Missing a quiet and grounded life...

Yes, I miss having a quiet night at home...
Unlike a lot people I know, I love being at home, alone, and quiet... By doing that, I feel like I am balanced, grounded and productive... Going out is fun while it lasts, but not having a lot of things done makes my life seem chaotic. Since my physical life is chaotic, my mental life is heading that way as well. When my life, both physical and mental is chaotic, I can not be as productive as I would like. I do not like this feeling a bit...
I always think I would slow down when I was 35 along with all other dreams and hopes... Every thing is so not in my control. Changing my life style to fit my current situation is the only thing I can do now...
I am going to be more grounded and grew up in some senses.
I am going to practice when I visit my parents in Houston in the next couple weeks. I am going to read more and think more, not talk more...LOL.
This is the first step in the process. I am having an early new year resolution...

Friends...

Having good friends is a blessing... If that is the case, then I am really blessed...
One thing I regret the most is that I do not keep in touch with some of my friends from highschools. Being transferred to a lot a schools tended to do that to a person. During my 12 years in grade schools, I keep in touch with 2 people, L and T. We are still friends until this day.
College in Vietnam, Architecture University in Saigon was where I made a lot of friends and still keep in touch to today. A group of us, six, T,Y,H,V,T were very close but now some do not talk to each other. I still keep in touch with all. T,Y,H,V,T are wonderful, especially H and B when H married B. There are more in my class like C, CT,T,T,DT,HV,TV,V,D... that I meet from time to time every time I go back to Vietnam. C and V are those I like to meet the most in this group... We do not have a lot in common, but memory, sentimental are what keep us together.
America, I made some friends and friends no longer friends. What happened is what I usually ask myself. T and T are my oldest friends in America. Then I meet L at the senior year, and through L, I met T and N and their whole family... Through T and T, I met MH, CH, CL and their whole family as well as T and T family. I love them all...
In Grad school, I met B,D,B,K and many more, and we are still friends...
At MDA, I met K,R,C,K... and some more... some are very good friends of mine...
And then friends I met outside all of the above, like K who I met while shopping at Dayton's and the friends I met online like R and J...
Every group of friends I have, there are something different to talk about... I cherish them all.
On a rainy day, I suddenly miss them all... I feel fascinating how we became friends... with all people on earth, why they are my friends... We must have a lot of "duyen."
I wish all my friends a lot of happiness in their lives...

Taming the Tiger Within

The book, Taming the Tiger Within, has arrived... Thank you, Robert, for sending me the book and wrote me a beautiful note...
I am reading the book now...

Pham Hoai Nam - Ao Trang

There are two well known photographers, both with the same name Pham Hoai Nam. One lives here in MN and one lives in Saigon.
I call Nam in MN as Ong gia, Granite King, Nam Ao Trang... since Ao Trang is the calendar he has promoted for more than 10 years along with his charity works in VN... (Sorry Thu, I am writing about Nam in this entry, I promise, I will write one all about you and your style some other time... soon.)
In his 2009 calendar, there are two images I love the most (I will scan and post them here later).
Nam is an amazing person, an excellent negotiator (LOL)... who is extremely talented, intelligent, compassionate, caring... and trust me, I can go on and on... That is why I admire and respect him in so many ways... even though we are so different in many aspects... (ask him, he will tell you...)
I am blessed for having Nam in my life. Nam is the kind of friend I turn to when I am happy and when I am not... I will continue to write about my friends... because from them, I learn a great deal...
I miss you, Ong gia...

Quoc Bao

By chance, for the last couple days, I found one of my favorite Vietnamese composers on Facebook.
He is Quoc Bao, the author of so many wonderful songs such as Bai tinh ca cho giai nhan, Yeu, Nhu nam me ma thoi, Am anh...
I am so glad. I behave like a groupy...LOL
I always compare him to chu Trinh Cong Son because his music is minimal, but the lyric is very sophisticated and complicated... He is one of the young composers that has old soul, writes about beauty, a kind of strange beauty that is haunted and sentimented in many ways...
Please keep haunting me with your beautiful music... I can not wait for his new cd Q+B coming out soon... so I heard.
This sounds like an introduction even though he does not need one... I will write more about him later, especially about two songs, Nhu nam me ma thoi and Am anh, Le Hieu sings in his cd V.

Pottery

I love contemporary pottery as well as Mid Century pottery like Red Wing... They are just amazingly beautiful... I am learning about both... Warren, Maren Kloppmann, Steve Hemingway... love them all.

Mid Century Modern

I am interested in Mid Century design and architecture. I begin to study and searching for more information... Found some great web sites...