When I was young, I remember my mom telling me once that she really had only four big hopes for me. "You do these four things and I will be happy," she said. "One, practice piano. Two, go to a good college. Three, become a doctor. And four, marry a nice Taiwanese girl."

Thirty years later, and I'm two for four. I reminded her of this other day: "Remember that list you had for me back when? Well, I'm batting .500. In baseball, that makes me a superstar."

"Well,...