"A Long December"

One year passes and another is upon us. , though it really doesn't seem that way to me. My mother and sister came to visit last week. This means I visited three of the top four cities in Taiwan.

Taipei was the first stop in the whirlwind tour. It kind of sucked because it rained the entire time we were there. I met my mom at the airport with my friend Mita. My mom fell in love with Mita while in Taipei, something about Mita possessing a passive kindness... though my mom liked all my friends.

On the second day my sister, Cheri, met up with us and we went to Kaohsiung with Sara and Badraa. I think the highlight of the entire trip was renting scooters and traveling around the city. We didn't see much as far as attractions go but what we did see, Lilly Pond and British Consulate, was enjoyed by the family. At the dinner I had the privilege to introduce Sherry, with an S, to my family who lived in Kaohsiung.

I think the best part of the trip for the family was meeting the friends. It allowed them to apply faces to the names I've given them and made them feel I was in a great environment, based solely on who I kept around me. The advantage to having my family come, for me, was the chance to escape the group of people I surround myself with daily. Don't get me wrong, I like them all, but sometimes you just need to take a step back and breath.

I'm having a hard time finding work to do, which is odd since we're in the middle of finals. One of my classes requires a presentation and then it's a wrap. The rest are still in the process of being completed but for now it's my group mates’ responsibility to achieve that goal. Regardless, I'll be done with the first semester next week and then it's off to Thailand. I bought the ticket today!