"Why're you goin' to the airport? Flyin' somewhere?"

And here I am with less than 12 hours until I'm in the air, beginning my journey to Shanghai. I've been sitting here for a bit, trying to think of what I had to say, but nothing's coming. You might think that after all the time I've spent thinking about this finally getting here, I'd have something to say, some deep observation or emotional polemic. And yet, I have been too overwhelmed.

For the last week, despite beginning to pack and saying my good-byes, I haven't really felt like I was actually leaving. After all the time I've waited, it just seemed so likely that this break would never end. That all changed around 10 PM tonight.

I'm very open about my television habits. I regularly watch several shows- some very good, others that really aren't. Few shows hold my dutiful attention and command my presence in front of the TV. For whatever reason, "The OC" was one of those shows. Every week, I sat down to watch "The OC", and every week, I talked about it with my friends afterwards. Tonight, I think the show's finale is what lead me to the realization that I really was leaving. I've always been a sucker for sentimentality and nostalgia, and "The OC" capitalized on that. When it was over, it had hard to believe that I had really spent one hour a week, twenty-four weeks a year, for 4 years, and then that was it. I can only speculate that it was that thought that got the ball rolling. I began thinking about so many of the others parts of my life that I've devoted time to- friends, hobbies, even places. Will they all one day just end, too? What happens when it's over?

I think the show did right by its fans by not ending in the present- not only did tonight's episode begin six months after the previous episode, but it ended (presumably) four years in the future. Sandy becomes a professor, Ryan becomes an architect, Seth and Summer get married. Even Julie Cooper goes back to school and finally has a happy ending. I suspect this touched a nerve, as well. After all, as I prepare for the next big step of my life, I'm finding myself wondering what will happen to me and my friends in four years? Will we still be together, going to each other's weddings? Will we be happy?

I now remember that, towards the end of the episode, there was a commercial for a new movie starring one of the actors from "The OC". It seems fitting. After something ends, we pick up and move on. That's it. As I was thinking about all of this, The Grapes of Wrath came to mind as an appropriate source for a good, deep quote. Or at least better than "Dumb & Dumber". (See above)

"'Ain't you thinkin' what's it gonna be like when we get there? Ain't you scared it won't be nice like we thought?'

'No,' she said quickly. 'No, I ain't. You can't do that. I can't do that. It's too much- livin' too many lives. Up ahead they's a thousan' lives we might live, but when it comes, it'll only be one. If I go ahead on all of 'em, it's too much. You got to live ahead 'cause you're so young, but- it's jus' the road goin' by for me. An' it's jus' how soon they gonna wanna eat some more pork bones.'" - Chapter 13, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, pp. 168-9

汽车彩铃： "Car Ringtones"

According to a recent podcast from one of my favorite websites, Chinesepod.com, a new fad in Shanghai is having "ringtones" for your car. In other words, just like your cell phone can now play songs whenever an event happens, such as a call, message, or alarm, your car can now play a song whenever a driver is turning or driving in reverse. While my experience with Chinese traffic says that these kinds of sounds are not altogether gratuitous- any warning a driver can get about another driver is a helpful one- this seems like it could quickly get out of hand. Traffic in large Chinese cities is very dense, and as a result is already loud and obnoxious, and these so called ringtones can only amplify that. Although I am kind of excited to see this for myself, I hope this fad goes the way of the pet rock. I, too, was briefly proud that my phone could play Wu-Tang when someone called, but before I got my $1.99 worth I had already reverted to vibrate. Ringtones simply get annoying. If Chinese drivers are as inconsiderate with their ringtones as they are with their driving, it may be a long, headache-filled semester.