on depression and dysfunctionality

i've never found it comfortable to talk with my parents about anything. put it down to upbringing, but having both parents working from 9-7 does have its toll. for most of my teenage life, i see my parents an average of 30 minutes a day, and that's during dinner. we leave for school before they wake up, and come back home before they do, then after dinner we get to do our homework and they get to relax in their room cozying up to the TV. nope, i never did question our way of life, nor did i envy those other people who's parents seem to want to cuddle them all the time. but it just means that i don't really relate to my parents all that much.

of course the schedule did have its benefits, since in the time we come home and before they do, is essentially free time-to play games, watch tv, and all those other things children aren't supposed to do before they finish their homework. we even learned to squeeze every bit of playtime we could, even timing how long it takes for my old Pentium I to shut down and how much time it takes for the househelp to open the gate, let the car in, and them to walk inside the house. of course, we even cherished the times when they came home late since it meant even more playtime.

now that i look back on it, my family would probably be considered a pretty cold one. i mean my parents are there to take care of the financial and livelihood issues, and all we had to do was appear studious and get decent grades(unfortunately, when you're just smart enough, appearing studious had nothing to do with getting decent grades, i could and did probably go through elementary and high school with minimal studying) we didn't need to interact to do so, except for that quarterly report card time, sundays, and the occasional trip out of the country.

now fasttrack to the present, where we now work in the family office, and see our parents almost 12 hours a day, and two things can happen: 1. you lose your cool and kill everyone you see; or 2. you try to keep interaction to a minimum, just enough to satisfy and work together.

(to be cont.)