I am becoming my parents

This was a scary realization. Koreans tend to keep their heat about 400 degrees inside, which had a the benefit of indirectly heating my apartment. This worked fine for a couple of months, after all, 50-60 degrees inside is warm enough, isn't it? I decided it was worth it to not have to turn on the heat in my apartment. Which led to the disconcerting realization that I had become my parents. Or at least to a degree, my hold-out ended in January...

I can't get away from Koreans

My weekend in San Francisco, and I went to an amazing Fusion restaurant called The House. Funny enough though, the group at the table next to us are two Korean kids, I can't get away! I was happy to get a bunch of shopping done for things in SF though, things that are my size.

$350 for a 2-star hotel

I mean what have NYC prices come to? I say this as I am sitting in Weehawken (that would be in NJ across from Manhattan) because the NYC hotel prices are so insane. At least we have a good view of the city though, and it is better than staying in the equivalent of a Motel 6 for several hundred dollars. (We blame the Europeans who are here shopping and poaching on the cheap US dollar).

The time in NYC has reminded me why I needed to move away, and why I love the city so much. A lot of great friends here, energy, and WAY too late nights. 4:30 am might not be that late by NYC standard, but with the combination of jet lag, I realized quickly the next morning that it was not the best calculation.

Back in the US -- English!

It is so great to be back in the US and hear English spoken. I do have a strange sense of culture shock though. I can see a white person and not do a double-take. Going to a restaurant is actually easy. I can negotiate with people...That and I recognize all of the stores.

It is great to catch up with friends, seeing a friend from college randomly on the street (he just happened to get out of class and was headed home at the same time I was walking back towards my hotel, what are the odds?!?) Chicago is definitely the Windy City, was not quite prepared for the cold, I decided I need to get a new jacket…

Exploding cell phone?!?

This news story came out yesterday, my first thought was that I was glad it wasn't a Samsung phone (no seriously I haven't drunk the Kool-aid that much)
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/11/south_korean_ma.html

The story actually gets more interesting though, a murder cover-up:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/30/1196037111096.html?s_rid=theage:top5

Vietnam for a long weekend (and a friend's 30th)

What a fiasco. After a week of running low on sleep, James coming in late on Monday, dinner with our client on Tuesday (and getting hammered by a cold on Tuesday morning), then packing on wednesday, it was not easy to drag myself to the airport yesterday afternoon. Getting to the airport and discovering that my ticket was for the following day didn't help. Not quite sure how that happened, but i worked it out with my travel agent (at not too much extra expense).

Strange thing in vietnam, no ATMs in the airport, so I had the taxi driver take me to an ATM (i know, i would NOT do this in other countries). But then out to a bunch of bars here, finally crashed out around 5 am. My body doesn't really knopw which way is up, but it is soooo happy to be in a warm climate! Also very cool to be with more of a certified local here, James can speak enough Vietnamese to get by, and he seems to know plenty of folks here.

Keeping track of your work family

So I was in the office last week and one of my co-workers greeted me with a set of rice cakes/candy. It was as a celebration of his baby’s 1st birthday. The little traditions in the office are quite interesting. Every time you come back from a business trip (or vacation, Koreans seem to think of a business trip a lot like a vacation apparently) you are supposed to bring treats. Since so much of your life revolves around work, it is an interesting viewpoint of bringing your “family” presents.