I was planning to sit down and write something about IT today, but then a couple came and sat next to me, so I'm switching topics—because I suddenly feel in the mood to write about love right now... After they sat down, they didn't say a word to each other; the guy was on his phone and the girl was reading a book. Honestly, that's kind of nice, right? Each person in their own little world—but then how do two people actually bond with each other? Or is this just a stage of love, after you've already learned everything about each other and only want to meet up to ease the missing? I've never gotten that far myself—haven't even managed to hold hands yet—so I don't know what it feels like once you already understand each other completely. I hope it comes soon, when I finally manage to get a girlfriend to sit and talk with me, and not call me childish when I talk too much and do dumb things. Seriously, after more than 30 minutes they still hadn't talked to each other—the guy was playing games now, which was really weird. And let me clarify: I'm not judging or badmouthing this couple, because I don't know their situation. I just feel jealous that they can be together like that, while every time I go out I try my hardest to create a vibe and always pay attention to the person I'm with. Looking back now, I still don't understand what I did wrong sometimes—I just hope it was because we weren't compatible, not because I messed up. Because if I did mess up, please tell me, so I can fix it—for now and for the future... just please don't go that silent on me. (Update) The girl fell asleep; the guy is still playing. How do you let your girlfriend sleep slumped on a chair like that? If your partner's upset, go comfort her—am I supposed to walk over and tell him to stop gaming so he can take her home? If any guy ever treats my girl like this, watch out—but girls who go out with me don't need to worry; I'll drive you home and... let you sleep =))

Ever since I got rejected—actually, even before that, before the first-date day—I had already been digging through VOZ searching for every post about love. One thread I really liked was "Advanced Pickup Skills - Situation Advice (full HD, uncensored)"—the title is pretty ridiculous, but that's just VOZ for you hahahaha. After reading more than 300 pages, I came away with a few conclusions I was pretty happy with. First and most important: be yourself. Don't try to act like someone else. For me, I'll admit I overthink a bit. There's a story that's both funny and embarrassing that I still cringe about when I think back to when I was getting to know her. That night was a Friday, only a little over three days after I sent her my first message. At 7 p.m. I texted her that I was having dinner with coworkers, but she replied right away that she was tired and didn't want to text. I was okay with it and also felt a bit bad for bothering her. Okay—she was still online, but I didn't pay much attention; I played games with a friend for a bit. But later that night, around 10 or 11, she posted a status with a message that was just a number: 1035845 (symbolic, but it really was seven digits). I panicked a little and didn't really understand what it meant, so I started thinking maybe it was a riddle or some kind of message for me. So I analyzed the number, asked AI, checked textbooks—but still couldn't figure anything out. And then I spent 30 minutes writing the most cringe, over-the-top message I could come up with about how I absolutely could not understand that number. And guess what? The next morning she said it was just her score from a game, posted for other people to see and be jealous :D. Okay, I'm so fine. I swear I didn't know where to hide from the shame—when we hadn't even met face to face yet and I was acting like she was my soulmate. But honestly, looking back, it's pretty good that now I know I should keep some distance and stop overthinking nonsense when I don't even know who the person is yet :D. Embarrassing as it was, I think I share a lot of myself with strangers pretty quickly, so feeling close to someone I barely know happens fast for me—I'll work on that next time.

Besides being yourself, I picked up some more specific tips from that thread—like being a little more "bad boy." Not actually a bad boy, but some things that make a relationship a bit more fun. Also: don't confess too early. Wait until you're pretty sure—like you can hug, you can kiss—and then say "I love you" based on the mood in the moment. Or be a little more mysterious; reply a bit slower, in a slightly edgier style, instead of being too straightforward and blunt. Honestly this approach is kind of scary too—meet a difficult girl and she'll probably kick you out before you even get to be mysterious :))). So something equally important is flexibility—depending on each girl, you need a specific, detailed strategy. If you're rich and handsome, get out of here; you don't need to read any of this. For me personally, texting experience matters most. Basically texting, for me, is to ask them out—but actually getting them to say yes is really hard :( There are a bunch of other tips but too many to go through, and I didn't read that carefully anyway. I just thought the stories were interesting so I kept reading—not that I'm that focused on how to charm girls. I'm just learning how to make the stories I tell my friends more entertaining :))

Twenty-three years single is a pretty peak feeling—when everyone around me has had partners for a long time, many since high school. Every time I'm out I notice couples and often feel a little sad and sorry for myself, even though I'm used to it by now. I don't use dating apps, basically I don't really like meeting people online—I think meeting in real life is more fun and better. The upside of being single is I have more time for my own stuff—like going to the gym (I skipped the gym for a whole month because of dating—that's how broke I got :D), time to write for you readers—even though only my coworker brother reads—but that's honestly peak joy for what a blog can give me. Just one word of encouragement is huge motivation to keep writing, even though I write like garbage. Oh, I almost forgot the most important reason I'm shy about love right now: I have no money :))) Seriously broke. I have to buy a motorbike and a laptop, so I won't have anything left until next year. How am I supposed to buy a gift to make up for the mistakes I made with her? How am I supposed to pay for gas to take her out? How am I supposed to afford the food she likes, the drink she likes (every girl likes matcha, and one cup is at least 60k—I genuinely want to cry)? So for now I'll keep investing in myself—flex a few books I just read, some Japanese I just learned like kimochi~, a bit of muscle from gym last week. Or those times at a café writing or reading... chilling or gaming with the bros... please God give me a girlfriend who can put up with me...

Side note: after reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, I decided to look into Complete Book of the Historical Records of Đại Việt next, so I can flex some Vietnamese history and look intellectual—this one's for impressing the studious girls... =))) The classics are pretty enough for now; I'll review them for you if I get the chance and time. For now I'm too lazy, and I write badly anyway. History is long and takes a lot of time, so I think I'll read and review it in small chunks instead of all at once. I might pause halfway and switch to other works—flexible. I hope I can do these things every day, but work is starting to not allow it; upcoming plans will probably eat a lot of time, and I hope everything works out. I only game about two days a week and I'm already almost out of time—future me will probably have to go hard mode only :)))

It's 1 a.m. now. I'm at THREE O'CLOCK café all the way in Tân Phú district; riding home will probably take another half hour, so I should head back soon. Today I was going to tweak my Let's Live website a bit and write about IT in the current era, but I suddenly felt empty inside so I wrote about love instead. Maybe I should learn to think about love a little less for a while, haiz. On the bright side, this place has a nice view at the intersection, the space is very open, and the drinks are average for 64k—probably because lychee is expensive (I had Luc Ngan lychee). Only downside: it's pretty noisy and the staff didn't come clear my table. Otherwise everything's fine—4 stars; if the drinks were tastier or cheaper, 5 stars. Tomorrow I'll probably hit the gym a bit. I'm also trying to find people to play badminton but nothing yet. In general I like things a little lively—too quiet is boring hhhhh. That's it—hope everyone has a fun weekend, gets paid at month-end, and stays healthy too. Bye.