A raven—neither particularly happy nor unhappy, just busy mending its own ways—came across a mixed flock of birds. The raven was a bit confused and tried to understand: “Why do you all look so gloomy, so dissatisfied, so glum?” (The raven liked making his meaning clear by piling on similar words, even when one would have sufficed. He thought it made him sound intellectual, though most of his companions simply found it pretentious and annoying.)
The flock leader replied, “We just went online… and saw the newest edition of Demotivational Posters for Birds. We were feeling fine before, but now we feel… bad. Is this really how our lives are? Don’t answer—that was rhetorical. We already know it is.”
Kai has lived in Shanghai for 22 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well.
He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.
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