That's us on my graduation day. My dad owns a pharmaceutical company in Jakarta, Indonesia, and my mom helps him in the office (basically becoming the boss whenever he goes out to play golf). Those two have the most amazing relationship you can imagine, always joking around and ripping on each other. That's what marriage is all about.

My dad is a great story teller and an overall charismatic man. He has one of those "infectious" smiles, the ones that will make yourself smile if you see it. He also has a great sense of humor and an amazing attitude towards life. He's one of those persons who you'll never see depressed and dejected. Dad has also convinced me not to become a doctor, but to go to graduate school instead, earn my Ph.D, and start my own company. We'll see how that goes...

Mom now adopts Dad's view on life: "Don't worry...if you worry then don't do it for too long". She's bossy, but we're glad that she's like that. She absolutely loves to gossip around, and from what I heard she's the "Gossip Queen" among her sisters and friends. She's also a great story teller...it's always fun to hear her talk about other people. I take after my mom in demeanor (not the bossy part), while my brother takes after Dad.

My brother is in UCSF, nearing the completion of his Ph.D work in Jonathan Weismann's lab. He's engaged to Tiffany Norman who goes to law school and takes care of him. Here's my only picture of those two together (unfortunately it has me in it - guys, send me a better picture).

Anyway, my brother, Alex, is the best experimentalist I've ever known. This is his third year at UCSF and if he wants to, he can get his Ph.D. in several months. But he wants to stick around and graduate with a bang, so he's staying there one more year. Still, four years of graduate study is well below UCSF's average. Humorous and sometimes stubborn, smart and decisive, he'll succeed in whatever future endeavor he chooses.

And to further seal that success, is his fiancee, Tiff. I say, they make a very cute couple. Tiff is right in the middle of law school right now. She already got a Masters in Political Science. Smart, witty, and an extremely good chef, she's the perfect complement to Alex. We're happy to have her in our family.

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