I guess my yearly trips to my parents place are always a bit of a "break" in my usual pattern of daily life. I mean, I basically stop using my brain for anything remotely related to work, and I simply do everything that I normally don't do while I'm in the states: sleep a lot, drink a lot, watch a lot of tv, eat a lot, etc.... Of course all that is intentional as I need to fuel that other side of myself once in a while or I'll only get to live one lifestyle all year long, and that, my friend, would end up being a bit monotonous, wouldn't it? ;) (It would be nice if I could add a ski bum lifestyle in there for a couple of weeks... but I digress ^^) Well, so this time around, though, I guess it did have a bit of a negative impact as I caught a cold, and that made the jet lag hit me even worse, thus effecting my productivity at work. But, it looks like I'm slowly getting back to my usual pattern as my productivity is rising back up and my cold is healing. So that's good. Oh, and my room (including my oven!) is squeaky clean now, so things are really shaping up for the second half of the year 2004! heh heh. ^^. But enough about my cold and my oven... ^^;

One of the things I'm always reminded about when I return from Beijing is anything and everything related to my family. As my mother and I always say, the ideal parent/child relationship is where the parent loves the child unconditionally without ever asking or expecting anything in return, and the child forever thanking the parents always wanting to somehow return the love. Of course, that's the ideal relationship, and as human beings there are always various emotional issues that creep into that ideal relationship. But still, the consensus in our family is that that's what would happen if we were all masters of the zen of parent/child relationship.

A lot of things can happen when you and your parents agree on such a fundamental concept, and one of the things that happened for us was the birth of endless thoughtful conversations about how the child and the parent can live their lives expressing their love of one another, and to make sure all members of the family know that we're all there for one another no matter what. All in all, I must say that this is a great family atmosphere I'm in, and I'm very proud of my family for having been able to foster such a ground for all of us. I know it sounds cliche and cheesy, and I can't object to your throwing up, but hey... When you're done, make sure you clean up your own mess. ;)

So, as I approach my 27th birthday, I quietly remind myself once again that I must never forget to thank my parents for the love and support they have given me all along. At the same time I must also never forget how much strength I am able to give them by just being there for them, and spending quality time with them whenever I can. *SIGH* Here comes the cheesiest part of the entry guys... get your garbage can ready! Mom and dad, I love you guys soooo much!