I guess it's been a while since an actual written post. Many times I intend to update, but couldn't think of anything to say. I kind of just sat there for a while and then either gave up or went to do something else. So.. sorry for keeping people waiting. Here goes:

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking of and planning my next couple trips to and from the East Coast. I think everything has been settled now. The plan for this summer is to head back to Massachusetts after the semester ends and stay there for about week to see friends/family. After that, I will be returning to California to help out with the seminars at the Retreat Center. As for the winter, instead of taking time off from mid-December to mid-January, I will stay here, then head back to Massachusetts with Shifu in February. I just need to double check a couple things, but it looks like these are the final plans. I wish I could stay in Andover a bit longer for the summer. I would enjoy spending more time there, but the dates for the seminars are already set.

A couple things have been on my mind for a while now.

1. It seems as if we don't get enough time to ourselves here. By this I mean, alone time, not free time. We have a lot of free time. About an hour after lunch, then a few hours at night, after dinner. However, we are always stuck with the same people, all the time. It also doesn't help that some of us share rooms. Sometimes I would like some alone time, but there always seems to be somebody else there. Maybe it's just me. Something I will have to get used to. Or, maybe I'll have to adjust and go somewhere else to escape :P
2. On the exact opposite side.. it seems as if we don't communicate with each other enough. When we do have free time, everybody runs off to do their own thing. Although we are usually in the same room, we all go off into our separate worlds. Depending on the day, we'll either go online, read, or study. However, it doesn't seem like we interact with each other, except for when we train (but that doesn't really count).
   

So.. on one side, I would like to have more alone time. But, on the other, I would like to hang out with my brothers more. I guess it's a thing of personal space vs. interaction with others.

We have spoken of these topics a little and we all agree that these two issues are definitely important and should be dealt with somehow. But.. nothing so far. Ricardo brought up the idea of buying some board games. I think this would be fun when the video games get boring (if that happens) :P And speaking of alternative ways of entertainment.. we just bought a ping pong table at KMart this past weekend. We were there shopping for dumbbells for our training and Patrick noticed a sign on the box. Clearance: $52. That cheap? We had to buy it. We figured it would not only be another form of entertainment for our free time, but would also be great for seminar times. Hopefully Shifu agrees with us :)

And some updates from the past week or so:

Thursday 2/12
Tom left yesterday for southern California to attend to some family affairs. We're uncertain when he'll be back.

Friday 2/13
It snowed all Thursday night and when we woke up for meditation, the whole mountain was white. It was nice to see snow again. Too bad the rain came in and made it all disappear.



Saturday 2/14
Rain! :(

Sunday 2/15
Still raining... and Patrick and Ricardo left for San Francisco. Patrick had to go get something done for his visa and Ricardo went with him. So.. just Mike and myself at the Center.

Monday 2/16
Tom, Patrick, and Ricardo were still gone. So, Mike and I had to practice on our own. It was weird having only two people but training went on. Our afternoon practice session was cut short a little bit because it was still raining (yes, for about 3 days now). We had to practice inside and had to miss a couple of activities.

Tuesday 2/17
Patrick and Ricardo called in. The place Patrick had an appointment at screwed up. They forgot Monday was a holiday and had set a time for him. Apparently they called him and left a message, but he never got it. So.. they had to stay in San Francisco for another day. This meant only two for training again. Luckily Justin came for Taijiquan practice and made things more interesting. Practicing push hands drills with someone I wasn't used to was nice. Oh.. and still raining :(

And.. happy birthday Ricardo! 25? You old man! ..which is why we call you 爺爺 :P

Wednesday 2/18
No rain! Yay! That's about it.