Archive for the ‘Driving’ Category

China, Day Three

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Today started out earlier at about 5:30am while I prepared for today’s meetings with a tight schedule of four companies. After finalizing the consideration metrics I headed downstairs for the “Western” breakfast that is served here at the Grand Skylight Hotel. It’s interesting how they organize the buffet and also interesting what is considered western style food. It seems western food in China is what Chinese food is in America. They had noodles, dim sum, green beans with bacon, and the strangest looking baked beans I had ever seen. To be fair, they did have a good choice of juices, pastries, and yogurts in almost any American breakfast outfit. I tried as much as I could of everything before feeling full and heading out to my first meeting.

Joe, my guide, had organized for a car and driver to pick the two of us up from the hotel and to drive to each of the factory meetings. For the entire day the driver and car cost 500 RMB, or about $60. A pretty good deal considering we travelled over one hundred miles and in sometimes awful traffic.

Traffic here is different. No one follows normal moving traffic laws whatsoever. It isn’t always speeding, but most times driving on the wrong side of the road, driving on a sidewalk, blocking the box, or taking up more than one lane for far more time than it takes to change lanes. The bicyclers and pedestrians ride or walk into traffic whenever they see fit — even on extremely busy highways. With all that craziness happening, though, it seems that no one suffers from road rage.

The weather today didn’t get much better from yesterday. The clouds and fog are still present and the mountains in the distance are hardly recognizable. The sun hasn’t popped out for more than a few minutes despite yesterday’s forcast for the clouds to clear out by the afternoon. Tomorrow is expected to be more sunny so hopefully that will pan out

In the evening and after my final meeting a company decided to take me and Joe out to a traditional Chinese dinner. We arrived at the restaurant and went upstairs to be seated. After a formal introduction with the General Manager of one of the factories I was invited downstairs to choose our meal from any one of the living creatures in the water tanks. From regular shrimp and fish to eel and snake they had just about anything one could possibly think of eating from the water. I enjoy trying new things but I have to draw the line somewhere and I think snake was probably it. As for the meal that was chosen it was very good and I think my gracious hosts for taking me out on the town. I almost made it through the entire meal without needing a knife, fork, or any utensil other than chopsticks but when some members of the dinner party started cracking the crab claws with their teeth I decided a claw cracked would be in order.

After the meal we headed towards the ocean for a drink and some possible shopping. It was there at the coast that I saw a large white statue of a half naked woman holding something above her head. They tried explaining it’s symbolism to me but it was lost on me even after I researched the statue online when I returned to the hotel.

Overall, the day was full of events and those events left me exhausted.

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Anything Worthwhile Goes Through Conflict

Friday, October 22nd, 2004

Much of what I think about when I’m driving has to do with my past. I’m not sure why that is, but if I had to take a stab at it I’d have to say it’s due to the fact that when I’m driving there isn’t much else to think about. I can’t do homework or check email so that leaves me to think.

Thinking about people and events that mean the most to me… they all came about from some sort of conflict. Not necessarily a fight but perhaps a long journey or experience that didn’t come easy. If you don’t have to try, then there’s no excitement and no reward at the end. There’s nohing to look back upon that makes you realize what you have accomplished or have is worth anything.

The people I admire most are those who have either been through something difficult with me or at least been through something similar. We can relate and we know what we mean to each other — there’s no question because nothing could be worse than what was already had. With no emotional investment or struggle there would be no triumph and no real sense of being alive.

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Cool Air

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2004

Last night as I was driving home from Silver Q, I had the windows down and the outside temperature was a cool 73 degrees. I rarely drive with the windows down, but almost always on Tuesday nights after pool because I hate the way my clothes stink of cigarette smoke. It reminded me on a time when I was very young — probably only about 4 or 5 — and was in the backseat of my dad’s car. We were driving down the dirt road past Wycliffe and Palm Beach Pointe (unfortunately, they have a gate there now) well before there was ever an elementary and a middle school around. I was tired and falling asleep in the backseat but liked the feeling of having the cold air hit my face and be breathed into my lungs. It smelled fresh, clean, and new… very similar to the way it was last night. As I drove home the temperature of the air seemed to soothe my skin and I got to thinking how I didn’t want that feeling to end. So I kept driving and my mind wandered to all the late night driving I’ve done in the past, or how it feels to look up at the sky when there aren’t any lights around and imagine the stars as pin pricks in a blanket of felt positioned no more than one hundred feet above. It looks just as nice during the day, I guess, but there’s a mystery in the darkness in that there’s no images to make out of the clouds because the stars remain unchanged. There’s no give with some things, I realized, and then there are some things you can make out to be whatever you want. In the end my clothes and skin were just as unclean as when I started, but at least I was able to clear my head and pretend that I was the child in the back of my dad’s old car.

Posted in Driving, Life, Nostalgia | 1 Comment »

In My Travels

Monday, August 23rd, 2004

I’ve probably driven down highway 528 in Orlando about a dozen times in the past two years. At least four of those trips were to pick someone up from the airport and another three or four were to see Nick and Tammy. Some of the others were to random places, such as the Kennedy Space Center or Melbourne – where I got to this weekend to see Anne. I always try to figure out something new when I travel long distances by myself since there isn’t anyone to talk with. My mind wanders and if I’m not daydreaming of something new then there’s a good chance I’m evaluating some past experience and how I could’ve done it differently.

Each time I’m heading east on the 528 I see the sign for the Semoran Boulevard exit. The reason the road name sticks in my head stems back a ways (I would estimate a little over two years ago) to when I drove to Orlando and went to Disney with Jennifer. It was great to get away from everyone and everything else and spend time with someone I wanted to be close with. It seems like that was forever ago, but it’s always nice to be reminded of the good things. Although now I’ve grown away from that part of my life, I hope I don’t forget anything about it.

In a similar way, listening to one of my favorite bands takes me to November of 1998. Soon after turning 16, I saw the Barenaked Ladies at the Sunrise Musical Theatre with my then girlfriend Debbie. The fact that we even got there was surprising seeing as how until four or five hours before the show we didn’t even have tickets. The way the theatre is set up, there isn’t a bad seat in the place and we had tickets about half way up from the bottom section. Once they started playing everything becomes kind of a blur, but there isn’t a time when I hear “It’s All Been Done” or “Jane” that I don’t think of Debbie and the really fun time I had with her. I hope that she has a similarly fond memory of me, but yet considering how I treated her I’m not so sure. I may not remember much else about how it felt to be in a relationship with her, but I’m very glad I’ll always have the music.

I’m usually not surprised when music brings me back to a moment in time, and in fact I’ve come to expect it. On the other hand, it does catch me off guard when I feel a certain way because of where I am. I’m sure I probably couldn’t care less if I was ever back in the Sunrise Musical Theatre, and I know I couldn’t tell you any song I heard on the radio in the car with Jen. Neither is more important to me than the other, so as I begin to evaluate my past I find it a blessing to have some emotion attached to these memories at all.

Posted in Driving, Life, Music | 1 Comment »