. I also added the poem numbers for permanent links. Readers can now share a particular poem they like.

If you can read Vietnamese or want to learn Vietnamese, you will enjoy the delightful poems in badòngthơ. Many thanks to the author for making this book available on the web. If you want to support his work, you can still purchase a print copy.

I hadn’t post on my X account in years. Yesterday, I finally pulled the plug. I am not joining any new or alternative social platforms. I am still on LinkedIn, but it doesn’t seem to do anything for me. I am still active on Facebook because I have lots of family members there.