i had a few interesting experiences over the last few days that i wanted to post.i find that, for a variety of reasons, i don't have a ton of interactions with people outside my socio-economic class these days. i treasure my time spent on buses or public transportation or airplanes or anywhere where i'm forced to be close to strangers, because i find that these confined places force me to meet others and hear the stories from folks that i might otherwise not meet. i like my friends, and i like my family, but it's always refreshing and educational to understand how others live their lives, and what common bonds we share and what makes us so different. so this past friday i flew to SF for the day, and when i landed at SFO, i jumped in a cab. i noticed that the driver had a big "Free Myanmar" sticker on his dashboard, and he appeared to be from that part of the world, so I asked him if he was Burmese. He said he was, and that he was in constant contact with monks and other folks there who were suffering from the recent crackdown and told me a bit about what a messed up place the country had been for the last 20 years since the military took over. It wasn't too long of a conversation, but it was clear this guy had been through some very intense stuff and was still particpating from afar.Then, on my way back to SFO, i had another cab driver...and this guy had an accent i couldn't place. I asked him where he was from, and he replied "Afghanistan". He complained that he had been working since 1AM (it was 3PM), and that his wife gave him a hard time, and then i noticed that his right hand had scars all over it...which he told me came as a result of fighting the Soviets in the early 1980s. We talked a bit about that, and the Taliban, and Al-Qaeda, and then we were at SFO and we said goodbye.Lastly, on Satuday we took our daughter to a party at a classmates house. I figured it was just another party...until we found ourselves staring at the massive iron gates to a community of $25M+ houses in Beverly Hills. i didn't meet the parents, and i hear their daughter is quite down-to-earth, but i hadn't personally experienced a level of displayed wealth like that since....well, never? it wasn't really resentment or jealousy that i felt...more just like a feeling that i had suddenly landed on Mars. truly odd. anyway, time to pay attention to wife. hope y'all had a good weekend.