twenty: there are benefits to being an insomniac

OK I'm going to try to do a quick blog before my new bed time deadline... So far I've moved from 6am to 4am and hopefully tonight will be 2am. I had forgotten one of the biggest benefits of staying up late is being able to catch my HK friends online and the other night I had a very interesting talk about incest, the caste system of India, and arranged marriage with one such friend.

I don't remember when I met her, but I remember many many nights of heading to the library after dinner until close, looking around for free common rooms to watch the only English TV program - C.S.I, eating McDonald's ice cream at every possible occasion, taking photos silly photos with mac's photo booth, etc. She could make the most routine tasks fun, and I have always admired how she could have good wholesome fun. Being one of the most devote Muslims I know she is one of the few I know who can balance her beliefs with a realistic life without being hypocritical.

The other night she told me of a choice she had to make, and I found her choice to be extremely challenging for me to swallow. If I were in a similar position I don't know if I would have been able to be the bigger person and brush aside my concerns for the betterment of the entire family balance. Apparently it's a cultural thing, but it is also very much a personal thing because cultural expectations are lower for those who don't grow up in the motherland (or at least that's how it is in my family).

I wish I could be more like that sometimes, less headstrong and more in tune with my cultural background. I think in some cases it is better to be submissive than to burn bridges that can never be mended. I'm proud that you were able to hold your anger in line and find other avenues to let it out without hurting your family, and I know your future has only better things to offer.