Seems I'm late to the party, as usual.

I'll give this a go and see where it leads.

How did you get where you are now (in life) from where you were?

Just to play fair, a quick summary of how I ended up in Shanghai.

I was a taxi driver in Minnesota (owner operator, lived and almost died a few times, best education I ever received) for close to 5 years before I came here almost 12 years ago.

I needed a lifestyle change. I read someones blog about China, and thought it might be an interesting place to visit.

Booked a flight, stayed in Suzhou for a month, moved to Shanghai, met some friends, and everything fell into place.