You choose
the flowers
without petals.
The vase
with
murky waves.
You started
to explain
and then
stopped.

Ben Niespodziany

As the winter approaching, we will be traveling to ski resorts; therefore, I wanted to make sure our 2018 Toyota Sienna SE will be in good condition. We have been driving it for almost 50,000 miles and we haven’t done anything other than changing oil and tires. I took it to Khang Auto for the following services:

• Front & rear brake pads
• Transmission fluid
• Brake fluid
• Air filter & cabin filter

Total cost: $540

This was the first time I used Khang Auto. He’s a nice Vietnamese fellow and his price was reasonable. I will definitely come back again.

Insult is injury
taken personally,
saying, This is not
a random fracture
that would have happened
to any leg out there;
this was a conscious unkindness.
We need insult to remind us
that we aren’t always just hurt,
that there are some sources—
even in the self—parts of which
tread on other parts with such boldness
that we must say, You must stop this.

Kay Ryan

Dave Chappelle is killing it again on SNL:

It shouldn’t be scary to talk about anything. It’s making my job incredibility difficult. And to be honest with you, I’m sick of talking to a crowd like this. I love you to death, and I thank you for your support. And I hope they don’t take anything away from me—whoever they are.

Every minute of his standup is worth watching and every word of his is worth listening. Damn! this guy is so good.

After we made the decision to returned the iPhone 12, we made a promise that if Đạo kept up his grades, we would get him a laptop. His final grades for the first quarter was good; therefore, we bought him a 15.6-in. HP touchscreen laptop. He earned it, but my hope is that he will take better responsibility for his education. His grades were decent because his mother had to remind him every single day to complete his assignments and projects. I made a deal with him that if he grades slip, I would have no problem confiscating it. Until then, enjoy the new toy, kiddo.

However carved up
or pared down we get,
we keep on making
the best of it as though
it doesn’t matter that
our acre’s down to
a square foot. As
though our garden
could be one bean
and we’d rejoice if
it flourishes, as
though one bean
could nourish us.

Kay Ryan

Most losses add something—
a new socket or silence,
a gap in a personal
archipelago of islands.

We have that difference
to visit—itself
a going-on of sorts.

But there are other losses
so far beyond report
that they leave holes
in holes only

like the ends of the
long and lonely lives
of castaways
thought dead but not.

Kay Ryan

A few weeks ago, Đạo asked me to help him with his project for civic class. The assignment was to create a third-party campaign t-shirt. He selected gun control.

We tossed around a few names and decided to go with The LORD, which stands for Live Over Rifle Demographics. We then came up with a slogan, “Enough is enough. Let’s end gun violence.”

For the t-shirt design, I suggested that he typeset the word LORD in big, bold letters with the acronym spelled out. He also drew an assault rifle with a cross at the barrel. I was a bit worried that it might be controversial.

Yesterday, I received his progress report from his teacher and he received 32/32—a perfect score. School projects can be fun when you put some effort into them. I have always encouraged him to come to me if he needs help with his projects and assignments. I am more than happy to provide feedback and suggestions.

What’s the use
of something
as unstable
and diffuse as hope—
the almost-twin
of making-do,
the isotope
of going on:
what isn’t in
the envelope
just before
it isn’t:
the always tabled
righting of the present.

Kay Ryan

As some people age
they kinden.
The apertures
of their eyes widen.
I do not think they weaken;
I think something weak strengthens
until they are more and more it,
like letting in heaven.
But other people are
mussels or clams, frightened.
Steam or knife blades mean open.
They hear heaven, they think boiled or broken.

Kay Ryan