by Thomas Loarie
The weather here is excellent. Those who live here say this is the best time of the year to visit. Skies are clear, not smoggy as they will become in the next couple of months and the temp is 82 with relatively low humidity.
I flew over on China Air, which is a Star Alliance partner with United. My host is lifetime platinum member with China Air so he was able to arrange for me to get the best seat in economy, #33C, which is a bulkhead seat just behind First Class. The flight over was a breeze, albeit a long 12 hours.
My only complaint with China Air is that it only had two channels of music though there was room for fourteen. One of my joys in flying is listening to classical music while read all the journals and magazines I stack up in anticipation of being sealed from the world of distractions – internet, phones, et al. It is the one place where I am truly unavailable. An iPod is in my future if I make this trip often!
I also brought three books with me to read and review, Michael Lewis’ The Big Short, Tracy Kidder’s Strength in What Remains, and Aidan Nichols G.K. Chesterton, The Theologian. I have always been a big fan of both Lewis (Liars Poker) and Kidder (The Soul of New Machine). The latter book by Lewis opened my eyes to the joys and heartbreaks inherent in introducing disruptive technologies to the world and served as the door opener to the career I have pursued since the late 1979s.
We flew to China along the west coasts of the US and Canada, crossing the Aleutian Straits from Nome, Alaska to Russia, then down into Beijing. I peered out the window several times during the Aleutian Straits portion of the flight…and all I can say is that it was cold, white, and barren. I was glad to be at 36,000 ft in a somewhat warmer flying tube. Spring has not yet come to this part of the world.
I was given a copy of USA Today to read on the flight as I entered the plane, The front page of the Sports Section was a study in contrasts. The lead story centered on the irreplaceable voices of four MLB teams – Seattle’s Dave Niehaus, Detroit’s Ernie Harwell, Philadelphia’s Harry Kalas, and someone I remember well from my childhood days in Chicago, Ron Santo. Santo, who served for many years as the radio voice of the Cubs, passed away on Dec 2 due to complications from bladder cancer.
USA Today tabbed him the ”Cub’s spiritual leader – a man who embodied the frustration and optimism of fans of a team which has not won a world championship in 102 years.” Days before his funeral, hundreds of fans lined up in the bitter Chicago cold outside Holy Name Cathedral for a chance to pass by his casket. Santo was known and loved.
Below on the same page was a contrasting story about a former assistant coach at the Catholic University of San Diego and two former players who were among ten people charged with participating in a plot to influence the outcome of college basketball games. A year-long FBI investigation which started by focusing on a marijuana distribution operation uncovered the game-fixing scam. Those charged have been accused of using the proceeds from the drug sales to finance the gambling.
My flight companions in the three-across-seating included a young chemical engineering student, Art, in the window seat, who was returning to Australia from a spring holiday in San Francisco to see his girlfriend, and physics professor Yujan (Eugene) Zheng, PhD, in the middle seat, returning from University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) to Shandong University in Jinan. Dr. Zheng had previously spent five years at UCSB and now serves as a visiting professor there. Art found his way to Australia via Moscow (he grew up in Kazakhstan). where he already had received a degree. They made for interesting and great flight companions.
Art worked almost the entire way on math problems which were due upon his return to school in Australia. Professor Zheng offered and provided a tutorial for him on the problems. What a way for Art to travel… with a professor as his private tutor! Dr. Zheng was very generous with his time and it was great to see the intersection of two cultures at the crossroads of higher level mathematics.
Art still had another eleven hours of flying ahead of him after arrival in Beijing…UGH!! He was on his way to Sydney and the cheapest ticket was via Beijing. He was excited though to see what he could of Beijing and had an opportunity to do so with a 22 hour layover. Can you imagine twenty-three hours holed up in a plane? It reminded me of a very long trip I took years ago to the Holy Land with my two children via London.
I spent all day yesterday, my first day in Beijing, in our hotel apartment and worked with the team on business matters and on a talk I will give next Wednesday at the International Medical Technology Forum which I will chair. A sister company of my hosts, on whose board I sit, leases this apartment which is located in the St. Regis hotel/apartments complex, which itself is located in the diplomatic district and Embassy Row. It comes complete with a very large living room and kitchen. Bedrooms are spacious and comfortable as well.
We have access in the building to a state-of–the art gym, a gigantic swimming pool, multiple hot baths (each set at a different temperature), saunas, a masseuse (I plan to get a good back rub before I go), bowling alley, a putting green, and a driving range.
On my first night, we went to a Mexican restuarant. Yes, I said MEXICAN in Beijing! My host wanted me to have the best Caesar salad in the world…in Mexican restaurant, in Beijing. This place is filled with paradoxes.
We had the famous Beijing duck last night at a traditional Chinese restaurant.The food thus far has been excellent. Service has been great and the people are very friendly. We celebrated a very important product approval which was received yesterday from the Chinese FDA, the SFDA. The company has been waiting for this approval for the two years. My two hosts believe it is the Irish luck I brought with me that led to the notice. Anyway, this provides a launch pad for revenues for the company.
Today, Friday, we will visit the company’s office and do a little touring. Touring for me will be very easy as the company provides its Chairman, my friend, with a car and driver.