Happy New Year!

Well, today I spent the day behind the wheel. First went to the in-laws other place to get it ready for renting out but they forgot the key so I had to do a lightning-fast 45 minute trip back to the new place to get the key (that was fun). We moved in the furniture (it'll be a furnished pad) and I set up the TV stand and such. Then lunch (sushi!) and off to the Hyundai dealership for a test drive (sis-in-law is looking, now that she got the new job). The Santa Fe is not that big a deal, I think. Brakes were sucky and engine (even though a V6) was weak, especially on hills. We went across the street to the Honda dealership but couldn't try out a CR-V...will do so next week, though. Hyundai was pretty silly. They had a poster comparing the XG to the Accord and showed how the XG's 3.5 litre engine was larger than the Accord's 3.0 litre one...but then showed that Honda got 240 horsepower out of its powerplant and Hyundai only got about 180. Hmmmm...I prefer Honda. Plus, they are both the same price and I know the Honda will stand up better in resale value. (Actually, we already have an Accord...I wonder what the numbers would have been if we compared the CR-V with the Santa Fe.)

Here's your Korean lesson for the day: 새해 복 많이 받으세요/sae-hae bok ma-nee ba-deu-sae-yo (Happy New Year!). My friends in Korea had their midnight at 7AM my time, so this is a little belated, but it's about 7.5 hours away here, so I figure I'm alright.

Have a great day, more later.

Last Night

Ug. Last night went out with my bud from a few years back, Roger. Met him when we were both at Equinox Financial together (just before my stint in Korea). Pretty cool guy: he's got an Audi S4 and can hold his liqueur (something that I seem to have lost since my time in the Hermit Kingdom). Anyways, it was a night out at the pubs. We hit the Frog and Nightgown Pub first, then stopped by the St. James Pub (my idea, it sucked, though: no pool table), then the Golden Spike Pub. Ya, all pubs. After that we went to Shinjuku (Japanese restaurant where, as usual, all the staff are Korean) and I had some lovely Zarusoba. I basically crashed when I got back home, then woke up at 4AM, checked email, had a shower, went back to sleep til 7AM, got on the train and then had a meeting downtown. All in all a pretty busy 24 hours, I guess.

My sis-in-law got a new job at Grant Thornton. She's an accountant, and seems pretty stoked with the massive increase in her pay for what should be the same work. It also means she needs to buy a car as there is not good public transit to the office for her, but that gives her another thrill (oooh, I get to buy a car! she says).

Hmmm...not much tonight. I've been adding to my VT pages again. Soon will put some up for Vancouver as well...I may be here a while, it seems.

What to Do on New Year's in Seoul/Korea

Taking it easy on this post. Got an email to my VTmail from a poor soul who is not in Seoul (he's in Gwang-ju, a smaller city in Korea) it reads:

hi...i've been seeing your pages...very informative indeed...need a quick suggestion if possible...i'm a student down here in gwangju...planning to go to seoul on 31st evening for some new year fun...do u have ne places to suggest which have the best to offer? secondly, iz it worth going all the way? cuz gwangju wuz pretty boring last year.

thanks
guy

my reply:

Guy!

Hmmm...I'm actually in Vancouver this New Year's, but I know that there are tons of places with special nights planned (I'm assuming you like frolicking and drinking into the wee hours). Wei-gook-in Central (Itaewon) has the 3-Alley Pub and many other watering holes that will likely be full of English-speakers. The major hotels (Hyatt, Westin) probably have black or white-tie events if that's your style. Me? I'd go down to Hongdae around O-hoo and catch the action down there...or maybe Dae-hang-ro (aka dae-hak-lo). My favorite haunt (The Outsider) may have something special too (tell them I sent you!).

Basically, solar new year's isn't as big a thing in Korea as the West (they do a lunar thing, as you know). Even when they do 'celebrate' they usually do it in their own cliches or at home (the traditional thing is to eat long noodles on New Year's Day (longer the noodle, longer the life). This is also done on birthdays, but in Korea since everyone gets a year older together on New Year's Day they eat noodles at this time as well.

But, since Seoul has a ton more foreigners than Gwang-ju you're a heckuva lot more likely to find inspired and inebriated sorts who can speak your language in the Big Smog.

Hope you have a great New Year's and new year!

JB

Got a new book to read: Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them. Pretty interesting; got through 100 pages in a day or so...which is normal for me. Not the 100 pages, but finishing half the book. Now all I have to do is get the rest done. I don't know why, but I usually start them full-throttle but after a while (at least with books) I think I start to wonder if the author is filling pages or really giving me the goods (I hardly read any fiction, so things are pretty factual). Leafing through it again I am starting to think that I know the conclusions they're gunning for in it already. Oh well, I'm on the train today (going downtown for a bit) so maybe I can knock off the rest of it during the trip (I read about a page a minute...30 mintues on either end...actually 90 pages to go...I could do it).

Finished Another Book

Ah, finally got a library card for the local keeper of tomes. I feel so connected to this place...wonder if I could bear to leave if I got a good job offer...hmmm. On that, I finished another book that I bought about a month ago Running Money. I was a little disappointed, actually. It makes it sound like Kessler (Andy Kessler is the author, and had a great read with Wall Street Meat earlier this year) would give a great rendition of what a hedge fund does. Well, I'm in the biz so maybe I'm not the target reader, but a couple things irked me.

One is that the guy never shorted a stock, just didn't jive with his investment ideas. What? Hedge funds, almost by definition, short stocks of bad companies and go long/buy those of good ones. Buying a lot of pre-IPO (before an Initial Public Offering, or when it lists on a stock exchange) tech stocks in the last 1990s is NOT my idea of a hedge fund. It is, however, a P.E. (Private Equity) fund or a mutual fund. Not a hedge fund. To be true, he did set it up as an offering that only 'sophisticated' investors could get into (over 1 million USD net worth, high income, that sort of thing) but I was looking for more insight into risk management and such: all they did that was advanced was buy 'the box' (subscribe to Instinet and Island so they could buy stocks right from the market) and sell much of their holdings as things were starting to tank (rather than holding the losers) and before 9/11. Well, sorry, that's not my idea of giving something to a reader that he might not already know.

The waxing poetic about intellectual property was interesting...how the good ol' U.S. of A. uses its brains to make money to by BMWs so Germans can buy copies of Microsoft Office and give Gates 90% margins...that was interestins. As was applying it to trade deficits, but I believe if you're after a story of a 'modern' hedge fund this is not really the place to look.

new photo thingy

As you can see it came out looking be-a-u-ti-ful! (Except for the gash I put in it to check if it was done.)

Trying out another photo-uploader flickr...it's ok, but seems a little cumbersome, and I have to edit the code to make it look like the old stuff. How does this look?

or is this style better with the pic on the side...hmmmmmm. is ti big enough??

Wait a Little Bit Longer...

I know everyone is waiting for my Christmas photos, but Hello (my uploading tool) is not working well (i.e., it crashes). So it's text for now.

My wife just came into the room to check her lotto numbers. No dice. She keeps playing these things but never won more than $10 I think...have no idea why she needs to buy them tickets every once in a while. The odds are 13.9 million to one that you win and a ticket costs $2 now; so, the pot has to be above $28 million just to give you fair odds. Add in the event of multiple winners (to split the prize) and it makes even less sense.

Lotto was really big in Korea until they wanted to cut the ticket price by half. Of course the prize would be smaller but your odds were not any different, were they? You still buy the same number of chances for the same dollar (or won, in this case) right? What's the difference between 1 chance at $1,000,000 for $1 and 2 chances at $500,000 for $1? You're twice as likely to win the smaller prize, that should be about it (the number combinations stay constant). With more numbers chosen there may be more prize-splitter, though. Hmmm....maybe there is a method to this madness. The lotto corporastion not only has lower prizes (psychologically lessening the impetus to buy tickets) but also may distribute the prizes to more people (with the splitting of grand prizes). Hmmmmmmm.

There are other ways to get rich in Korea, though...such as by eating chicken. Or the new once-a-minute lotto. (Palli means quickly/fast). But don't go overboard on it (they should have proofed this better, the correct term is 'hanged'). Oh, here's a good idea, let's make a Teen Lotto too so they can get addicted to gambling nice and early! Either way, getting rich quick is a big thing in Korea.

So my last batch of stew had something to be desired. Kate said I should hav used less meat in it and added more water (forgot to add some before cooking, oops). She, in Korean fashion, told me this 2 or 3 times. Ok, whatever, I will...next time. This time is done; I will surely do that next time. Then later in the day her Mom and I were watching T.V. together. She mentioned the same thing. I was growing tired of all this and just said 여/ye/yay (yes) to placate her. She, as you might imagine, said it twice (good practice for her English!) and I just said the same thing. You know, in my mind I was getting frustrated so my short answer was (at least for Westerners) a kind of an "ok, I got it; let's get on with life" thing...but later Kate said her Mom was beaming and overjoyed that I didn't 'talkback' and just agreed with her! Ok, so I do something that could be rude to Westerners (monotone, unchanging, one-word answers) and the Koreans love it? I think I'm getting the picture here. Go figure. Here's your tip of the day: when faced with a comment from an older person just agree to it (of course Koreans reading this will think "Of course!").

North Korea will Attack South Korea

I have a few Christmas pics coming soon, but first this news item. "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il has stated that NK will not attack the South. This leaves me thanking my lucky stars that I am not there now because, if history is any guide to NK reverse-psychology psychology, they will be across the DMZ within 72 hours (making the best of the Christmas break that will make getting command and control in The Pentagon together a little delayed). Of course if this doesn't happen then we can label the NKers as reverse-reverse-psychology psychology-mongers and all will be well until they flip again.

How to Cook a Turkey (James-style)

I got this recipe from my Dad who got it from his mom and I added a little bit to it. If you've never tried to cook a turkey this may be a good primer.

This morning I made the dressing (should have done it last night, but got side-tracked). Just get a big bowl (I use a stainless steel one) and fill it with bread that is cut or ripped to about 1 inch (2cm) squares. You can use white, brown, pumpernickel or whatever you like (don't bother spending too much on it, though, as it's actually not a big deal once it's all cooked). Then throw in half an onion or so (finely diced) and a stalk of celery or so (also finely diced, even the leaves and especially the inner stalks). I also finely diced some mushroom and threw it in there. Now for the good part. With one hand mix up the contents while sprinkling copious amounts of China Lily soy sauce on it (if you can't get that brand then any one that is thick/dark will do...not the light stuff for this one). Once the bread looks like a patchwork cow continue to mix and add poultry seasoning to it as well. Like I say, it's a good idea to let it sit in the fridge overnight, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.

UPDATE: Well, my sis-in-law has a great idea to put Craisins, rosemary and thyme in the dressing...so I'll give it a try. She bought like 2 boxes of rosemary (about 40 little branches of the stuff); I have no idea how much to use nor how much she figured we'd need, so went a easy on it.

Now for the bird. If you buy a frozen one you'll need to put it in the fridge a day or so before the big day...not on the counter or in warm water, you'll just have to plan this out. As it happens, my mother-in-law had ours in the kimchi fridge so it ended up a little frozen, but not too bad. If it's rock-solid on the day of you may need to get medieval on it and try running hot water over it for a while, but I think this in not advisable (not sure why, though). The in-laws bought a Butterball brand one, which I don't really see the need for. Basting a turkey I guess is a matter of taste, but I find that if you have it in a roaster there is no need to baste the thing.

Once you have it out of any wrapping it may be in (DO NOT just put it in the oven with plastic on it or without doing these steps, as some have!) put it in the sink and wash with water.


This is how it starts...in my case a half frozen bird in the sink (note how the legs are strapped into the rest of it).

Now you need to orient yourself. There are 2 ends to this thing:


Here you can see (what remains of) the neck; hence, I call this the 'head-end'. The other is the 'back-end'.

You'll see a flap of skin over the head-end and if you lift it you'll see some paper (part of a little bag). Take the bag out and rinse the cavity.


Here is the little bag from the head-end.

The back-end is a little trickier. The legs will probably be tucked into a flap of skin. Do not rip or cut this skin! Just finesse the legs out of it...you'll need to put them back in that flap before you put it in the oven. If the legs are tied with meat string then cut it and retie with some more later if you can't insert in the flaps for some reason (you don't want these things extending on you during cooking! (Picture it doing the splits in there and some of the meat being overdone as a result.)


Now you can see one leg out--don't force it or cut the flap.

Then take the neck out. Some people fry it up or boil it or whatever to eat it. Most, I imagine, turf it. I also take this opportunity to cut out the...ahem...butt of the turkey. it's just under the flap and no one eats the thing (except my uncle, may he rest in peace) so it's probably best to remove it before someone gets left with it at the end of the meal.


Here is a shot of where the neck came from (the back-end)...too gorey?

Some people also throw out the organs (liver, heart and lungs; aka giblets) that are in the little bag; some fry them up for breakfast the next day. I put them in the stuffing (also called dressing by some, especially my family; they mean the same thing) for flavour. The lungs are pretty tough to cut, and the liver is surprisingly big.


As you can see, we've replaced the normal turkey stuffing with this organ-laced version from Folger's...let's see how they like it...

Fill the head-end first (cuz if you do it second you'll likely have stuffing falling out of the back-end). Once it's full (maybe to near-bursting), use a meat skewer to sew it up (you actually use it like a needle without thread). They are usually 10-20cm long (don't get ones that are too long, like them 30-40cm kebob skewers) and METAL (hint: in a 325-350 oven for 4-8 hours wooden ones may burn or at least smoke).


This shot shows a properly stuffed head end and the skewer holding it all together.

Now, when you put it in the roaster things seem pretty simple. But, think ahead a few hours...how the heck do you get the thing out of there when it's done?!?! Well, there are a few devices you can use:


Option #1: the chain lifter.


Option #2: The 'solid' lifter (not a chain at least). Option #3 is an unpictured meat twine lifter (the lifter of last resort).

I like the 'solid' one as it gives you more control when you take it out. If you don't have one you can (i) use 2 massive spoons to shovel it out or (ii) cook it in a flatter dish and cover with tin-foil instead of in a roaster (but I think a roaster is best).

Now preheat the over to 325 (F) and have it in there for about 30 minutes per POUND (not kg) of weight (site with cooking times here). You may know it's done by the smell, but a meat thermometer will tell you also (I've never used one). Peel potatoes for boiling and mashing when there is about an hour or so left (hint: the lag from when the bird goes in to when you need to do more work may be enough time to watch a football game or two (or a movie...or update your blog).

Island of Fantasy Review

Finally finished Shawn's book this morning. I bought it a week or so before I left Korea and got through about half and then traveling and kids took my attention from it; also, I felt a little gyped (ripped off) because I had read about 75% (or more) of it fro free on the Internet a while back and fumed that I paid USD10 for the same stuff (albeit without as many errors in it). Well, upon finishing it I think it seems more like my story than I'd like to admit. Do all foreigners go through the same thing? Very insightful. If you've never been to Korea, are looking to work here or have a friend who is/has it might be a good read and help you see how things...um...work here (work is a bit of a misnomer, though as things (i) don't really fit and (ii) most work here is not really work in the sense that we have 'back home').

Now I got to thinking that perhaps I should do a little bitty on my times in Korea. Wanted to write one about my stockbrokering days at RBC Dominion Securities or my times with a group of Korean flogging financial products in Vancouver, but those days seem so long ago I don't think I could come up with many interesting situations...but I could add them as backdrop to a Korean story...hmmmmmm. Of course, it would be a labor of love and I'd have to fiction some things to protect the stupid (me) but it could be good.

I'll have to think about this more. Writing a book might take a couple months or so and I'd want to do it all in one go and then come back to it later to edit...thinking...

A Day on the 나루

A couple of days ago I was feeling a little cooped up (got a cold, too, which didn't help) so decided to get the kids (and us) out of the house and to Rocky Point Park in Port Moody (about 10 mins drive from home). First, though we had to get them dressed.


Here Spencer tries to 'guide' Winston back to his seat on the stairs...


...boy, that worked well.

The weather was great, as it has been the last few days. I think that all the rain we get here makes you really appreciate it when the clouds break (although if there are too many grey days you can really wonder when the heck it'll stop).


Spencer looks at the dock.


Ah, some blue sky.

Instead of taking them to a kids' park full of sand to be tracked into the car/house we went to this pier/dock (which I correctly translated to 나루/naru in Korean; as in 여의나루/Yeouinaru...naru means dock or port or pier, actually, not ferry).


Winston and Mom running on the dock.


Kate and the boys on the 나루.


Winston takes a liking to chasing the birds.


A close-up of Winston, some railing and sky.

I figured everyone wanted to see a pic of my sis-in-law who recently turned 30 (a magic age for Koreans), so here it is.


A quick pic of Jessie-Imo (auntie) and the boys.

Back in Downtown Vancouver

It's been a long time, but I'm finally back in Downtown Van. to meet a couple of buds for coffee and lunch. Not posted much in the last while as been busy with the kids and stuff, but wanted to tell you that it has, indeed, stopped raining here for the last couple of days. Today is a real beaut...reminds me of being in Yeouido in the Fall (that's the best time of the year to be in Seoul, in case you didn't know). Ya, like Yeouido except everything is in English (well, almost, lots of Hanguel, Chinese and Vietnamese signs), there is NO smog and no traffic to speak of (almost Christmas so not near as many commuters on the roads).

So, how can I post this? I have no idea where PC-bangs (as they're called in Korea, internet cafes here....God how I hate the name 'internet cafe'...sounds like I'm some espresso-drinking beatnik) are in Vancouver. In Myoung-dong I could ask any teenager where one is (one of the Korean phrases I mastered) but here I had to go to the Four Seasons Hotel and ask the concierge. Now in London Drugs, and it should be CAD5.99 an hour (a far cry from the 1,000 won/CAD1.10 I pay in Korea!) but no idea how you pay and the thing is already on so I guess it's a freebie. They also have PCs at Kinko's, but they are like $18 an hour(!!!). Unreal. Note to self: start PC-bang business in downtown and make a million$.

Man, it is so nice down here...clean, less traffic..but I miss the hustle-and-bustle of Seoul and my celebrity status (although wearing a suit in Vancouver sometimes makes you really stick out here...it's a little on the casual side). Hmmmm....what if we lived downtown and I worked down here and I/the family could take a trip or two a year to Seoul for shopping/visiting. Sounds pretty good. I'm still looking for positions in London, New York and Europe but who knows?

Next time I'll bring my camera and take some pics for the blog. As it stands I have a few to upload from yesterday at Port Moody (near our place) with the kids. I should also make some VT tips for Vancouver...I don't think I could break 200 tips in a year as I did with Seoul, but I do know this city pretty well.

Ok, got to go to this meeting...more later. If you don't read more before Christmas let me say 'best of the season' to you before it's over for another year.

Ohoo Goes Christmas.

Yet another one of Ohoo's shin-digs. I've been to a few of these, but none quite like this. (For those who want to know, o-hoo is Korean for after noon, or PM, but most people end up going there after midnight.)


Sexy Santa Christmas Party! Oh man!


And a Christmas Beach Party! What a way to spend Christmas Eve, eh?

(Click on images and zoom to get a look at the text.)

More on Seoul and Yeouido in Virtual Tourist

For those of you who think I've forgotten about Seoul/Yeouido, I've actually been thinking about it a fair bit this last while. I've been adding to my Virtual Tourist page again (especially my Seoul area) and have over 200 tips/reviews so far. They run the gambit from how to pay for things, what to eat, where to drink and how to find a bathroom. I started this last fall (2003) and am now the editor of the Seoul pages for the site (#1 in Seoul) and am now #274 in the whole site (of over 2.2 million members). So, if this blog isn't enough (and/or you're thinking of going to Korea to live, study or work) please take a look at the pages...if you rate them highly I'll even move up in the league tables!

Thanks for the Memories

I got to give a shout out to Peter who is likely winging his way home to South Africa right now for a little R&R with his loved ones. I grabbed these images off his blog...ah, those were the days when I'd be at one of these places every second night (or thereabouts).


Jo in The Outsider chatting up the help.


Jo in cf making headway with Min-Hee.

Ok, that's enough for now.

Christmas in Errington (Part II)

My sister and her girls (Savvy/Savannah and Scarlett) just came from Nanaimo. Good, now we have excellent babysitters for the boys!


Winston and cousins Savvy and Scarlett on the couch.


Scarlett and Spencer get a ride from Savvy.


A (silence is) golden moment...all 4 kids quietly doing stuff together (nice poses, girls!).


Spencer with doll in stroller (doll is taller than he is!).

Aunt Gayle came over as well (just in time for dinner, she brought the corn pudding, too).


Aunt Gayle, Kate and Winston.


Winston checks out the turkey.


All 4 kids sitting still near the tree...ya, right.

Then came the opening of the presents...ya, this, I think, is Spencer's 5th present-opening ceremony. Spoiled kid! (I truncated the pics, there were sooo many.)


Aunt Gayle gets her Bombay Sapphire Gin (for some reason she has a knife too).


Savvy is quite impressed with her new towels.


Savvy alerts Spencer to the camera as he opens his Play-Doh set.


Dad gets a Ben Hogan golf towel and does his impression of Wilson off Home Improvement.

Spencer lost all interest in presents as soon as the Play-Doh was opened. Hahaha, now us adults can rest again!


Spencer, Savvy and Scarlett playing Play-Doh.


Sue gives Winston a ride.

The ride home the next day was also flawless. 20 minutes early for the ferry, a perfect 1 hour 35 minute ride and even got home in 43 minutes! No traffic! Try that in Seoul; impossible!


Almost home...Spencer checks out the (overcast and rainy) scenery.

Well, that's it. In a few days it's the REAL Christmas...and then I have no idea how Spencer will cope. Next year should be even crazier as Spencer will tune up Winston on the presents thing and they will likely be bouncing off each other at the mere mention of Santa. Yay!

Christmas in Errington (Part I)

We got to the ferry with lots of time to spare. Exactly 45 minutes from Coquitlam (which is a record, I think; especially since I don't think I sped much at all). The views were pretty normal/boring to me, but my father-in-law loved them. "Oh, nice view," and "[Whatever nice view is in Korean,]" he kept saying.

The ferry was right on time (we waited 45 minutes in the van; let me tell you it's better to be early by an hour than late by a minute with these things) as was the crossing (1 hour 35 minutes; it's usually slow, but not this time!). They just renovated them also, so the interior was really nice (not so much like an institution ship, as they looked before). This was my father-in-law's first trip on one...he liked it. Kids did too.


Both boys shoulder-checking in their car on the ferry.


Spencer tries out the slide in the Kids' Area on the ferry...


...Winston too.

Then the quick trip to Parksville from Nanaimo...ah, the new highway made it a breeze too. Maybe living in a pseudo-Socialist country/province.

For this next pic you should know that the first time Spencer saw Grandpa he cried like there was no tomorrow. Winston is a little more sedate but we wondered what would happen if he held him as soon as we got there (he's seen him before, but this was Winston's first trip to Errington also).


Dad and Winston...hey, Winston's not crying!

Kate, the boys and I stayed in my sister's kids' room (they stay here a lot as they live like 30 minutes away). Can you guess what their passion is?


Some horse stuff in the girls' room...


...and more horse stuff.

Here's a trip down memory lane. Pic's a little foggy, but this is the one that got me my first haircut. My Mom had this take at Sears Portrait Studio in The Pas and the lady behind her said, "Oh, your daughter has such lovely hair." "Hair?" she thought, "Sue is bald!...Oh, my son! Good God, time for a trim!" I was 4 years old at the time.


The one on the left is me...ya, the left!

Winston is even more daring in this picture. He loves dogs.


Winston pats Buddy (this kid is a little fearless, good thing Buddy is harmless).


Spencer looks pretty guilty taking those candycanes...


...but they're for the tree. Good boy!

Spencer's still got a little trepidation with four-legged friends.


Spencer carefully pats Buddy.

The next morning my Dad got up early, as usual, and prepared the turkey, as usual. In our house this is a man's thing (yes, I can and have done it as well). The first time my Mom made a turkey she (like most new cooks, I imagine) didn't know that the neck and giblets (liver, kidneys, etc.) are stuffed in the carcass and you need to take them out before putting it in the oven. My Dad asked why there was so much stuffing in the pots (we also sometimes stuff the bird and have some drier stuffing cook in the oven on the side) and how much she put in the turkey. How much in the turkey? Where? It's full! Full of what!??! Holy crap. Well, she never made that mistake again I think the giblets gave off a bit of a smell and weren't too conducive to overall cooking of the turkey.

Here is our secret: make the dressing of bread, celery, poultry seasoning and liberal doses of China Lily soy sauce (only in Canada, it seems!). We bought the stuff by the crate when we lived Up North. Well, we bought everything by the crate. I had no idea what a kiwi was until we moved to B.C. (and McDonald's had them on their sundaes). Fresh anything was pretty rare so we had lots of canned food. Kate thinks I'm weird because I like to go to Costco and get lots of canned food or jumbo packs of cheese and stuff and freeze it, but (frankly) that was the only way people shopped when I was young. We had a room full of food. Well, when the temp dips to -40 (it's the same on Fahrenheit as Celsius!) and the wind picks up and it's snowing you start to see the logic. Coming from Seoul, a town where everything is delivered in 10 minutes, maybe that's a bit of a stretch.

Oh, back to the recipe. Dice up the celery (and the giblets, too, if you want extra flavour--it all gets cooked) and mix it in with bread you've cut into 1.5 or 2 cm squares (don't get out a ruler, it doesn't really matter). Heap on the poultry seasoning and soy sauce (maybe the soy first) and let it sit in tea fridge overnight. The next morning stuff the head cavity first (it's the one with the big flap of skin over it, away from the legs and then secure it with a skewer (10-12cm baking pin) then fill the chest area. Rope the legs under some skin (it's right around there, easy to do) or secure them with skewers or baking string as well (otherwise they'll likely lift the roaster lid while cooking). Then put soy all over the meat (this is great for taste!) and put it in the over at the appointed time. Any leftover stuffing you can put in over-safe pots and cook in the over as well (it'll be a little drier, but still real good).


Dad gets up early to stuff the turkey (not me, the bird).


Better cage this bird, it's good to go.

After that they went golfing at my Dad's club. The closest one is 10 minutes away, the furthest is 20 minutes afield. There are 5 in the area. Ya, bit of a golfer's paradise here.


My father-in-law tries some practice shots in the back yard.

This was a great read. Lots of little factoids (great, since you can break off reading anytime). One was that 46% of Americans got this question wrong: "How long does it take for the Earth to rotate around the Sun?" Kate said 24 hours...but we know it's 365.25 days, right?


Uncle John's Unstoppable Bathroom Reader...it really is unstoppable!

Next, time to check out the back yard, if you can call it that. It's more of a back-field. Perfect for exploring if you're a little (or big) boy.


In the back 40 (well, it's not 40 acres, just 5).


Spencer wonders where all the other kids are...well, about 2 kms away, I'd guess.


Spencer poses in front of the lovely duck and koi pond.

Enough exploring, time for some trampoline action!


Spencer gets things started...


...then is joined by Winston on the trampoline...


...and Mom too!

Ok, bored of that...let's feed the ducks!


Spencer near the pond feeding the ducks (actually putting the chicken feed on the ground for them, they'll come by later).

My sis and her 2 girls are coming over soon...will add more after that. (Stay tuned!)

Yet Again, Another Santa.

Today Spencer's other pre-school class had Santa also...which means more presents and more sugary-food. First, though we had to get some cupcakes for the party; which involved getting everyone in the car (last night) and then loading everyone in this massive buggy at the store (it has a seat, as you can see) for invalids and kids to sit in and has a baby-seat attachment as well). The thing is long...good thing I have experience driving big trucks from my treeplanting days.


Shopping at Save-On-Foods (guess who gets to push this train...ya, me).

Today was the party. The class is about 20-25% Korean and made up of 11 boys and 4 girls. For some reason it seems most of the classes Spencer has been in have been male-dominated (especially at our old Korean church, it was like 90% boys!). Not good odds for the lads when they go a weddin', but I have to think there are clutches of girls out there we have yet to see.


Spencer and friend Albert...waiting for Santa (and lunch, note cupcakes).


Winston's first tattoo...a snowman.

After playtime Spencer really gets into cleaning up (unlike at home, the little brat!). He tells the other kids what to do and everything. He always uses English, even to the Korean kids, it seems, although he can understand both with no problem. My father-in-law's lament is since I got here Spencer has switched to 100% English. Here I was expecting to learn Korean with/from him and it ends up my father-in-law will do that instead.


Spencer says, "Let me help you! Let me help you!".


Spencer helps more.


Here comes Santa!


The boys and Santa (Santa #5, I think).

As you may have read, this is not the first Santa Spencer's seen over the last few weeks. He's been opening presents for the last 2-3 weeks. Once Christmas is over I'm not sure how he'll cope without presents. Maybe we can get him to make a Valentine a day or get him psyched on Easter instead. This Santa had a Scottish accent, wonder if he picked up on it.


Spencer says, "All the presents have to go under the tree!" and some kids follow him (for some reason).

Winston was here as well...tantilizing the ladies/girls.


Winston has an admirer, Jessica (Indonesian girl)...


...but Winston prefers the Korean girl, Judy (I'm sure that's not her Korean name; think it's Ji-Eun).

Ok, that's it, got to pick up the Caravan and get on the road to Grandma and Grandpa's house is Errington (just outside of Parksville).

A Day in Suburbia

Yawn...better get a strong coffee to read this post if you're young and/or restless. (I just got myself a cup too.) It's actually not that bad, just this first bit seems to be all kiddy-stuff.

Today Spencer went to the water-closet (bathroom) and didn't emerge for a while. Seems he wanted to do a little fishin'.


Spencer caught a fish in the sink!


There's another one; this one looks like a shark!


Yeow! Spencer closed his eyes and it got away.

After that incredible adventure we went out to do a little Christmas shopping. For some reason he really wanted me to take his picture in the parking lot. Do you think he's figured out I'm a shutterbug?


Ready for a couple of hours in the mall. (Shirt reads: Enchanted dog, DOOGY...Konglish is everywhere!)

Take a look at this: here in Zeller's (which is the discount chain of The Bay: a company that 300-odd years back owned the furtrading rights to all of Canada and now it has a struggling retail presence--kind of evolutionary capitalism in reverse) they got this 'precision massager' for CAD 80. C'mon! That works out to about USD 75 with tax and exchange!


In Zeller's, Canadian massage stick: $79.99 (plus tax).

Here's the version I got in Seoul for under USD 2. And it's environmentally-friendly (just a stick, no poly-carbons or such). Oh, sure, it doesn't have the kung-fu grip that the pricey ones has, but for 40 times as much I can guy a lot of Tylenol! Maybe I could import these things and sell them for $10 here...or $15 and include a tube of Tiger Balm or Ben Gay!


On the street in Seoul, Korean-style massage stick: 2,000 won (about 2.10 CAD, no tax and free smile from old man selling them).

I often get Koreans wanting to export to Canada (just find a wholesaler and you're off to the races!) but I think I've been in Korea too long. Sometimes they come to me with $1 items to sell here...I add in a few middlemen and freight and figure it'll need to retail for about $5 to make good money: no way, too pricey! Then I see something similar on the shelves for $6. So much for my market sense. In Korea all the stuff in these next 2 pics would be $1-$2, but it's $4-$5 here (plus 14% tax!).


In Zeller's: CAD 4.00 (plus tax); same stuff on the street in Seoul: 2,000 won.


More of the same: CAD 5.00 or so here, CAD 2.00 or so in Seoul...unreal.

And, no line-ups in Seoul...there are so many salesstaff it's just hilarious. Actually, comparing Zeller's and The Bay (they have one of each in the mall) is interesting. In university we looked at queuing methods: bank teller style (one line and many tellers) and grocery store style (many lines and you stay in the line). Well, the discounter (Zeller's) uses the old grocery store way and I must say it was incredibly fast. Scan, scan, payment, receipt, get outta there. In The Bay (so-called high end service) they have a bank teller format. Problem is the line is too bloody long! They got rid of the tills being scattered around the store and have one central cashier area. Theoretically it should be faster, but it isn't. Why? I think it's because of people's attitudes.

In The Bay you leave those in line and go one-on-one with a cashier. So, maybe you're both moving a little slower (ever see people at a bank?) and you feel 'entitled' to some extra time after your long wait. And you're alone with the cashier so it's a little more personal. At Zeller's the next person is breathing down your next neck and the cashier knows it (they can hear the tsk-tsk as you count out your change to unload some coinage). Things just move faster. Of course in Seoul everything is fast service, so I like Zeller's a lot more (cheaper, too).


Spencer tries out the helicopter.

Most parents don't' let their kids ride these things, and I never used to either. But, Kate does and she says it's like a vacation for her too (the boys can't run off if they're glued to the seat). One gal's kid saw him in this and just stared at it. She said that in all her time in the mall she'd never seen a child in the ride (that is, with the ride actually working/money put in it). I figure, what the heck. It also makes shopping a bit of fun for the kids, too...and that makes getting them out the door a lot easier.

On another vein, is it me or is Coldplay's Clocks song a heckuva lot like U2? When I first heard it I thought U2'd released a stealth-single (the new album wasn't even announced yet). Boggled me for a while until I heard who it was. I like In My Place, too...that one doesn't sound U2-ish at all.

Nick Cage was in Seoul a while back. He just got married to a Korean-American waitress (sounds like the plot to It Could Happen To You, doesn't it?). He wanted to do the whole Korean thing: wore a 한복/han-bok (Korea traditional clothing), ate 떡볶이/deok-bok-ee (noodles and hot sauce); basically the whole 9 yards for the going native thing. I used to think his movies were pretty weird (Wild At Heart was super-nuts) but the later ones were ok (Matchstick Men was pretty cool). I heard that he changed his name because he didn't want people to know that he is Francis Ford Coppola's nephew and wanted to 'make it on his own' or something. Well, at least his movies are better.

UPDATE: Here's a Korea Times article on Nick. Kimchi is good for the soul? Maybe a little play on words there (Seoul/soul).

Oh ya, and I was going to talk about Peninsula Temper. Well, basically it's like this: people from peninsulas are a little cut off from the rest of the world (Italy has The Alps, Korea has a Stalinist regime; both has 3 sides of water) and their tempers seem to be hot and short...but memories are short also. People seem to blow up and then brush it off easily. This makes sense, I guess. In Korea relationships and connections are everything but if someone's pissing you off you can't just avoid them forever: so you go nuts in order to 'connect' with them (or get their attention) and then afterward act as if nothing happened (after all, you both need each other). Island People (British and Japanese) seem to have a thick veneer of stiff-upper-lip and all that rot but their subtle hints are meant to indicate their true minds. Canadians? Well, we don't really care, as long as we're not taxed too much. We seem to compromise (sometimes too much) because, well, if you really hate someone you can move up to 5,000 km away from them and still be in the same country.

So, what happens when a Brit, a Korean and a Canadian go in to a bar? The Brit orders a complicated drink (vodka martini, very dry, shaken and dirty) and when it is mixed incorrectly he puts his nose up to it but nonetheless drinks it in little sips with a stern look on his face. The Korean jumps up and down for 10 minutes because they don't have any soju, but then settles down and has a (blended) whiskey (much to the horror of the Brit). The Canadian quietly sits with his pint of beer (any brand will do). Why? Hey, he was just thirsty.

Spencer and Winston Play with the Train

Can you see a pattern here? Train, train, train.


Spencer refuses to look up for the camera...aishi!


Here's a better shot of the train (I knew you'd like that).


Winston wanted to get in the action, too, though. Spencer tries his best to move him off the tracks. "Winston, move! The train is coming!"'


But, alas, Winston manages to upset the bridges.


Spencer calls in the damage survey crew...


...then makes the needed repairs. Whew!


And Winston finds another toy to occupy himself with. Good boy.

I wanted to talk about Peninsula Temper and Nick Cage, but I guess that'll have to be next time; the boys are here and a little restless. Haha, Spencer just saw the pics with the train and started saying, "Train, train, train, train, train. Let's play train!" Here we go again!

What is Yeouido? and Kicked out of the Kitchen!

Adding on to this post; I've asked many Koreans, even ones who have lived in 여의도/Yeouido for their whole lives, exactly what the name means. I know that 여 is like 여자/yeo-ja (woman); I know that 의/ui (pronounced like the French yes/oui) is the equivalent to 's in English; and 도/do means island so I figured maybe it meant woman's island. Not so, it seems. Seoul Selection's Streetwise in Seoul has the answer: here (and for Yeouinaru here). Cool, eh?

And, this morning I was informed by my wife, Kate, that the kitchen is off-limits to me while my mother-in-law is in the house. Seems cooking is her exclusive domain so I'll have to make do by being served by her and Kate until further notice. This may not sound like a big deal, but I like to cook and find that I can do it a lot quicker than most people--and I know that I'll like it (no surprises). Oh well, what can I do: mother-in-law has over 30 years on my so I guess I'll have to abide by it (waaaaaaa...).

Christmas Train at Canada Place

A couple of days ago (you'll know why I was more than a little bagged yesterday...not even the energy to post a 'coming soon' blog) we went to Canada Place for the Christmas Train (and other stuff) put on my Starbucks (I think they own this town). They had samples of the new peppermint hot chocolate: quite good! Notice how it was light when we went there at 2:30, by 5PM when we left it was pitch black. The upside to being in Seoul (and on about the 38th parallel instead of the 49th) is more consistent daylight hours, as you may have guessed.


On the way to the Christmas Train: a Calgary-Limo.


Winston patiently waits for Spencer and Mommy to come on the train.


Here it comes! Woo! Woo!


Hmmmmmmm...must be the red-eye they're on (damn flash).


The boys and I are ready to go!


Here we are!

After 3-4 trips on it Spencer had his fill and we went to the gingerbread man decorating area. To give them (and us) a little sugar-rush.


Spencer gets down with a little gingerbread man decorating.


Here's a pose with it.


And all of us (I think I look like a bloody bear in this pic on account of that big brown shirt I got on...had to crop some of my massiveness out of it..and, no, I'm not gaining weight).


We almost got out of there, but Spencer found this tree with a train set-up underneath it...and he had to stand and look at it for a few minutes.

On the way home both of them fell asleep...this is a BAD thing because Spencer (true to form) woke up at 1AM and kept Kate up (and me too, although I stayed mostly in the prone position). Then it was off to the doctor again to get Winston a shot. Here they are out again in the backseat.


Spencer sacked out in the car...


...Winston too.

While waiting I saw this old guy bringing bottles in. In Korea the dude would have been about 104 years old and stacking it all on a bike (and the bottles would have been someone else's, these were likely his own). (Note his parking right on the line: bad hal-a-beo-ji!


In Canada, the bottle 할아버지/hal-a-beo-ji guys drive Buicks, not rickshaws.

And, a pic I got in my email this morning from Seoul Selection...ah, the memories.


Ah, the old days...scary thing is I know this exact place where this was taken. (Credit to Seoul Selection.)

No Rain Again Today!

In Seoul there is hardly any rain in the Winter (not much snow either, but tons of rain in July and August) so coming here was a bit of a shock. Another shock was the last 2 days without rain...ah, it's so nice when we get a break in the weather.

My bud (Manchester/Vernon) Mike called last night from his new home in Vernon...a little hard to believe because I don't think I've ever heard of him actually paying for a long distance call. He wants us to make it out there for a visit (just 4 hours drive from here) sometime in the next little bit. I figure he's heard there is a big snowfall coming and he wants me to get over there to shovel his driveway (wouldn't put it past him, this is a guy who read Machiavelli's The Prince at age 10). We might just make it out there...his place is quite a palace, he says, so it could be a good break from the rain.

Didn't get a pic of Winston and the tree up yet...here's one.


Winston giving his best "I'm a little angel" look.

This morning I smelled some great cooking again (not mine, this time, the mother-in-law is in town and the kitchen is 'hers').


Hold it, if the kalbi from yesterday is here on the table, what's that on the stove?...


...ah, that's what it is: a new batch of kalbi boiling on the stove.

This is the third batch she's made in as many days...it's really good, but I think this may be my limit for a while. Got to think up something new for her to make soon. When I was in Seoul she found that I like 육개장/yook-gay-jang (a soup) and them made it everyday for 2 weeks. Same with 불고기/bul-go-gi (a sort of boiled roast beef). But then I did the same with my stew and fruit salad...at least we're not subsisting on pizza and ramen.

The weather was ok so we got the kids into the backyard (nice thing about having a townhouse). Kate didn't let me put any (of the pre-make-up) pics of her up but got lots of the boys.


Spencer likes to dig in the garden.


Better get some water for the plants (like 12 straight days of rain wouldn't be enough).


Here ya go!


Some over here, too.


Winston wants in on the act, too.


Maybe some stroller-pushing will be better.


Oh no! There's a dog! Ruff ruff!


Better aim your pool-noodle at it, Winston! It's quite the monster!


There it is! C'est tres grand chien, n'est pas?


Better hide from it in the bucket.


Then he decided to take a walk...right into that fence.


Ok, time for the car. When I was here last in June, Spencer was in the front and Winston was in the smaller, back portion. What a change!

Well, that should hold you for a while. This blogging is a pretty good way to connect with family and friends, I think. Mike seemed to enjoy the pics and it's a heckuva lot easier than sending emails or (horror!) letters in the mail with pictures. With any luck I'll be in a new city early in the new year and will have some (other) exciting things for you to read.

Korean Real Estate and Konglish

Watched the Korean news here this morning (one of the benefits of the CRTC is they require cable companies to have a multicultural channel and a percentage of Canadian programming-similar to Korea's screen quota for movie theatres-but what it gets me is another channel of Korean info!) and saw that Seoul real estate is not looking so good. Remember a few weeks back I wondered where all the people would come from to fill all the new construction I was seeing? Well, looks like some others are wondering now as well. Seems there are fewer buyers of the new apartments (no real houses in Seoul, or at least not many to speak of) and also not many monthly-renters. Koreans use another system as well (also popular in Japan) called 전세/jeon-se where the 'renter' would put up 50% of the apartment's value for a period of 2 years. They wouldn't pay any monthly rent, but the owner of the apartment could invest the money (at 4-5% according to recent Korean deposit rates) and at the end of the term the renter gets their money back. If the market price went up then the renter has to pony up more dough to keep the place, if it goes down then they can take some back when they sign a new contract.

Recently, jeon-se money amounts have been falling in key areas like Kangnam (the uber-pricey real estate area of Seoul) which tells you that even though there may not be much turnover the implied prices of apartments there has fallen. This is, apparently, happening all over the city. Last April when my Yeouido officetel contract needed to be renewed we renegotiated it down by 30%! Not only that, but in 2005 about 300,000 new units will be newly constructed and on the market. Assume that some are officetels and some are family dwellings and that might mean about 600,000 people to fill them...again: where are they going to come from? Should be interesting.

Also, it seems it's impossible to get away from Konglish (that mix of Korean and English that barely makes sense, if at all). Here is some copy from a sticker book Spencer got from 'Santa' at school. (Ok, it was made in China, but still seems like Konglish to me.)

It's every children's dream to own a private album collected all memories of childhood. Album will record all steps of your growth and make a whole new feeling for your stickers.

Visiting sticker store to find TWIN Seven [brand name] Stickers and collect on Album right now. Don't let wonderful remembrance lost easily from your life. Show your treasure, enjoy with your family and friends.

Wow, quite great expectations for a sticker book.

At the PC Bang

Against my recent laziness I made the walk down the hill from our place to a local mall. It's one of the many that are in Vancouver, but not a very good one. I think the owners were under the 'build it and the shoppers will come' impression when they made it. It's actually the second like this (there's another in Burnaby, too) and both of them have the same architectural signature: everything is like spokes out of a central hub (in this case a food court) which makes for a weird, curvey look to everything.

Anyhoo, here I am surrounded by Korean and Canadian teeny-bopper boys as they frag the heck out of each other. Getting a little loud, actually. There's a freebie internet place closeby (funded by the local government, ah to live in Canada and get hand-outs) but it's only open on the weekdays.

I've decided to get tough with this job-searching stuff. I spoke with a (New York) recruiter yesterday and she said that there's virtually no hiring in December as workers wait until the end of the year (February, actually, from what I read in my investment banking books) to see what kind of a bonus they can get and the pull the pin (leave) if they think they're worth more. So, I'll use this time to get my credentials out there as much as possible (laying traps, as they say in the business) and then when the jet-setters hit the pavement perhaps I can have a good spot to go to (or a few, if I'm lucky). I'm not too worried, as I figured it might take 3-6 months to get a quality job, but I sure as heck wouldn't mind getting something sooner (we're in the in-law's place, as you know).

Well, pitter-patter, better get at 'er.

Early Riser

Today got up early to check my email, read Yoosh's BLOG (he calls it a personal diary or something) and get out some thoughts that were mulling around in my head.

You know, this 'cock doc' had a pretty good racket going there. I went in yesterday for my 1 week checkup and I think the whole thing took about 30 seconds. It consisted of "How are you?", "Drop your drawers" and "Everything is healing fine". That was it. I have no idea how much he made from our free government medical plan for that but anything over 30 cents and he's making some severe dough! But, if something goes wrong he should know how to fix it so I guess it's worth it. There wasn't any Saturday Night Live on the VCR in the waiting room...some guys actualyl brought their wives/partners and kids! One guy just had it done and his kids were playing around the room. There were a few cricumcision 'victims' coming in as well. Why some parents wait is beyond me...although I guess these ones were young enough not to really remember it. Some people I know have it done when they're like age 10 or something. Good God! It's bad enough losing your balls and knowing it...but your 'skin' as well! Not for me.

I told my mother-in-law that I made stew for her (her favorite) and as soon as she got home she got to work making Kalbi for me (my favorite)--man, Korean women don't need any sleep.

Gotta go now...

Another Santa?!?!

So the in-laws are here today. I did my part by cleaning their bathroom a bit (as well as the kitchen and other stuff...what a great son-in-law, eh?). I noticed these bottles in there. Ok, one exfoliator should be plenty...maybe two, but three? Thing is, when you're over 55, as they are, you shouldn't even be using these things that much--seems it's fine when you're young and new skin is popping up everywhere, but when you're older it's not as good for you.


Just how many exfoliators does one person need?

Anyways, let's talk about me for a while (again). Ordered some 김말이떡볶이/gim-mali-ddeok-bok-ee (rice noodles and glass noodles wrapped in seaweed smothered in hot sauce) from the Korean place in a nearby mall's food fare. The first time I went there I just handed her the order (in Hanguel) but this time said the order. She was pretty impressed with my Korean (brutal as it is) and asked if I went to Seoul...ya, I was there 2 years. After we got our order Spencer got a lollipop. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but this gal seems to have a reputation for being shy and quiet...ah, my celebrity status may be blossoming here as in Yeouido (ya, right).

Had Subway for lunch as I waited for the in-laws. Ah, a Western Subway again. In Seoul (hey, here's my recurring theme: everything is different) you go to the order end of the counter and pay first then they put on whatever they figure you want (usually everything) but here (as some readers may know) you start on the other end and state what veggies and such you'd like and then pay last. I loved to watch newbie expats and tourists go into Subway in Korea and wait at the wrong end (where no one would serve them) and then bark out their order when they figure out the protocol only to have the 'sandwich artist' screw it up because their English ain't too hot. (I did step in a few times, too...but usually people didn't believe me and just tried their way, so I figured I might as well get some entertainment out of it...maybe this is why immigrants here keep with the old ways.)

Well, they did arrive and we got everything home (my days as a treeplanter and having to pack a whole camp into a 5-ton truck came in handy when I started cramming Koreans' suitcases into cars). Of course they brought presents: robots and lots of clothes for the boys. One thing for sure, these guys got lots of toys and an awesome wardrobe--thanks to both sets of grandparents.


Spencer has fun with his new, big robot...


...and he likes to play with Winston's little robot too.

Afterward we went to the strata Christmas party where Spencer tried something new: drinking from a waterfountain. Never occurred to me that he'd never done that. Another Santa showed up, too. I think Spencer is starting to think that this guy is always in Coquitlam or something.


His first drink from a waterfountain...what a natural.

When we got home it was time to get the tree ready...yee-ha! Spencer is really into the "Christmas is coming", "Santa will bring me presents" and "I eat candycanes" thing.


Now for a gazillion candycanes on the tree.


Finally, it's almost done.

Oh ya, on the job front I got a call from a headhunter in New York. She said not to expect much til the New Year as most on Wall Street need to get their bonuses and then decide whether to jet out of there (quit) or not...but in January and February it's like musical chairs so the good news is I can take it easy for the holidays and use this time to be sure that hiring firms and their consultants know that I am alive and looking.

Which reminds me, I have to send a couple out now...later.

Kidstuff and Seeing Santa (again).

Well, it's time to get Winston on the bottle (much like I have come off the bottle these last few weeks). Now I can do some real Daddy stuff--pretty fun.


We finally get determined to put Winston on the bottle.

After that the boys started tearing around the place in their super-capes. Spencer's is like Purple Pumpernickle's but Winston's is a little more ad hoc (my Whistler rugby jersey). Oh well, they had fun.


Super-Spencer and his sidekick Wonderful-Winston.


Winston displays his 'tennis anyone?' super-cape.

Today we went to one of Spencer's pre-school's Christmas Party. It's been a long time since I've been to one of these. There was a lot less mayhem than I remember (of course, I was causing it when I was young).


Spencer models his reindeer antler hat...


...and Winston gives it a try also.

Here's a pic of the kids quietly coloring and stuff...what little angels.


Spencer does some coloring.

Then came the singing. The boy next to Spencer (in the red) had all the words and actions down...but Spencer wasn't all that interested. They did Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Jingle Bells. I remember (vaguely) when I was in kindergarten and I played Santa on stage in our rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Ah, the memories. My Mom was helping me put on the costume and she had 2 pillows, a large one and a small one. She asked which one I wanted under my suit. "Both!", I said. Well, needless to say I got a ton of laughs as soon as I got on stage and said my line. "Rudolph with you nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" There goes my 15 seconds!


The parents have the cameras at the ready.


The kids get ready to sing (it took 5 weeks to get them to line up on that tape on the floor all at once).


Singing jingle bells; complete with bells.

After that is was time to eat. Spencer, being Spencer, sweet-talked his way into getting at the buffet early.


Spencer gets a jump on lunch; eating before anyone else has even sat down!


Spencer feeds Winston...


...then helps his little brother drink some apple juice...


...then Winston adds a little something (cantaloupe) to his drink.

Next a pinata to break. The bloody thing was like a bowling ball and took like 100 whacks and a lot of help from the teachers to get it open. Hint: if you're making something for toddlers to break, make it thin-skinned.


Spencer smacks the pinata...


...and Winston gives it a shot too.


The post-pinata-breaking feeding frenzy!~

Finally Santa showed and Spencer got his present. I think he may be on to this Santa-is-real thing...or at least maybe he thought this was a stand-in Santa...he just didn't have a lot of enthusiasm.


Spencer is none-too-thrilled to see Santa.

And (you know my weakness for ice cream) take a look at this. In Korea there'd probably be a little store selling stuff in the school; in Canada it's vending machines. The prices here are atrocious, though. Like 2 to 5 TIMES as much as in Korea. Waaaaaaaa...time to go back and stock up on ice cream sandwiches for 40 cents!


Ice cream for $2! You got to be kidding!

There's another party next Thursday...exciting, eh?


And the perfect way to end the day: one of my sons on my shoulders. (This was taken just before he got real antsy and tried to scramble off.)

Tony Roma's for Dinner

Tonight we went a little crazy and went to Tony Roma's for some grub. I figure Jess does a lot for us and Kate needs some time out of the kitchen and, heck, I like ribs. We had a pretty good feed: Kate and I shared a full slab of ribs, Jess had a 1/2 slab and Spencer had chicken strips (oh, and one Pepsi). The total bill surprised me: 56.36 CAD with tip! I figured out from the Tony Roma's Korea site that the same thing in Seoul would have cost 69,410 won (or about 79.90 CAD) including the 10% VAT (but no tipping). Wow, it would have been 41.7% more in Korea! Many things in Korea are cheaper, eating out Western-style is not one of them. But, if you're going to have Western food Tony Roma's has been voted, and is my, favourite foreign food place in Seoul--it's exactly like at home; except they add pickles on the table.

Afterward it took a bit to get the kids tired...got this pic of Winston.


Winston models the Agabang mobile from Yumi (brother-in-law's girlfriend). Kinda looks Vietnamese, eh?

Ok, time for bed, later.

Time in the Snow then Time in the Kitchen.

Today it snowed again (this time during the day) so we took the kids up to a nearby school park to enjoy it. Thankfully we live lower on the mountain than most of the houses--so Kate and Jess can actually drive, they have a little problem with such things as snow, rain, darkness and speed (you'll not see Jess on the #1 Highway at night in a freezing rain storm, that's for sure.


Here they are in the snow. The only thing wrong with this picture? Kate couldn't find Spencer's other mitt so he's wearing my sock as one. 아이씨! / Aisshi!


Winston, however, has trendy doggy mittens on. If you squeeze the dog it goes "squeak!".


Kate with her new jacket (made in China). She kinda looks like a North Korean doesn't she? Snow on the ground; brown togs; the smell of kimchi...yup, definitely North Korean. (Actual pics of these gals here.)

Ok, just a couple more, then I'm done.


Spencer does a little snow rapping: "I'm in da snow, oh don't you know; my hands are freezin', and I'm gonna be sneezin'. Oh yeah!"


Winston's cheeks are getting a little red...time to head home!

When we got home I made stew...I thought the in-laws (Kate's Mom and Dad) were coming on Tuesday, but looks like it'll be Thursday...dooogh! I already bought all of the ingredients: 2 trays of stewing beef, 2-3 potatoes, 5-6 big mushrooms, a handful of baby carrots, an onion or two, a big chunk of broccoli, some Kikkoman soy sauce and teriyaki sauce, seasoning salt and some water (about 1 cup, there's lots of moisture in the mushrooms). I dice it all up and then after 7-8 hours on low in the slow-cooker/crockpot it's all good. (Hint: the soy sauce is the secret, and don't put garlic in it...the crockpot cooking will make it taste really weird.)

Get this, Winston likes it so much that he hardly wants to eat any other food lately. Ah...I feel so wanted/needed. I also have to make more again mid-week for the in-laws as they are fans also. This is one dish that is tough to make in Korea: I had to take my crockpot with me when I went there; but, sadly, it didn't make the cut to get in the boxes when I came home (I hope Jo got it and is making use of it).


Here's the before picture of my famous stew. Mmmmmm....will show you the after pic in a few hours (try to control yourself in the interim).

UPDATE:


Here it is...not much different from the before pic, but definitely tastes better.

About Being Korean

My wife and sis-in-law were on a fortune-telling website a while back (I'll get the link in a bit and put it in this post...so watch for it). I don't go in for these things (not even newspaper horoscopes) for 2 reasons (i) it's against my religion and (ii) they are total crap (you may be the same for one reason or the other). Well, they put my vitals in it and it came up with an interesting 'fact'. I was a Korean man in my former life. Huh? Ya, I was a Han-gook dude--no wonder I like soju, sam-gyup-sal, san-nak-ji and just plain doing Korean things so much. (For the record my wife was a sea-creature of some sort and they can't remember what Jess was.

So, why don't I have a Korean Citizenship Card? Even when I was in Korea for 2 years I only had an Alien Registration Card, which allowed me to do most things: open a bank account, send money abroad, get a job (legally)...things like that. But it didn't allow me to get a Fantaseum discount card. Fantaseum is a movie theatre in Dae-hang-ro and the gal there said that because my ID# began with a "5" (alien) I could not get the card. Really? Ya, it seems that you need to be an honest-to-goodness real Korean to get 10% off your movie tickets. Weird. There's now some sort of movement to allow aliens to get real Korean ID cards. At present to become a Korean you need to do quite a bit: including adopting a Korean name. I could not be a Korean and use "James Burron" as my name, it would have to be Korean: like Park Soo Bin or something. Some people do this (like Holly and a soccer/footballer I read about but whose team and name eludes me at the moment) but for some that's a little radical. I think there's also a test (in Korean). This makes sense, because I know there are probably thousands (tens of thousands?) of 'Canadians' here that know little of the language but who nonetheless get Social Insurance Numbers (SINs) and even government welfare payments (there's no real welfare state in Korea, so that's not a problem there).

If you want another good source for stuff on Korea try Streetwise in Seoul, this post Super Size Me is pretty good (although I only gained weight while living with my '많이 먹어/Mani-meogo (eat a lot)' mother-in-law and lost it when I got on my sam-gak-gim-bab diet).

Time to feed Spencer his lunch...and me too!

Stuff You May Have Been Wondering About

A few thoughts have been going through my head (and while I had a 3-hour nap today...I think these pills the doc gave me have brought back my jetlag). One is from Korea: you know everything is a little different there--including your age. Ya, for Koreans age is not just your birthday, they got a whole other system. For instance, when you're conceived you're age 0. Then, you're in the womb for 10 months (not 9) because, well, each month has 4 weeks in it and full term is 40 weeks so that means 10 months, right? Well, they didn't factor in non-February (non-leap, that is) months, so I guess it is 40 lunar months. But to try to explain to most Koreans that it is 9 months usually reeks of heresy to them: 40 / 4 is 10...that's it! Ok, so when you're born you're age 1 because you've been alive for about a year, I guess (40 is closer to 52 than is is to zero). Then on every New Years you get a year added on. Now, take my but Mike....he was born December 31st...according to Korean way he was 2 years old after just a few hours! Some Koreans also have a Solar (our/normal) and Lunar birthday and may count the rollover of the years on the lunar calendar (which may mean a 'birthday' in January or February, not January 1st. This, of course, confuses things even more! So, don't both asking a Korean their age, just ask what year they were born.

Korean clothing sizes are another thing. They have a different system from other places (from what I've seen). In Canada I'm a 16-16.5 neck (which is a large) but in Korea I need to get XXL, which shows as a 17-17.5 inch neck sometimes and the locals call it 110 (which is 42.9 centimeters, likely the chest size, not neck!). I go to a guy at Namdaemoon and clean out his 110/XXLs every once in a while. New foreigners tell me I should get a large, but I know the tricks to this system (of course they seem to laugh to themselves as they think I have no idea what I'm doing...and get a large for themselves). Pants are also odd. I buy 38 inch waist ones in Seoul even though I fit a 35 here (yes, even inches are different in Korea). Best bet, try things on (even on the street!) and make sure it fits before you walk away (some merchants may not be there the next day).

Here's one that I'm often asked by guys who come to Korea and then get a girlfriend (or two): why don't Korean girls manicure their...um...lawn? Well, a knowledgeable source tells me it's (like many things) for looks. The story is that if a guy looks there and sees A LOT of...grass...then the girl must be wealthy. If not much then she will not be a good wife (maybe rich women never shaved in the old days, but I wonder why the peasant girls would....strange). Well, it's not for me to ask why (at least not too many times); that's the story. So if you run across a Korean gal and the hedges need pruning it's because her Dad is loaded.

And on that note I bid you a fond goodnight (at least it's night where I am).

Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam

Today was a blast from the past. Jess actually bought a can of Spam (well, Spam Light)--unlike the case of it I got at Choo-seok. I hadn't smelled the stuff since Korea and before that when I was really young and we were dirt poor (well, not quite like that, but fresh meat was tough to come by when you're living in Northern Canada). Heck, we ate so much of it I had a massive keychain of the little keys you used to get to pry them cans open...in fact I think we had the knock-off Spam (Spork) more than the original. Get this, they even have Spam gifts, but I think it's more to do with junk email than the meat, but who knows: perfect for the holidays.

I was a little horrified that she was making it for the kids (oh, I thought they could somehow sidestep that initiation) but she said, "At least we know what's in it, unlike hot dogs, it's pork!" Um, ya, it's just the chunks of fat and God-knows-what that are so more clearly visible in Spam that worries me. Anyways, the kids liked it. Spencer even called it hot dog, so what do I know. I went and made myself a Spam-free sandwich.


Which would you prefer? A ham and cheese with crabmeat or anything made from Spam?

Some Time Off...Now What?

As you know, yesterday I had a little surgery. Well, ladies call it no big deal, but I know you men out there see it as a bigger event in one's life. It ain't birthing no baby, but it's pretty damn big.

Anyways, I've been lounging...I mean recuperating from the harrowing ordeal and ended up with Winston (my 1.25-year-old) for the afternoon. He was sleeping when everyone left but woke up after a while. There's really nothing a guy can do for a baby that just woke up except put in a video--but that didn't work. So, I tried my wife's trick of taking him to the window and pointing at everything and making it seem as if it were the most exciting thing in the world. "Look at that biiiig treee!" "Wow, there's a building!" "Ooooh, a red car" "Big truck! Big truck!" For some reason it worked. I'll have to remember that when I get back into the workforce and have to distract my boss or co-workers from something (although not sure what) or if they wake up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. "Wow, look! A printer/copier!" "Mmmmm coffee!"

They managed to sneak in a visit with Santa without me (waaaaa!) and got me some 만두국/mandu-gook (soup of beef and/or pork dumplings and rice cakes with seaweed and green onions). It was good, but not like in Seoul. I really can't believe I miss the place after 2 weeks. Something must have hit me on the head last time I went back there.


Picture of the picture of Spencer and Santa. What did he ask for? Presents! Ok, not a problem.

Oh Yeah! They brought me home Mandu-gook!

I can get around a lot better but I'm supposed to take it easy and ice 'the area' for another day or so and then take some anti-inflammatories (I guess so I don't burst into flames) so things will be a little sedate for a while. As if it could get more tranquil around here...the only sounds I hear (except kids, of course) is the cars going down the street in the rain. Oh ya, the rain. I've been here 14 days and it's rained on about 12 of them. I remember in Seoul I went out drinking 12 out of 14 days, what a trade-off!

Oh well, at least I'm with my family and not too much to remind me of Seoul (what am I saying, everything seems to!). Some of my buds are a little bummed about my leaving: Jo and Dong-Joon are two. Jo just emailed me that he went to The Outsider (many past posts on it) with a bud and the owner and staff were asking when I was coming back. I said I was gone for good, but he didn't have the heart to say it to them...Oh, James will be back in a bit. Maybe I'll be back in Seoul at least by next Fall...actually I'd like to be there no matter what. The weather is awesome and I can get a lot of shopping in. (You know how I love Namdaemoon and Dongdaemoon.) I'd also like the kids to see more of their Mom's homeland; Spencer was there for 6 months with us but he was under 2 years old so I wonder how much he could possibly remember. It'd give me a chance to know more Korean, too. I never use it here with all that we have going on--however I can make out a fair bit of what my wife and Jess are saying...hehe.

Maybe that's enough for now. More later.

Oddities and such.

Here are a few interesting Korean (and not-so-Korean) sights.


Never Stop? Never stop what? Same in Korean writing also (nay-beo s-top), so no help there.


Parma...must be a perm set with Italian cheese in it!


This is "Po-ka Chip". Not potato chip? And as far as I know Koreans aren't even allowed to go to casinos or do Western gambling in Korea.


But they can play go-stop. Each suit (there are 12) signifies a month. Since Koreans don't have a December (they call it 12th month) you can think of each month as a number (1, 2, 3...) And since all cars in Korea have their cellophone # displayed in the front window so those they block in can call them to move their car this driver put his # in go-stop code (the cards are called 화투/hwa-too). The number reads: 011-546-9948 in case you want to give him a call to move his car. (Rules and stuff here.)


Here's one from New York, I guess. I think the stylized "A" in Austin is a bit over the top, though.

And from my kid's Frosted Flakes box; this sounds like a marketing gimmick the losing team on The Apprentice might come up with--what were they thinking!??! This is my first encounter with Konglish in a pure English setting (The French translation is exactly the same.)


"In much the same was the gas pedal..."?? What kid thinks of a gas pedal for what it if and knows the phrase "in much the same way"? "And just like a car needs oil..."? Very strange.

That's all for now.

More on Minaz and other Tourist Stuff

So, Minaz just came back from Las Vegas (isn't that Spanish for 'lost wages'? and what's that 'v' doing there?) and he had a few stories. I must really live vicariously through him now that I am laid up for a bit.

Seems he and his buds spent an hour chatting up the bouncer at Justin Timberlake's new club (did you know he started as a Mouseketeer?), much as he did Duke at Hodge Podge in Seoul when he visited me. Well, he got in and managed to give a compliment to Marlon Wayans and got within 1.5 feet of Paris Hilton...and if it wasn't for that restraining order...just jokin'. He did consider sidling up to her and saying, "You have a great butt!" but decided against it...good call; although I have to think that she could have taken it the right way and given him her extra room key (who knows??). Man, she was born 10 years and 5 days after I was...man, I'm such a geezer.

After Vegas his crew drove to L.A. without taking into account the holiday traffic. 7 hours later they arrived fully ready to take a breather from each other. Hey Minaz, in Korea people are sometimes in the car for 12 hours for the normally 4-hour jaunt down to Pusan from Seoul...and they are family and don't get a break from each other for 3-4 days! You got it good.

You want to know where visitors to Canada increasingly come from? Can you guess? Korea: up 45.8% to 21,000 of the 356,000 non-American border-crossers. Next is Hong Kong, up 13.6%; Japan up 9.4% and Britain up 7.8%. Fewer people came from the Switzerland (down 10.5%), the Netherlands (down 6.6%) and Australia (down 1.7%). No idea why those ones are down, but I know that Koreans are all over the place here in Vancouver and many are immigrating here or just visiting for work or play (most of them go to the Rockies, it's like Mecca for Koreans).

I'll probably be posting more over the next few days...ordered a book from Chapters (this one) but it'll take 3-7 business days to get here. I saw it in the store but it's $34.95 + 14.5% in taxes compared to under $33 online (33% discount + taxes and shipping) so I figure I can wait a bit for it. Pretty odd system, if you ask me. I can get it now for over $40 or pay about $1 less per day that I wait for it by going online. In Korea the prices are the same usually (at least for English language books) and shipping is extra (here and in Korea there is free shipping for about $40 orders). Oh, all that $ was CAD, not USD. Getting a little lazy.

Cool Movie Site!

As I'm recuperating, Jess showed me this cool site where you can watch Korean and Western movies for free over the Net! Wow! Thanks, Jess! Enjoy.

UPDATE: I just watched About Schmidt on this site...a few buffering interruptions and low-res, but basically not bad. Now to try a Korean movie (with subtitles, of course) and hearken back my days in Seoul DVD bangs (rooms) and theatres.

UPDATE #2: Crap, no subtitles...this site is for Korean viewers more than English-speakers. What an unreal example of discrimination! Haha...well, I'll have to stick with the whitey-flicks until I master Korean (may be a while). Might watch a couple anyways...I miss hearing it all the time. Since I came back here it's weird, I can understand pretty much everything people say...it's like in Bruce Almighty when he starts to hear everyone's prayers in his head (really, I'm not losing it).

UPDATE #3: Man, this is getting worse. Watching Jersey Girl (against my better judgement, I think) and the stream is 166k...so it's like watching a slideshow...and when it becomes a 'moving picture' it's grainy. Oh well. Not sure if it's the movie or the connection or the site.

UPDATE#4: I think I know why those 2 movies are on this site (and it backs up my theory about Korean cinema): death is a main theme. In both of them someone dies, and it's pretty central to the plot. In case you didn't know, my theory is that all Korean movies have someone die in them (and if someone doesn't die in the movie then the plot has someone central die before the movie starts. Think of Korean movies or ones that were big in Korea (Troy, Spiderman 2) and you may find the same thing.

"V"

Anyone remember the mini-series "V"? The V in it stood for 'visitors' but they were more like the Borg than E.T. Well, recently I read that V at the beginning of a word usually has sexual connotations (what brilliant marketing, eh?) Think of words that begin with V: Viagra, vagina (this should put my hits from porn-seekers and gynecologist through the roof)...then there's vasectomy.

There it is, I typed it. Vasectomy. In the spirit of Tom Green herewith is my blog on my...um...V. Ok, ok, Tom had testicular cancer and this little procedure is not at all life-threatening, but, heck, anything that involves the gonads would put a few 'what the heck am I doing!??' thoughts through any guy's head. And it's not like giving birth (as my wife constantly reminds me) but giving birth is natural, having a stranger (actually a few strangers) work on your undercarriage in the hopes of making you sterile, I daresay, is not.

I won't post any pics or anything for this (I have some cooth) but I thought it might be of interest to those of us who have outlived our procreative usefulness on this Earth and have rather demanding mates (the last part was a joke, mostly).

My family physician referred me to a Dr. Pollock (website has a lot of info and even a video, if you're into that sort of thing) last week when we were at the clinic. I joked that I had a cold and Spencer needed a vasectomy to her, just to lighten the moment. She, however, had Spencer in mind when she wrote on the referral that I needed a circumcision: good God, that would have been a bother if I hadn't caught it (this doc Pollock does those too).

So I called up the office and get an appointment for today (yes...TODAY, as in the day of writing this!). I hadn't really read the risks and stuff part (how could I complain about such things as 'pain and discomfort' after making my wife give birth to 2 large-headed kids?) but the part about 'grapefruit size' really worried me. Oh well, this guy is one of the best so what choice do I have? (Interestingly, down the street is one of the foremost laser eye surgeons in the world as well, where my wife had here vision corrected for life.) I registered online and after a 5 minute consultation the 'ball butcher' (joke, c'mon!) said I was "Good to go." Good to go? What the heck am I, a sack of potatoes? Maybe so.

These last few days I've been a little tense, as you might expect. I've known about this procedure for years, even watched one on TV about 10 years ago; but the reality of it being me was still a ways away...at least until I was "Good to go." The night before you have to shave the...um...area. Ya, yourself, it's an outpatient thing and you got to come all ready for it. I think I'd trust my hand to anyone else's, but still. How do you do it? I have 2 words: carefully and patiently. 'Nuff said on that.

When I got to the clinic (and after my audioblog just posted) they gave me the pack of stuff I'd need: jockstrap (never worn one before...very supportive), Tylenol, some anti-inflammatory, gauze, some sort of bottles of stuff, soap. It all came in a Zip-loc back and even had "Pollock Pack" professionally stenciled on the bag (this guy is seeming more and more legit). Then you go into the room and the gal says, "Drop your pants and get on the table." Ah, there it is, the point of no return. It was damn near impossible to get on a table with your belt warming your ankles so I suggested to her she direct the next victim to drop to the knees instead. Heck, they don't even get you to take your shoes off! Talk about a Taylorist system!

Next thing I know she's gone and another gal comes in. She was about 4 foot nothing and I could hardly see her before she got on her stool. What the heck! Well, as long as she is good. Actually, I have to say that all of the staff were quite good. Professional, pretty friendly, seemed experienced (although the first gal lost her train of thought once I dropped my drawers, but that was probably because of my nervousness).

Then the doc came in. He had on his mask and some opera-glasses (all the better to see you with) and had a good table-side manner. He asked if I had any plans for the weekend...well, of course, none. I said, "What, people go skiing after this?" "Some do," he replied. Right. Then I asked him how many he does a day: 10? 20? "Ya, that's about right." he said. Holy moly, that's some good coin if you don't mind working with gonads all day!

Everything is ready. Dooogh! He grabs this Star Trek-inspired injector. It uses jet-propulsion or something to fire the anesthetic into you, so no needle (yay!). They don't even 'cut' you in this clinic (my wife asked if they laser it...um...no, only on Goldfinger is a laser even close to a guy's twig and berries), they just draw the tubes out and cut and sew. (Sorry, no nice words for that.) The doc said I'd feel something like an elastic band when he injected the freezing. What!?!? An elastic band? I had no interest in being whacked with an elastic down there, but it was too late. Good thing it worked fast. Then he started to take a tube out. "You'll feel a slight pain or pulling now." Ya, I guess so! It was like a cross between getting kicked in the balls (no idea what the female equivalent might be) and an ice cream headache. Took a while for it to recede. #2 was even worse. I let out a couple of mild expletives on that one. Holy crap! That was more like falling on a bike with no seat. But, it too subsided. All I could say was, "At least I don't have to give birth." That got a chuckle. The doc pulled again and I said, "There's another contraction!" Well, it was over like that. About 10 minutes of actual 'surgery' and then out to the waiting room again to sit for a bit, drink some juice and fill out a survey.

The best part of the whole thing? In the waiting room (guess what, it's all men in there; funny, the guys signing in speak in quick, staccato voices as if they're buying drugs or something) the VCR had the best of Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live. Bloody hilarious stuff. Who couldn't chuckle after 2 minutes of that. He even did the 'dressing up as a white man' and the 'Buckwheat's been shot' bits. Hahaha.

Well, that's it, I drove home and am now upstairs on the Wi-Fi connection; ready for my wife and sis-in-law to wait on my hand and foot (at least until they read this). I can't lift anything over 15kg for a week and it takes a couple of months to confirm that everything went tickety-boo, but looks like I should be alright (where's that wood to knock on, no pun intended).

Here's your Korean connection. In the old days (when Park Chung Hee was in charge of the country) doctors would go to the armed forces reunions (every man in Korea needs to serve about 2 years, and have some refreshers) and say: "You! You! You! Come here!" and give them the chop on the spot. Apparently, they still go there to find men who are in need of cutting, but not as aggressively. Makes sense, I guess.

Quick Audioblog

You can click on it or save and run to hear this one.

A Few Notes From Vancouver

Ok, it's not Vancouver, I'm in Coquitlam...but who the heck knows where Coquitlam is?? Actually, many people I talk to don't know where Korea or Seoul is, let alone Yeouido (but I know you do, because you're an avid reader).

Nothing too spectacular to report (but I will have an interesting event to update you on tomorrow and for the next week or so). How about my boys checking out the fridge for grub to give you your vicarious parenting fill?


Spencer and Winston explore the fridge for goodies.


Winston says, "Hi!"


Winston really gets into his work.

Whew...that must have really blown your mind. An old colleague of mine from RBC Dominion Securities, Tony Osachoff (ha! I wrote that without referring to his card!) took me out for lunch the other day. He moved to Charles Schwab Canada a few years ago (where, apparently, they took a great marketing plan and decimated a company over a few short months) then over to BMO Nesbitt Burns (part of Bank of Montreal, Canada's oldest banks and one of the largest) after the mess was sold to ScotiaBank. I had thought it was the forceful overlay of American business practices on Canadian laid-back culture that had doomed it, but I guess not. These things have happened in the past. Prudential-Bache (now Prudential Financial, they also just completed the acquisition of Hyundai Investment Trust in Korea) came into Canada and left and Merrill Lynch did it not once but twice in the last 15 years: both times they sold their operations to CIBC and last time it cost them about a billion bucks in losses (Merrill also dropped a billion in a failed venture in Japan, too...when will they learn?).

Back to my story, though. It seems Tony O. (as most people call him) has a few Korean clients and he even hired a Korean assistant (Charles Kim, the third Charles Kim I know in Vancouver...what is it with that name? At least he isn't Stanley Park, though).

He had hoped his new guy would give him the ins and outs of Korean culture, but he hadn't even taught him how to give his business card to Koreans! (Let alone any of the language.) I recommended he (i) get a Korean girlfriend or (ii) since he's married, get a Korean gal working with him. I've found that Korean men are usually pretty secretive with their cultural stuff for some reason (unless you're related to them) but the gals are great at passing along important information. Funny thing was, when Charles gave me his business card, and later more of Tony's, he did so with his left hand! Hey, I don't expect a Korean born here to know the rules and follow them, but he even had his military training in Korea and he knows I was there for 2 years, and I'm older than him. Should I take it as an insult? Probably not. Should I wonder just how into politeness this guy is and wonder if I should introduce him to other Koreans? Ya, maybe.


Poster for Tony O. in the foyer or Bank of Montreal.

Upon leaving the bank I saw an interesting mix of Korean and Canadian 'culture'. Here you can see there is parking on the sidewalk! Just like in Yeouido! The difference is in Canada it's by design and there are even meters there. Kinda weird, they made it so you park on the sidewalk...hmmmmmmmm.


Even in Canada parking on the sidewalk is allowed (but there's a meter to feed, though).

Had some more driving to do and found this...um...establishment. I have no idea what goes on inside a 'recreation club and cafe' but I have a feeling they are up to no good. There's even a bell to ring to get in (in case of a raid???). Interesting.


Truis Recreational Club & Cafe? Is this a Canadian room salon?

And here is a look at one of the malls in Koreatown (Lougheed and North Road at the crossroads of Burnaby and Coquitlam). 50%+ of all businesses here are Korean within a 3 block radius. Sooo many Koreans here! Even 3 newspapers (maybe more): The Vancouver Chosun (where my wife used to work, where I had a column and the oldest one); The Korea Times and The Joong Ang Daily (the newest one).


Some Korean signs in Koreatown...who would've guessed!

More tomorrow...

Headhunters: They Can be Good For You

No, I don't mean the kind of headhunters that want to shrink your severed head (sorry for the graphic nature of that statement in light of recent events); I mean recruiting firms. A few friends of mine (and I) are looking around so I figured I'd put this info here so everyone can read it.

First, though, the Korean perspective. Koreans, from what I know, don't really use recruiters much. Much of the economy is run on relationships and word of mouth (and soju and other stuff...) and executive placement seems to be no different. When we look for a senior manager here my boss usually gets someone from his network/tangle of friends rather than hiring a professional firm. I'm not sure which way is better, as a recruiter may not attract the best people over here and it's difficult to judge reputation from a resume, but that's now it is. From what I understand, the foreign firms here use them more as it shortens their search time and allows a local, third-party entity to check things out as well. In the U.S., a recent study by Coopers & Lybrand found that 64% of executive positions are filled through recruiters so it pays to have your name with them as well as traditional ad-searching and networking.

So, here's your primer on recruiters. I didn't make this all up, much of it I got from "Rites of Passage" a book I read about 4 years ago. I also read Kennedy Information's Directory of Executive Recruiters (you can likely get a copy from the library rather than buying it). The directory has a North American and World version and lists hundreds (thousands?) of recruiters and sorts them as retainer/contingency, geographically and by specialty. The most important difference is of they are retainer-based or contingency firms.

Contingency Firms: These recruiters are by far more numerous. They normally fill lower-level positions (non-executive and/or up to semi-skilled). Their business is something like a hunter. They see a position in the newspaper or through a contact or from an approach from an employer and then they (as I know it) throw as many resumes as possible at the human resource manager so that they have the best chance of getting a 'hit' (their applicant gets hired). For this reason many larger firms will state "No agencies." in their ads--contingency headhunters can really bog down the process of the human resource people if many of them are sending umpteen-million resumes to them all the time for multiple positions.

The reason they send to many resumes is contingency firms are only hired if their applicant is hired. The fee is 25-33% of the first year salary of the position. Thus, if it takes 25 resumes to get 1 applicant a position and they make 30% of a $30,000 position ($9,000) then it takes them about 250 resumes to make $90,000 a year: or one every business day. The odds, however, are probably more like worse than 100:1 which means 4+ resumes a day to send out and follow up on. Subtract all the costs of doing this work and you have a colossal pile of paper/emails to get out the door everyday.

Now to get these applicants, though. If you have 10 applicants' resumes in your roster you sure as heck can't send them out to every possible position (unless you're really, really specialized...but even then). To make matters worse (or better, as you'll read) many headhunters are generalists and cover a lot of ground. Back to getting applicants. This is where contingency firms earn some of their bad reputation (as I have heard from those in the business). The #1 thing on a contingency headhunter's mind is "get the resume!"; once they have it they can send it out to appropriate (and inappropriate) positions. They may or may not say that they will get an applicant's permission before submission, but I understand that this is a verbal contract--and not worth the paper it isn't written upon. So what? Well, because they are paid a good chunk of dough for giving a firm your resume and if you apply for the same position on your own the hiring firm may toss your resume in order to keep from having (i) to pay the recruiter a whack of money for hiring you and/or (ii) having a conflict of interest if they want to hire you assuming that your resume got to them first and having to take on the wrath of the recruiter when/if they find out.

Retainer Firms: there is another option (the one extolled in the Rites of Passage book above): use a retainer-based (or retainer) headhunter/recruiter. These firms are 'retained' by the hiring firm (much like a lawyer is) with some or all of its fee being paid at the outset. They also normally have exclusivity on the search and after they've done internal (database) and external (newspaper and other advertising as well as networking) searches (including checking the candidates' references and such) they present 3-4 individuals to the hiring company. They then do their own interviews and perhaps choose one.

The good thing about retainer firms for candidates is: (i) their information is only passed on to employers (and the public) after clearance from the job-seeker (which is good if you're looking while working and value discretion); (ii) candidates will only be presented with opportunities that match their skills and experience (unlike the many useless calls they may get from the shotgun approach of a contingency headhunter); (iii) if the hiring firm receives their name from the retainer firm as well as directly from the job-seeker the hiring firm may be more positive toward it (because it already passed the recruiter's screening process and there is little/no additional fee if they hire that person); (iv) retainer consultants seem to have longer and more specialized experience in the area; and (v) retainer firms generally work with senior positions ($100,000+)--this could be limiting if you're looking for entry-level assignments, but if you're in the experienced category it is nice to not be lumped in with the new graduates category.

There are downsides to a retainer firm, though: (i) each consultant in the firm will have its own clients (hiring companies) and potential candidates (applicants, e.g., you) in their files. If they get a search then they only look through their database and contacts to get suitable candidates. If your resume is with another partner or consultant at the firm then you'll never get exposed to that opportunity. Also, (ii) once a retainer firm closes a job for a hiring firm they will not 'poach' candidates from that firm for a year (or more). This means that if you work for a large company that likely has multiple concurrent searches (plus the time lag) then you may be effectively out of the market if your consultant is with a firm that handled one of those searches in the last while. And, (iii) consultants come and go and their firms merge, divide and go belly-up from time to time (actually the industry is famous for it) so if you're hoping that a consultant is working for you 2 years down the road you may be sore;y mistaken.

For these reasons you should always do your own searching as well; don't rely on the firm to do it all for your. You can't give your particulars to more than one consultant in a recruiting firm, but you can get them to multiple firms (in Asset Management, Investment Banking and related fields I found 140 retainer firms just in the U.S. and Canada). You should also touch up and resend your resume and cover letter (stating your current and desired position and salary range) and 'touch base' with each recruiter every 6 months or so. You can also send an update earlier if you get a raise, a promotion, get a certification or skill-set or change geographic or other preferences.

As you might have guessed, I prefer the retainer firms. They have some drawbacks, but at the end of the day you can mitigate much of these problems by doing a little more work. Also, the discretion they afford as well as the higher-perceived-value service they perform (the hiring company already paid them...they are not the recruiting equivalent of ambulance-chasers) are quite important.

If you contact a firm, ask them which one they are. If they say contingent for some positions you can assume they are all contingency. Pure retainer firms are very up-front about what they are and how they do business, as are many contingency firms. My idea is to only use retainer firms except in the rare case where a position is extremely tempting. However, you should know that some contingency firms will advertise a position they have no exclusivity one (perhaps they just saw it in the paper, much as you might)

Ok, that's enough for now...I just read Yusheng's comment from yesterday and figure this is enough for you right now.

Later.