Theo quan niệm dân gian, năm tuổi (năm cầm tinh) gặp nhiều xui xẻo và trắc trở. Chị tôi cũng nhắc nhở tôi thế vì năm nay là năm Ngọ.

Hôm thứ Tư vẫn chơi bóng chuyền với anh em như thường lệ. Bỗng nhiên nhảy lên sơ ý chạm xuống lật chân phải. Mới bước sang năm mới mà bị trẹo chân rồi. Khổ nỗi tôi là con ngựa đam mê phi trên tuyết. Kiểu này phải nằm ở nhà mấy ngày.

Cũng đỡ là chưa gãy xương hay bị nghiêm trọng mà chỉ sưng mắt cá chân thôi. Trong tục ngữ có câu “Trong cái rủi có cái may” nên tôi không cho rằng đây là cái xui mà là sự nhắc nhở tôi phải cẩn thận hơn khi chơi thể thao.

Dĩ nhiên có chơi có chịu. Môn thể thao nào cũng có cái nguy hiểm của nó. Quan trọng là mình phải biết quý trọng cơ thể của mình. Tôi hy vọng sẽ bình phục sớm để trở lại núi tuyết. Chỉ còn một tháng nữa là hết mùa trượt tuyết rồi.

Sau khi đọc bức thư tôi viết cho Xuân vào ngày sinh nhật thứ mười của nó, một người bạn đã kể cho tôi nghe hoàn cảnh của chị. Từ lúc biết đến anh chị, tôi rất ngưỡng mộ hai vợ chồng. Sau khi đọc những dòng tâm sự của chị, tôi càng khâm phục tinh thần của anh chị. Mấy hôm nay, tôi đã suy nghĩ rất nhiều về những gì chị đã không ngần ngại chia sẻ.

Mỗi gia đình mỗi hoàn cảnh khác nhau. Có vui, có buồn, có hạnh phúc, và có lo âu nhất là khi có con cái. Gia đình bé nhỏ của tôi cũng thế. Làm cha làm mẹ, ai lại không muốn dạy dỗ con cái nên người? Không phải để cha mẹ nở mặt nở mày mà để tụi nó có một cuộc sống tốt đẹp trong tương lai. Không chỉ riêng tôi mà cha mẹ nào cũng quan tâm đến việc học hành của con cái. Càng lo lắng càng nhắc nhở thì bọn nó càng chống lại và càng vô trách nhiệm.

Tôi sống xa ba từ nhỏ. Việc học hành của tôi, ba chưa hề nhìn tới. Còn mẹ thì bận bịu lo lắng những buổi cơm để tôi được ấm no, nên cũng chẳng bao giờ để ý đến điểm hay hạng gì của tôi. Tự một mình tôi học hành và cuối cùng cũng xong. Con đường tôi chọn đúng hay sai tôi không hối hận. Giờ đây tôi cũng bớt căng thẳng về học vấn của tụi nó. Tôi hổ trợ được gì thì làm. Tụi nó phải tự chủ động với tương lai của bọn nó.

Đánh đập bọn nó thì là không thể rồi. La hét cũng chẳng thằng nào nghe. Thôi thì đành cố gắn nói chuyện nhỏ nhẹ với bọn nó. Lúc biết mình lên cơn giận thì tự câm cái mồm lại và tự nuốt cơn giận. Nhìn vào những điều tích cực và lướt qua những tiêu cực là một việc rất khó nhưng phải làm.

Những gì mình còn làm được cho con cái thì cứ làm. Những cơ hội nào có thể tạo cho tụi nó thì cứ tạo. Thời gian nào dành được cho tụi nó thì cứ dành. Rong chơi được với chúng nó thì cứ rong chơi. Những gì ngoài tầm tay mình thì cũng không làm được gì. Mình chỉ kiểm soát được chính bản thân. Tương lai không biết được. Hôm nay mình còn tồn tại nơi này và chúng nó còn ở bên cạnh mình là đủ rồi. Mọi thứ khác như danh vọng, địa vị, tài năng không quan trọng.

I taught Xuân to snowboard two seasons ago, yesterday I had to keep up with him. He had improved so much. I was impressed with the effortlessness he maneuvered his way around the big moguls. Riding with him made me stay young and active.

These days, Đạo and Ðán only wanted to ski or ride solo. Xuân and I often accompanied Vương on the greens and blues. Xuân and I rarely had a chance to ride together. We can both ski and snowboard and we can go almost any trails on the mountains.

In retrospect, Xuân has come a long way in winter sports. I found a video of him taking his first private lesson at the age of four. The instructor put him on his skis and let him slide down a few feet. He fell down and they went in for hot chocolate. That was it. He didn’t get to ride the magic carpet.

He obviously didn’t learn much. Even though I knew nothing about skiing at the time, I was disappointed. With the lift ticket, equipment rental, and private instructor, learning to ski was expensive and it was not worthwhile. Now as an instructor, my goal is to get the students on the chairlift safely so they can experience the joy of skiing or snowboarding.

Anyway, now Xuân can ski and ride equally well, but he prefers snowboarding more. I encouraged him to join the ski team, but he didn’t want to. Of course, I didn’t force him. As long as we get to ride together as father and son, I am happy with that. The next best thing to snowboarding is snowboarding with my Xuânshine!

On Monday, I taught my friends’ kids from scout to snowboard and they finally got it.

Kenny is a big nine-year-old kid. Last season, his dad asked me to teach him. We started from the beginning on one-foot skating. He said he already knew. He didn’t want to listen to what I was trying to teach him. He wanted to start snowboarding straight away. I let him. We walked up the slope. He strapped on both feet. As soon as he stood up, he fell on his butt. He got up again. The board slid down, he caught an edge, fell on his stomach. He cried and said he hated snowboarding. He unstrapped his board and quit. I felt bad even though I was not getting paid. I failed as an instructor. I should have taken control of the lesson instead I let him choose what he wanted.

Francis is a skinny eight-year-old kid. His mom asked me to teach him how to snowboard. A month ago, I gave him a private lesson. He was a good listener, but lacked confidence. When I asked him to try something, he simply said, “I can’t.” He didn’t want to get on the magic carpet. He was afraid of the chairlift, but I reassured him that he would be fine. I was there by his side. He didn’t get very far, but at least he didn’t hate snowboarding and he gained more confidence.

On Monday, I taught both of them together. As soon as we began, Kenny started with his yes-I-already-how-to-do-this attitude. I said to him firmly, “If you are here to learn, you need to start listening and quit running your mouth.” That was it. He started to listen as we went through the progression. They both could slide-slipping on both their toes and heel. They could make their toes turn and they both said they loved to snowboard. They wanted to do 100 runs. We did 5 and called it a day. They told their mom and dad they wanted to do it again next week.

They were both challenging to teach, but I always took on challenges. I learned that I needed to establish the rules. On the slopes, I was not Uncle Donny, I was Instructor Donny.

Nguyễn Thanh Hiện’s những tin tức về một ngôi làng (chronicles of a village) is a historical fiction based on a nameless village and told through a nameless scribe. The entire novel is written in lowercase letters and without any periods to give an oral tradition of storytelling. The series of story are fragmented mixing mythology with history. I selected a few chapters to introduce this fascinating work of literary. I included Nguyễn Thanh Hiện’s original Vietnamese text as well as Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng’s outstanding English translation. The sample is typeset in Newsreader, designed by Hugues Gentile and Jean-Baptiste Levée. Check out the Vietnamese-English typographic sample page.

Cuối tháng 12 vừa qua, tôi mượn một đống sách từ thư viện để đọc vào những ngày lễ mùa đông nhưng tôi bận trượt tuyết nên cũng đọc không được nhiều. Trong đống sách có quyển chronicles of a village của tác giả Nguyễn Thanh Hiện được chuyển ngữ qua tiếng Anh bởi Nguyễn Hoàng Quyên.

Hai tuần trước tôi đọc chương đầu. Hơi lạ là bản dịch không dùng dấu chấm và cũng không dùng chữ hoa. Cuối chương còn có phần ghi chú khá dài. Phần tiếng Anh đọc cũng khá thú vị. Cô Quyên dùng từ “sightless humans” và tôi phải suy nghĩ một chút mới hình dung ra “người mù”. Tuy nhiên, tôi hiếu kỳ muốn đọc tiếng Việt và tôi tìm được bản gốc với tựa đề những tin tức về một ngôi làng. Quả nhiên bản gốc cũng không có dấu chấm mà chỉ có dấu phẩy. Cũng không có chữ hoa ngoại trừ những danh từ riêng.

những tin tức về một ngôi làng được kết nối bằng những câu chuyện xung quanh ngôi làng không tên và người dẫn chuyện cũng chẳng có tên. Cách anh kể như đang nói chuyện, không theo thứ tự, không đầu không đuôi, quyện giữa mơ ảo và thật. Những câu chuyện vừa hư cấu vừa lịch sử và vừa văn thơ. Lúc đầu đọc không quen nhưng lúc quen rồi thì thật là hấp dẫn.

Đọc xong bản gốc Việt, tôi quay lại với bản dịch tiếng Anh vì Nguyễn Hoàng Quyên chuyển ngữ rất điêu luyện. Chẳng hạn như chữ “quê” cô dịch là “birthsoil” thay vì “homeland” hay “hometown”. Cô giữ được hồn cốt và cảm xúc của bản gốc.

những tin tức về một ngôi làng là quyển tiểu thuyết theo quy ước và văn của Nguyễn Thanh Hiện đẹp, vui, và thú vị. Đọc bản dịch chronicles of a village của Nguyễn Hoàng Quyên để cảm nhận được nghệ thuật chuyển ngữ.

Uyên Đồng writes:

Uyên xin gửi lời chào anh Donny,

My name is Uyên Đồng, and I’m writing to you with deep respect for your work and your long-standing contribution to Vietnamese typography.

Your research and writing, especially Vietnamese Typography and “Diacritical Details,” have accompanied me quietly but persistently throughout my journey as a designer and educator. What I admire most is not only the depth of your typographic knowledge, but the care, clarity, and responsibility with which you approach Vietnamese diacritics as both a linguistic and cultural system. Your work set a foundation many of us continue to stand on.

She went on:

Your work made me realize how essential it is for Vietnamese typography research to continue evolving, not only through books, but also through digital forms that allow knowledge to be shared, revisited, and expanded over time.

I am so grateful for her words of encouragement. I will contribute what I can to continue elevating Vietnamese typography.

The folks at Fontwerk had written about the project City of Arts in Đà Lạt to showcase Pangea Text, designed by Christoph Koeberlin. I had the opportunity to work with Christoph and the team at Fontwerk to advise them on Vietnamese diacritics for Pangea. The article mentioned me:

A crucial factor was also the excellent support for the Vietnamese language. Pangea offers full diacritical features that work in both tight line spacing and complex layouts. These features are thanks to the input from Donny Truong, one of the leading experts in Vietnamese type design, with whom Fontwerk works. Truong stands for a philosophy in which linguistic aesthetics and technical precision work together equally. His characteristic script and idiosyncratic touch is clearly noticeable in Pangea’s Vietnamese character set.

Read the article to learn about the City of Artists.

Thảo and Duy had written about their thought process behind the branding:

With the intention to build a brand rooted in Vietnamese culture, we set out to have the cultural thread seamlessly woven into Vân Vân’s identity.

For typesetting, they shared:

Typography for our website and packaging was another crucial consideration. We often encountered websites that failed to support Vietnamese diacritics leading to disruptions in our native language. It was important for Vân Vân to have legible and readable Vietnamese texts on all digital and print materials. We turned to Donny Trương’s thesis on Vietnamese typography as a trusted resource.

Thanks Thảo and Duy for trusting my site as a resource on Vietnamese typography. Best of luck with your business.

My Bright Xuânshine,

You turn 10 today. Even though you are growing big, you will always be my little Xuânshine. You are my athletic partner who keeps me in shape. You accompany me on the mountains as we ski and snowboard together. We are comfortable in both sports, but you are faster and better than me. Nevertheless, I always enjoy spending time with you and Vương on the terrains. I hope you will pick up your scooter again when the winter is over so we can go to the skateparks together. I am not much of a swimmer, but you are a swim star. Keep swimming, kid! I will always root for you.

As a son, you have always listened to your parents. Our job is to guide you through life and we can only do it with your cooperation. You have made our job easy and I appreciate that. As long as you trust us, we will always be there for you.

As an older brother, you love Vương and take great care of him. When we were skiing at Seven Springs last week in -5 degrees, Vương’s hands froze. You offered him your gloves and helped him put them on. You even gave him your hand warmers. When his nose was frozen—even his snots became ice—you pulled up his mask over his nose and fixed his goggles so he could stay warm. Your caring for your baby brother warmed my heart.

Before Vương was born and even until he was three or four years old, you were a tough kid. You took shit from no one. They hit you, you hit them right back. I noticed the change in you when Vương started to grow. He hit you and you just took it. You became much softer. You used your voice and your emotions more than your physical. With your athletic build, you could hurt Vương, but you chose not to. At times, I hoped you smacked him so he could learn his lesson and not to hit you again, but at the same time, I didn’t want you to hurt your little brother. You did the right thing.

As a younger brother, you had taken a lot of shit from your older brothers. I always came to your defense, but I had finally straightened out with them after our trip to Seven Springs. I don’t want to see them picking on you anymore, physically or verbally. I no longer tolerate their behaviors toward their younger brothers. As older brothers, they should be your role model, but you should be their role model. They should treat you the way you treated Vương.

As a student, you are not as confident as an athlete. Not too many excels in both, but you will do fine academically. I will do everything to help you as long as you are willing to learn. Just like sports, you have to practice to improve. Seek out help from your teachers. Seek out help from your mother and me. We’re all here to help you, but you have to take the initiative and you have to be willing to learn. Don’t be embarrassed to ask if you don’t know. You can only learn when you ask questions.

Seeing how nice and friendly you are to others reminds me of my young self. You want people around you to like you. You don’t want to hurt their feelings or let them down. I spent so many years beating myself up trying to make people liked me. I ended up hating myself. I learned a hard lesson and I finally let go. If people don’t like me for who I am, I want nothing to do with them. Even my own family members, I will not waste my emotions on them if they treat me like shit. You are strong physically, but you also need to be strong emotionally. Don’t let anyone else get into your head.

Of course, you can always treat people nice and friendly if they have done the same for you. If they don’t, just put them out of your mind. If they treat you badly or don’t care about you, they are not your friends. Only focus on those truly care for you. Otherwise, they will take advantage of your weakness. I wished I had learned to protect my own emotions early in life; therefore, I would like for you to learn as quickly as you can to protect yourself.

For as long as I live, I will always be here for you and you can always count on me. You can come to me anytime, anywhere, and with any issue. You are my bright Xuânshine and I know you will turn out great. I love you so much and happy 10^th birthday!

Love,
Dad