Fifteen hours until my Air Canada flight leaves the PDX tarmac, bound for a blip in Vancouver, America's Hat, and then a brief thirteen-hour jaunt to the Paris of the East: Shanghai. I hadn't actually looked at the flying time for the long leg until I started writing the previous sentence. Thirteen hours will be the longest flight that I have ever endured, but I brought two books, five magazines, two iPods, a laptop, a brother and a sister. I won't be going to sleep tonight since I have to be at the airport at 4:00am, so I will likely sleep the entire flight and never even dip into my cadre of gadgetry. I guess I just brought it to get every penny from the airlines; how dare they impose a 50lb weight limit for my carry-on bag. I'll show them!
I'm trying to make this blog funny, or at least mildly amusing, but if you want to read about the experience of a professional comedic writer who recently ventured to China then you should check this blog post out: theflyingporkknuckle.blogspot.com
So the last week has been a blur. Packing and repacking my suitcase, then madly grabbing another suitcase and repacking everything into both of them. Rushing to Salem for an administrator to stamp a piece of paper so that Troy and Sierra could
take their two cats along with them. Hanging out with the people who I'll miss most and feeling like I'm heading off forever instead of just the rainy season. (I won't miss you at all, Portland rain!) Downloading movies and music and games so that my electronics will be satisfied while I snooze the flight away (see paragraph one). And drinking as much dark beer as I can with the expectations that I won't get a drop of good stuff once I'm "over". Now that the last day has arrived I feel a sense of calm and anticipation, but none of the nervousness or worry that I thought I would feel.
Anna will (hopefully) be meeting us at the Shanghai airport when we arrive at 5pm on Thursday, which will be 11pm Wednesday for you west-coasters. For the first few days we'll be staying with her and check out a couple of apartments in the area. She already located two pairs of next-door apartments that might work out for us. I get to be Kramer!
I will try to post again as soon as I can with some photos and video. Here is where the images will be posted:
http://picasaweb.google.com/darrendriven/Shanghai2011
