7:30 AM Tuesday (Durham time). Singapore time: no idea

On Monday morning at 4:30am I left my apartment (on a Super Shuttle with a few other classmates to RDU airport) for a 13-day trip to Singapore, Hoi An (Vietnam), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Bangkok (Thailand), Khon Kaen (Thailaind), back to Bangkok, and then back to the States. By my watch we’ve been in route for 28 hours now, but my internal clock has no idea what to think. We’ll arrive in an hour in Singapore at 11:00pm local time and probably be in bed by 1:00am. I’m hoping that with the help of Ambien I’ll be able to sleep 6-7 hours and my internal clock will then be readjusted. Wishful thinking.

Everything has gone smoothly so far. I slept sporadically (and poorly) for the first few hours of the 15-hour flight from Chicago O’Hare to Hong Kong, and then realized that without any sleep on this route, I’d be wiped out for days to come. So, I took enough Ambien to knock me out for a few hours, which did the trick. So I’d say that on the entire trip here I’ve gotten about 7 hours of sleep.

The woman next to me just passed out on my shoulder. Awesome.

My seat-neighbor from ORD-HK was an interesting guy. He’s Vietnamese, but has lived in Florida since 1978. His father was in the South Vietnamese navy, but was discriminated against by the N. Vietnamese integrated forces, so the dad emigrated by piloting a boat to Thailand, where the family was in a refugee camp for 6 months before lucking out and accepted into the States. The most interesting part of the conversation was when he talked about what he likes to do in Ho Chi Minh City when he returns – find nice girls. He warned me to only find nice girls at the bars instead of the street. I asked him if there was any chance that you could meet a girl in a bar in HCM who is not “working” and he said chances were quite slim. Apparently $20 can get you far, and $40 goes all night.

Update: the woman next to me woke up and got off my shoulder, then decided to return. Thank you.

Our stop in Hong Kong was brief – just enough time to have dinner with Dave and Chris. I had some bubble tea (a milk-like tea with tapioca that you suck through a straw) and a floating pork soup. What? I ordered the soup (which looked like a non-soup dish in the picture) and the waiter said (I quote) “are you sure you want that one?” I said yes, it says pork chop and egg with noodles. What came out was a bowl of broth with noodles and a floating fried egg and pork chop.

The scenery in HK is pretty dramatic – flying in felt like we were in a James Bond movie. I would have loved to stay in HK, but we’ve gotta get on to Singapore. Flying over any iconic city – especially at dusk – has to be one of the coolest things to experience.

Our professor, Bennet, is up in business class while the common folk are down below. A few of the stewardesses (I think I’m supposed to say “hostesses” or “attendants” but don’t want to) snapped at Matt when he tried to visit Bennet up in business class. 35 minutes to touchdown. Gotta sign off. Goal for tomorrow: take pictures. I only took a few today, but was reminded of how much I enjoy taking them. Even if I don’t know what I’m doing, I can luck into some pretty good pics.

I’m crossing my fingers that everyone made it on the plane. I took role after Chicago, but then left everyone to be adults and get themselves on the right planes.

Random thoughts:
I downloaded a bunch of podcasts to my iPhone before leaving:
Ricky Gervais podcast: hilarious
The Moth podcast: very good but it put me to sleep. Maybe another time
This American Life podcast: classic, but 1-hour is too long. I need 30 minutes.
KEXP Music that Matters podcast: an old fave of mine… great selection of northwestern-focused music. Not too pretentious.
NPR’s All Music Considered: I’ve never gotten into this podcast. I find it too inconsistent – singer/songwriter stuff one minute, classical the next. I’d prefer consistency.

Music – Playing Eddie Vedder’s Into the Wild soundtrack right now. One of my all-time favorites. I had this CD in my car disc changer for two straight years.

Reading. I did none of my pre-work today. The only reading I did was of a Singapore newspaper, and half an article about Zeng He (sp), the Chinese Admiral who led the famous 7 voyages in the 15th century. I’m fascinated by the aura of the Chinese’s regional power. I remember after I took the GMAT last year, I walked to the National Geographic museum to celebrate, and they had an exhibit on Zeng He. His ships dwarfed contemporary ships made in Europe – very dramatic.

Feeling good. Glad to be out of the US and doing something that I love – travel. Feeling anticipation (this trip) is a hell of a lot better than dread (constantly worrying about internships). It feels great to be with 35 good people on this trip.

Guidelines for the new year

My mom gave me a framed copy of this piece called "Desiderata", found in Old St. Paul's Church, Baltimore (1692). I like it's honesty and attainability.

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. ~Avoid loud and aggressive person, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. ~Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. ~Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. ~Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. but do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. ~You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. ~Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. ~With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

29 Years of Not Getting It, then Getting It

I'm watching a documentary on The Beatles and it hit me: The Beatles are friggin amazing. You're probably thinking, "Dave, 'friggin amazing' are strong words that you don't just throw around. Do you really mean it?" Indeed, I do.

A few years ago I was listening to Bob Dylan and had a similar epiphany. Before that point, I forced it. I knew that I SHOULD appreciate the man's music as revolutionary, but I had never truly understood for myself. Then at a very unexpected moment I was listening to Girl From the North Country and my whole perspective changed - I got Dylan. It's almost impossible to describe, but it felt like I was being nourished by Dylan's songs... every one was a revelation, and I was so happy because I now had hundreds of Dylan songs to explore.

Before I go to bed - one last comment. Don't overlook Dylan's most recent four albums, especially Time Out of Mind (and songs like this. These albums are revelatory in their own way because Dylan has evolved perfectly into an even more jaded, gruff version of himself that you still recognize as 100% Dylan. (I just realized that writing about music is a difficult task, so I'll stop here and let the music do the talking).

Here's a couple of my favorite rocking Beatles songs from their rooftop performance at Apple Records:





And for good measure, Girl from the North Country:

Cold weather music

I associate albums with seasons. For example, Pearl Jam's No Code album has been played on the first day I feel the fall weather - every year without exception since 1996. This song from Bon Iver is a good candidate for a desolate snow, determined drive in the snow, pushing through the cold... take your pick. Phenomenal song and artist.

Birmingham Good, Mid-Atlantic Bad

For the few days I was in DC, I dismissed the coming storm as the weathermen's empty threat, but on Friday evening I decided this thing was the real deal. Since all the flights to Birmingham from DC were >$1300, I booked it to the last Chinatown bus of the night to Philly. Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking this, so the scheduled 2-hour ride took 4, but I made it in time to get a couple hours of sleep and then to the Philly airport in the morning.

My 11:45 AM flight to Charlotte hadn't been cancelled yet, but I didn't want to risk it so I got on the standby list for an earlier flight. I was the 4th person on the standby list, and 5 made it on the flight. Right after I boarded, Orbitz sent me a message that my other flight was cancelled. Whew, but we still had to get off the ground to be in the clear. After waiting for 2.5 hours for the plane to be de-iced, the plane finally skipped out of Philly and into the warmer climes of Charlotte.

Here's some pics I took while we were waiting for the de-icers. The de-icers are worthy of a Discovery Channel special on cool machinery... they're kind of like a combo Star Wars/super car wash looking contraption. Really cool. There were seven de-icers working simultaneously... quite an operation.

In dc

I'm in dc for some internship hunting, and I've already bumped into
two old coworkers on the street. I forgot how small dc is.

Sent from my iPhone

Mannheim Steamroller = Revenge of the Nerds?

You know what that Mannheim Steamroller video reminds me of (see two post below for the video)? THIS.

Think Different

The original "Think Different" ad.

Things I will Never Understand

Mannheim Steamroller. How could we let this happen?

If you want to be a cool kid...

Listen to www.woxy.com. It has already increased my indie street cred by a factor of 10.