Chris Kennedy Lawford - Actor, Author and Advocate

Last Thursday (3/22/07), M's organization put together a community forum on Hepatitis C sponsored by Roche. The featured speaker was Chris Kennedy Lawford, who is the son of actor, Peter Lawford, and nephew of J. F. Kennedy -quite a mix of celebrity blood on both sides.

After work, I strolled over to Bell Harbor where the Forum was being held. I noticed that a few people were circling him talking. I didn't expect much beyond a brief introduction. As I was just wondering when and how to go over and introduce myself, he asked me first, "Are you with Roche?" That served as a good ice-breaker. The next thing I knew was that we sat down at a table and chatted for a good while until the Forum officially started. I was telling him about China, he was telling me about his experience in Cuba. He also told me his ex-wife is half-Asian and half-Swedish. He is very charming and down-to-earth; one can definitely sense the star quality in him.

He was asked to speak about his struggle with addictions and his victory over alcohol and drugs; now he's been clean for almost 20 years. In fact, he just wrote a book "Symptoms of Withdrawl." The book is a memoir with a focus on recounting his journey from becoming an addict to overcoming addictions with determination and honesty.

He's been in a number of movies, one of which I've seen before, "Thirteen Days." Now that I've met him in person, I feel the need to watch that movie again. In fact, I only vaguely remember that the movie is about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but I have no memories of other details.

Surely, born into a well-known family, the privileges are numerous. He talked about growing up with family friends like Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra, and later, Arnold Schwarzenegger, among other personalities. On the other hand, it's also encouraging to see him taking on the role of an advocate and putting the power of his name to a good cause, that is, to educate people and help addicts to overcome addiction.

Chillingly "Thrill Me"

This past Wednesday we went to Arts West, a small theatre in our neighborhood, and saw a musical drama called "Thrill Me, the Leopold and Loeb Story." It's a chilling story based on a real event that was later referred to as "the crime of the century" in the US.

There were only two actors, one played Leopold and another Loeb. The story was told, or rather sang, from Leopold's point of view. The monologues and dialogues reflect the director's imagination and ingenuity, especcially the claim that Leopold intentionaly left his glasses at the crime scene. What exactly was the two young men's thought process behind the killing of a young boy of 14? No one can know for sure. The distrubing fact is that they killed a yougn boy, actually a distant cousin of Loeb, for no apparent reason.

Supposedly, they intended to commit a "perfect crime" to prove that they are "supermen," men of superior intelligence and wisdom. The theory goes that they took that idea from Nietzsche, who wrote about the so-called "Ubermensch," or "superman." These two young men, wealthy and well-fed, misinterpreted Nietzsche's thinking. They sought to prove their ability to live beyond the laws of right and wrong, and rise above the general society, as long as they can "outsmart" the world, thus ensuring their existence as super-being "transcending" above the realms of social norms and morality.

Their heinous crime was committed in 1924 right around when Hitler became fascinated with Nietzsche's thougts, and started dreaming about an empire of a "master race" ruling over other "inferior" races. I'm no expert in Nietzsche. What's clear is that we've learnt, or observed firsthandedly, how some people, especially power-hungry politicians, can use popular philosophers' words, but interprete them in a way that fulfills their own agenda.

Intertwined with the super-man idea was the sexual tension between these two young men. It seems that Loeb was the one who was more into the "super-man" idea and seeking for thrills through crimes; Loepold got dragged into the crimes only in exchange for sex and affections from Loeb. Would Loeb be able to committ the murder on his own, by himself?

On a personal level, this musical drama warns the audience how difficult it is to raise kids, protect them from societal and familial malady, and prepare them for the unknown future in a country where the media is so fond of feeding fear to the genearl public.

Spring into Diversity

Tomorrow our Diversity Team is putting together a diversity potluck event titled "Spring into Diversity."

As a member of the Diversity Team, I've gained some first-hand experience of how diversity is practiced and promoted at workplace. We have organized a couple of very interesting events. My favorite one so far is having a UW professor come and speak on the subject of immigration during lunch hour at work a few months ago. As an immigrant myself, I gained insight into how this "melting pot" really came about, and how the 'pot' functions and, how its components changed over different historical periods. Generations of immigrants have endured storms on the sea and in this melting pot. My appreciation grows each day I live here.

At work, there are many diversity events lined up this spring and summer. Today, I stumbled upon a preparation meeting meant for Asian Americans. The meeting organizer was very nice to have cooked huge pots of food enough to feed everybody around the meeting table. As we all know, free food can boost attendance.

At the table, there are Asian peoples of different descents: Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipinos, Malaysian and a few other hard-to-tell looks. I was sitting there thinking: what an interesting picture this is! Our ancestor or home countries may have had pleasant or unpleasant chapters in history; but today we are lumped together as Asians due to our looks and proximate geographic locations. And we want to share with other non-Asian groups our cultural heritages as one single group. Does this add to my sense of belonging? No. But don't we all like to group people into different categories, for better or for worse. For now, it's a good-sized manageable group with fair mount of visibility and voice in the decision process at work. And that what really matters.

We brainstormed. Most of the ideas are familiar items on a typical agenda of a Diversity Event: ethnic food, traditional costume and cultrually distinctive music. I overcame my urge to stay silent, and put in my two-cents: "Don't you think these traditional items would only reinforce the cultural stereotypes that other non-Asian people have developed over years? Maybe it's time to bring in something new and exciting to show the other side of Asians: fun-loving, creative and humorous.

My two cents met with pretty good response. Now the group has decided to do a video montage to showcase modern day Asian cultures, and demonstrate that Asian cultures have also taken on a global aura.

The cultural, racial, ethnic and religious diversity in the States is the pretty side of the reality. The ugly side is the division among diverse groups. Practising diversity without genuine integration can only lead to disasters, which have happend in many parts of the world.

But how do we really integrate?

Spring Forward (an hour and a year for me)!

"Spring one hour forward!" The reminders are - in the news, on the radio, on the web - everywhere. This year, the Day Light Saving Time came three weeks earlier than last year. But spring is like a half-way open door with winter's tail still in view: The howling rainy wind reminds us not to put away winter clothes yet. Courageously, many cherry trees have bloomed in spite of the incessant rain; pinkish flower petals are one of the few visible signs of the arrival of spring. Other flowers like daffodils and tulips are trying hard to add some primary colors to the misty grey canvas. The maple trees in our backyard are still bald and bare swaying in the wind. Be spring here or not, we are springing forward for the sake of preserving energy, as so proclaimed.

Lately, the whole world seems to be giving the topic of environment and energy efficiency extra attention. The documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" won its share of glory at this year's Oscar night; President Bush just went to Latin America to buddy up with Brazil and other big sugar cane producing countries in promoting ethanol production all in the name of being environmentally friendly and energy efficient. At home in Seattle, the debate on which option to choose for replacing the aging waterfront Viaduct also put these issues in spotlight. Now we have a new Day Light Saving Time to implement and experiment also in the spirit of saving energy. Let's just hope these are not just empty talk and extra fuel for political in-fight and ulterior motives (like confectioners trying to sell more candies to kids on Halloween if the Day Light Saving Time extends to include the day of Halloween).

Ah, I wish we could turn our biological clock so arbitrarily - spring forward or rewind backward. Unfortunately, our life is not a mechanical clock. I can only embrace the addition of another year to my age with grace and zeal.

I turned 34 (or 35, depending on how one counts). Surely, I prefer 34 and wouldn't like the idea of springing forward in age. I guess celebrating birthday has been ingrained in cultures across borders. To many, it's an occasion to get together and hang out with friends and families; and the birthday person gets to indulge in being the center of attention with candles lit up and balloons floating in the air. But I didn't grow up celebrating each and every birthday at all. So, I don't expect much. Worse than that, over time, I've developed an acute sense of uneasiness, or rather paranoia, over celebrating birthday. In fact, I just want to totally forget about it, which, sometimes, does the opposite. I still haven't quite figured out the psyche behind my paranoia. On the other hand, I know what a sweet feeling it is to get a "Happy Birthday" from friends and families on the phone, in the mail or via email. They remind me that I don't need to tuck myself away in a closet getting all weired about a day that's really just another day.

After M walked in my life, my birthdays have been quite colorful and fun - surprise weekend trips here and there. Last year, we spent a weekend in a cabin with Jacuzzi at the foot of Mt. Rainier. This year, he wants to celebrate my birthday on a different day due to his tight schedule at work. But I'm equally happy spending my birthday in utterly blissful solitude: soaking in hot bathtub, flipping magazines while sipping tea and listening to the radio. It's a special retreat for myself.

I soaked in hottub for a long time, letting my thoughts drifting to my past. When mom was my age, I was already 11 years old, and we were just in the midst of moving from Xinjiang to Hunan - a turning point in our lives together. And I know this year, it's going to be another turning point for mom and me...

I have reset our clocks. But there is not a "reset' button on my past and future.