Takeoff

Have you have ever read a book that spoke to you with a wit that was impossible to convey using the simple spoken word? Perhaps its subject matter was of little apparent consequence. Perhaps it simply made you laugh in a way that you haven't laughed in ages, or its characters reminded you of yourself--or of caricatures of yourself--and you found yourself longing to spend just a few minutes with them, to ask them the questions you wished you could pose as you turned the book's pages.

I have been fortunate in my life to have found myself in the right place at the right time on several occasions, and I have learned how to take advantage of the opportunities that life presents me. Humility is a trait that is of tremendous value to me and that I strive to exhibit. I do not like to talk much about myself, and so this endeavor feels unnatural to me. I will nonetheless attempt to provide a snapshot of what I believe makes me unusual: I've had a career as a semi-successful child actor, have traversed the globe, possess degrees from some of the most well-respected universities in America, have learned how to speak Chinese, have lived in Los Angeles, have lived in New York, have lived in China, am working on a Ph.D., have the most wonderful parents in history, have experienced grave heartache, have experienced immese joy, have been in love, have drank too much, have eaten too much, have woken up in Cambodia, have woken up in Africa, have woken up in a hospital, and have been thankful beyond articulation for every single moment.

Recently, by some serendipitous alignment of the cosmos, I was again afforded rare opportunity. I read a book last year that, while crude in some ways and potentially offensive in others, fascinated me, because it illustrated in simple language the insecurities and instincts that every single one of us feels. The book, called "The Game," is a blow-by-blow account of social dynamics at work in the community of "pickup artists." I personally do not engage in pickup, but I am fascinated by it and the principles behind it, because I see it as a movement that, by identifying certain aspects of our personalities that--as Mystery calls them--are "evolutionarily designed," helps people find themselves, know themselves, and overcome much of the largely self-imposted obstacles that keep them from self-fulfillment.

One of this book's main characters, a master pickup artist who calls himself Mystery, has become successful as an author and television host and has become widely accepted as a patriarch of this movement.

The movement itself, as well as the details of the book's plot, are unimportant in this context. Recently, I encountered Mystery in a lounge and had the opportunity to ask him questions, to pick his brain, and to do what so few people are able to--to get to know, if only for a moment, a central character of one of my favorite books.

Before we parted company, Mystery encouraged me to begin recording my thoughts, to channel my restlessness into words, to let people get to know me and learn from me the way so many have gotten to know him, the way so many have learned from him--as a character in my own story.

And so, this, I decided, would be the outlet. I will attempt to at once chronicle my life and my past (because I believe that I have been blessed with a life that has been uncommonly full of opportunity), while offering highlights from the present. This will be at once a retrospective and a traditional play-by-play of the present, and I hope that any of you who happen upon this will offer your comments, criticisms, responses, and thoughts.

Like any experiment, there is the possibility of failure, of loss of personal interest, and of rejection by others. There is also great anticipation.

Let's see what happens...