by

Viết.

28-1-2023.

Ngồi trên máy bay từ Hà Nội đi Singapore kết thúc kỳ nghỉ Tết, đọc nhật ký của ông nội, lại khóc vì nhớ thương ông bà. 8 năm đi học ở Trung Quốc, ông viết bao nhiêu thơ về bà. Còn những bức thư tay ông bà giữ riêng thì con cháu đâu biết được. Vỏn vẹn nhiêu đó bài còn lưu lại trong nhật ký ông để lại là đã đủ biết ông yêu và trân trọng bà biết bao nhiêu. Thơ ông viết về tình yêu với bà, tình yêu quê hương tổ quốc, yêu Đảng. Từng dòng từng dòng lưu lại một thời tuổi trẻ nồng cháy nhiệt huyết của ông, lưu lại niềm tin và nếp nghĩ mà ông giữ suốt cuộc đời. Càng thêm kiên chí việc lưu lại một vài điều mình suy nghĩ lúc thường nhật vào trang blog để không quên mất những điều nhỏ nhoi trong mấy năm này. Hồi cấp 2 và cấp 3, mình cũng đã từng viết nhật ký rồi nhưng chuyển nhà mới, đi học xa nhà, nhiều lý do giờ chẳng còn tìm lại được những cảm nhận ngày thơ bé. Chẳng hại gì nhưng vẫn thấy tiếc nuối vài thứ cũ kĩ. Chính ra, có nhiều việc lâu quá rồi mình nhớ lại đâu chắc đã đúng thực tế đâu mà. Gõ thử “can we trust our memories” sẽ thấy hàng loạt kết quả ngay. Ảnh thì mình thích chụp và chụp nhiều rồi. Giờ làm lại thêm phần viết nữa thôi. Ngày mai mình sẽ đi dạo phố mua đất trồng cây và ngắm ngay một cuốn sổ thật chắc bền để ghi chữ.

Đã dọn xong góc cây cảnh. Sau 2 tuần nhà vắng người mà các cháu vẫn tươi xanh, xin cảm ơn ❤️
心里开心、每天都是春日

by

Hanoi: Mao Bookstore (Nhà sách Mão)

• Address: No. 5 Dinh Le street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, Vietnam (Following Google Maps is the best way to get there: reach no. 5, go into the narrow alley, follow the signboard to the 2nd floor, you’ll find the store on the left side of the stairs.)

• Website: http://nhasachmao.com

SUMMARY:

✅ A perfect place to find Vietnamese books from old times. 99% of the books here are in Vietnamese (either original or translated).

✅ Chill atmosphere, cozy space, friendly staff, reasonable price (a real bargain for old books). The books are organized by categories, but it isn’t very clear how to look for a particular title. You can spend time skimming through the whole thing yourself or just ask the staff for their assistance.

✅ Respect others’ space and follow the instructions printed on the white paper signs. If you want to take some photos to check in, be quick and don’t obstruct other visitors. Continue reading →

by

The little gift I got from Hanoi

Singapore, 07 Jan 2023

One of my besties came by my place during her weekend trip to unite with her boyfriend in Singapore. She gave me this package of “bánh xu xê,” also known as “bánh phu thê.” In my memory, it was a special treat only available at weddings – the signal of hope for a bright future, long-lasting happiness, and marital fidelity of the newlyweds. There is an old tale about the origin of this sweet treat, saying that it was first made by Queen Consort Chiêu Linh to send to her husband, King Lý Anh Tông, while he was on a battlefront. For that reason, it symbolizes the unshaken bond between the wife and the husband, thus, the name husband-and-wife cake. Of course, we can’t fact-check an orally recited story dating back to the 1100s, but we can all grasp its beautiful message ^◡^ At first, I thought this cake was only famous in the Northern provinces, but somehow most of the tutorial videos I found online were guided by a Southern person. Guess it’s a Vietnam thing now!

Continue reading →
by

Sing Trip 2015’s story

First and foremost, I am truly thankful for my lovely parents and my dearest cousins who made my first travel-alone trip to Singapore so wonderful and unforgettable.

IMG_0991

This is me (in the middle) and my cousin (the man on the right who was trying to look “serious”) in a lecture hall at NTU, Singapore.

To begin with, everything started with one simple text from one of my cousins who was working in Singapore. She texted me: “Hey, Taylor’s gonna have a concert here. Do you want to go?”. Yes, we were talking about Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour Concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium in November 2015. I’ve always been a fan of hers. Any Swifties in this whole world be dying for a ticket of her show. I answered, “Ofc, I’d love to!”. At that time, I thought it was just a usual question, a question with no special intention at all. Surprisingly, it turned out that my cousins did mean to invite me to come over, or fly over, to be exact, so we could enjoy the show together.

That’s how it all began :) Continue reading →

by

My bucket list (2012-2018)

This list was written down first in 2012 in my diary. I’ve been changing and updating quite a lot cuz sometimes I wrote down the most ridiculous things I could ever imagine just because of my curiosity, then erased it 2 or 3 days later. I’m usually confused with curiosity and passion. That feeling was like “I’m not sure if I DESIRE to do it or it’s just something I wanted to do but it’s ok if I couldn’t try it out”. So even though there was a time when my to-do things piled up to 50, but then now, you’ll see.

Since I got into university, I’ve been experiencing… not much mostly because of my laziness, but generally, I think I was off to a good start. Now I’m living alone, have no job and can’t earn a living on my own yet. Nevertheless, I have my own space and time. Moreover, my parents cannot force me to do everything they want me to do, not anymore. I’ll have more chance to do things that I like, even if I just like it for only 1 day. So maybe it’s just my wacky thought, but why should I fucking care about such a cliche matter while my purpose is to experience as much as possible?!

/Update on Oct 25, 2018: So I’ve been working for 1 year and a half till now and have a bit of so-called savings. Working is tiring but well at least I can spend somewhat on my favorites now./

I’ll update my bucket list on my online blog once a month (Update on Oct 25, 2018: Bullshit, it’s likely that I would only update this list once a year lol) not just because I’m a “sống ảo” girl but I wanna get some kind of invisible power from my invisible friends online. So that I can keep on doing my things, live my life to the fullest!

(Update on Oct 25, 2018: To this point, I’ll just keep ranting on by myself.)

Wanna do everything that I want!

Wanna do everything that I want!

Continue reading →