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How to renovate a 100-year-old grand victorian home 2000 miles away? (10 of 10) Ultimately, call it “done”: Ton and I only could make time to be in Milwaukee for one week. One week zoomed by and I knew I needed more work done. Ton went back to Sacramento and I got another week from work off from work. There will always be more than you want to do but you have to give yourself a deadline and stick to it, otherwise, you will drive yourself bananas. Start your listing, and keep a running list of repairs and get down during vacancies or in between stay-day cleans. As long as the house is functionally working, everything else can be done later. Using these tips, I manage a massive renovation and furnished a profitable Airbnb remotely from home. We painted the entire interior, new flooring, adding 4 bedrooms!! though reworking the entire layout on multiple floors. Adding an in-ground basketball court, bonfire pit, swing set, bocee ball court, and game room with an arcade, foosball, poker table. 7 Bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 12 beds, 3 dining tables. Last year, I learned we can solve any problem that I encounter. This year, I proved that there is no limit to how much we can get done if I use my resources and systematize my tactics. What do you think? Feedback, Likes/Dislikes, Comments, Questions #AirbnbInvesting #AirbnbRenovation #AirbnbHost #AirbnbSuperhost #RealEstateInvesting #RealEstateRenovation #RealEstateInvestor #HomeRenovation #InteriorDesign #VacationRental https://www.instagram.com/p/CqRe-2Np4mo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

How to renovate a 100-year-old grand victorian home 2000 miles away? (7-9 of 10) 7. Decor and Finishing Touches: When Ton and I finally went to Milwaukee, our scope of work was limited to the last 10% of our Airbnb flip. However, the 10% is always the hardest to get done especially in a limited time. Keep the scope of work as tight as possible. This is getting decor to make your Airbnb feel homely, coordinated, and stand out in the photos. 8. Anticipate the unexpected: There were a ton of items that I did not anticipate doing while in Milwaukee. Little things became huge things because I underestimate the size of the house. Labeling over 20+ door, 50+ light switches, and logging all the details of my appliances took several hours. Leave extra time stuff there was no way you could of anticipated. 9. Renovate as much as you can in the beginning: It is always best to do all the renovation that you want for a property prior to going live. Nothing is more frustrating than to halting a listing from being booked and coordinating a quickly moving renovation. It costs money for the renovation and it costs money from being booked. What do you think? Feedback, Likes/Dislikes, Comments, Questions #AirbnbInvesting #AirbnbRenovation #AirbnbHost #AirbnbSuperhost #RealEstateInvesting #RealEstateRenovation #RealEstateInvestor #HomeRenovation #InteriorDesign #vacationrental (at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp3YS-LSEtE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

How to renovate a 100-year-old grand victorian home 2000 miles away? (4-6 of 10) 4. Matterport and Powerpoint Slides: Hire a photographer that has the capacity to conduct a 3D model hour tour called Matterport. This tool will allow you to understand the layout of your property and all the different dimensions of your property that you can’t understand through photos. From there, work with your GC or interior designer and make design choices through a collaborative google slides doc. Dropping in paint choices, screenshots of furniture pieces, list key measurements, and more. 5. Hire someone local to receive, hold, and set up furniture: One massive lesson learned that I made with this project was to hire someone that was willing to receive all of my furniture deliveries, store it in their home, and deliver and set it up at the Airbnb. It's nearly impossible to set up an Airbnb within a one-week window, especially a 7 bedroom 3K sqft home. Having someone set up 75%-90% of your Airbnb is better than you doing it for 1 month locally. There will always be delivery delays, logistics problems, etc. My interior design served as this person. 6. Use Task Rabbit: A big level up on this project was hiring people off task rabbit or any similar apps. Task rabbits help with duties that you wouldn’t hire a contractor to do that you need for your Airbnb: moving furniture, putting together bedframes, mounting TV’s, and disposing of truckloads of amazon boxes. If you don’t delegate, then you end up doing it. What do you think? Feedback, Likes/Dislikes, Comments, Questions #AirbnbInvesting #AirbnbRenovation #AirbnbHost #AirbnbSuperhost #RealEstateInvesting #RealEstateRenovation #RealEstateInvestor #HomeRenovation #InteriorDesign #vacationrental (at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpyXApRS5HY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

How to renovate a 100-year-old grand victorian home 2000 miles away? (1-3 of 10) 1. Market Research: there are a lot of great short-term rental data analyst websites such as AirDNA, Pricelabs Market Dashboard, and str Insights to help with revenue projects. You can calculate your potential return on investment rates by comparing it to the average cost of a property in any one city through Zillow and Redfin 2. Experienced Realtor: Find an experienced realtor that knows their stuff. I find in this case, experience trumps hard work. Find someone that knows all the different neighborhood dynamics, has a strong network, and knows how to write up a good deal for you and can close! Your offers will get rejected but keep trucking. 3. Hire an interior designer or general contractor (GC): The last project, I served as my own general contractor and worked with more than 10+ subcontractors, i.e. paint, flooring, electrical, and plumbers. Hiring one GC to coordinate your entire renovation will typically cost more. Hiring a good one will definitely cost more. I hired a local MKE interior designer that helped with design and furniture sourcing but also, but she served as my eyes on the ground and will double-check the work of my subcontractor and made sure their work was in alignment with my vision for the Airbnb renovation. What do you think? Feedback, Likes/Dislikes, Comments, Questions #AirbnbInvesting #AirbnbRenovation #AirbnbHost #AirbnbSuperhost #RealEstateInvesting #RealEstateRenovation #RealEstateInvestor #HomeRenovation #InteriorDesign #VacationRental (at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CplbKO8yIOy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

In July 2021, I convinced my then fiancé/ now wife, we should buy this 80-year-old Storefront home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and convert it into an Airbnb. Nothing could go wrong, right!? Long story short – “everything, everywhere, all at once” went wrong. Renovation took 1 month longer than anticipated. We lived inside the middle of a renovation site, where sometimes we would go without a working bathroom, so we acquired a local gym membership just to shower and go to our next-door neighbor, who was nice enough to let us use his bathroom. I would have to move the mattress every week cause we were getting different sections of the home flooring done. We slept in every bedroom and living room with no window blinds. Learned the magic of eye masks. I interviewed and hired over 20 different subcontractors and 20 different cleaners. Some would ghost me mid-project. I have never texted so many people saying “so…you just don’t want to get paid” No working AC during Milwaukee’s record-setting summer Plumbing issues, electrical shortages, foundations issues, delivery delays, blowing past my original budget, wrong part, wrong size, wrong model, wrong color, and a million trips to home depot later Ton didn’t leave me. We survived, we preserved, we learned, we grew, we celebrated. We watched the bucks win the NBA finals. Ate Wisconsin custard ice cream for the first time and then proceeded to have it once a week thereafter. Celebrated our two-year anniversary. It was one of the most challenging things that I have ever put our relationship through, and it was one of the best financial investments that we ever made! “Converted Storefront” is one of our best Airbnb properties. SO!! We ran back and bought another one in May 2022. This time, it was a 100-year-old grand victorian home - 3000 sqft, 4 floors, 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and a ton of work. This time, I did a couple of things differently to prevent my future marriage from falling apart. Future posts coming with my lessons learned! (at Milwaukee, Wisconsin) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpgZ1xXvR47/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Week #2 of honeymoon / babymoon in Medellin, Columbia. Reminiscing over some throwback photos this past January. Everything is changing in April. Meeting up and making friends. Fancy brunches. Graffiti. #guatape #parasailing #medellin #columbia #travel #throwback (at Medellín, Colombia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpDjjugv3Gy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Week #3 of honeymoon / babymoon in Medellin, Columbia. Reminiscing over some throwback photos from this past January. Everything changes in April. #parasailing #fancybrunch #commun13🇨🇴 #columbia #medellin (at Medellín, Colombia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpBk2iBP6zx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Honeymoon babymoon Week 1: Canta Punta & Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic #throwbackposts #travel #dominicanrepublic #puntacana #santadomingo 2022 was a whirlwind and taking long vacation was perfect to reflect on all that had happened and count every single blessing. #pregnantatthebeach #horseriding #cavehopping #foodietravel (at Punta Cana, Republica Dominicana) https://www.instagram.com/p/Conuv4KPknd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I've always known I wanted to be a father but I never knew when it would happen. Not until I met Ton You showed me all the abundance in the world and let me know that I was ready, that we were ready. Our wedding represents our two families coming together and more powerfully, we welcome a new life into this world surrounded by the people that will love them During our wedding we conducted a tea ceremony and put together an altar for my late mother During my prayers to her, I pictured her so happy for our first baby Her excitement would have quickly turned into anxious asian motherly advice on how to prepare and all the things I needed to buy I've always said her favorite job was to be a grandma there was nothing that made her more happy I will tell stories to our babies about her so they know who taught their father everything (at Shasta Lake, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CodG7_iSsRh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

As early as I can remember I wanted to be a superhero I wanted the katanas, the batmobiles, the power morphers the samurai swords, the super saiyans, the transformers childhood before and after school was wide eye fixation on TV Screens losing myself to stories about saving the day and sword fights the gun shoot outs rescuing the girl from villains putting the bad guys behind bars the crowd applause the glory I surrender to these stories every single time even though I always knew how it ended because these tall tales talked about truimph when you’re a quiet Vietnamese kid that grew under a house of negativity and neglect You latch onto the very little light you can find I created a secret identity in superheroes cause I couldn’t make a normal one at home big brothers and fathers weren’t around to teach boys to become men so we learn life lessons from cartoon caped crusaders It makes sense right Missing father figures replaced by action figures superficially being taught that superheroes can only be made of gold never break nor rust But this psychosis is essentially flawed Flawed by the very idea that you can never have any so you run cross country miles to prove your heart of steel climb skyscrapers and towers to prove there are no heights you fear community service others cause you never need to serve yourself play social justice poet savior on performance stages cause you’re so much better than everybody else And the comic book page turns The damsels in distress that you tend to love so much Turns your own superpowers against you Your ego The one you said you loved so much and called her, your superwoman Carved out of krytonite shows you your online dating account OkCupid shoots her green arrow straight through you your destined life partner and day dream sidekick finds all of your fangirls and sidechicks ... ... ... when you think you’re the hero your absolute greatest fear Is knowing you could be the villain so you Michelangelo paint white on two-face lies Tell them that you’re saving them from the truth When pretend heroes just save themselves Riddle her with fabricated falsehoods that become dark and desmal batman caves ins, boulder ups and avalanches over weighs like an impossibility that you can never uncover You learn to suppress the truth like you’ve always known to superman suppress your weaknesses suppress your emotions suppress reality suppress the fact that maybe you are just like Your cheating father that you grew up to hate so much “with great power comes necessary accountability” I was never forced to take my own poison I could barely swallow the vemon that my masculinity and dishonesty could conjured up until how meaning left each syllable I spoke how my touch was the bane of every broken bone I tasted the tears in your words saw the vengeance in your eyes this story feels so typical Another man's superhero fantasy becomes another woman's love tragedy I’m sorry that you were the one to painfully remind how truly ordinary of man I am full of faults with so many wrongs that I haven’t written poems for even these apologies feels hollow like the heroic persona I tried to portray when you wore a mask for so many nights You forget which alter ego is waking up losing the best partner that I ever had seems like a proper punishment for an integrity that I had such a casual relationship with This is more than apologies This is owning up to the damage you caused This is tracing the bad blood that toxic fathers passed on to ill sons This is about finding truth again That it will hurt But it will always set you free some stories don’t finish with a happy ending that before you ever learn from your faults You must understand how deep and entrench the earthquakes run That the girl was never meant for you to win over Just like the day was never meant for you to save Sometimes, the lesson is not about being the hero but more about remembering what it is to be human

Content Warning: Toxic Masculinity "A step in a longer process of accountability and healing." Original Poem by Fong Tran @fongtranpoetry Director/DP/Editor by Nathan Dang @dang.it.nathan Steadicam Operator, Nicholas Conklin Music by Slow Meadow Licensed from www.musicbed.com Special thanks to Vincent Lentine https://youtu.be/iN_0RK3ShYs

Collegeboard.com defines a first generation student as those who are first in their families to graduate high school, attend college, etc. Presents educators and counselors with special challenges as well as potentially great reward. Often times, they are children of immigrants and/or low income families. I’m a first generation high school graduate first gen move out for college and mother’s first visit to UC Berkeley first to fail freshmen calculus and almost quit first generation shamefully kept it to myself first gen learned how to study in groups and not feel insecure first to study abroad in my mother’s motherland Vietnam to figure out how my mother thinks first generation still... haven’t.... figured that out first gen graduated college and mother’s second and last time visit to UC Berkeley first to get a job that didn’t require power tools like my brothers first generation got demoted from that job and tried not to feel like the world just ended first gen accidentally got a better job as a University program coordinator first to intentionally use the student-employee discount to save money on grad school first generation immigrants really love discounts first gen read books and netflix documentaries about minimalism first to try to figure out how to stop my mother’s habit for hoarding everything first generation millennial american that always prioritized finding a career over finding a wife first gen bought a house To really just buy another 3 years before my mom starts complaining that I’m not married yet first gen earned a master's degree To really just earn another 3 years before my mom starts complaining that I’m not married yet first Community College Director of Student Activities and Campus Life and felt prepared for more heighten work responsibilities first generation started therapy cause I really wasn't first gen rediscovered Buddhism like I never knew what it was growing up in Vietnamese temple first generation realize that I didn’t have to be first in everything to make my family proud first gen realize that I put all my accolades and accomplishments before my own family first gen fatherless son learning how to be a man that takes responsibility first generation quit a 6 figure job cause going to doctor appointments with my mother was worth more of my time first generation son of a single mother finding his dream job: taking care of the mother that always took care of him and write the poetry in that for a living. first generation realizing you were told you always had less, when in reality, you had all that you ever needed

When the Asians get our Racist by Fong Tran I want to call the “Anti-Racist Asian Action (ARAA) planning meeting” to order at 2:17pm we knew folks might be rolling through Filipino time so we prepared a short agenda to make sure everyone gets out early as you all know, last Tuesday Karen Potato Salad McBlanderson viciously spewed hate towards nail salon workers at đẹp & fresh nail spa on Broadway and Fifth she demanded the manicurists speak English instead of talking about her ashy thanos gauntlet hands in Vietnamese she threaten to call ICE and deport them back to China clearly she’s a geography major so we need to stay vigilant with this anglo saxonian mastermind after our community check-in’s and walking meditation I’m gonna roll call the confirmed speakers and performers for this Friday’s Asian Night Market outside Karen’s apartment we’ll start the protest with drumming by Asano Taiko to give Karen a wake up call out of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 after their short 2hr set Little Manila dance collective will be doing the Tinikling demonstrating to Karen the grace of the Filipino culture and the potential danger of not having any sense of rhythm if she decides to use her white guilt tears in front of the police Khayaal dance troupe has kindly agreed to do an original remix to a Bollywood classic entitled “Karen Jay No!” traditionally the Lion Dance and red firecrackers are used to scare evil spirits away during lunar new year the Vietnamese – Chinese association has agreed to petrify the entitlement out of Karen the taiwanese chamber has confirmed 64 concession stands as requested, there will be extra sticky tofu, Kim Chi and fresh durian for Miss Clam Chowder the hella bland salty colonizer in intersectional solidarity, they reach out and confirmed 7 barbeque vendors from the Oakland cookout I want to make it clear especially to the white allies NO FUSION but thanks for making use of the suggestion box and please do not pass out any pepsi cans during the protest we’re also honored to be featuring the Mariachi band from New York performing their anti-racist anthem La Cucaracha “Cockroach” we gotta stomp racism wherever it turns up furthermore, we gotta make sure to take care of ourselves so Comedian Ali Wong will be doing a self-care workshop entitled “Lying Down” It’s gonna be great time. Thanks everyone for your hard work. our communities are so beautifully petty that we turn a hate to a reason to turn up and celebrate our diversity and resiliency John Vincent Jimenez will lead us in a Unity clap we finished earlier than I expected I adjourn this meeting at 7:58pm isang bagsak

“How come you moved back to Sacramento?” to be home, to be with my family “everything okay?” yeah, I’m just supporting my mom through her health (and then the evitable question that always follows) “sorry to hear that, don’t you have siblings?” a curiosity coded in upset double standards (why you? the youngest boy taking care of your mother why not your sisters) they learned better than to just take care of themselves our boys weren’t raised on the same lessons my little sister always took care of my mom till she was 25 and grown finally moving to San Francisco I fought every part of my patriarch that told me she was being selfish how am I any less hypocrisy chasing my bay area dream job 30 years old of male privilege called ungrateful I attempt to reconcile the thousand of years of patriarchy as if I didn’t play in its imperial palace run feral across its lush pavilions chinese confucianism scorched across Asia tainted Vietnam with its male hierarchies the same hierarchy that lets me stay out late but kept my sister caged so she’s future good wife protected the same hierarchy that forces my mom to yell at my sister for her mistakes lets domestic violence off the hook and fall to silence lets my father leave my family unscathed and save his face but left my mother lonely with group of abandoned children parents treat boys as a cherished heirloom and girls are a (dow)ry investment weighed for inflation, submissiveness, áo dài pageant scores and the number of traditional recipes boys, already born of value girls, born apologizing to go prove theirs In Vietnam, women are the majority in agriculture, garment, and textiles they fought front lines in Vietnam Wars there are not enough museums to display their honor and 40 years after Saigon fell men in my community still exploit the labor of our women filial piety tells us to respect and care for our elders so I try to honor all the parts of my culture that makes me a better man learn that honest love should never be convenient women in my life showed me that care should look like a sacrifice no one ever asked for so I hunt for organic labels at grocery stores count out my mom’s vitamin pills like a blessing warm up chicken conge trip all over speaking Vietnamese like jump rope made of rubberbands hold her hand in the hospital long enough till she feels the sense of sworn duty leave my body just kindness, like my sisters taught me In my naive mind somehow I think maybe I can make standards a little less doubled and hierarchies a little more even in my foolish optimism If I can help my mom with her cancer maybe I can help the men in my community, with ours

I fucked up too I played up superhero in my poetry and instagram too told every womxn with a “x” that I was down the movement #feminist #ally confused the love for strong women with intimacy and tried to call it solidarity try to stand for something bigger than myself #timeups #metoo and then get crushed up under it when we haven’t always played it honest I betrayed all the empowered Southeast Asian womxn that educated me on meaning of a metaphor told me why I wasn’t my father’s mistakes and showed me possibility of compassion after 10 years of silence, they told me that I was a womanizer destructively self-centered exploitative a mactivist an mactivist that saw himself so selfless his ego blocked the view from his own malice selfish disguised as altruism is the most sinister in this race of patriarchy nice guys finish last cause they’re last to see they were just as toxic as the next guy for us guys that called ourselves nice I understand, nothing could be more agonizing than to lose everyone that once believed in our significance as much as every part of my design doesn’t want to admit it I was another fuckboi in feminist clothing how vile is it when we’ve benefited off the trauma of survivors I try not to ask myself #whyme too many times in one day that’s the safe place for my masculinity to hide #whynot all the other men that slip subtle stories about sex in reality, its cause some nice guys have been dealt and some have not but that is never the point its because no matter how nice how woke how righteous we think we may be or how many others tell us we are we are capable of harm therefore, it's probably already happened we must be accountable we have felt enough of the hard lessons to the of womxn around us to actually, to radically believe womxn to listen to own up to all that we promised and simply, wasn’t to admit we did exactly what we would try to protect women from know that your apology will never be enough so stop thinking about how you could have made it better its all about what happens next true character is not carved out in the comfort of triumph but forged in the depths of immense force will you abuse all that you know to play victim deflect, scapegoat and minimize take space and defend your actions to harm even further or will you be made example of before, during and after and change and grow and heal, yourself and others you will crave all the people that fed you alive for so long to salvage all that once was but that is not change that is not accountability do not run away there is no hiding only light if #metoo is about uncovering the silences of women then what happens after must be how men become better because of it time is up - it is not ours to hold we are responsible for making the most of ours

I really really really never wanted to meet you like as much as I boast about you to all my students shouted you out every mental health awareness week rave to everyone about your cultural competency and judgement-free safe spaces your office was the vegetables that I told everyone else to eat but couldn’t scarf down myself its not that I didn’t need your help its cause I didn’t want be the type to admit it put ego over action and it doesn’t help that my immigrant upbringing keeps reminding me that I’m paying someone to help talk about my feelings for asian people, the concepts of therapy, buying something not on sale and expressing our feelings are foreign to us we avoid conflict like a overpriced honda civic there is no logic in the Vietnamese language that could translate this to my mother in the same voice she gossips to my aunties she would say, “you can pay me money and I’ll pretend to listen to you” for the asian community, saving face was a training in the womb done through second hand trauma saving face requires staying silent protecting reputation trumped telling the truth so we learn how to brush shame under every rug in every house every lunar new years we stigmatize therapy cause it goes against every cord of our cultural wiring “so wait, you want me to talk about all things that bring me shame and guilt instead of letting it festering into self induced anxiety and stress bruh you crazy” still, I manage to make to our appointments there are days that your face reads republican during a obama speech and I know exactly what to say scrolling up a presidential teleprompters but most of the time, I’m left speechless union lost with little understanding of the state of anything yarning together words with coarse thread campaign running through darkness decorated in doubt there are days you are surgeon and I'm the blindfolded student in medical scrubs and all you hand me the scalpel teach me how to open myself up guiding laparoscopic cameras through all the hollow parts and scissor cuts there are days you feel like a gardener somehow growing flowers out of the shit I tried to bury in the backyard of my childhood “really, you want to ask about my family right now” there are days that I rather you be judge and jury sentence me away for life cause I can’t bare to figure out these sentences that my anxiety keeps pressing me most mornings torture me with truths that I can't come to tell myself that I’ve learn how to professionally apologize to women I loved but couldn’t even utter a sorry to my own little sister tell her that I was a selfish brother that wasn’t there cause I was everywhere else picking up compliments and thank you’s off the floor no one ever taught us how and I didn’t have the courage to start for all the smart social justice words that I learned to say to the community I could barely spill an “I love you” at the end of family christmas cards made of glitter for all the belief I try to instill in students I barely have enough of my own to see possibility toward my mother’s cancer for all the recycled answers that I have for dismantling racism there's nothing but radio silence as watch the chemo course through her body seeing her shoot hard breathe through the nose clenching every part of her face ...theres ...just…static I rather figure you out and all the things you turned into than to figure out myself and see all the values I’ve turned on you show me the ugly contradictions that I've lived I tried to plant love everywhere else but in my own home “so you feel really lost about the lost of so many of your friends” “you’re grieving over your past self for a future self you don’t know” “you’re trying to reconcile the pain you caused others when you haven’t reconciled the pain within yourself” you flashlight just enough of a tunnel for me to keep digging but feel stranded nonetheless and of course, you tell me, “were about to reach the end of our time” you remind me that it's not my words didn't match my actions but rather I haven’t finished writing this story to know what it means you remind me that as dark as this hole that I’ve dug for myself at least I’m not alone “Thanks, I’ll see you next week”

Chúc mừng ngày lễ mẹ! Con rất vui và tự hào khi bạn bè con nói là con giống má, là một người tốt bụng, yêu thương và mạnh mẽ. Con cảm ơn tất cả những gì má đã làm cho con, và con rất may mắn được làm con trai của má. Cảm ơn Má! (Thanks Chi Van for the translation) Happy Mothers Day! My friends tell me that I look like you and that makes me very proud. I hope I can be just as kind, loving and strong as you are. Thank you for all that you have done for me. I’m lucky to be your son.