I just got back from a 7-day cruise with my parents and brother. Hanging out with the family was almost frustratingly boring. At the same time, being on a week-long cruise vacation was a very pleasant, if not ideal, way to recover from a 3-week long cold. (I thought it was the flu; the doctor said it was just one really bad muther of a cold.)

We went to Alaska again (our first cruise two years ago was also an Alaska cruise). We went with Princess Cruises this time. I'd recommend them over the other two cruise lines I've cruised with — Holland America and Royal Caribbean. In my opinion, Princess' food was the best. It wasn't pretentious or too highbrow for the everyman palate. The sauces weren't too thick, and the fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood tasted very fresh. I ate a lot healthier on the ship than I do on my own in my regular day-to-day life. Not having to prepare any meals is pure bliss, and is in itself worth the cost of the cruise.

I didn't really see or do anything new in Alaska, or learn anything particularly new about myself or my family (as has happened during past family vacations). The family has improved in how we relate to each other, but glaring character flaws persist. My brother still strikes me as abnormal in a way I can't describe with just a few words. But his moving out of the parents' home and living way down in San Diego is a good thing for all of us. My parents still don't communicate well with each other, and a lot of mean and hurtful things are uttered between them. But at the end of the day, they're still stuck with each other... for better, worse and worst.

I was amused when, during a conversation over one of our two-hour buffet lunches (mom takes that long to finish eating) on the cruise, my parents mentioned how generous and self-sacrificial a person I am. You are smirking now because you think that if I ever was a notably generous and self-sacrificial person, it must have been in a lifetime before you knew me. In fact, surprising as it may seem to you, generous and self-sacrificing are probably the two most defining adjectives you could conjure up to describe the pre-mid-20's me. And apparently, my parents haven't noticed that I've changed in that respect.

Becoming more selfish and self-centered — ironically, becoming more like the other members of the family in that respect — has brought definite improvements to my life in the past 5 years. However, recently, I've been wondering if I've maxed out on the benefits. I feel as if, though I've become a better person for myself, I've become a much less likeable person to everyone else. Maybe it's time I try to regain charm by catering to other people's needs and wants more. Maybe that's not the right way to go about working my way into other people's hearts. Maybe it's the only way for me at this stage in my life...