FROM STEVEN: "THIS IS MY OFFICE"!

It’s strange how things come to pass in the world, in life. Where we find ourselves, not only spatially, but also in mood and perception. Today I sit atop the ruins of a 1500-year-old fortress looking out across a valley at the edge of the Gobi desert. The icy cold Siberian winds constantly push against me, it is late afternoon and the sun is gold. To my left the oldest section of the Great Wall climbs the ridgeline of a treacherous mountainside and snakes it’s way off into the distance, this is my office.
I watch as my Chinese lighting crew prepares a large expansive set 20 meters below known as “The Emperor’s Camp”, it’s massive black tents and Gorgon banners stretching across the basin. Occasionally my walkie talkie crackles and pops as the crew bark at each other in Mandarin and Cantonese, I know how to rig a set with cable in Chinese but I still can’t order myself a bowl of fried rice. The radio crackles again “Mr. Strong”? our interpreter's voice fights the wind, she thinks it cute to call me that… I agree. “Yes Paca” “Come down and look at this fire flicker effect please” She is the boss of me. I stand up and take in the view once more as the sun sets over the dunes, a mystical sight I’ve enjoyed everyday for a week, I descend the eroded stairs into the dark and ancient structure. This is my office.

~Steven Strong

THIS IS MY OFFICE!



STEVEN
Waiting in the airport for the flight from Shanghai, to Beijing.