Getting ready for Korea!

Our anticipation mounts like the static charge before a lightening strike. The words "SO MUCH TO DO" thunder through our minds daily like some gargantuan marquee lit for the masses. And our excitement generates expotentially by the day, as we approach "launch date", soaring over seas to land once again in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Oh, there are boxes to pack; pc's to ship; cars to store, addresses to change, banks to notify, suitcases to stuff, spices and deodorant to seek, stickers to hoard, and so, so much more to prepare and get ready for our expatriate life. It's not as if we need to salt beef and pork, mind you, and prepare to wrap ourselves in buffalo skin as we trek across ocean waters for months at a time, all the while dining upon moldy bread and attempting avoidance of scurvey. Nay, we'll land and arrive at our new domicile in, all told, a mere 30 hours (includes flights, layovers, and travel time via automobile). But it's still an invold process, for after all, one can't just toss his 12" Star Wars collectible action figures (note: NOT dolls) of "Palpatine" or "TIE fighter pilot" into a mere cardboard box, and hope to have them survive a year in storage in pristine condition, can one?

And yet, all this pressure, all the mad-dash running around for last-minute supplies, "almost forgot" address changes, and any other of those "as-yet-unforseen or considered" items that we'll need to secure for our travels, is all worth the unmitigated joy that we receive, knowing full well that this coming year will supply ample opportunities for a plethora of creative nonfiction blog-writing, mature and involved challenges, unplanned trials to one's sanity, and daily adventuring. Each day in Korea will find us experiencing some new sight, thought, or epiphany, be it down a new alley, inside yet another Korean BBQ restaurant, or within the fresh pine forrests of the myriad Korean mountains.

Does that lessen the year that we've spent here at home? Hardly. This past year at home, we found ourselves exchanging personal vows at sunset, as we were married in Tucson, Arizona; we discovered the bliss of "all inclusive" on the white-sand beaches of Playa del Carmen, Mexico; and we celebrated our union with family and friends in a historic mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota in December. This year found us experiencing immense pleasure in our weekly evening walks through the sublime sleepy streets of Mendota Heights; it found us burning through all our energy reserves as we attempted to play as much as we could with our nephews, Jonah and Ben; and it found us reconnecting with many loved, old friends throughout the year, which certainly includes the beloved bar, "Al's".

But this is, as they say, only the beginning. Another watershed moment in our lives. A time when we make a dream come true - again. Some would say we are just lucky; I agree with that to a point. After all, as a columnist wrote awhile back, "I feel like I won the cosmic lottery simply be being born in the United States." I certainly agree with that mantra - being born here in the US affords many a great things, and many wonderful opportunities, that billions of others go without elsewhere in this world. It has certainly provided us with as much education and job opportunities as we could desire and achieve. But there's another part to the equation as well, another factor to our "success" - research, willpower, and effort. We have put forth much energy into making this dream come true; we've tried our harded to make living and working in Korea a priority. The result? Round Two, imminently approaching. Success is nothing more than continuing on after the latest failure, unto the goal is achieved.

The Kimchi countdown has begun, folks! Prepare for the many existential, philosophical, and most assuredly comical exploits, posts, and thoughts from the "Morning Calm Cafe" to be posted here in the near future.

Until then, Indian Jones - I bid you "adieu".