One of the recent observations that I've made is people's use of repeat "no's".

I was sitting at home with the parents...and it always bugged me a bit that, no matter how much in agreement Mom or Dad were with whichever family member with whom they were in conversation (there are 5 kids), they would (and I later noticed...the kids did this too) usually start their bit of the conversation with the "3-no"....

"No, no, no..." - followed by a rebuttal, commentary, or whatever ensuing statement. It's odd...I found myself doing it, and am trying to get rid of that verbal tick.

But then, another odd thing happened....I noticed a lot of people do it. Not only that, but I noticed that it's often a "3-no" or a "5-no", sometimes even a "7-no". It's as if our minds don't like even number of no's.

Has anyone else noticed this? If not...take a few days and just listen (to yourself or to others around you). I don't know if this is regional (Northern California) or what, but ... just a passing observation.

So, it's been a while since I've been blogging on AnD.

Meanwhile, I've been experiencing a groundswell of thoughts that I've been wanting to share and have been debating what means by which to make the most impact. So...I turn to you, blog readers and commentators, for advice.

The problem is that I feel like I have an important message to deliver to the world, and I want to be strategic in how I spend my time to ensure that it has the greatest impact. The message is simple, but it requires that the recipient of that message be open-minded.

It's regarding chronic illness and disease, my belief (supporting research forthcoming), its root cause, and how (within one generation) we can eradicate most of it, genetic predispositions notwithstanding.

Who wouldn't want this message spread? It impacts big pharma's bottom line. With their profits being gouged as it is now and with a parched research pipeline (no new block buster drugs in the horizon for any of them) they'll do what they can to stay alive. I'm aware of them, and aware that they've done unscrupulous, borderline unethical (maybe remove "borderline") things in the past to promote their product and keep the chronically ill coming back for more -- but that's a topic for a completely different blog posting - pardon the tangent.

So, back to the problem at hand -- what's the best way of reaching out to kids? What's the best way of educating them on the root cause? Then, what's the best way of teaching them techniques to fight this?

Mind you, much research needs to be done before I feel comfortable in sharing this as what I claim it to be (I guess I feel fairly confident, otherwise, I wouldn't be taking these steps to ask about the best means of delivery possible!). So...keep posted. More to come...

Feedback welcomed! Cheers!

Just a random picture that I took while crossing a bridge in Shanghai...

I tried taking another one with the same style, but I kept getting other cars or the cab's roof line in the shot. I lucked out with the first one.

I read an article somewhere stating that the middle-aged parents are now facing double duty -- that of rearing their own kids while at the same time, taking care of their own ailing parents. I've been watching my mom take care of her mom on this trip and I don't think the article was true. It seems, as far as I can recall, my parents (whom are a bit past the article's target age group) have been doing that all along.

Who knows, maybe they are a part of a small minority.

But this got me thinking...I see my mom taking care of my grandmother. From both their actions, it parallels what may have happened about 60 years ago, but just with their roles reversed. My grandmother is completely lucid and totally aware of her surroundings. With the exception of her vision, I think one would be hard pressed to tell her mind has archived eighty-seven years of memories and wisdom -- and not the type of archive where dusty books remain unread on even dustier shelves...but more like the rapid storage and retrieval of a multi-million dollar computer data warehousing facility, being able to respond to any query within mere milliseconds. Because of all that, I think my mom faces the daunting task of having to care for someone who is unwilling to admit defeat while signs of lessening coordination are sure signs of the unavoidable collecting of dust.

Over breakfast, I sat across them both with Mom directly across from me. What would I do in her situation? Firstly, I would be most certain to share the responsibility -- not to want to shirk it off, but more so to maintain a sense of sanity (have I just implied something about Mom?). Secondly, despite the actions being almost exactly parroting those from six decades past, the role is different -- the recipient of the aid is aware, or once was aware, of her surroundings, of good and bad, of what's right and what's wrong.

I feel silly for writing this since it seems so obvious to me now -- the difference is that as a parent of a toddler, you're teaching physical coordination AND value systems; and, as an adult taking care of your aging parent, it's a matter of physical, completely absent (or should be) of trying to teach anything about what's right and wrong. I only hope to have the patience to practice this a few decades from now.

So, I'm back in Asia -- this time with my folks and grandmother. We're here primarily to support my little sister. She's traveling around China with her dance troop -- they've been invited to perform at various cities throughout China. I guess that makes me a groupie, shamelessly I might add. I'm a big fan of her and her dancing. Another part of the reason why I'm here is that I felt it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Asia with my folks and my grandmother (first time here with them).

And that it has been...One thing I find rather entertaining is that I can't say how many times I've felt like I've been plopped into a scene of the "Joy Luck Club" or any other similar movie depicting a Chinese American view on the awkward social interactions in the presence of Chinese parents and their peers. Makes me wish two things:

(1) I wished I had studied more psychology and/or sociology in the past -- I find it so fascinating. (2) I also wished that I understood Cantonese a bit better -- I am probably getting about 50% of the full conversation.

What I have understood is the popularity of my grandmother. It would have been neat to rewind time and go back to the days when she was raising her family in Hong Kong -- or even further back when she was growing up in Shanghai (our final destination in this Asia trip -- and how I'm really looking forward to that!). She's 87 and has lived quite a colorful life and has been visited by a number of folks from her past -- a testament to how many lives she's touched.

Looking forward to learning more Chinese and spending some QT with the p's and grandmother.