HONG KONG, China - When Michael Jackson first announced he would be doing 10 shows in July – his “This Is It” concerts – in London starting on July 8, I thought the opportunity to see him live was too good to pass up.

In this photo provided by AEG/Concerts West, Jackson rehearses for the “This Is It” tour on May 6 in California.

OK, so he was 50 years old and maybe not at his prime - and suppose he cancels?

But I’d like to think I would have tried to see Elvis if he were giving what was billed as his “last concert” back in the 1970s. That wouldn’t have been possible for me, since I was three when the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll died.

So this was my chance to see the King of Pop.

I registered for the Michael Jackson presale in March, and when the sale window arrived a week later I tried to get four – then three – then two – then, OK, one, just one ticket – please!  I played a Michael Jackson CD hoping it could help my purchase sail through, given that my previous attempts had crashed because of the system overload.

As if trying to alleviate the frustration for many Michael Jackson fans, an email arrived from AEG with the subject line: “Michael Jackson Presale – Keep Trying!” And try I did until I got through with a single ticket for Sunday July 12, the third concert.

I was going!

My seat was Section BK 417, Row Q, Seat 850 at The O2.

I even bought a ticket to the “This is It! Michael Jackson: The Aftershow” party.

(Total cost, with service charges: 88 British pounds or US $145.)

By the next day, 40 shows had been added through next year, with special hospitality packages offered to include champagne and red carpet VIP check-in on arrival, DJ and entertainment, goody bag and souvenir tour laminate, parking and Thames Clipper tickets and pre-show and after-show parties.

In May, two months after purchasing the concert ticket and one week after buying my plane ticket from Hong Kong to London, I got a “Dear Customer” letter from Ticketmaster/AEG Live that the opening four shows, including July 12, were rescheduled. The first concert on July 8 would be bumped to July 13, while the others, including mine, were bumped to the end of his concert engagement – next March.

The reason given, along with apologies, was to “meet the challenges presented by such a large and technically complex concert.” The rescheduling coincided with rumors that week that Jackson was being treated for skin cancer.

Last Monday, I got another email from AEG Live, with the subject line, “Michael Jackson – Urgent Reminder,” that the July 12 concert has been rescheduled to March 3.

No email from AEG Live came on the day of his death three days later, however. That would not come until Saturday, with subject line, “Michael Jackson – The O2 – Cancellation Information (Please Do Not Reply).” It offered AEG’s condolences to Jackson’s family and friends and noted that full ticket refund information would be given soon.

My plane is still taking off this Friday. And I’m still going to be on it.

I haven’t gotten official information from AEG, but if it’s a choice between a refund or a commemorative ticket, I’ll take something tangible to remember Jackson by. I had wanted to see his last concert.

FULING, China – Today marks the third and last day of China's official national mourning.

The Red Cross booth in Chongqing.

When official mourning began two days ago, I'd just arrived at a waste water treatment plant in Fuling, a district of Chongqing, across the border from Sichuan province where so many people have been killed by last week's earthquake.I was part of a group of 12 Asian and U.S. journalists visiting the plant as part of a trip to western China to study its development boom.

Our hosts at the Chongqing Municipal Three Gorges Water Fuling Drainage Co. had wanted us to be there before 2:28 p.m. in order that we mark the one-week anniversary together with the rest of the nation.

Minutes before, we gathered in a line in the parking lot, facing the Yangtze River as it wound westward and more specifically facing in the direction of Sichuan and the devastated area of Wenchuan County, the quake's epicenter.

Some of us expected a three-minute silence. But it became clear that the truck and our bus, whose motors had begun running, had a purpose.

At 2.28 p.m., the men behind the wheels placed their palms on the horns and pressed for three minutes. As the horns wailed and pierced the air - a collective cry across the nation - we reflected on what must have happened at this moment a week earlier.

My own experience of the quake was an insignificant one: Wondering whether the wind was strong enough to cause the giant chandelier to swing back and forth above our heads in a museum lobby in Beijing.

A colleague said he believed it was an earthquake. And after we ended our museum visit, he confirmed that there had been one - 100 kilometers from Chengdu.

It would be several hours before initial reports of "no knowledge of casualties" gave way to the first report of deaths.

In Chongqing on that first night of official national mourning, we saw candles lining a bridge in memory of the earthquake victims. We drove by Chinese flags drooping at half-mast.

Near Liberation monument the Red Cross had set up a donation table. As young and old, parents and children came to donate money, volunteers would clap, yell "thank you," and bow their heads. My parents called from the United States: "This is our homeland. We want to give as much as we can."

Our family's donation went into one of those Red Cross boxes. In return, I got a yellow heart-shaped sticker that read: "The earthquake has no heart, people have love, we have compassion for Wenchuan, angel of love."

At Chongqing's Wal-Mart on Monday night, every bench in front of a single TV was occupied by people watching quake coverage on state-run TV. I don't know whether the benches were always there or whether they had been set up for this occasion. It was like walking into a community living room.

During this mourning period, doors have been closed to Internet cafes, where many young people find enjoyment in video games. Channels devoted to entertainment programs have gone to black, with apologies from the government.

In neighboring Yunnan, the Prague Cafe and the Naxi Orchestra in Lijiang, where we are now, have been shuttered through Wednesday in honor of the earthquake victims. It is a scene repeated in many, many parts of the country in a collective bow to the dead of the Wenchuan earthquake.