Pho for two dollars and food for thought

I just received a collection of short stories, published by a secondary school friend of mine. When I was browsing through it in school, MK pointed at the book and asked me: "What is this book about?". I told him it was my friend's first publication, a collection of her thoughts, feelings, and observation about life. And I translated the title into English for him, Journey through life on a bicycle. Not the best translation I thought, but surprisingly he seemed pretty impressed by it. He went on to ask me to translate some of the content, which I found really difficult given my poorly exercised Vietnamese. So I translated the titles of the short stories for him, such as "The different ways to enter someone's life", "The distance from Facebook to Life", "Another Hanoi within Hanoi". Such lousy translation did not prevent MK from seeing the true gem hidden within this book; he exclaimed: "Wow!!! Deep stuff!!!". And my automatic response was: "Of course, my friend is very deep! And she is very artistic as well!". At that moment, I felt truly proud, definitely not of my amateur translation work, also not so much of having such a talented friend, but more of my friend, yes, of my friend herself. 

I am so proud that she has grown to become such a sensitive, thoughtful, observant, and mature young lady. Someone who has a mind of her own and who speaks this mind with clarity, passion and conviction. Someone who treasures every single moment of her breathing living walking being. Someone who dreams and inspires others to dream on, despite suffocating realities. Someone who finds and creates beauty out of the seemingly mundanes of everyday life. Someone who knows how to love and receive love. Someone I truly admire.

I have finished half of the book. Some stories I already read on Facebook; others fresh encounters. Every single page is a window into her life, sometimes wide-open, sometimes more reserved; nevertheless, at all times authentic. Approaching life from various interesting perspectives, exploring a wide range of emotions, and surfacing thought-provoking questions which tend to be glossed over in this assuming fast-paced world, this has been such a read for me. I find myself among the pages: the me, the used-to-be me, the could-have-been me, the should-have-been me, the wanna-be me, and the never-gonna-be me. I find it compelling, not confronting because it challenges me to live differently, not imposing on me. 

Live a bit quieter, walk a bit slower, look a bit longer. 

Probably we will learn to love better and care deeper.

Ken asked me: "How much does your friend sell the book for?". "About two Sing dollars", I said. Having been to Vietnam recently and fallen head over heel with Vietnamese beef noodle, he made such a funny comparison: " Cheaper than a bowl of Pho!". 

I smiled at him and said: "Yeah, but this food for thought will go a long way!"

Yes, you, will go a long way, my friend. Stay Thu always! :))))