Business Travel

Business-class seats

I stood with the economy-class passengers as we patiently waited for the booth attendant to announce which groups were allowed to board the plane. As always, I watched with envy as the first-class and business-class passengers pretentiously walk up to the front of the line. For a moment, silly me stood in line pondering how wonderful it would be if one day I could have that same privilege. Then with a quick glance at my ticket, I suddenly remember that I was traveling business today! What? I did not need to wait on line?!

I never thought a day like this would happen to me. I recently got a new job and my company was sending me abroad for training. So here I was sitting in the business-class section for the first time on the Cathay Pacific airline departing to Hong Kong. So this is one of the great perks that most corporate executives get. I must say, it is wonderful flying business class. I had complimentary access to the business lounge prior to boarding the flight. I did not have to purchase food or drinks, those comestibles were provided free of charge and I could take as many snacks as I wanted. And as I had briefly mentioned, I did not have to wait on line to board the plane. For the first time, I did not have to worry about getting on line earlier to ensure I get some space for my carry-on bag. And as soon as I sat down in my seat, a flight attendant came over to provide me refreshments and gave me a complimentary Agnes B. tote bag filled with cosmetic goodies. And in my seat area, there were two extra small flat surfaces for me to place my drink and tote without having to pull out the table. The seats were individually comparted providing private space, and with reclining and massaging buttons to amuse my comfort level. I can actually rest well by straightening out my seat into a bed! This was definitely better than asking for an exit seat!

Half hour into the flight, the flight attendant gave me a bottle of water and the menu for this journey. The menu for business class was extravagant.

This was my Brunch menu:
Starters: Mango energizer, fruit, fruit yogurt, assorted cereals.

Main course: (choose one of the 3 options)

* Scrambled egg ham roll, sauteed mushrooms, spinach and herb tomato

* Stir-fried noodles with Chinese chives, mushroom and assorted dim sum

* Seafood congee with steamed mushroom rice roll with imperial soy sauce

Bread basket and tea coffee

This was my Dinner menu:
                                                       Starters:

Pan-seared jumbo scallops

Pan-seared jumbo scallops with pesto and

Ratatouille Mesclun salad with grilled vegetables with olive oil and balsamic dressing

Main Course: (choose one of the 4 options)
* Stir-fried pawns w/ XO sauce with egg friend rice & mixed vegetables
* Pan-seared USDA Prime beef tenderloin with rosemary jus, potato gratin, stuffed eggplant & baby zucchini
* Grilled chicken with creamy polenta, asparagus & leeks
* Linguine pasta with truffle oil cream sauce, toasted pinenuts & baby zucchini.

Cheese & Dessert: (We actually get fresh cheese!)

Brie, Manchego, taleggio and Fresh seasonal fruit and Yogurt strawberry cake and Tea & Coffee

     

And of course, there are cocktails, aperitifs and snacks to choose from throughout the flight. It was fine dining at 35,000 feet altitude. Jumbo scallops on the plane? Really?! Boy, what do first-class passengers get?! Caviar? 

Breakfast served in my room.

Standard room at JW Marriot

    

In addition to flying business class, my company also provided me lodging for two weeks. I stayed at the JW Marriot Hotel at Admiralty Place and got upgraded to the executive level floors with full access to its executive lounge. I have to admit, it felt awesome every time I press the elevator button. Heads would turn and eyes glanced my way, all wondering who could that important woman be. So this is how it feels to be "special" or how wealthy people perhaps live. Never had I stayed in a luxury hotel for this many days. I think I can get use to this type of business travel. Needless to say, my first business trip was a terrific experience. 



Night view of Hong Kong



Aerial view of Hong Kong



Time Travel

The other day, I took a quick flight back to Hong Kong. I found myself wandering on one of the streets in Kowloon, near where I grew up. On this narrow street, all the buildings were either two or three stories tall. The weather was absolutely beautiful with clear blue sky and minimal clouds. On this street, I saw a woman, an older lady, and a two year old little girl climbing up a public stairway up to the roof top of a three storied amber-colored building. I decided to follow them from behind. The adults were chattering about immigration and family matters while simultaneously enjoying the amazing views of swaying river boats and Hong Kong skyscrapers across the water. The little girl with a pony tail clothed in her favorite deep blue velvet dress was left alone meandering around. Something soon was going to happen to the little one and I was going to prevent it. If I didn't, this little girl will forever be traumatized from this experience throughout her adult life. I knew because that little girl was me from the past.    

Now, wouldn't it be marvelous if we could travel back in time, or even into the future! I am currently reading an interesting book called Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku. Mr. Kaku is a renowned theoretical physicist. I rarely read such brainy scientific literature, but I couldn't help being intrigued about what Mr. Kaku had to say about teleportation and time machines. There are theories about black holes and wormholes, the latter being shortcuts between two places in the universe. Mr. Kaku further explained that if the universe rotates, and you were to go around the universe, you will come back before you left - hence, theoretical possibility of time travel. But the remarkable advances in science and technology over the years have now made teleportation actually possible?! Yes, you heard me right! According to Mr. Kaku, it's no longer science fiction but a science fact. Well, at the level of atoms that is. But simply the fact that it is possible, is incredible! Like Mr. Kaku said, "impossible" is often a relative term. Sometimes, I wonder if those extraterrestrial objects and aliens that some people claimed to have seen are our descendants on aircrafts from the future traveling back to our time to visit. I would like to believe it is feasible. We are constantly undergoing change. We used to look like monkeys. Maybe in the future we will look like creatures with thin bodies and colossal eyes. If we could believe that we can build planes to fly, I would like to believe that in the future we can build machines to take us back in time.

Time travel has always been an intriguing fantasy for me. If I can choose a point in time to travel, I would probably pick traveling back in time instead of the future. I want to leave room for some hope and anticipation in the future. Life would be uninteresting and pointless if I knew my destiny. I wouldn't need to use my brain or have any room for personal growth! But the past is a different story. I can revisit history, perhaps even going as far back as the dinosaur periods. I want to see how my ancestors lived and how they handle their daily activities that we now often take for granted. I want to help solve inexplicable myths and crime cases. I want to change some parts of my past and redo it all over again. For instance, preventing myself from touching some yellow viscid spit that day when I wore my favorite blue velvet dress! Yes, it was traumatic because I still remember it today! And heck, what we all probably desired most, I want to visit my younger parents and force them to purchase some stocks and real estate that had increased exponentially in value now! Haha. But I know situations and circumstances had to happen to lead us exactly where we are today. We can't change the past. But how cool it would be if I could check off "time travel" on my to-do list! That would definitely be an ultimate journey of a lifetime! 

Condolences to Japan

This morning in NY Times, I've learned about a huge quake and tsunami that pummeled the coast of Japan and killed more than 600 people in Sendai, Japan. We'll undoubtedly brace further losses. Sendai is the closest major city to the epicenter. The 8.9 magnitude earthquake is one of the most severe since the 9.1 magnitude quake that struck Sumatra in late 2004. Any news of tragedy is devastating. But news of Japan hold dear to my heart because I love the Japanese culture, food, and language. When I was in college, I did a summer abroad in Hokkaido and studied a full year in Kyoto. I also interned in Tokyo for several months. I really like Japan, and it's unfortunate that this archipelago is located above an area where several continental and oceanic plates meet that causes frequent earthquakes. I've never been to Sendai, but been to its neighboring town, Matsushima. I'm sure this tremor was quite strong and had terrified people. I had my fill of shock when I experienced a minor flutter when I was in Japan. The building that I was in swayed hard and I seriously thought it will collapse on top of me. I can't imagine how the force of this quake had imposed. I just want to send my deepest condolences to the people in Japan. おくやみもうしあげます.

A Journey of a Baby Fish

     My aunt came by today to drop off some additional fish for my tank. Amongst the school of fish, one was a baby who perhaps accidentally got netted out from its original home. Sitting in front of the tank staring into their new world, I couldn't let my eyes off on this particular creature. Unlike the other sprightly larger and older fish, the baby was so cute and teeny. If you are not paying attention, you would think it's a piece of a floating poop. Marveled at my unexpected addition, I decided to follow this cutie pie's tracks. I wondered where this baby was going and what it was thinking because it seemed lost and frightened, perhaps pondering where its siblings were. Worried because the baby isolated itself from others swimming cautiously throughout, I wondered whether this baby would even survive in its new home. How would this baby even fight for food during meal time?! But how marvelous, I thought, that even a fish has its own journeys and destiny. For instance, I presupposed this baby fish had been born into what I called a low-middle class because its home is of a moderate sized fish tank. If it were wealthy, the fish would probably be in the ocean filled with endless possibilities. However, this baby is now in my tank and will at least be loved, fed, and safe. This baby fish was also fated to travel abroad very early in its life. This morning the cutie left birth home Brooklyn and moved to new home Manhattan. Translated in the human world, it's like saying the fish had traveled from birth place Canada to residential NY. And now fated to be in its new world and separated from its identical siblings, this baby fish must venture on in its new journey. I guess the life of a fish is really not that different from us.

Separated from the school of fish on the other side of the diaphanous tank divider is my longtime gobbling goldfish. I think of this fish as an old, grumpy, and gluttonous bully who managed to outlive his peers for several years. He had the whole tank all to himself for at least three years until few months ago when we adopted some fish from my aunt. Ever since his neighbors moved in, I see him ramming his big fat lips against the divider, hoping to magically navigate to the other side. Fortunately as advertised, the divider works wonderfully separating my clueless fish from harming the smaller ones by a clear screen with tiny pores that allow unrestricted filtration. After a few minutes, and seeing that my tank could use more water, I went to the kitchen and came back with a bucket of water to fill up the tank. After filling up to a level of my satisfaction, I glanced one last time at my beautiful water world. Then I noticed a strange moving poop in my goldfish's domain. Wait, it's not a poop but that baby fish!! How did it get to the other side?! Does it not know it had traversed to a dangerous place?! Swim back from where you came from!! And then, to my horror, that big fat blob opened it's annoying large mouth and gulped the victim. I was beyond mortified. Standing speechless, I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. I felt dumbfounded and guilty for I could have perhaps prevented this outcome. Instantly, I should have pounded my fist against the window to scare off that bully and then quickly net out the baby. But I wasted on those seconds hailing the fish's dexterousness of slipping through the other side and searching for clues on how the fish swam through. And a part of me naively thought big goldie would not possibly eat the fish. Not my goldie. But was I wrong and now too late. The baby fish had journey its way from Brooklyn to be sacrificed as a snack and laid to rest in goldie's belly. I'm saddened but I guess it holds true in general to all aspects in life, sometimes a journey can be long and sometimes brief. The life of this baby fish abruptly came to a halt but at least it had traveled, explored, and me to write about it.