Blast from the Past and other thoughts on the way to Tokyo

Blast from the Past
I was browsing in an airport bookstore, waiting for my flight to Tokyo, when what did I see? Prominently displayed in the centre of a shelf just below eye level -- none other than Inside Chinese Business by Ming-Jer Chen. Apparently, it's still in print, he's still at Darden, and the book has made its way to paperback. Who ever would have thought? Standing on the shoulders of years of undergraduates... Cat -- will you guys invite him to your wedding? ;p

Hong Kong in the sunshine
I'm not usually one to wax poetic about the beauty of Hong Kong, but as I rode the bus from my home to the airport, the thought crossed my mind on more than one occasion. The view of buildings scraping the sky on the edge of a crowded harbour; the shipping containers, stacked and ready, coloured and uniform like a child's lego set; the giant crane-machines with their long legs and tiny suspended operators. Maybe it's the influence of my fourth graders, but I kept watching and waiting for the robotic giants to step up and march to battle against the backdrop of rolling hills. Ok... imagination still overactive.

Then, as we made our way across the bridge, I gazed out at beautiful views of Lantau Island -- at the seafoam green water, churning as boats sped past, and at the darker green shadows of clouds overhead flitting across. Water, beaches, and low green-covered mountains. Hong Kong in the sunshine, not so bad -- from the inside of an air-conditioned bus, anyways.

Airport daydreams
Does anyone else daydream in the airport as they walk to their boarding gate? When there are no more shops to browse and views become airplanes instead of restaurants? I know I do. I dream about stepping off the moving walkway early and making my way to a new, unexpected destination. I read the signs -- Hanoi, Vancouver, Kota Kinabalu, San Francisco -- and I feel a twinge of destination envy. I imagine stepping up to an alternate gate, handing over my ticket, and by some miraculous failure in airport security, being on my way to a new adventure. I get as far as imagining dropping in on friends or wandering unfamiliar streets before the voice of the walkway lady brings me back: "The walkway is ending. Please watch your step."