ZOMG, I Refuse

A survey was conducted recently, according to CNBC and the Wall Street Journal, that indicated that the biggest fear of 52% of Americans is not a recession, a certain individual becoming president, world war III, or anything like that. This fear, instead, is one thing: China.

I'm confused.

Or perhaps America is confused. Actually, I think this is quite possibly the case. I won't put money on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if half of these people couldn't even locate the country on a map. *sigh* I suppose not everyone enjoys such a nerdy appreciation for geography as I do.

I don't mean to be all political, but knowing what I know about China (as limited as that is) actually makes me far less afraid of the country. Of course, I will be over there in Shanghai for the next 4 months, which I incessantly repeat whenever the topic arises. But am I worried? No. Am I afraid? Certainly not.

My fear, instead, lies in something completely different. You may scratch your head at first, but it is with good reason that I announce that my biggest fear right now is of the local law enforcement and/or judicial system.

You are probably confused. Let me demonstrate. Imagine my scenario. I'm fascinated by big cities. I've always wanted to live in a big city and see the fast-paced life, people so busy going from place to place that they have no time to notice you. People watching is terribly fun. I also love architecture - especially dense urban architecture. Shanghai is probably one of the top five fastest developing cities in the world. It is absolutely incredible. If you don't believe me, check out this video:





I also love learning foreign languages, and Chinese is by far my favorite that I've studied. It would take me far too much space here to explain why I like it so much, so you'll have to take my word for it. Basically, it's the shizzle.

I also like what I study. International business and finance is fascinating to me. It just so happens that in the realm of both of these areas of study, there is probably no place more happening than Shanghai.

My fear is that something is going to arise that will keep me from being able to go. I am doing everything in my power , while trusting that everything else will work out, in order to be able to go. I have my passport, visa, luggage, schedule, plane tickets, stuff, list of stuff that I don't have, and even money. I'm set.

Almost.

More specifically, my fear is that I am going to be cited for some seemingly minor traffic violation that, as petty as it may be, would require that I make a personal appearance in a courtroom at some point between August 29th and December 22nd, thus rendering me unable to go to China.

Is this fear irrational? I think so. But given my track record, I'm trying to play it as safe as possible. I have been pulled over for quite random reasons. Fortunately, I have not received a ticket for any of these times. I'm a safe driver and I think the police understand that I am quite willing to comply to their requests.

Some of the recent reasons I have been pulled over include:

A crooked license plate
Burned-out license plate bulbs
A burned out headlight

Just today I discovered that the rear license plate on my car is MIA (missing in action). I don't know exactly when I lost it, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it was Monday. If that is true, then I have been driving around in a car without a license plate on it for the past week.

I haven't gotten a ticket yet, but I'm pretty sure that there is no way I could talk my way out of this if I got pulled over. This is why I am so relieved that I happened to be up in Loveland this weekend, where I would have to go to get a new license plate. I also just happen to have the necessary documentation to get a license plate (according to the county clerk's website, at least). I also happen to have tomorrow off from work in order to attend a big energy and oil conference in downtown Denver. But alas, I will have to get new plates instead.

Phew! I think I may be able to narrowly avoid getting slapped with a traffic violation that may require a court appearance and foil my China trip.

Maybe I'm just paranoid. Maybe I'm just excited beyond words to be able to go. It's probably both. But I can assure you that I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that nothing keeps me from going. And when I do arrive, rest assured that many, many photos will be posted. So keep your eyes peeled!