I’ve got a dear friend who sits down once or twice a year and writes herself a letter. For some it might be the ‘woulda, coulda, shoulda,’ but it’s also the thing that reminds one what they have done and conquered. Her letters sometimes take the form of contracts complete with a signature along the dotted line, and one of the things I love about her is that her signature is ironclad.
I’ve never been very good at putting things to paper like that. Something about committing to some big scary goal on paper hasn’t been for me. I’ll have an idea in my head, and do a pretty decent job of walking towards it every day. But sometimes the how and the why of it all gets lost.
Before I left for Oz, I decided to do a better job documenting. So far, not so much. Granted, I still don’t have internet at home. But in some respects this is the most important stuff to document. I just landed in Shanghai, and am reminded of how magical it is to see a city for the first time.
Shanghai’s like being in the Jetson’s. New, Shiny, Bright! But also in a literal haze – grey night sky, neon skyscrapers, raised new highways – it feels a bit like a movie set of “the future.” The number of new buildings going up in the immediate vicinity of my hotel is too many to count – it’s as if they’re money-filled trees, growing everywhere. Though one can only assume that my experience of airport – highway – swanky hotel is Shanghai with the kid gloves on. I hope I spend enough time in China to start getting a better picture. For now, a meeting filled week – wish me luck buying handbags and eating soup dumplings along the way.
52oz 