Thanksgiving Foliage

Sometimes, I really appreciate the fact that Korea has four distinct seasons.

I'm surprised the leaves have actually hung on as long as they have, as it's late November (Thanksgiving!! Too bad I can't find any turkey!) and the temperatures have gone down below freezing at nighttime.

I got back to Korea from LA last Saturday. It's been a rocky week, what with fatigue and jet lag and, of course, the fact that the weather had taken a drastic turn towards frigid in the couple weeks that I'd been gone. 

My sister landed in Korea two days before me and went to our hometown for the weekend before coming up to Ilsan on Sunday. It's been fun having her here, but it's tiring for both of us, as we're not in the best condition, and I've got work every day. 

For Thanksgiving, I think we're going to a buffet. No, not a turkey buffet. I've never been to the restaurant we're trying out, but we're going to be brave and see how it is. Hopefully, I'll post pictures. Work's been mercifully un-chaotic, so I've got a bit of time during normal business hours to do things like blog. 

I go back to LA in December, probably the first or second week, so I'm trying my best to be healthy and stay healthy before another long flight. You'd think that I'd have a million frequent flyer miles by now ... no such luck!

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American

Sometimes, an expat just needs a good ol' 'Merican burger.

I'm in LA until Thursday, which is great, because I'm at my parents' house til then, but is tough, because I have meetings all over the city til then.

This isn't part of any plan I've ever had in terms of my career. To be honest, it's not something that I ever saw myself doing. Maybe I like it and maybe I don't, but this whole marketing thing is making me reevaluate my reasons for being in Korea. It's been a year and a half now. I just got a call that my lease is up. I feel pulls from people in LA.

Making a big decision is never easy, but particularly unwise after a long business trip during which I was constantly with the CEO and one of the senior supervisors. Being with those guys for a solid nine days wasn't good for the decision-making portion of my brain.

Over the weekend (happy Veteran's Day!), I'm going to do a minimum of work and try to rest up. Ah, 11 hour plane rides ... Into the wintry wonderland that is Korea .... brrrr.

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Summer Days

This is the view from my hotel in Marina del Rey, where I've been since the 30th for AFM. I forgot how winter (um, "winter") can be in Southern California. Hot, chilly, breezy, warm- all over the course of one day.

Yesterday and today have been disturbingly bright and hot, a change from the overcast and nippy weather that first greeted us when we showed up at AFM.

I've been trying to find a way to snap a good picture of the beach, since AFM takes place right on the beach in Santa Monica, but I barely have time to respond to text messages, let alone run about snapping photos.

It's been a tiring and trying experience, though I feel that I've learned a lot about myself. For instance, I've found that I am able to fake my way through public speaking without anyone being aware that I'm a wreck on the inside, about to fall apart from nervousness. I've found that I enjoy public speaking after it's over. I've found that I'm good at mingling and playing nice, even when I don't like the people I'm schmoozing with.

I've also found that I need more than five hours of sleep each night to function well. When did I get so old??

So ready for a Disneyland excursion before going back to the wintry wonderland of Korea.....

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