Inspiration
Inspiration comes from the most unexpected places.

Not many people read this right now, but hopefully some day, this will touch someone, and inspire them to stop waiting, to act, and maybe to persevere.

After six weeks in Hong Kong, I've been back at home for a week now, with two more to go before returning to Hong Kong for another six. I've been working the overnight shift in order to have overlap with the Hong Kong working day, and it's been beating the crap out of me. I'm supposed to be in the office right now, but I'll be late today. My attitude changed tonight, and I have to write why, even if I'm writing only to me.

Tonight I went to dinner with an old friend, and between dinner and the email I received when I got home from dinner I'm reminded why I do the things I do, and why I am the way I am. My friend is trying to organize a fundraiser in coordination with the Wendy Larks Foundation, to happen just over a month before our Annual Celebration of Life event. It's going to be tough to do two events close together like that, and it's going to be a very tough sell to the Board. I didn't know if I had the energy to do two breast cancer walks, the COL and this new fundraiser. The upside for doing it is tremendous. A musician who she met is interested in doing a show in the Chicago area, and he has agreed to perform the event as a benefit for us. Most people won't recognize his name, but they'll know who he has played with. The details are sketchy right now, but this could get TWLF exposure that we couldn't buy. It could raise money for breast cancer. It could get me the connection that I've been looking for to have somebody read my songs. She's doing it for many reasons, but one of them is that her sister is a newly dubbed survivor, and her mother is a many year survivor. I hadn't talked to this person for almost two years, but she's back, most unexpectedly.

When I got back from dinner I took a nap, then decided to check email before going to the office. I received an email from a woman I met a few years ago. Our first contact was just a touch - I gave her a gift at the end of a breast cancer walk because her energy, joy and spirit reminded me of someone I was very close to, and that fostered the beginnings of friendship. The first time we met in person, it was as if we had been friends for years. We talk infrequently now, and this is a good deal my fault. I don't do a very good job keeping in touch with people. It is one of my fatal flaws. This person could be a good friend. She sends pictures periodically, and tonight I got one of these windows into her world. It was a photo album of a group of ladies she is associated with. Some are bald, some are recently bald, some wear chemo caps. All are wearing smiles. At first all I could see through my tears was those smiles, and I was reminded of Wendy, and her struggles, and her spirit, and her undying motivation to conquer her alien, and her lost battle. As I opened the album, and looked at each face, I noticed a detail of the pictures that I missed at first glance. Some of these women are wearing Cancer Sucks buttons from TWLF. Buttons that my hands pressed, in memory of Wendy, in honor of women just like these, who will never know who Wendy was, who I'll never know, but for whom I have the greatest respect.

And I was reminded of why I do the things I do, and why I am the way I am. And I was re-inspired in a most unexpected way, from an unexpected source. Time to stop pouting. I've got things yet to do, a purpose yet to fulfill. On with life.
- posted by LyleDeck @ 12:30 AM 0 comments   

 
The End Is In Sight
Saturday March 19, 2005 11:10 AM CST, location: UA896, altitude 35000 feet, 8160 miles from Hong Kong. 340 miles and 45 minutes until touchdown.

That snuck up on me. Suddenly the window shades were opened, and breakfast was served. So goodbye Colorado and Minnesota, and hello Iowa. We may catch a bit of Wisconsin depending on the arrival pattern, but then it's Illinois, and home. They'll start bugging us soon to shutdown our electronic gear, so that's all for now.
- posted by LyleDeck @ 11:10 AM 0 comments   

 
Kung Hei Fat Choi
Saturday March 19, 2005 10:25 AM CST, location: UA896, altitude 35000 feet, 7700 miles from Hong Kong. 1 hour 30 minutes until touchdown.

Goodbye Montana, hello Colorado.

Kung Hei Fat Choi is the greeting of the Chinese New Year. It's a time of being with family, of celebrating life. It's also a time of tradition. One of these is a Lion Dance. I can't describe it better than those that perform it, so from the MIT Lion Dance Club:
"The lion dance is one of China's most distinctive cultural arts. The tradition dates back thousands of years. It is believed to have appeared in either the Tang, Han, or Ch'in dynasties, possibly in different forms. Other legends associated with lion dance include using the dance to chasing away the monster "Nian." Often performed by kung fu schools, it brings with it good fortune, prosperity, and longevity. The lion dance appears in western countries mainly during celebrations such as Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival and other multi-cultural events. It is also often seen at the opening of new shops, weddings, births, or where good fortune and prosperity is wished."

Flying Eagle Martial Arts
"There are several stories describing the origin of the Lion Dance. Whatever the origins, the Lion dance is an essential ceremony for the opening of new businesses, or even at traditional Chinese weddings. Lion dances can be very lengthy requiring excellent physical conditioning and stamina. Therefore, the dance troupe always belongs to a Chinese martial arts school. The lion is animated by two performers and the whole spectacle is accompanied by music, which matches the tempo of the lion's movements. The lion's mouth and eyes open and close and a beard hangs down from the lion's lower jaw - the longer the beard, the more venerable the school that performs the dance. At the opening of new businesses and restaurants, the lion is usually rewarded with a lettuce hanging on a string (there is always a gift of 'good luck' money attached to the "food"), which it must reach up and grab between its jaws."

Two Lions came to the office, accompanied by beating drums, to collect the lettuce and money offerings, and to bestow good fortune on the business for the coming year.

MIT Lion Dance Club
http://web.mit.edu/lion-dance/www/main.html

Hong Luck Kung Fu Club
http://www.hongluck.org/lion-dance-history.html

Flying Eagle Martial Arts
http://flyingeagleacademy.com/liondance.html

Chinese Historical and Cultural Project
http://www.chcp.org/lion.html
- posted by LyleDeck @ 10:25 AM 0 comments   

 
Inside
Saturday March 19, 2005 8:45 AM CST, location: UA896, altitude 35000 feet, 6675 miles from Hong Kong, approaching Seattle, WA, USA. 3 hours 10 minutes until touchdown.

"Feet dry". We're back over land. Yippee! I just woke from my sleep period - it appears we'll be 1/2 hour late arriving into Chicago, although with a ground speed of 640 MPH, we may pick up some time. United (and probably other long haul airlines) has a map on the video display that tracks the flight path we're taking. It was interesting to watch the difference between the route we took going to HK and the one coming home. Our path coming home has been much further south. After leaving HK, instead of heading north, we left east, flying over Taiwan and Japan on the way to crossing the Pacific. We never reached as far north as the Aleutian Islands. I assume that's so we could ride the jet stream. I'll have to find out.

Arriving in HK I basically had two days to acquaint myself with the office surroundings. The Chinese (Lunar) New Year began February 9, and with the New Year the city shut down. Not much different than at home. Well, a little different. The city shut down for a 3 day celebration, then people came back to work on Saturday. The first few days were rough. Jet lag took most of the first week to sort out, and most of the month I still had sleeping problems.

The office building I'm in is a newer building. Many of the high-rises in HK are not newer, and the new and old stand right next to each other. It's a striking contrast in culture and architecture. The buildings I see from the office window across the street look worn down. On any given day, the washed clothes hang outside the windows to dry. Certainly not a sight I'm used to seeing.

One thing that struck me as funny about having the clothes outside to dry, was that the first few days I was in HK, the weather was pleasantly warm - upper 60s and 70s - but also very humid. 60% - 80% humid. At home, we don't go much more than a few days with that level of moisture in the air before it comes down.

Fortunately, or not depending on point of view, I didn't have to deal with the sauna (which was also nothing compared to what it will be in a few months) for more than a few days. The temperature cooled significantly, and for the rest of the month, we were in the 50s and 60s. This was a boon, as it made the temp outside and the temp inside the office the same. The office is always cold. Cold enough that there are days we need sweaters or jackets to keep warm enough.

Traveling between the office and the hotel was a breeze. Being a city boy, I don't mind riding the Subway, and Hong Kong's MTR is easy to navigate. 1/2 hour by MTR from hotel to office, or 15 minutes by taxi, basically traveling along the south shore of Victoria Harbor. I stayed at the Conrad Hotel, in Admiralty, and worked at Taikoo Place, in Quarry Bay.

(Goodbye Washington, hello Idaho)

The Conrad is a very nice hotel. I'm not sure any hotel is really worth the cost they charge, but it's the hotel that was offered by the client, and who am I to argue. I like the Hilton chain. The Conrad is attached (along with the Shangri-La and the JW Marriott) to the Pacific Place mall, a 4 level mall with a very Western feel.

(I shouldn't have paused writing - goodbye Idaho, hello Montana)

The first week of work was odd, as Monday and Tuesday the whole team was working, but Wednesday - Friday it was just Hans and I. Hans is another long-time CGI-AMS employee. I guess this is a good point to introduce the team. Maggie is in charge, Ka Fai and Andy are the bank leads, and Conrad and Eric are bank contractors. Maggie has an office next door to our development room. Basically, our room has a conference table just big enough for 6 computer monitors and keyboards. The room is just big enough to hold this table. I sit on the end of the table away from the door, and the wall behind me is covered with a big white board. The wall to my right is entirely windows to the outside (thankfully).

Contrary to first impressions, this is a very isolating environment for me. We work most of the day on our own issues, and have little conversation. There really is no privacy. Due to the project schedule, there is a lot of stress in the room. At first, there was little to be positive about - we had too much work and not enough time to do it. Each of us was fully booked, 6 days/week, for 6 weeks (and really for longer as the delivery milestone is March 31). As time has passed, some assignments have been eliminated, or postponed. Some of mine have taken longer than initial estimates indicated, which has added to the frustration level.

Getting back to the holiday, Chinese New Year has a similarity to Hanukkah. People exchange gelt! There are red envelopes that people exchange, and inside the envelopes is money. WooHoo! The exchange is with family, co-workers, children (related and not). I was a bit embarrassed because I did not know of the tradition, and it was difficult to go back after the fact to reciprocate. I've decided to donate what I've received to some local charity. It's right for me to do.

There was a great deal of isolation for me that first week in Hong Kong. Isolation will be a big theme of my posts. I'll try not to make it obnoxious, but it was a problem for me to overcome. The time difference between Chicago and HK is 14 hours. 7 PM Monday in Chicago is 9 AM Tuesday in HK. This means that the time when most of the people I want to talk to are available is the beginning of my work day. At work, I'm not allowed to have any of my messaging clients installed, but I've since discovered that AIM has a browser-based interface that I can use, so at least I can have quick conversations with people on AIM at somewhat convenient times.

So Wednesday after a day of work, with most shops closed, I decided to eat at one of the hotel restaurants. It seemed a good idea at the time, but with the mood I was in, I should have found a different environment for dinner. I was surrounded by many foreigners, families, coworkers. There was so much life in that room, and I felt so completely separated from it. I couldn't even eavesdrop on conversations! I had taken a notepad with me to start jotting things I wanted to cover in this blog (THAT worked out well, don't you think?), but instead I was inspired to write another song.

Not knowing who's reading this (probably not too many people right now), you may or may not be surprised to read that I've written a song. It's actually my third. I'm not sure it's a good thing, since I usually get inspired to write them at the times when I feel the most isolated. I got the idea to write the first one while driving inbound on I-90 near the O'Hare oasis about 5 months after Wendy died. The thought developed over a few weeks, and New Year's morning 2002 I started jotting notes. Over the course of months, I polished the lyrics, and eventually put the tune I was hearing in my head onto paper. "In My Dreams"

The second song developed in December 2002, while I was walking alone on a beach in Punta Cana. I was in the middle of an amazing vacation - really the first time in over a year I really let myself have fun. It may have been guilt, or loneliness, or it may have just been another gift that I've been given. Regardless, after returning from my walk I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote number two. Unlike the first song, which took months for me to be content with it, song two was complete in an afternoon. I've changed the final verse since then, but that's just me being a perfectionist. "Shine"

Song three has gone through five or so revisions over the course of the last six weeks. It's the one that's least like a poem, and one that I really have no melody thoughts on, but it's song three nonetheless. For now, it's called "Inside".

Well, that's moved far away from the theme of the hour. Time for a stretch. 12 hours on an airplane and I'm getting stir crazy.
- posted by LyleDeck @ 8:45 AM 0 comments   

 
Wonderland
Saturday March 19, 2005 2:30 AM CST, location: UA896, altitude 33000 feet, 3000 miles from Hong Kong. 9 hours until touchdown.

So much to say, so much to show, so much procrastinating...

Fudge. This blog thing was supposed to be easy, not time consuming, user-friendly. Yeah. I don't really know why, but I haven't been able to keep up with it. There are many things I could use as excuses, but they'd be just that. So here is my go at catching up...

Stepping off the plane into Hong Kong International Airport, I knew I would be entering a new world. No matter how many people I met in Hong Kong who spoke English, there would be an entire civilization surrounding me that I wouldn't be able to participate in. Sure, many signs were double labeled in English and Chinese, but the people... I'd been told that I'd be well catered to, that my co-workers would go out of their way to be sure I could get around, and taken care of. Of this I had no worry. But every conversation that would happen around me would go soaring over my head.

For people who flew into the old HK airport, the experience today is very different. I've been told stories about 747s buzzing the high-rises while on final approach. That's no longer the case. HKI is now about 1/2 hour west of Hong Kong Island on the largest island of Hong Kong - Lantau (I'll check to be sure I have that name correct). The Hong Kong airport itself is massive. Most of the traveling I've done has been US domestic, and I constantly hear people complain about O'Hare. Sure it's an older airport, not as spacious as some, and with Chicago weather, of course there will be delays. Until getting to HKI, I didn't understand why O'Hare is so terrible. It's in so many different parts of the airport. I'll tell about it in the positive. I did not see the departure area when I first arrived, since arriving passengers are directed away from departing passengers. HKI is divided into several horizontal levels to allow them to remain separated. Once through the check in area (with ample space available for queuing), the Immigration lanes funnel into the security screening area. The security screening actually flows well. The function which should not be rushed, checking the bag x-ray, is given enough time because two x-ray lanes funnel into a single walk-through metal detector lane. Once past all the official things, the internal terminal is huge. There are a variety of stores to purchase last minute gifts and food. If your gate is at the far end of the airport, there is a 'subway' tram to whisk you from one end to the other. And the best part of the tram is that you don't have to go outside and leave the secure area to get from gate to gate!

Arriving in Hong Kong was equally pleasant. Maybe it was because I arrived on a Sunday night, but the airport was not busy, the customs/immigration lanes were not backed up. The part I liked the best - my baggage arrived quickly! I dread waiting for my bags back at O'Hare. I'd been told there were several ways to get to my hotel from the airport, but taking the least expensive option would have relied on my directional abilities. After visiting someplace the first time I do OK finding my way again, but I didn't want to risk the first journey, so I hopped a sedan for the ride to the Conrad.

Since it was dark, I didn't get to see much on the way in. We crossed bridges, and went thru tunnels, and finally saw the lights of HK. I arrived the week of Chinese New Year (another posts topic). Much of the area about Victoria Harbor was well decked out in lights. That was one of my first impressions driving through the streets of HK on the way to the hotel - Las Vegas Asia. There was so much neon... bright lights, big city. Welcome to Wonderland.
- posted by LyleDeck @ 2:30 AM 0 comments   

 
Greetings from down under.
This is where the info will go. This is a test post to show Susan B how blogs work. You may now continue with your regularly scheduled programming.
- posted by LyleDeck @ 8:41 AM