Cuong Lu:

[H]appiness and suffering are very close to each other, and that touching our own suffering can be a source of relief and even a prerequisite for true happiness.

This sample contains ten selected poems from The Secret of Hoa Sen, written by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai and translated by Bruce Weigl and the author. For the title of this project, I chose “Là Việt” because Ms. Nguyễn speaks eloquently and proudly about being Vietnamese. “We have crossed the glorious cities / Paris of light or ancient London,” she writes, “Our souls still drift back to our harbor.” For typesetting, I selected Kaius, by Lisa Fischbach, for reading text, and AT Kyrios, by Stephen Nixon, for display text. If you like this sample, pick up a copy of The Secret of Hoa Sen for the full experience.

Damn, my kids use their digital devices way too much. My firstborn always glues to his phone or laptop. My second son constantly plays on his PC. My third and fourth can’t stay away from their iPads. They have no motivation to do anything else. If they go to the skatepark with me, I have to reward them with boba tea or their favorite food.

The issue is they don’t know when to stop. If I don’t ask them to turn off, they will play for hours. Even when I tell them to stop, they won’t get up until they get yelled at. It breaks my heart to see them dropping everything else and just focusing on their digital devices.

My oldest is no longer reading paper books like he used to. My second is no longer interested in playing piano. He takes months to learn one song. My third gets whiny when being asked to practice piano. My youngest doesn’t do much else.

Am I the only one who is deeply concerned? Most kids seem to do the same. When my kids get together with other kids, they spend most of their time on their devices. I get so irritated that I just don’t want to witness it.

Other parents seem to be fine with it though. Maybe I should just stop worrying and let them do whatever they want with their time and hope for the best. What else can get worse? Addiction, depression, dropout, withdrawal? As a father, I love them and want to prevent the worst, but I am failing big time. I was so naive about parenthood. I thought love would conquer everything, but love alone isn’t enough. The more I love; the more I care; the more I fail. They have sunken to the point that they can’t function without these digital devices.

My concerns, worries, anxieties have fallen on deaf ears. I hope I am dead wrong. I hope I am worrying too much. I hope I am just being paranoid. Only time will tell.

Mitch McConnell froze two times while talking with reporters and we invited him to speak. That’s fucking hilarious.

My reading pace had been slow. A 250-page memoir should only take me a few days or a week to finish. Beth Nguyễn’s Owner of a Lonely Heart took me two weeks not because it wasn’t engaging, but because I was distracted with other projects and priorities. The last two days I was determined to focus on it and I just couldn’t put it down.

Ms. Nguyễn’s memoir is so real and relatable, in particular her story as an immigrant from Việt Nam. I love the story of her name. Like her, I changed my name from Doanh to Donny because I got tired of correcting people butchering it. In recent years, I have been wondering if I should change it back to show that I have not been Americanized. After reading Beth’s story, however, I’ll stay with it. It’s just a name, as she points out, “… it doesn’t change my past, my family, our lives as refugees in the United States.”

Ms. Nguyễn writes about the complicated relationship with her mothers as well as her relationship with her own kids. Even though she married a white guy, she still recognizes who she is. She writes:

All my life I have felt like an imposter daughter, an imposter Vietnamese, an imposter American, and often an imposter mother, failing and disappointing, an unreliable narrator. When does a refugee stop being a refugee? The answer is in the question itself, forever unanswerable.

I also appreciate her realness on motherhood. She confesses:

Here is a thing that I have never said or admitted because it sounds fucked up: every year my children get older feels like such a relief, not just because every year feels like a gain in their health and growth, but also because it feels like every extra year means they will be okay because they will be old enough, and getting older enough, to bear it if something terrible happens. One of the reasons early childhood, and thus early motherhood, is so terrifying is that we are always thinking about danger, worrying about safety and loss. What is worse, the fear of losing your children or the fear of your children losing you? And if your children lost you, would you live enough in their minds? What if they forget, and thus lose you?

This memoir speaks to me in various aspects and her prose is so damn good. I am so glad to see more and more Vietnamese-American writers making it. Whether fiction or nonfiction, I am seeking out Vietnamese-American authors to read.

Virginians, if you live in the 67^th district, you must re-elect Delegate Karrie Delaney because her challenger is a nutcase. He’s still a Trumper who uses fear tactics to get votes. He’s attacking Ms. Delaney a communist because he knows the Vietnamese community in Virginia hates the communists. In fact, he would label anyone communists if they disagreed with him.

I want to support a fellow Vietnamese-American candidate, but this guy is wrong for the job. He is stuck in the far-right bubble. If he isn’t Asian, he would join the Proud Boys. I had a few political exchanges with him and he quoted misleading and misinformation sources. We can’t have someone who can’t tell opinions from facts to represent us.

Furthermore, I doubt that he will be able to perform his public duty when he couldn’t even get his own life together. When he volunteered to teach our children Vietnamese, he failed to show up just for 45 minutes a week. Even just a small commitment he couldn’t keep. He isn’t going to commit to being a serious delegate. I wouldn’t vote for him if I were in his district. Please vote for Delegate Delaney.

There, I did my civic duty.

I am now a married Asian male addicted to retail, and well… I bought a pair of new skis after buying a new snowboard yesterday. I copped a pair of 2023 Fischer RC Fire SLR Pro Skis (155cm) with RS 9 SLR Bindings for $202.50 (55% off original price). I love skiing as much as snowboarding; therefore, I might as well enjoy a new toy. As much as I love my two used pairs released in 2008, I need to retire them. They served me well. They accompanied me from the bunny slopes to the double black diamonds. It’s time for me to move on. It looks like I am going to keep skiing and snowboarding for many years to come; therefore, I should invest in my equipments. I hope this is going to a snowy winter. The last two years, particular last year, was pathetic. We didn’t even have a snowday. I am so done with this hotter-than-hell summer.

In his vast repertoire, Phạm Duy had written a handful of songs about feelings. “Tình Ca” expressed his love for the Vietnamese language and people. “Tình Hoài Hương” expressed his nostalgia for his homeland. “Tình Kỹ Nữ” expressed his feeling for a prostitute. “Tình Hờ,” my personal favorite, expressed his pity for a poor lover who had no idea that she had been deceived. He even confessed: “Khi tôi tìm đến em / Là tìm vui trong chốc lát / Đến một lúc rồi quên” (When I looked for you / I only sought for a quick pleasure / I came for a moment then I forgot). In this sample, I put together 15 songs with the “tình” theme. I typeset them in Aneto, designed by Veronika Burian, José Scaglione, Azza Alameddine & Roxane Gataud. Check out “Tình Ca Phạm Duy.”

After months of searching and spending almost the entire day yesterday, I finally found the right snowboard at the right price. I hope I made the right decision.

Even though I already have 2 used boards, I wanted to treat myself to a new snowboard. I had my eyes on the 2022/2023 Arbor Coda Rocker for $300 (50% off original price). Before making the purchase, I did some research on rocker vs. camber. The rocker is designed for beginners so that they don’t catch the edge. Both of the used boards are cambers; therefore, my learning experience last season was miserable. I caught the edges constantly. I should have started with a rocker board, but then I already got over that learning curve.

My goal for the coming season is to learn carving; therefore, I want to continue with the camber profile. The lowest price for the 2022/2023 Arbor Coda Camber is $360, which is still pricey. Then I came across the 2023 Nidecker Thruster for $250. After reading some reviews, I purchased the board. An hour later, I canceled my purchase after reading the chart from Nidecker site, which recommends the 150-cm Thruster for riders between 121-143 pounds. I am pushing 166 pounds; therefore, I need at least 153cm. I have been having a hard time keeping my weight down.

As I digged around some more, I came across the 2022/2023 Head e-Pulse LYT for $322 (the original price was $660). This board is packed with advanced technology, including EMC (Energy Management Circuit). I could not find any review for this board, except for a Japanese rider. I couldn’t understand Japanese. The board is a hybrid camber; therefore, I was not sure.

After wasting so much time, I got frustrated and almost gave up. I just scroll endlessly on Google shopping and landed on the 2023 Salomon Super 8 for $265 (half off $530). The board is 154-cm long, which fits my weight, with decent reviews. The backseat camber sounds great for carving. After I made the purchase, Crossroads Skateshop pulled it off its website. I am looking forward to receiving the Super 8 and I can’t hardly wait to ride it in the winter.

I’ve been spending a lot of time relistening to It Was Written. When the album came out in 1996, the commercial success of “If I Rule The World” dominated the masterpiece. With my limited English at the time, I only appreciated tracks with banging beats like “The Message,” “Street Dreams,” and “Affirmative Action.” Coming back to it 27 years later, I have a deeper appreciation for Nas as a lyricist. Every track is solid storytelling. “Live Nigga Rap” with Mobb Deep is just so raw. It took me almost 3 decades to realize this sophomore effort is just as good as his debut.