Occasionally I think it is good to show what engineers do outside their "technical" life in order to show that we are indeed human and represent the population. On the lighter side, this week I experienced a lifetime experience that anyone would ooh and ahh over. I got to sit and hold a baby panda bear. Not just for one quick photo but time for hugging and kissing. May sound strange but I think anyone who is a kid at heart could not resist the opportunity to hold and hug a panda bear--especially a baby panda bear!

This past week while attending the Inter-Pacific Bar Association Conference, and after a side trip to Tibet, another experience for another time, we visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. We often read stories about China loaning panda bears to zoos around the world and we often question how they are raised and what may be going on "behind the scenes." Now having been behind the scenes, I can tell you that the breeding center, one of the major panda breeding centers in China, is absolutely one of the most important steps in saving the panda bear as well as providing an experience that makes you feel good all over.

As you step into the park outside of Chengdu, you are struck by the sheer beauty of your surroundings. Pandas live on nothing but bamboo, and as you can imagine, the forests surrounding you are bamboo. There is a crisp feeling to the air and the smell of fresh bamboo and the surrounding sound of song birds make you step back and recognize that there are important aspects to our lives. You can't help but ponder what we are trying to save and think about building a better quality of life. The social aspect in all we do as engineers is just as critical as the architectural design of the modern buildings. The park encompasses about 60 acres with its pathways through dense bamboo and surrounding lakes makes you forget that you are only minutes away from Chengdu city with a population of 12.5 million people that live in Chengdu city, more than New York.

The first stop along the way leaves you mesmerized at how gentle these large creatures are. While they munching down on bamboo leaves and shoots, their inviting smiles and big black eyes seem to connect with your very soul. The center's habitat consists of large natural enclosures mimicking their surroundings in the wild. There are no cages here and there are no fences. The only thing separating you from the panda is a moat system that appears to work very well. As the branches of bamboo are tossed into the grass, they amuse with their antics of rolling over and chasing one another before sitting down just as you and I would. With bellies facing outward, they begin the activity that consumes almost 85% of a panda's day the task of eating. Their playfulness would lead you to believe that they could be anything but bears. They frolic among the massive leaves and shoots, never giving the least bit if indication that they are being watched by scores of cameras-toting humans.

The next stop is to visit the teenaged pandas. They aren't quite sure what to do with their surroundings yet. Most of the time they sleep on top of wood logs with all four limbs dangling over the side. As with most animals, eating is secondary to chasing each other around. But the final stop--made possible by a donation to the breeding center--a donation I gladly gave--was the opportunity to hold a baby panda bear that was eight months old and weighed about 70 pounds. It was like holding my border collie on my lap and also like hugging a large, warm, affectionate stuffed animal that could munch a stick of bamboo.

Sometimes it is good to stop and smell the roses. Life is precious and we as engineers need to recognize that engineering is more than merely applying our technical skills. It is about the quality of life and what that means to not only humans, but to the animals that touch our hearts every day.