Travel Blog

Just yesterday, I read an article in the Economist about an experiment where by a silicon chip with 100 gold electrodes was connected to the nerves of the primary motor cortex of a paraplegic.  Through this chip connect to a computer, the person is able to open email, play Pong, and change the channel of his TV set just by thought. 

WOW. We are really moving that fast into the future.  I just want to be the first to say that I want for Christmas (1) memory stick slot installed in the back of my head for memory expansion and multi-language capabilities and (2) Gills installed in the back of my ears like Waterworld. 

Back to reality.  I have been on hiatus.  I have been living.  I recently went back to California to attend two amazing weddings back to back.  I saw old friends, babies, children, and met new friends.  Seeing two people come together and commit to building a life for eternity is a beautiful thing.  It’s inspiring, thought provoking, and pushes the procreative urge.

My friends Welly and Dina were married in Dana Point.  Being show persons, the after reception party at the lobby bar of the Monarch Resort Hotel consisted of In n’ out burgers and extremely talented performers playing the piano and singing show tunes.  Welly topped it off by sneaking in our rooms and singing a capella, which woke us up in mid sleep like a dream.  This I will never forget.

My friends Marvin and Margaret were marred in Pleasanton.  The ceremony was beautiful and filled with friends from a long time past.  There was also In n’ Out burgers and my brother Tony drunk and physically incapacitated, yet still mentally able to talk shit and have full conversations with you (you had to get in line and lay next to him on the floor).

I’ve returned to my life in Taiwan refreshed and with a new perspective.  Often I discount my life here in Taiwan because it is less exciting or fulfilling than a life otherwise imagined in a foreign land.  Seeing these couples have inspired a new perspective: focus.  When there is focus on a goal, all other things seem to fade into a low priority blur.  Take my friend Raul and Smitha for example: they have a wonderfully beautiful baby boy.  In the presence of this baby, nothing else mattered.  If this is the feeling I can achieve through just a short visit with a baby, I can’t imagine the intensity of focus with Raul and Smitha as the parents.  My conclusion is that this is definitely a part of the human experience no one should miss.  What a rush. 

I’m not naive to think that we are all made for this focus.  But for me, this has become a priority as of late.  Adrenaline Junkies beware of the new sport: having babies.  Probably more likely to kill you than skydiving.