Christmas came early...thanks to Joy and Reed!

As of 12/22 at 13:18 eastern time, I became an uncle! Joy and Reed had Audrey Kate Parman in the early afternoon in Jacksonville, and that event constitutes the only regret I had in coming to Korea. I really wanted to be there to celebrate the birth and all, but at least I was able to see Reed and Audrey on Skype at a the hospital. Audrey was as healthy as could be, and I saw about a hundred pictures with her being held by every member of the family. Maybe I can photoshop my head onto one of the bodies so when Audrey asks me in twenty years where I was when she was born, I can show her some evidence. =)

As for life here in Korea, it's been fun recently. I finished up Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and I thought it was one of the most fun, witty, and engaging novels I've ever read. It's good stuff...read it if you get a chance. I also saw a couple of movies recently: Australia and Tropic Thunder. Neither of them were that impressive, both receiving about a 5 out of 10 from me. Went to the board game cafe again a few nights ago and played Battleship (I beat David), Risk (I lost to David in a gutsy move and a single die roll), and Star Wars Epic Duels (Sasha, David, and I each won a round). =)

Sunday I went to a Korean wedding. It was astounding. The wedding hall (hotel) hosted five weddings, all within a few hours of each other. The ceremony itself lasted all of fifteen or twenty minutes, most of which was a guy talking to the couple. Some of the strange things were the bubbles that surrounded the couple as they marched up the aisle together at the outset, the staged smoke that shrouded their feet, the jumbo screen that filled one wall of the hall, the 50 or more guests who talked throughout the entire ceremony with total disregard for the processions, the wedding cake that was carted out to be cut by the newlyweds and then carted back, and the groom being made to do push-ups in his tuxedo. We went out to T.G.I.Friday's for the wedding reception and I partook of some lovely ribs. =)

Not too much else is going on with me at the moment, except I'm getting excited about seeing Japan and all. Some big news did come up today at work, though. Apparently the troubled economy is resulting in a 30% reduction in our workforce. Most of those cuts will happen in Seoul, but our center will be losing a teacher and several Korean staff members, and they will make all the decisions by Friday. That could mean some big changes for me and the staff in the next few days...which of course I'll miss because I'll be in Japan. =(