Last update from Korea – completed my two years here and last day at work this Friday and flying out Saturday. Although work wasn’t as rewarding as I had hoped, it was an overall great experience as the Korean people were incredibly welcoming, both at work and in the community in general. It is amazing... Continue Reading →

A lot of transitions at the end of the year – and I am on a long flight – so a more narrative that usual. First, we decided not to renew my contract, so my time in Seoul ends in mid-January. My next job will require more travel, but I will be based at home... Continue Reading →

Spent last couple of weeks in Seoul – pretty much standard fare, except for my official annual medical exam at the Samsung Medical Center. Could write a book on it – but way more information that anyone would want. The examination is unlike anything you would get in the U.S., about 25 tests over a... Continue Reading →

Fall is by far the best season in Korea – mainly because the other 3 aren’t that great. Clear skies and crisp temperatures pretty much every day. Continued regular work schedule so was able to get on two hikes, one local and one at Seoraksan National Park (the Korean equivalent of Yosemite). Although the primary... Continue Reading →

Was a busy month with work deadlines and trips back for college weekends. But deadlines over and back to a regular schedule for awhile and trying to get some exercise in – my goal is 15,000 steps/day (yes – I have degraded to a step counter) now that I have more free time and the... Continue Reading →

The last closing month of getting a proposal out is always 24/7 – so only had 4 days off in August and finished up with some all nighters. All good, 3 days with Annelise on her move in and swinging back through DC to see Sharon and a day trip in Korea to Nami Island.... Continue Reading →

Had two great weeks at home then quick diversion to Florida before heading back to Seoul. I had bought tickets awhile back for a three day rock festival but the timing ended up being pretty tight as I arrived back the night before. I recognized only a few bands, but pretty much went to see... Continue Reading →

Just arrived back in the states and basically squeezing the traditional summer activities into a couple weeks, but with Fourth of July and summer swim team festivities it will be a good time. Our 14th and last season – lot of great memories and great families with which we shared them. Busan Still working Saturdays... Continue Reading →

Still on extended work schedule – so Saturday evenings and Sundays only free time so using meetup to find last minute things to do as most of my co-workers are on business trips. I already posted on my two exciting meetups of the Noryangin Fish Market and batshit crazy basketball guy. Noryangin Fish Market To... Continue Reading →

Clearly the best work detail Still on extended work schedule, but our Saturday was a volunteer event and I was able to get out Friday night to play basketball and Sunday to the horse races. Basketball I joined a team through a meetup group – first 8 to sign up show up to play a... Continue Reading →

Paul McCartney concert Very amazing that Sir Paul is able to carry on at 73 with this show – similar to the show we saw in DC with some interesting aspects of it being in Korea: • It was 95% Korean and a young crowd – and they knew the words to the songs. So... Continue Reading →

Been awhile since my last non-plagiarized updated in early February and I have had a change in work schedule – scheduled Saturday work and no work travel – so pretty fixed into a routine of an off day Sunday to go skiing or hiking so far in 2015. Been to 5 South Korean ski resorts... Continue Reading →

In a dinner a couple of weeks ago in Japan, I was explaining where Oklahoma was (generally, no one knows – so I say just above Texas) and one of the Japanese guys jumped in and said it was the “Mongolia of the U.S.”. Land-locked, harsh weather extremes, energy focused, and people like to ride... Continue Reading →

Sharon and Annelise came over for a quick week around some school holidays – ended up being a busy week as I was working and also had a quick trip to Tokyo, met up with an old friend, and finished the weekend in Beijing. Since I have 3 – 80 hour weeks ahead of me... Continue Reading →

Week 52 – For those gifted at calendar math that is one year. So life is starting to repeat itself and the year started off with a New Year mountain hike and the issuance of Spam – just like last year. Same agenda for the hike, wish for “Safety for our workers and good finances”,... Continue Reading →

Back in Korea and a “restart” to my original position. Arriving in early-December provided a chance to see how a majority non-Christian country (about 40% of Koreans are Christian) celebrated. Much less politically correct than the US- it is either Merry Christmas or Happy Merry Christmas. I was given a budget for “Christmas Presents” for... Continue Reading →

Can't have an update without an Annelise action shot. Great seeing her play some games while home. Except for a great week of vacation in the Kentlands, it has been awhile since I was actually doing anything other than working in either Mexico or Korea. Korean BBQ - had to share the experience with some... Continue Reading →

Pretty mundane week – so have an older translation story that happened a while back. We were at a corporate event which had an opening safety/health topic with a German MC. Imagine a heavy German accent – “Today – we want to talk about your heath and getting vaccinated against the herpes. Herpes is something... Continue Reading →

We had a celebration dinner this week, a couple people leaving to go assignments in Saudi and a young lady in our department announced her engagement this week. It was Korean BBQ, but pig neck was the specialty of this restaurant. A little fatty but crisp it up enough on the BBQ, drown in salt... Continue Reading →

This is my first update from the new page – I changed on the recommendation of a couple people that I should figure out a way to organize the update better and I can be a little more politically incorrect now (but my mom is on here so it won't be too bad) with a... Continue Reading →

Good week with Alexandra and Annelise visiting – I am proud that they were able to learn quickly the metro and get around town with little problem and visited the various tourist sites and they help around the apartment dealing with Korean maintenance workers fixing stuff. Additionally, we were able to do a couple of... Continue Reading →

Starting to make arrangements now that we have a plan in place. Now that that Sharon and Annelise won’t be moving over in the near term, decided on a permanent apartment in the same neighborhood and bought a better TV – it won’t be a bachelor pad, more of an offsite man cave. With the... Continue Reading →

Started off at home with a lot of events as spring rolled into the Kentlands – it was great catching up with friends and Annelise and I laid the groundwork to dominate a local contest. The time back in the Kentlands cemented our decision to buy a condo there to be our home base regardless of... Continue Reading →

Last week I posted pictures of a protest for lack of government action on the ferry sinking at a festival – situation very sad and ultimately the prime minister resigned and maybe the president next. Very different than the situation in America – no one talked about it at work (except Expats) and all social... Continue Reading →

As I said in my update, big week with Sharon and Annelise visiting. First rule of sales is be on time - I violated that rule as I was an hour late to pick Sharon and Annelise up at the airport (I allotted 2 hrs for 50 miles and it took 3 hours and 90... Continue Reading →

Last two weeks been pretty much work, eat, sleep (OK - eat was a couple of times a day). Got out twice -once to see a long-time friend and her family that I knew from my old company and once to the DMZ. There are 2 DMZ tours -we took the DMZ lite tour as the... Continue Reading →

Just arrived back in DC...Annelise helping me with the commentary on the food pictures...Most Korean food is pretty good, but the best pictures I really couldn't take as not to offend someone to take a picture of something they were eating I couldn't believe. I pretty much eat out every meal and there are more... Continue Reading →

Last weekend didn’t have much planned and it was a bit cold for the bike, so I just worked, caught up on administrative stuff, watched OSU give away the Iowa State game because of the coach, and hopped on the subway and headed around town. I posted a lot of pictures, some of which go... Continue Reading →

This is the first week that I have been here and settled in – nice to be in one spot for a week. Next two weeks are pretty low key too, so I’ll be able to get into a routine. The update this week is focused on translation and transportation. And I received a nice gift... Continue Reading →

A lot happened the first week, more than I could include in an update so I will pace myself. So this week focus is on a teambuilding hike for the management team to celebrate the new year (Chinese New Year is coming up next week) and wish for “Safety for our workers and good finances”.... Continue Reading →

As many of you know, I recently changed jobs and relocated to Seoul, South Korea. Sharon and Annelise may follow in the summer before the new school year. Someone suggested a blog, but that is above my skill set so instead of a blog, I am going to post an update about once a week.... Continue Reading →