Done

A race is on
I'm on your side
And here in you
my engines die
I'm in a mood for you

She don't fade but I certainly do. This doesn't mean I don't want to keep in touch though. Find me on the networking site of your choice. If you don't, I'll be sure to find you.

August Book

I've got my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and hopefully I'll be done by the time school starts.

Marquez took me two months and A Series of Unfortunate Events is quite light, but I'd say that my book resolution is thus far a proper success. I hope to finish strong with the next few months.

Nice Surprise

My standard line on Potter is that I wasn't a fan until Cuarón won me over in Prisoner of Azkaban. Now I don't care if the direction is less than inspiring (Goblet of Fire), I just want to see what happens to Harry. But I was in for a nice surprise when I found Order of the Phoenix quite satisfying. I'll go so far as to say that it is my new favorite of the franchise.

Update

There has been plenty going on and I'll try to touch upon a few things now. First and foremost, I do have some pictures up. This past weekend, the lady and I were privileged enough to participate in a wedding proposal! We set up the secret location, videotaped the moment, and joined the happy couple at the observatory. The photos are here.

The Japan pictures will be up shortly but I wanted to make sure I got the engagement out asap.

In other news, I'm almost done One Hundred Years of Solitude. No one is counting but I'm about two weeks off. I just hope to finish the book before I die. Don't get me wrong, this is good stuff. But with the overlapping perspectives, cyclical nature of the plot, and constantly repeated names (there are about twenty characters named Aureliano), I'll be glad when I'm reading something like the last (and my first) Harry Potter book.

It is wonderful to be back home. LA is still the best place to live.

This morning was very disorienting. My new apartment is still unfamiliar. When I woke up, I wasn't sure if I was in Tokyo or LA. And I apparently lost my touch on the roads too. Two weeks away and I'm too polite and too slow, though I'm sure I'll be up to speed by the ride home tonight. Haha.

Now In Japan

And trying to make the most of every brief moment we have got. Unfortunately, I wasted some precious minutes trying to get my laptop to connect with the wifi. Ugh. I blame my stupid watchdog internet service. I will cancel as soon as I return.

But things are going well here and I am so happy to be in Japan. It is just as good as I remember. Also... it is no bad thing that we went to Shanghai first.

Brief Rest

One by one, our rather large party has left. Fathers, Uncles, Aunts, roomies, and now my brother have been dropped off at the airport. Sabrina and I are the last ones standing (along with her brother) and even we leave for Tokyo Tuesday morning. This changes the pace and today feels very relaxing.

We've attended so many amazing events during the past few days. Let me tell you, these are not your usual tourist trappings. It ended up that we attended an elite K-3rd grade graduation (three hours worth of costumes and singing at Shanghai's answer to the Disney Concert Hall), a surreal, extremely elegant ballroom dance club, (straight out of the 30's except with highly talented Chinese performers), and the teenybopper and Asian pop star filled Radio Music award show/concert at Shanghai Stadium (the big star was the tomboyish/androgynous China "American Idol" winner, Huang Yali. I'd post pictures but Flickr doesn't seem to get past the Chinese censors.

With a week remaining until I return to LA, I'm already inspired to live life slightly differently when I return. I've met so many wonderful and impressive people from walks of life that are completely foreign to me; it has been rather humbling and exciting as well.

Surreal Shanghai

It's no exaggeration that 15 years ago, the big city we explore each day used to be farms and bicycles. Now it's crazy taxis, fancy malls and of course, big time money making.

All the excitement (and pollution) has taken a toll on the party. A tickle in the throat here or an acid tummy there... we soldier on. Having fun is hard work, you know.

Alive, Sticky, and Well Fed

It's been a few days now. The first 24 hours or so had my senses working overtime but now things feel more familiar. We can get around pretty well now. Having developed a general sense of the layout around the Yangtze river, I even feel a distant familial tie with the local population. I instantly see recognizable Chinese facial features and body types all around me. They might as well be third or fourth cousins of people I know. In fact, they probably are.

After our first night, we immediately joined relatives for a meal and have also seen Sabrina's family a lot. While we are here on pleasure, everone else is doing business. It's the wild wild east here and quite naturally, eyes are fixed on the many market opportunities. This is quite an education and I'm glad to see everyone doing so well. Spending so much time with people who know where to eat has also left us well fed and quite impressed with the cuisine. And despite the many warnings we've received, our party has been blessed to not have any stomach problems thus far. I may even roll the dice and get street vendor food (I'm thinking that if it is seriously fried enough, maybe it'll be ok).

As for activities, I enjoy getting a lay of the land early. So early highlights have been the Oriental Pearl (or space needle as I call it) for views and the elaborate Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall (six stories of storytelling and all). Both are impressive grand statements despite what they might lack in detailed execution. Most of what we've seen has been similarly touristy and enjoyable (e.g. Old Town, the Bund). Interestingly enough, the rest of the week seems to be lining up with some expat/local type festivities. Whatever we do, I'll be sure to post about it soon.

Shanghai

The arrival went without a hitch as Matthew met us at the airport and Sabrina's family drove us to our lodging. The Cham boys are living like high class businessmen at a swank hotel in the financial core of Pudong. The room is about twice as big as my humble one bedroom apt and maybe ten billion times the size of my brother's place in Japan.

Tired from the travel but excited to get our first fill of Shanghai, we ignored the advice of the hotel clerk ("Everything is closed") and braved the immediate area looking for snacks. It wasn't looking too good at first. The urban scale was like walking down a dark, empty Vegas strip. Everything was huge and took forever to get around. There were a few young couples and the occasional group of shirtless boys walking home, but other than that, places were indeed closed. We explored the train station and tried to follow the aroma of food and/or bright lights, which oddly took us to a foot massage joint. But around the corner, we discovered a "might as well be in Monterey Park" establishment where I was finally able to rid my stomach of the memory of airport cuisine. Pork fried rice, wonton soup and beer, just what the doctor ordered.