Hung Bui was standing in the living room in his pajamas with an earpiece in his ear that connected a cell phone. He was making some last minute calls for work so that nothing disturbed him while he cheered on his daughter during her basketball game. Bui is a man who prioritizes family; he would much rather be a successful father than a successful engineer.
If you read Hung Bui’s resume, you would have thought he was your stereotypical old-fashioned Asian man: degree in Electrical Engineering, hard worker at a cell phone company, received full scholarship, father of two daughters who excel in everything they do. He’s just another immigrant who started from a third world country and worked his way up to become a valuable researcher for a multimillion dollar corporation in America. But when you observe the house environment, you know that he isn’t old fashioned. If he were to be described with one word, it would be “chill”.
Bui was born in Vietnam as the second youngest of eight siblings. Although he lived through the Vietnam War, his family was fortunately unaffected significantly by the war. After high school he received a Columbo Plan Scholarship to a college in Australia. He majored in Electrical Engineering and graduated as one of the top students of his class in 1977. He lived in Australia for 17 years before he came to America. During his residency in Australia, he started a company that made telecommunication switches. However before he left, the company had financing problems and he had to sell it to an American company. Now he works for Sprint/Nextel as a researcher. He is now happily married to Nen Bui and has two daughters, Lam and Minh.
Bui is a dark skinned man with peppered short hair: the tan probably came from spending many hours outside in the sweltering heat of Vietnam during his childhood. Although there were traces of age in his expression, he was still able to maintain an energetic aura. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt at home, even on a cold winter day. He had a deep and strong voice and he spoke with straightforwardness. His hospitality rivaled that of a king’s: he made sure that I was comfortable at all times. He was good at making jokes for his frequent guests: he would often host parties. His outgoing character lightened up the quiet house. He would check on what each family member was doing and offered assistance.
His wife Nen Bui used to stay at home, but recently acquired a license to cut hair. She now works at the local Hair Cuttery and gives me free haircuts once a month. Bui met his wife just hours before he left Australia for America. Afterwards they corresponded with each other until Bui was able to obtain a work permit and request for his girlfriend to move to America. “We wrote so many letters and made so many phone calls. I think that MCI made half their profits off of us,” joked Mr. Bui.
Bui was raised by an elementary school principal in Vietnam and a loving housewife. His father founded a three classroom elementary that evolved into an 18-classroom school through hard work and good management 20 years later. His mother had to raise 9 children and take care of the house. To pay for her children’s education she sold fish sauce to the neighbors. Bui’s parents emphasized the importance of enjoying life and finishing to all responsibilities. Bui remembers soccer games that got cancelled because his neighborhood friends had to go study the next chapter in the textbook. All Bui had to do was to make sure he finished all his schoolwork on time and maintain decent grades, but every minute not spent studying was playtime.
The way Bui raised his children reflected on how he was raised. Lam is a smart and hardworking TJ freshman who loves to watch TV and chat with her friends online. Her sister is sixth grade and on an all-state basketball team. Both girls have a healthy balance of work and fun. Bui tells his secretary to never schedule any meetings past 4 PM. “In ten years no one will remember who made the first cell phone technological advance, but in ten years my daughters will remember the basket ball game that I missed”, he explains.
If there is anything that Bui is the most proud of, it is the relationship that he has built with his family. His family is his source of true happiness. His favorite word is “peace of mind”. When he thinks of how happy his wife and daughters are, he reaches a peace of mind.
Peter Nguyễn - Thomas Jefferson High School 2007 (TJHSS)
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
hình ảnh họp mặt Cái Bang ở Gia Nã Đại, tháng 7 2007
Nhân dịp đám cưới Toàn (con trai thày Trương Văn Hoàn) với Tú con gái bạn Tạ Huy Thái, đám học sinh THD65-72 (cũng được gọi là nhóm Cái Bang) đã dùng cơ hội song hỷ này để họp mặt ở Gia Nã Đạị Trước là mừng thày, mừng bạn, sau là có dịp cho anh em họp mặt sau đúng 35 năm xa trường cũ.
Có anh chị Bùi Doãn Bình đi từ Úc để tham dự cuộc họp mặt nàỵ Các anh em tụ họp ở Virginia và Philadelphia, sau đó thuê 1 chiếc xe van 12 chỗ cùng nhau bắc tiến. Tại đây, được anh chi. Nguyễn Xuân Phúc (Montréal), Phạm Trọng Việt (Ottawa), Lê Kim Thành (Ottawa) hướng dẫn đi thăm các thắng cảnh và dự đám cướị Buổi đ'am cưới thật vui, thày trò bạn bè tha hồ nói về chuyện cũ và chuyện mới. Bàn của mấy ông già lại ồn ào và nhộn nhịp hơn bàn của các "cháu" trẻ dự tiệc ngày hôm đó. Gặp lại nhau, tất cả các bản chất phá phách của ngày xưa trở lại một cách thật tự nhiên. Trên đường đi, luôn được danh hề Phí Văn Nghĩa kể những câu chuyện tiếu lâm làm chuyến đi hơn 2500 km thấy quá ngắn.
Trên đường về, phái đoàn đi từ Ottawa đến Niagara Falls ghé Chinatown của Toronto để ăn tốị Ăn tối xong về đến xe thì thấy xe đã được dọn sạch tất cả các hành lý. Mỗi người chỉ còn bộ quần áo trên người che thân. Cũng may không ai mất giấy tờ thông hành v.v. Vợ chồng anh Ưng Siêu Và thì mất cái laptop có nhiều tài liệu cá nhân nên hơi nhức đầu trong vài ngày sau đó. Vợ chồng anh Bùi Doãn Bình thì tất cả hành lý trên đường du lịch bị mất hết nên nhẹ nhàng du lịch tiếp sang Pháp trước khi trở lại Úc.
Ghé Niagara Falls cảnh đẹp nhưng tinh thần hơi xìu vì mới bị cú "shock" mất đồ. Chỉ biết an ủi của đi thay ngườị Buồn cho xứ VịtDien, chuyện này xảy ra hằng ngày ơ? Toronto nhưng chính phủ làm ngợ Cảnh sát thờ ơ, chỉ bảo "you guys parked in a bad neighborhood". Well, right on Dundas street under day light, sir!!!
Sau đó đoàn đi về Virginia ở nhà anh chi. Bùi Việt Hùng mừng lễ Độc Lập trước khi chia tay.
Hy vọng các bạn Cái Bang sẽ tiếp tục đóng góp thêm trong trang này về những cảm nghĩ của chuyến đi.
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 by thanhle54 |
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 | THD 65-72 New Jersey, Montreal, Wedding Thai's daughter, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara, Virginia Jun 29, 2007 by Binh |
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