Blast from the Past: The Pan Am Bag

For the past few weeks, I have had to go through the strange exercise of editing my life history by going through decades worth of stuff and deciding what to keep and what to throw away. I've finally thrown away certificates, medals, plaques, exams, cases and notes throughout my schooling along with lots of bad-hair, can't-believe-I-would-ever-wear-that photos. All of these things, I haven't looked at in nearly a decade, in most cases, even more. Everything was just taking up storage space, collecting dust.

Throwing things out takes a little getting used to at first, but once I started doing it, I couldn't stop. It actually felt good to clear out the old to create space. But the best part of the whole exercise was finding things that I had forgotten about, like my birth certificate. I thought I had lost my birth certificate, but I ended up finding the original AND a certified copy (I obviously thought I lost the original before and applied for another copy). Where I found the original, was actually a find in itself. It was in an old Pan Am (remember when Pan Am ruled the skies?) bag with a JAL tag marked "UM" (for unaccompanied minor) still attached to it. The bag brought back some of my fondest memories of flying trans-Pacific flights from the U.S. to Hong Kong via Tokyo as a young, unaccompanied minor (I started flying long-haul unaccompanied around 8). I loved flying JAL, because the food was actually good; I had my first taste of buckwheat soba noodles on JAL. And I was always very well taken care of by the stewardesses and pilots. I remember passing through upper deck, which had beds back then, to visit the pilots and then being taken up to first class to sit next to one of the pilots just before landing (I have no idea why the pilot wasn't actually in the cockpit). But my fondest memories of my early JAL flights are of the transits in Narita airport. It's probably how I developed my fascination with airports. Narita wasn't really a beautiful place back then, and it still isn't. But it was full of wonder and adventure (Wim Wenders conveyed that feeling best in Notebooks on Cities and Clothes). I would roam around the transit lounge by myself not understanding a word. I'd watch Japanese cartoons and have fun trying to understand what was going on. It was like a puzzle where every, little detail held the promise of some greater meaning or at least of unlocking some form of comprehension.

Some of the other things I found were more interesting in reminding me how much change has taken place. I found old phones and boxes for phones I've lost or broken -- Motorola Tri-band, Palm Tungsten W, Handspring Treo (before they got bought by Palm) and HP iPaq. I found a Sony Mavica digital camera that used 3.5-inch floppy disks for storage. I found a couple of old portable CD players, an old Macbook 3500 and IBM Thinkpad (before they got bought by Lenovo). All of these gadgets are from within a decade. But hardware aside, the most marked change is that I was able to throw away boxes of old newspaper clippings. I found a New York Times column dating back to 2 December 1986 by Mortimer J. Adler: Schooling Is Not Education. I had actually forgotten that I used to clip and collect articles. These days, everything can now be found online with a simple google search and I do my clipping by tagging web pages on del.icio.us. For me, this change is still mind-blowing. I used to have to go to a library, rummage through card catalogues and microfiches to do research for papers, which in high school, I would type out on a clunky old computer on a very basic word processor. Today, I can do everything on my laptop from anywhere in the world as long as there's an internet connection. And to a lesser degree, I can even do it from a handheld mobile device, sitting on a beach or atop a snowy mountain.

Despite all this technological change, Adler's assertion that schooling is not education rings truer now. With the pace of change brought on by technology, education is a lifelong pursuit. And wisdom, amidst the noise of information overload, is even more elusive an attainment: "The road (to learning) is steep and rocky, but it is the high road, open to anyone who has skill in learning and the ultimate goal of all learning in view -- understanding the nature of things and man's place in the total scheme."

There's a certain irony that within the Pan-Am bag, my mother had placed a folder containing most of my report cards since Primary 1 that she thought worth keeping. Those report cards mean nothing to me now; it's the Pan-Am bag that bears testament to where I did and continue to do much of my real learning -- on my travels.

Facebook Flick

Continuing on my current Facebook train of thought, I had some creative fun with EO over drinks last night, which spun into a breakfast brainstorm session with BL & BDL for a movie idea. The fun, of course, is in spinning stories. But we all think it could be a potential hit assuming it becomes the first Facebook Flic. It's sort of a You've Got Mail tale of seduction (except in this case Facebook gets plugged instead of AOL. Although Facebook might not think it such great PR given its recent troubles over whether it's doing enough to protect underaged teens from online sexual predators) meets Jason Bourne espionage thriller with a bit of Lust, Caution/Eyes Wide Shut thrown in for spice (the creative team was a bit torn on whether the plot line should be a more commercially-viable PG-13 type movie, in which case the last element would have to be dropped).

The original idea started off with BDL's observation that Facebook is a bit like replicating our consciousness online. Using this as a starting point, the film would spin the tale of the perfect seduction set within the context of a high stakes espionage or big money conspiracy thriller, with a bit of Damages type of who's the cat and who's the mouse type of guessing game going on. BDL thinks I'm too mainstream Hollywood and should stick with a more arthouse psychoanalytic flick rather than trying to spin it into a potentially eye candy driven piece of shoot-em-up, car-chase-filled film. BL wants an indie flick with more emphasis on the Lust, Caution/Eyes Wide Shut element.

Just for kicks, I'm going to send this to JW at Jazfilms to get his professional input.

Another falling off the treadmill moment

This morning, it was the headline: "Microsoft deal values Facebook at $15 billion" on CNN that got me slowing down just so that I could fire up Safari on my iPhone to check the story. Fortunately, the news was not that Microsoft had bought Facebook for $15 billion, but that it only invested $240 million for a 1.6% stake. While the story now is just about monetizing Facebook's 49 million strong user base through online advertising, there's actually a lot more at stake. I was gunning for a Google buy, but at least now there's going to be an interesting game afoot in the "social computing" space. There's so much potential here, pitfalls as well (especially when it comes to privacy issues), but what's to come is definitely going to be one of those change-the-way-we-live-and-do-business moments. For one, it has the potential to make obsolete middlemen-type industries/businesses that survive because of market inefficiencies or lack of transparency. Just imagine the power of Google's online search and productivity capability X Facebook's online transparent web of global consumer consciousness X Wiki's knowledge aggregation, all tapped from the Safari browser of an Apple iPhone. Right now, the two missing links are seamless global wifi access and a global, paypal-type solution on a mobile platform to really change the world's economic landscape. A lot of playing fields will get leveled. Of course, this is probably what's keeping the Facebook management team up at night, since paypal's founder Peter Thiel's Founder's Fund is one of Facebook's seed investors. My head's spinning and it's not from the running; it could be from holding my breath waiting for the future to arrive though.

Lucky 20 pounds

Last Saturday, taking a coffee break from work, I happened upon a 20 pound note on the ground on my way to Caffe Nero. For me, it was yet another sign from the universe that London continues to be city where good things happen. I actually felt a little guilty picking up the note. And when the woman walking in front of me turned around, I actually extended the note towards her thinking that she might have been the one to have dropped it. But she didn't acknowledge it, so I tucked the 20 pound note in a separate compartment in my wallet to make sure I wouldn't spend it. I wanted to keep it for the next time I returned to London.

Since my return to Hong Kong, I've told a few people about my lucky find. Most just politely indulged me in my silliness. Afterall, it's just 20 pounds (US$40 or HK$312); what's the big deal? One person actually said, "If 20 pounds is your definition of good luck, then you don't have very high expectations." This got me thinking about what 20 pounds can fetch:
Starbucks -- 10 of my usual coffee drinks (that's nearly a week's supply!)
iTunes -- a season of one of my favourite TV show (around 16.5 hours of entertainment, depending on the show) or 40 songs
Blackstone Group -- 1 share of the private equity firm's stock at Friday's close of US$27.75

But then, just before yoga class, LP reminded me: "Why don't you donate it?". I don't really believe in donations like the flag day, Community Chest, telethon type. But I thought it was the perfect idea to make a investment in luck -- pass on good fortune that would spin more good fortune to more people. Sounds like chain mail, but hopefully a bit more useful. But the universe had sent me luck and instead of hoarding it, I should deploy it in a more intelligent way. So, with US$40, I can fund:
Microloan through Kiva -- A US$25 loan to one business. Currently, they are limiting loan size/business to US$25, so the balance of US$15 would be unallocated.
Mann Deshi Business School for Rural Women -- 16 women in India can attend a 10-day business fundamentals course to help them better manage their own businesses that are funded by microloans
Livestock for sustainable living through Heifer International -- 2 flocks of ducks to families in China, who will then pass on the first offspring from their flock to other families

In the end, I opted for Heifer, because it was listening to Bill Clinton talk about this organization's work ("the gift that keeps on giving") that led me to a bit of a lightbulb morning last month. So somewhere out there, two families will be receiving ducks soon. Too bad I can't specify that they be the cute Hyde Park ducks.

Beautiful London Day

Taking a break from working in my comfortable hotel room at Knightsbridge Hotel to post a few pics I took on the beautiful run I had in Hyde Park (one of these days, I'll go horseback riding through the park instead). When London is rainy or overcast, it's as though a dreary pall has set over the entire city. Some cities, like Paris, are perfectly fine, even slightly romantic, when it's rainy, but London is just gloomy. Yesterday was one of those glorious days in London though. The sun was out, the skies blue and the leaves were turning a golden shade. LS and EN made fun of my duck pictures, but I remarked that in Hong Kong, the only ducks I get to see are roasted. I passed by Serpentine Gallery, but wasn't tempted to go in because they are currently showing the same Matthew Barney exhibition that I saw at SF MoMA a little over a year ago. Speaking of exhibitions, I'm hoping I'll be able to squeeze some time to go check out the Turner Prize Retrospective at Tate Britain (until 6 January 2008), the First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army (until 6 April 2008) and Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan (until 21 October 2007), both at British Museum.




Had a great dinner at One-O-One last night. Instead of the usual starter, main, dessert dinner, I ended up ordering 4 small plates, two cold and two hot. All were excellent, but my favourite was the white sturgeon caviar served atop smoked Norwegian Arctic Char. LS loved the Tsarkaya oysters. A dark chocolate dessert, which was served with a salt caramel ice cream and bits of honeycomb, was just the perfect finish when combined with a huge single shot of Macallan. If it had been a Hong Kong serving, their single would be the equivalent of a quadruple; the waiters were very amused by my expression of shock.

London: 35 Under 35

Arrived in London yesterday morning to beautiful, sunny, cool weather. I love getting into Heathrow at 5:30am, no long immigration queues. I was already checking into the Courthouse Kempinski before 7am (love the location of the hotel -- Le Pain Quotidien with free wifi is just next door, Liberty and Starbucks is right across the street, Apple Shop is just around the corner on Regent Street as are the shops of Conduit Street). Of course, no rooms were available, so I dropped off my bags and headed across the street to the Starbucks, which was already open and has T-Mobile wifi (I had already bought a pass on the ride into town on Heathrow Express). I just wish cities would hurry up and set up citywide wifi. It is such a pain to have to sign-on and off different wifi networks at different locations, paying for multiple passes.

On this trip, I was the guest of World Business, organizers of a global 35 Under 35 list, and Shell, the event sponsor. World Business and a panel of international judges had chosen to highlight the accomplishments of 35 women, under the age of 35, from a pool of nominations. The resulting list, which includes myself, is very diverse, both in terms geography and fields. Over cocktails and dinner, I met a Russian banker who focuses on making small loans to SMEs, a Colombian promoter of "green" gold and platinum mining practices and products, an American social entrepreneur working with women in Darfur and Rwanda among many other fascinating women doing meaningful work, each trying to bring about positive change in some way.