Star Wars

I'd been kicking around the idea for this post for a while, but the recent release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens back in December gave me the necessary kick in the arse to sit down and write it now. You see, I've been a huge Star Wars fan for my entire life, or at least as much of my life as I can remember, which goes back to about the age of three. While I'm not one of those fans who dresses in costume, learns to speak the alien languages from the films, or tries to use the Force to move objects around, I have seen the movies an obscene number of times and known way more about the minutiae of the Star Wars universe than I probably need to. It's not the only science fiction franchise I'm a big fan of...I also love Star Trek, for instance, but for different reasons. While Star Trek appeals more to me because of the deeper themes, more complex storylines, and it being a more realistic vision as to what the future may hold, Star Wars is just rollicking good fun. Creator George Lucas has stated numerous times that he was inspired by the Flash Gordon serials he loved to watch a a kid, and the label of swashbuckling space opera that has been levied on Star Wars seems more than appropriate to me.

In discussing my love of Star Wars, let me point out that I was born at the beginning of 1980, so even though I was too young to see the original trilogy in the movie theaters, my parents did and I grew up never knowing a world in which they didn't exist. I was three years old in 1983 when Episode VI: Return of the Jedi was released and I had (and still have) a lot of memorabilia from that era. I used to have several of the action figures and playsets, including the Ewok village, but all I can find now in my garage and my parents' basement are a few scattered figures (the Rancor keeper, General Madine, an AT-ST walker) and two books: one a full color picture book of the movie and the other a pop-up book with highlights from the movie's story. My love for all things Star Wars really blossomed in the late 1980s when I saved up enough of my money from Christmas and birthday gifts in order to buy the original trilogy on VHS...in fact, it was a boxed set of all three movies, plus a fourth tape about the behind-the-scenes making of the films called From Star Wars to Jedi. I've still got the tapes somewhere, but from that moment I probably watched the films every few months and learned all I could about the characters, alien races, planets, and backstory of the Star Wars universe. This was aided greatly by some books my mum bought me in the early 1990s: three of them were on the making of the films and included a wealth of information, concept art, and special effects secrets, while the fourth was a Star Wars encyclopedia. I was able to come full circle when the original trilogy was re-released in movie theatres in 1997 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the the first of the series to be released, Episode IV: A New Hope. While it was a thrill to see all three on the big screen and with surround sound, it was quite jarring to see how George Lucas had modified the films I had memorized by heart over my entire life up that point. While some of the additions weren't too bad (for example, adding more X-Wings in the background during the assault on the Death Star), others were unnecessary (changing the band and music in Jabba's palace), clunky (re-inserting the deleted scene in A New Hope where Han Solo now talks to a CGI Jabba the Hutt, a scene that is actually beneficial in explaining why Jabba is after Han, but which suffers from primitive CGI), to the downright stupid (having Greedo shoot first). I vowed there and then that I would never watch the modified versions of the films again, although this became increasingly difficult to do as Lucas made sure only the special editions were available to buy on DVD and digital download going forward.

You can imagine my excitement and surprise when I started college and heard that Lucas was going to make Episodes I-III! New Star Wars movies...what more could I ask for? Ever since I was a kid and had read that George had originally planned nine movies in the series, I'd always hoped that someday he'd make them. The excitement in the build-up to the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999 was unbelievable, and not just personally but for all Star Wars fans. However, my initial reaction after I saw the film three times in the theatres was that it was just okay. I enjoyed it because if was Star Wars, because it set up the beginning of the story that would lead up to A New Hope, and because there were some fantastic characters and actors in it (Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, Ewan McGregor's superb portrayal of young Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ian MacDiarmid as the younger Darth Sidious/Senator Palpatine, Darth Maul, Christopher Lee as Count Dooku in Episodes II and III). However, there was also some terrible acting, most notably Natalie Portman (Padme Amidala), Jake Lloyd (young Anakin Skywalker in Episode I) and Hayden Christensen (teenage/adult Anakin in Episodes II and III). Portman and Christensen are usually decent actors who nonetheless delivered wooden, stilted performances in these films. Granted, the dialogue George Lucas wrote (one of his self-admitted weaknesses) didn't help, but still, good actors should be able to overcome. Even Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, while passable, was hampered by the dialogue that left his character a bit less than what he should have been.  Episode II: Attack of the Clones was a bit better than Episode I although some of the romantic dialogue between Portman and Christensen was unbelievably bad. Again, though, I enjoyed it because it was Star Wars, but for me the only one of the three prequels that approached the brilliance of the original trilogy was Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It had action and adventure, emotional pull (Obi-Wan expressing his anger, disgust, and heartbreak at Anakin's ultimate fate at the conclusion of their epic battle is a favorite scene), some very efective editing (the cuts back and forth between Luke and Leia's birth and Anakin's transformation into Vader), and the climactic moment we'd all waited for when Anakin took his first breath as Darth Vader. In fact, I rank Episode III in my top three films in the series. If I rank the films in order of favorite to least favorite, it looks like this:

1. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
2. Episode IV: A New Hope
3. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
5. Episode VII: The Force Awakens
6. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
7. Episode I: The Phantom Menace

That being said, I continue to enjoy all of the films and have come to appreciate them more with the passage of time, especially the prequels. (I even don't hate Jar-Jar Binks as much as I used to, even though I could still do with MUCH less of him in Episode I). I also need to mention that Ewan McGregor's portrayal of the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi was tremendous throughout all three prequels and he is firmly cemented as one of the great characters and performances across the entire series. Even the way he appropriated Alex Guinness' mannerisms and accent from Episodes IV-VI in order to make him wholly believable as the younger version was masterful (not to mention he's long been a favorite actor of mine). The original trilogy will always hold the most special place in my heart as those were the original three movies that hooked me and everyone else, and as you can see above they make up three of my top four films in the series. Even though I ranked the new film fifth, I thoroughly enjoyed it and think it is a worthy and perfect continuation of the series, capturing the spirit of fun, adventure, and humor that was at its most effective in the original trilogy and which was slightly lacking in the prequels. (I'm deliberately shying away from saying anything more about the new film in case any of you reading this still haven't see it yet!). Seeing so many of the old characters in the film and falling in love with the new ones was really cool and struck the right balance between nostalgia and something new that was needed to appease the older fans while bringing in the new ones.

What's been the best thing for me lately about Star Wars, besides it giving me an excuse to relive my childhood (some would say I still haven't outgrown it) and revel in my geekiness for all things Star Wars-related, has been getting my kids into it. In particular, my second oldest daughter and my son sat and watched all six films in order with me in the weeks leading up to the premiere of the new one. My son has been into Star Wars the past couple of years in terms of toys and costumes (he's been an X-Wing pilot the last two Halloweens), but it's turned into a full-blown obsession akin to how I was at his age. He dressed in his X-Wing pilot costume and my daughter dressed as Princess Leia (complete with the hairstyle, courtesy of my talented wife!) when we went to see The Force Awakens. Although I don't think their goosebumps matched the nostalgic rush of mine when the opening fanfare and story crawl first hit the screen, they were definitely on the edge of their seats with excitement as much as I was.

Getting back to my son, he has loads of Star Wars action figures, Legos, cars, etc, and now that he has learned to read he is devouring every book about the films and the Star Wars universe that he can get his hands on. He is even blowing me away with his knowledge of the different creatures, planets, vehicles, characters, etc. He knows which movie certain events happened in and at the age of six and a half, as well as how and why they connect with the other films. Another thing that has struck me is that since he has grown up in a world where the six films have existed, some of his favorite characters and moments actually come from the prequels. Yes, he loves Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, Yoda, and Darth Vader, but he also routinely lists Mace Windu, Anakin, General Greivous, Qui-Gon, Darth Maul, and Count Dooku as some of his favorites. His willing acceptance and enjoyment of the prequels for what they are allowed me to watch them with a less cynical eye and realize that while they are for the most part definitely weaker than the original trilogy, they also suffered from the unrealistic weight of expectations leading up to their release (especially Episode I, which had sixteen years of anticipation and a huge amount of hype leading up to its release that it could never meet or exceed) and they have been overly vilified by fans and critics alike.  Sure, they're weren't as good as the originals, but they certainly weren't as bad as the conventional wisdom makes them out to be, either. That's my opinion, at least.

With all of this being said, my kids and I are now eagerly counting down to the release of Episodes VIII and IX. While I consider myself fortunate that I've been able to see all of the films on the big screen, I'm also glad that my kids will get a chance to experience the excitement and anticipation of each new film in a new trilogy. Additionally, their experience of seeing the six films in order from I-VI as opposed to how I and others of my generation experienced them (IV-VI, and then I-III) is different enough that I'm glad it gives them their own unique way to experience the wonder and fun of the Star Wars saga. In the end, sharing in all of this fun and sense of wonder in the realms of imagination with my kids is the best part about the entire experience for me.

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How To Speak Like Yoda

In fortuitous timing as I'm currently working on a full length post about Star Wars, I saw this infographic from Grammarly about how to Yodify your language and I got a real kick out of it. As a huge Star Wars fan, I've memorized so many of Yoda's quotes and have been goofing around with my kids and speaking in his voice and style. Who knew there was actual structure to how he speaks?

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Little Sleep in Big China

I've been back from China for a couple of weeks now, which has been enough time to finally decompress, get reacclimated to my home and work lives, and get my body adjusted after the jet lag. It's been a hectic couple of weeks to say the least but I now have time to write about my trip and my thoughts on the entire experience. Since there's a lot to go over, I figured I would break this post into segments to make it a bit more palatable from a reading point of view. Also, I took a lot of pictures over the course of the trip, so I apologize in advance for slow loading times on your computers!

The Travel: When I left off in my previous post, I was sitting in the business class lounge at the Toronto airport killing time during my long layover before the flight to Shanghai. When it was time to get on the plane, I was able to board first since I was flying business class. What an experience! On Air Canada, each seat is its own individual "pod" and there are four rows in the cabin at the front of the plane. all arranged at an angle such that you get the entire section to yourself. It was plenty long to stretch my legs out fully, which at 6'5" is not an easy feat on a plane! There was an ottoman, plenty of space, a TV with loads of movies and TV shows to choose from, and lots of extra amenities. The second I sat down, a flight attendant put a glass of champagne in my hand. They handed out travel kits that had slipper-socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, hand sanitizer and lotion, and more. Hot towels were passed out shortly after takeoff and again before landing, and the seat was able to be reclined for maximum comfort during the flight, which was great when I was reading or watching something. Even better for a guy who has never been able to sleep sitting upright on airplanes, the seat reclined completely flat so that I could actually get some sleep! On the flight over, I was able to take two three-hour catnaps...not great, but better than usual. The meals on the flight were great and the food and drink just kept coming; whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted it, was available...all you had to do was ask. The flight to Shanghai took about 14 and 1/2 hours and we landed at 3pm Shanghai time. As we started our descent, I really started to get anxious since we were finally arriving in China. The flight attendants handed out Chinese entry and departure cards that we had to fill out. Once we landed, I got off of the plane and made my way down the tunnel to the airport...as I looked out of the window and onto the streets below, it finally hit me: "Wow, I'm in China!"

Barely in my seat and they gave me champagne!

I could stretch out...not typical for 6'5"guys on airplanes!

When I got to Chinese customs and immigration, I won't lie...I was quite intimidated. There were so many people and the lines were long. Luckily, all of the airport personnel spoke passable English and there were a lot of Westerners mixed in with the native Chinese so I didn't feel completely out of place. I eventually got up to the window and handed my passport and entry card to the agent, who looked it over, stamped it, and took my photo so they could match it when I left the country. After getting my suitcase at baggage claim and going through customs, I exited the airport and arrived to the main foyer. Now, I had been told by the conference organizers that transportation would be arranged and all I had to do was look for someone holding a sign with my company's logo on it...sounds easy enough, right? Well, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute crush of people standing behind the barriers on both side holding up signs and speaking in Chinese. As I walked down the long aisle, I started getting more and more nervous as I could not see any signs with our logo on it, I was getting near the end, and I didn't have any cell phone service (not that it would've mattered since I didn't have a number I could have called anyway). Finally, about 3/4 of the way down the line I saw a small piece of paper being held up with our logo on it. I rushed over and was greeted by two of the event staff who handed me off to a driver. He grabbed my suitcase and motioned for me to follow him. Once in the hired car, we started to drive through the insane traffic exiting Pudong Airport to make our way to the hotel.  I tried to make small talk with the him, but my first question was met with a response of "no...English" so I settled in for the silent forty-five minute drive. The landscape was similar to any urban sprawl you can see in the US but at the same time quite different. What was more striking to me were the areas of affluence right on top of areas of abject poverty. And the construction...one thing I noticed about Shanghai over the entire week was the construction going on EVERYWHERE, and at all hours of day and night. On my first night at the hotel, I met up with a few of my group members for dinner on an outside patio, and we heard a building being a knocked down a few blocks away...at almost ten o'clock at night.

My hotel room

View from my window...the smog...

A reminder that this wasn't like back home...

Chinese Coke, Sprite, and other drinks

Oreos in China

A Snickers bar in China

As for jet lag, I suffered really badly for the first three or four nights. There was a full twelve hour time difference from back home so my body was thrown completely off. I had a hard time staying awake past 9pm most nights but was then wide awake by 1am or 2am with no hope of going back to sleep. It got so bad that I would be falling asleep sitting at a table during a symposium in the middle of the day...luckily I found I wasn't alone as all of my colleagues from the US were having the same issues. It wasn't until the Wednesday night of that week when I was finally worn out enough that I managed to sleep from 11pm to 5am. Of course, once I adjusted for the rest of the week, it was time to go back home on Saturday afternoon. The one good thing about the twelve hour time difference was that it made it easy for my wife and I to set up times to FaceTime so that I could talk to her and the kids. Their minds were blown when I would be talking to them at breakfast time (for me) and they were getting ready to go to bed the night before!

As for traveling back to the US, I took a hired van with three of my groupmates to the airport after we had lunch at a burger bar (no joke) near our hotel. (As an aside, the burger place was...excellent! All organic Australian beef and while I had no expectations of having a decent burger in China, I was blown away by this one). After checking my suitcase and going through security, I proceeded to the business class lounge with the other member of our group who was also flying business so that we could relax, have a snack, and use the (much) cleaner restrooms before it was time to board (our flights departed within fifteen minutes of each other). This time I was flying United Airlines back to the US and the business class cabin was set up differently but I liked it better. This time, there were rows of two "pods" but they were even more spacious and comfortable than what I had on the way to Shanghai. To make it even more bizarre, I started chatting next to the fellow I was seated next to and it turns out not only was he from Massachusetts, but his sister lives in the same town as my parents. Add in the fact that I overheard the Chinese fellow behind me say that he was a chemist who commutes to Boston regularly for work and it was a very strange coincidence that I sat where I did surrounded by those two people! The flight was VERY smooth...I slept four hours, I watched two movies: the new Who documentary "Lambert and Stamp," which was excellent, and "This is Spinal Tap," a movie I've probably seen twenty times but still made me laugh so hard that I had to stifle it on the plane, tears running down my face and my sides aching from how funny it still was. 

On the flight back...even roomier!

We made great time on the flight and it was exactly thirteen hours from Shanghai to New Jersey. The only downside to arriving an hour earlier than expected was that my four hour layover before my connecting flight home was now a five hour layover. However, a computer system crash at immigration and customs meant that I had to wait in line for an hour and a half before being officially checked back into the country. At this point I was starving and exhausted, so I went to the business class lounge and killed time there with a cold beer and  a snack before grabbing a quick sandwich for dinner prior to boarding my final flight. Upon landing at home, I got my suitcase from baggage claim, found my limo driver, and valiantly fought to stay away awake on the ninety minute drive home before staggering into my house and falling into bed after 1am Sunday morning. Luckily, after being exhausted all day Sunday, I slept normally that night and was pretty much over the jet lag by Tuesday. Overall, the travel wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be although I do now know that I will only survive a flight that long in business class, if only for the ability to stretch my legs out and lay down during to sleep. I tend to get claustrophobic on planes if I'm on them for too long and business class certainly mitigated that.

The Conference: There's actually not too much detail I can get into with this since it was an internal research conference and everything that was discussed and presented is proprietary. However, the conference was great and I was able to finally meet a lot of my colleagues from around the world whom I had previously only interacted with over the phone or web conference. I presented my paper and it went very well...I got several compliments from colleagues throughout the week regarding it, which made me feel good especially as I've only been with the company a little over a year.  I also enjoyed all of the talks and symposia I attended during the week, learning a lot and reaffirming that I learn something new every day at this job, especially as I'm a chemist working at a predominantly engineering company.

My only complaint with the conference is that we were virtually trapped in the hotel the entire week. With a full schedule of talks, meals, and symposia, the entire day from 7am to 8pm was booked. Add in that those of us from the US and UK were suffering from severe jet lag (the folks from Europe adjusted easier and those from within China obviously had no problems) and it started to feel like we weren't ever going anywhere outside of the hotel. We even had two business unit outings for dinner on the Tuesday and Wednesday nights there, but they were literally get-on-the-bus-at-the-hotel-and-get-off-the-bus-at-the-restaurant outings which, while fun, didn't give us any feeling for what Shanghai was really like. That would have to wait until the final two days of my trip...

The Hotel and the Food: The conference center was on the 3rd level of the hotel so it was very convenient. It was a five-star hotel and while it was certainly quite nice, it wasn't the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in. I suspect five-stars in China is on a different scale relative to elsewhere. Even at such a nice hotel, we were instructed not to drink any of the water or even brush our teeth with it, and instead only drink or brush with bottled water, of which there was an abundance throughout the hotel. As for the food, all of our meals were prepared by the hotel and spaced out throughout each day of the conference. While overall it was good, it tended to be quite heavy. Even stranger, it was a mix of Chinese and Western food, but skewed more heavily toward the latter. Now, I understand the reason for this as not everyone traveling to Shanghai is as adventurous an eater as I and many others are, but I didn't want to be in China only to eat spaghetti, mashed potatoes, and hot dogs. The Chinese food they did have was quite good and fairly authentic, but after eating the same dishes for a week, I was tired of it. I made up for it as much as I could in my final two days in Shanghai when I actually got to explore the city... 

Spicy stir-fried shrimp and vegetables

An assortment of Chinese dishes...and a Coke

More Chinese food (the duck and cabbage wraps were amazing!)

The City of Shanghai and China in General: Having felt trapped in the hotel all week, I finally got a chance to actually see a bit of Shanghai on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. With the conference ending on Thursday night, the only thing left I had to do for work was to visit one of our facilities on the other side of Shanghai on Friday morning.  Arriving back at the hotel at noon, I met up with five of my colleagues and we decided to go into the city to have lunch and sightsee. One of the most advantageous aspects of our day out was that two of my colleagues, while US citizens working in our California facilities, were both originally from China and spoke the language fluently. This paid huge dividends almost immediately as we were all very hungry and wanted to eat lunch first. After a cab ride to the Yu Gardens/Old City Shanghai section, we made our way up to the famous Nanking Dumpling House restaurant to have a traditional Shanghai meal. The line was ridiculously long and the wait was on the order of hours, but my colleagues who spoke the language managed to talk our way into the VIP room in the back and an all-inclusive meal for a fairly hefty (by Chinese) standards. Even better, they managed to talk them down on the final bill so it ended up being very reasonable, especially given the quality and quantity of the food. Dumplings of every filling, a whole fish (shown to us live in a bag for approval before cooking), soups, vegetables, appetizers, tea, beer...we were absolutely stuffed after eating and I can say that personally it was one of the best meals I've ever had and tied with dinner later that night, which I'll discuss in a bit...

Yu Yuan Gardens in Old City Shanghai

Beautiful although not peaceful...so many people around!

After lunch, we walked through the Yu Yuan Gardens market area, not only for the experience but because a few of us wanted to buy souvenirs for our spouses and kids before heading home the next day. The area was teeming with people, Chinese as well as Western tourists from the US, Europe, and Australia. I managed to get some great gifts for my family: I got my wife a wall-hanging for our new house, my son a traditional Chinese clay flute (a Xun), my youngest daughter a traditional Shanghai costume, my oldest daughter a stuffed panda bear wearing a traditional Chinese shirt and a good-luck panda wall ornament (she loves anything with panda bears), and my second oldest daughter a carved Chinese dragon. What made the experience so much fun is that, through my two colleagues, we were able to barter everything down to get better prices. It certainly felt like many of the merchants were initially thinking they could sucker the American tourists who didn't speak the language (most of the merchants spoke broken English at best) before our colleagues stepped in to haggle over prices. It was an absolute blast and I am forever grateful to my friends and coworkers who helped us out. Beers and meals as repayment have been promised!

Amazing dumplings and a broth-filled mega-dumpling

Shrimp steamed in green tea

Sea bass cooked whole for us...they brought it to us alive in a bag to approve before cooking

You want my Yuan?

That evening, one of my colleagues with whom I'd spent the afternoon with came with me and my boss as we set out for dinner. My boss had lived in Hong Kong off and on for several years when at his previous job and he even speaks and reads Mandarin (a most impressive feat as he's originally from the UK!) so he was a great asset to have in addition to being a great guy. We took the subway to the middle of the city and just walked and walked to see where we would end up. We eventually made our way into the fashion district, which was full of lights and people and glamor...at night, it reminded me of Times Square or Piccadilly Circus. Feeling quite hungry, my boss read the sign of a nearby hole in the wall restaurant and told us it was a Cantonese place (Cantonese being the primary language and cuisine of Hong Kong, where not only had he lived but where his wife hails from). Being familiar with the food, he said we should try it, so in we went and up the stairs to a table. We let him order for us and we were not disappointed. What a fantastic meal it was, with pickled cucumbers and sauteed cabbages and leeks for appetizers, barbecue pork and seafood. I also had one of the best non-alcoholic drinks I've ever had with that meal: a concoction of lime sherbet, fresh mint, freshly ground lime, and soda water. It was delicious and refreshing and I'm dying to try my hand at making one here at home!

Amazing Cantonese food (and the legendary lime and mint drink!)

The only other time we went out into the city during the week for dinner was for a group dinner on Tuesday night to the Bund area of Shanghai. The restaurant was excellent but rather strange: an Italian-style farmhouse winery and eatery in the middle of China's largest city! I did get a very nice souvenir for our house: a Chinese fan with our last name written in Chinese calligraphy, done by a very old man who wrote the characters in a very beautiful style. Also, we had dessert and drinks on the roof and the view of the Pudong skyline across the river was breathtaking (although how much of the taking of breath was due to the smog is up for debate). On Wednesday night, we had a group outing to a bowling alley for bowling, billiards, pizza, wings and beer. Being in China, I didn't bowl since there weren't any shoes in my size (I wear a US size 15), so I settled for billiards, beer, and conversation. The pizza was...interesting. Not good, not bad, just...interesting. Ditto the wings.

So smoggy...

The Budweiser of Chinese beer...still, not bad

Chinese pizza and wings were...interesting

As for China itself, the smog that we've all read and heard about was real and it was pretty bad for the first half of the week. By Thursday the skies were clear and beautiful and the air was clean, but earlier in the week it was an issue. Not only did it make the views perpetually hazy, but it burned my nose, sinuses, and throat. Worse than that, I could taste it and it was not pleasant...think of a mix of automobile exhaust and chemicals. Combined with the regular wafts of sewer stench throughout the city, it didn't make for a pleasant experience. When I blew my nose, the tissue was black and I noticed a definite improvement upon landing in New Jersey (yes, New Jersey, which usually stinks in its own right! Go figure.). It was a common site to see Chinese citizens wearing masks around the city and I can only imagine the elevated rates of cancer and respiratory conditions people who live there have compared to here  in America. I hope they can fix their pollution problem (the river looked awful as well) because the landscape is quite beautiful.

The stunning view of the Pudong skyline from the Bund

The Rock and Roll Chemist in the Bund

Fan with our last name written in Chinese

The smog clearing away as the week went on...

Wow! Blue sky!

After a while in Shanghai, it started to feel like any other big city. It wasn't until I would go past one of the imposing government buildings with the red star emblems or would see soldiers guarding the doors dressed in their green uniforms with red stars under a huge Chinese flag when I would remember that I was not in a free country. Combined with the government censoring of the internet, it made for a subtle reminder than for all of the apparent similarities in our freedoms, China is still very different from America. Sure, we joked about not being able to access Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube (among other sites), and many of our Chinese colleagues joined in, but the chilling feeling that you were being monitored was always there. Even when I was texting or FaceTiming with my wife and kids over the hotel wifi, it was in the back of my mind. Shanghai was a great city to visit and I'm sure I'll be back for business in the future, but as with any trip, it was so good to get back home to the USA, to my house, my amazing wife, our beautiful kids, our two cats, and my regular routine. I have more business trips on the horizon...who knows where they will take me? As the adage says, it's not the destination so much as it's the journey, and this is something I've definitely understood more the older I've gotten and the further I've traveled.

1 o'clock in the morning, sneaking in the back door...and this was the best part of the entire trip!

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Here We Go, China, Here We Go

The big day is finally here. As I write this, I'm sitting in the business class lounge at the airport in Toronto waiting for my connection to Shanghai. I've been up since 1:30am and truthfully, I didn't sleep last night as I was too anxious (and too paranoid about oversleeping!). The car service my company booked arrived at my house in the dead of night a little before 2am for the two hour drive to the airport. There's an airport only a half hour from my house but for some reason, flights out of there were thousands of dollars more expensive; it was actually cheaper for me to hire a car to take me to and from the airport, believe it or not. The ride into Baltimore was nice and easy...how could it not be when I was sitting in the back of a plush, comfortable luxury SUV? The driver was a really nice fellow and the conversation was excellent. When he dropped me off at BWI, I was groggy but quickly woke up when I walked inside: I couldn't believe how many people were there that early for flights. After checking in my suitcase, I made my way to security and then to the gate. To say I was taken aback when I saw the plane we'd be boarding for Toronto would be an understatement; I've been on some small shuttles for short flights, but this had to be the smallest plane I've ever been on! A twin turboprop that held, at most, 24 people, it was nonetheless a full flight. I was able to doze a little bit, but it wasn't very satisfying or refreshing.

Ninety minutes later, I landed in Toronto. The first thing I noticed when I got off of the plane and onto the tarmac was how much colder it was than back home...unsurprising since this is Canada, but I could see my breath here while back home it was considerably warmer. The Rush fan in me geeked out a little bit because the call-letters for the Toronto airport are YYZ (if you're not a Rush fan, look up their song "YYZ" to understand what I mean). Also, this is a MASSIVE airport. One thing I found comical was that I had to make a really long walk from the terminal all the way through customs and immigration (where the agents were quite cranky) and then on to the international terminal where I had to go through security yet again. When I finally rounded the corner to start walking toward my gate, I passed right by where I first had to go to customs! I had a little chuckle over that.

By this time I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since dinner last night and I was starving. Luckily, since I am flying business class on Air Canada, I was able to access their Maple Leaf Lounge, which offers free food, beverages, comfy furniture, clean bathrooms, and free WiFi (which I am using as I write this post). This brings us to the present, where I'm boarding in one hour to make the final leg of this journey to Shanghai. So many questions are going through my head: what will business class actually be like on the plane? Will I be able to sleep? What will the airport be like in Shanghai? What will customs and immigration be like? The hotel? The food? The conference? I have a mental list of things I'm simultaneously anxious, nervous, and excited about, but in every respect the overriding feeling I have is of great curiosity. As I finish this post, I'm reminded that sites like Facebook and Google are banned from use in China; the Blogger platform I use for this site is a Google product, so I'm not sure if I will be able to post again before coming home. If I can, I'll continue the travelogue; if not, I'll post more once I'm back in the USA. Either way, this trip is sure to be an experience I won't forget.

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To the Cats

Apart from some fish when I was six or seven years old, I never had pets growing up. Sure, I love animals, but my only exposure to cats and dogs were at the homes of friends and family members who had them. My parents like dogs but we never had one because of my dad's very busy job and my mum having to ferry the three of us kids to and from school, sports, music lessons, and other activities. We also went on a lot of vacations so having a dog wasn't a sensible thing. My mother, sister, and I are severely allergic to cats so that ruled them out as pets. While I was growing up, I had relatives and friends who had both cats and dogs and I always swore I'd have a dog when I grew up. I just loved how friendly and playful and loyal dogs were, and I always found the aloofness and coldness of cats off-putting. When I met my wife, she had had cats her whole life and didn't like dogs due to a bad experience she had with one when she was a kid. Coupled with my cat allergy, it looked like we were just not going to have any pets. As soon as we started having kids, that was further reinforced.

However, after thirteen years of marriage and four kids, both my wife and I really wanted to have some pets, never mind the constant questions our kids had asked like "can we get a dog? Can we get a cat?" Dogs were out of the question for the reasons stated above, plus we're always in and out of the house taking the kids to school and their various activities and practices, so any dog we had wouldn't necessarily get the attention and time outside to play and go to the bathroom that it would need. That left cats...animals I wasn't particularly fond of and seriously allergic to. How bad are my allergies? Usually if I'm at someones house and they own a cat, after twenty minutes my nose gets stuffy, my eyes, nose, and ears start itching, my eyes start watering, and I start sneezing. It's BAD! Still, it was either cats or nothing and a bit of research online showed me that taking over the counter allergy medicine like Claritin should mitigate my cat allergy. Mrs. Chemist and I decided we would surprise the kids with a cat for Christmas this year as soon as we moved into our new house (which happened in late September). Of course, things never go as planned and so...

...we found ourselves on Labor Day with time to kill, all six of us sitting around the house a little bit bored. I suggested we take a drive just to get out of the house and also thought we could do something we've done before in the past, which is drive to PetsMart just to walk around and look at the animals. (Think of it as a free zoo for little kids!). So in the car and over to the store we went. The kids, as always, enjoyed looking at all of the birds, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes and lizard, fish and frogs. That brought us to the area where the kittens and cats available for adoption are kept. Now, the way it works at least in this area of Pennsylvania is that an outside pet rescue and adoption agency, PAWS, cares for the animals and houses them at various pet supply stores (like PetsMart) so that people will see them and hopefully will want to adopt them. As we looked through the window, the six of us were immediately struck by what we saw...so many cute kittens!  For me, the minute I saw a tortoiseshell kitten named Piper, I was in love...she was cute and had the most beautiful coloration I'd ever seen on a cat. My wife fell in love with a kitten named Ladybug who was a mackerel tabby that looked just like one of the cats she'd grown up with. The kids fell in love with twin tiger-striped orange tabbies named Andy and Amanda. We had a good time watching the cats in their cages before making our way back home. Once we got home, the kids dispersed to play and read while my wife and I sat down. She and I decided we should adopt two cats around the end of September as a housewarming present to the kids...that way, there would be enough cat love to go around for our family of six. We also decided that even though we thought Piper and Ladybug were gorgeous, we'd go for Andy and Amanda since they were so cute and were siblings. My wife then started reading so I puttered around the house doing little things that needed getting done. However, I kept thinking that since we were moving into our new house in a few weeks, those kittens might be gone by then and we'd miss out. Eventually I went to my wife and said that I thought we should just take the plunge and adopt them now as an early housewarming present for the kids and ourselves, especially because we'd regret it if they were gone in a few weeks. It being Labor Day, there wasn't anyone from PAWS scheduled  at the store, but we gathered the kids, jumped back in the car, and drove back to PetsMart with the intention of filling out an application for Andy and Amanda.

Imagine our surprise when someone from PAWS was there and all of the kittens were out of their cages in the little room, playing and lounging. What luck! We went in to check them out and visit with them. However, we found something out...Andy and Amanda were skittish and a bit nervy. Any time we picked them up, they backed away and weren't too sure about us. However, Piper and Ladybug were just the sweetest; we all picked them up and cuddled them and they seemed like they'd fit right in with us. At that moment, we changed our minds and decided it was those two we wanted. We filled out the paperwork, submitted it, and were told we'd hear back by the end of the week. We were nervous when we walked out as other people were coming in to look at cats and seemed to be interested in the same two we were. The next couple of days were so nerve-wracking waiting for the phone call. We all desperately hoped we would get Piper and Ladybug and I even found myself dreaming about us getting them. Me, the non-cat person, can you believe it? Then, two days later, we got the good news...we could adopt them! All of us were so excited...the only bummer was that we had to wait until that Friday to pick them up.  That Friday evening, we went to the store, bought pet carriers, food, and litter, and got everything and everyone into the car. On the drive home, Ladybug was quiet in her carrier but Piper started meowing and pawing at the door of her carrier. Before we got home, she had pooped (her pawing was probably because she wanted to get out to go to the bathroom) and then thrown up (many cats get carsick). Poor Piper! We got them into the house as quickly as we could and let them out. We cleaned up Piper and her carrier, showed them where the food, water, and litter was, and then just sat back and watched them explore our house. The first few nights they slept under the couches and were still getting used to our house and the chaos and noise of a household with four kids. Our children are incredibly well behaved, but even so, four kids between the ages of 4 and 10 make a lot of noise and have a lot of energy! Ladybug was quite skittish, bolting under the couch at any loud sound or sudden movement, while Piper was a bit standoffish and not too affectionate. However, we noticed them getting more comfortable after a few days and by the end of their first week with us they were settled in. Ladybug is not skittish any more and is just incredibly sweet and mellow. Piper is a real diva and is definitely the boss when it comes to her and Ladybug, but she is so sweet and affectionate. They wrestle and play with each other all the time, usually instigated by Piper and tolerated by Ladybug, although lately Ladybug has been countering...probably because she realized that even though she's younger than Piper, she's also bigger! Piper sleeps at the foot of our bed my wife every night, while Ladybug sleeps up near our heads. They've seamlessly become part of our family and members we could never imagine being without. It's like we've always had them and I really feel like they're the perfect cats for us. Getting a little more cosmic, I really do feel that most times in life, things happen for a reason ("there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be" and all that), and I feel as though deciding to go back to the store when we unexpectedly had the chance to interact with the cats and find out that Piper and Ladybug were right for us was guided by an divine hand.

Piper

Ladybug

So yes, now I'm that guy going to the pet store late at night to restock our supply of cat food and doing research online to make sure we feed them the best stuff and take care of them the best we can. And I'm happy to report that my allergies haven't been one bit of a problem...three cheers for loratadine!

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The Harry Potter Tag

The Harry Potter section of my bookshelf

I love the Harry Potter series of books and films. That's probably not a surprise to you since after all, you're reading the beginning of a post on them, and why would I write about something I'm not passionately interested in? I've been a fan of classic fantasy and sci-fi series like Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Dune saga (ONLY the six real books by Frank Herbert...none of the dross his son has churned out since his death!) but I readily admit I came to the party a bit late when it comes to Potter. I was certainly aware of the series as they were being published...I was 17 when the first book came out and 27 when the final one did. My parents, cousins, and several of my friends were huge fans, reading them as they were released. For two of the books, the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), I was in London on vacation with my parents and my mum bought both of them within a week or two of their initial publication. However, despite entreaties from everyone that I needed to read them, I resisted. "Oh, it's just a Tolkein rip-off," I thought, or "those are kid's books." Looking back, I'm stunned that I didn't jump all over the books especially since I've been a lifelong Anglophile with regards to just about everything, especially music and books. My parents raved about the movies as well as the books, and one time while my wife and I were staying at my parents' house for a visit, there was a marathon of all of the movies and I ended up staying up late to watch the first and second movies on TV with my dad. I really enjoyed the films so, eventually in 2012 I decided to have a crack at the series. The thing I'd been told by everyone I knew who had read them was that the first book was a bit more whimsical and could almost pass as a children's book, but the series got a lot darker and more serious as it went on. I read the first book in a couple of days and really enjoyed it, and by halfway through the second book I was absolutely hooked. I made my way through the entire series in less than a month and by the end I was kicking myself for not having read it sooner. To say I thoroughly enjoyed it would be an understatement! The same goes for the movies, as I watched them all, one after another, shortly after finishing the books. While I'm embarrassed that it took me so long to come around, I now have the books proudly on my shelf next to the Lord of the Rings and the vacant space where my Dune books belong (my brother borrowed them and is hopefully reading through them!).

Last week I was scrolling through Twitter when I saw a retweet of a link from a blog called The Savvy Student. It was for a post called the Harry Potter Tag. Intrigued, I clicked on it and had a lot of fun reading it. Basically, it's a post that gets passed from blog to blog by Potter fans to answer a set of questions, with everyone's answers being as unique as the person writing them. Because I enjoyed it so much, I decided to have a go myself, the results of which are below.

What is your favorite book?

Book #6, the Half Blood Prince. I've always been a sucker for transitional things, whether they're albums, books, movies, tours...I find them so fascinating and interesting beyond just their content. I like to see where ideas and execution have been and where they're going, and I've always been fascinated with the uncertainty of those at the middle of the transitory period. For me the Half Blood Prince is my favorite book for that reason as it bridges the events of the previous five books while it sets up the epic battles and conclusion of the final book. That being said, it's got plenty of excitement, twists, and turns in its own right. It's also when so many of the mysteries that have been weaving their way throughout the entire series begin to be revealed, which had me almost unable to wait before I could finally tear into the final book.

What is your favorite movie?

Again, the Half Blood Prince, although it was a close call between this and a few others. Mainly for the same reasons above, plus the final half hour which is even more pulse-pounding and exciting on film than it is in print. The character of Horace Slughorn comes to life even better on the screen than he already does in print.

 

What is your least favorite book?

Book #5, the Order of the Phoenix. It's certainly not a bad book...there's no such thing as a bad book in the Potter series. However, Order of the Phoenix is my pick mainly because even though it's important and advances the story, not a whole heck of a lot actually happens in it and it's rather bereft of action until the climactic battle at the Ministry of Magic near the end. Great book, great characters, important story points advanced, and it's one the longest book in the series, but it also feels a bit unresolved when it's all over.

What is your least favorite movie?

Ditto my choice for least favorite book, the Order of the Phoenix. Again, great film but it's just a bit slower of pace and not as exciting as the others. Plus, Sirius Black's death, which I felt was a bit weak in the book, is even weaker in the film. It still makes me sad and upset at how and why he died. It's hard to knock the epic battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort at the end, though...wow!

What parts of the book/movie make you cry?

The two that always get to me are when two of my absolute characters die: Dumbledore and Snape.  In the case of Dumbledore, he's such a wise, caring, powerful, and interesting person who also happens to be a real badass when it comes to magic, with some dark secrets hidden in the corners of his past that make him more intriguing than your run of the mill good guy. His death at the hands of Snape is always shocking, even when you eventually learn the reasons behind it. As for Snape, where do I start? When my daughter started reading the series and I told her Snape was my absolute favorite character, she couldn't believe it. Mean and grumpy Snape? It wasn't until she finished the series that she finally understood why. His death is so poignant, especially because it's shortly after this moment that Harry finally understands what Snape has always been about. Combined with the mystery of Snape's past unravelling over the course of the entire series and realizing the incredible guilt and emotional burden he's carried for all of Harry's life, and how could I not tear up every time?

If you could hook up with any character, who would it be?

Hey, I'm a happily married husband and father...what kind of question is this? All kidding aside, as this is as make believe as the world of Harry Potter itself, Hermione Granger is my choice. She's got the perfect blend of beauty and brains and can be an ass-kicker when she needs to be. She's also fiercely loyal to her friends and never once considers leaving Harry's side on his quest to find and destroy the horcruxes. Luna Lovegood comes a close second because she's beautiful and a very free, flighty spirit who knows what other people think of her but doesn't care. I have many flighty moments myself, but I admire that ability to not care what others think as I'm incredibly self-conscious and insecure and could learn a thing or two from Luna. She's also quite clever in her own right and not afraid to speak up and demand to be listened to when she knows something. That and I've always been a sucker for an English/Scottish/Irish accent on a woman.

Who is your favorite character?

There are so many to choose from and so many I adore (of course Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but also Dumbledore, McGonagall, Sirius, Lupin, Moody, the Weasleys, Dobby, Hagrid, etc) but my absolute favorite has always been and always will be Severus Snape. I just find the character incredibly interesting, with so much depth and complexity. The way his persona and characterization unravels throughout the course of the entire series from a seemingly one-dimensional cranky teacher to this richly complicated person who is hiding so many secrets and bearing such an emotional and psychological burden in silence is absolutely masterful, and is a testament to J.K. Rowling's writing and character development.  Dumbledore's absolutely steadfast and unwavering trust and confidence in Snape seems to be directly at odds with Harry's mutual antagonism with him, yet if only Harry knew the real reasons for it, which he finally learns at the moment of Snape's murder. By the time we, the readers, discover his true story concurrently with Harry, the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place and Snape is finally and wholly understood. Combined with Alan Rickman's superb portrayal of Snape in the films, it all adds up to one of the great characters in both print and on screen. In fact, as with all of the characters, I cannot help but visualize and hear Rickman as Snape every time I now read the books.

Who is your least favorite character?

Probably these choices are too easy, but it's a tie between Dolores Umbridge and the Malfoys. Umbridge is just a supremely evil psychopathic and sadistic bitch whose seemingly sweet old lady exterior makes her that much more chilling, while the Malfoys' arrogance and entitled airs would make them eminently hateable whether they were a magical family or Muggles themselves. The fact that the Malfoys (especially Lucius and Draco) are classic bullies, backing down at the first sign of their victims standing up to them, only makes them more loathsome. The actors and actresses who portrayed them on film did a wonderful job...while they seem to be nice people in real life, they are absolutely hateable on screen. My only regret in both the books and movies is that they didn't all die horrible, painful deaths, which is what they all so richly deserved!

What is your favorite quote?

Again, so many to choose from, but Dumbledore telling Harry that "help will always be given to those who ask for it" is one that's always stuck with me.

What is your least favorite quote?

There aren't too many I don't like, although Sirius' entire exchange with Harry in his old room in Grimauld Place in the Order of the Phoenix (especially the film version) comes off just a bit cheesy.

What would your patronus be?

Probably a horse as they're one of my favorite animals and would convey beauty and majesty as well as strength.

What would your boggart be?

This one is easy...I've been terrified of stinging insects since I had a couple of bad experiences as a kid, so my boggart would be a giant wasp. Just writing this and thinking about it is giving me shivers!

What of the Deathly Hallows would you rather have: the Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak, or the Resurrection Stone?

I've no need for ultimate power, and besides, how can the Elder Wand be "unbeatable," as was so often claimed, when it kept passing from wizard to wizard? I'm tempted to say the Resurrection Stone as it would be nice to bring deceased family members and friends back, although recalling what happens in the Tale of the Three Brothers, this doesn't seem like such a good idea. I've always wanted the power of invisibility, so my choice would be the Invisibility Cloak.

What house would you be in?

Easy choice...Gryffindor, of course!

If you were on the Quidditch team, what position would you play?

Because of my size (6'5", 275 lbs) and the fairly good speed and quickness I have, in every sport I played (basketball, baseball, soccer, football) I always played a position that was a hybrid of defense and offense, so I would most likely either be a Beater or a Keeper. I'd leave the Chasing and Seeking to those smaller and quicker than I am!

If you could bring one character back to life, who would it be?

So many great characters met their end in the series, and there's a bunch I'd love to bring back: Dumbledore, Sirius, Moody, Fred Weasley, Tonks. However, the one at the top of my list would be Remus Lupin, one of my favorite characters whose gentle yet strong personality, wisdom, humbleness, and kindness would be sorely missed by anyone fortunate enough to have known him.

If you could meet any member of the cast, who would it be?

Either Alan Rickman or Ralph Fiennes, both for their masterful performances in bringing two of the greatest fictional characters of all time to life and absolutely owning them.

Were you happy with the ending?

Overall, yes. I always like stories where you see a glimpse into what the characters are like and what they're doing after the denouement. I will say that some of the fan theories and alternate fan fictions where Harry wakes up in the cupboard under the stairs after the final events of the Deathly Hallows, showing that it had all been a dream, bother me to no end. I would have HATED for the series to have ended like that!

I swear to God I would have cried if this were the actual ending...

How much does Harry Potter mean to you?       

It means a great deal to me for a few reasons. I've long been a fan of the Lord of the Rings, Dune, and Narnia series, but Harry Potter was the first one that was entirely released during my lifetime. It was also one of the rare new series that lived up to and eventually surpassed the hype...I've no doubt it will stand the test of time. Even more than that, the opportunity to share in the joy and magic of the books and movies with my second oldest daughter has been really special. She picked up the first book a few months ago, knowing how much I and my parents love the series, and was absolutely hooked. She read them all in a matter of a couple of months and we've since watched the entire series on film as well. Being able to share the experience with her and discuss every minute aspect of the story and characters has been a blast. I was too old to have grown up alongside Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and the rest the way so many younger readers did, but I'm able to see my daughter have a similar experience and as a father, that's really rewarding.

So there you have it, my entry in the Harry Potter tag! I hope you've enjoyed it and if you're a fellow Potter fan, please chime in on whether you agree/disagree with my choices. If you happen to be a fellow blogger as well, please take a stab at it yourself and share your post when you're done. And remember: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus!         

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