Hey, you are probable wondering where the hell I have been, huh? Or maybe that's just my sense of self-importance figuring you are all waiting with baited breath for the next post. Either way, here I am. A few things to address from the past 10 days.
First, and of course what we feel is the most pressing issue, our Cooper report. Well they say that no news is good news. I say spit on that!!! Unfortunately, that is just the case regarding news on Cooper. Since we had such a flurry of activity a few weeks ago, we have not had any NEW information. Basically what I can say is that all the paperwork is now in order and completed except for that final piece... Cooper's travel Visa to leave the country and come home to us. Once that appointment occurs {which we were hoping would have been this week}, they call us and tell us it is time to make our plans and get over there. We have all the airline and hotel reservation information ready and tagged in our 'favorite' lists so we can just punch it up and complete the plans. We are just waiting for the call to come. I think Susan has officially sewn her cell phone {this is how they will contact us} to her hip. So, all those who can, please try to summon up a little more of the POSITIVE ENERGY and send it over to the Korean government to get that Visa approved and for our phones to ring!!! I think we have decided on 1 of 2 hotel choices while over there... Koreana and Lotte. Both are right in the heart of downtown and within walking or a short subway ride to many different attractions: Cheongye Stream, Insadong {shopping, art, museums, and dining}, Gyeongbokdong Temple, Namdaemun Market, Buddhist Temples, and much more. Kind of looks exciting, huh? Oh yeah, and the grand prize... our own Cooper. I know, I know, you've seen that picture before, but unfortunately it is all we have so I have to reuse it... although it doesn't get old seeing him, does it?
OK... quick question for those world travellers out there.... with Korean Air we have the opportunity to fly nonstop out of JFK which, unless something really wacky comes up, we are going to take. However, we will have the option of taking a flight leaving at 1:55 in the afternoon and getting in 7:30 PM (+1 day) Korea time (15 hour flight)... Or the other flight we which we have been leaning toward is one that leaves 12:50 AM and gets in 4:30 AM (+1 day) Korea time. We feel that we should take the evening flight which would give us at least the opportunity to sleep a few hours during the flight to help pass time, and still give us some time to rest {early morning} when we get there before hitting the streets. Confusing???
Example:
We leave Friday afternoon 1:55 and get in Saturday evening 7:30 PM Korea time.
OR
We leave early Sat morning (just after midnight) and get in Sunday morning at 4:30 AM.
Any input on this discussion???
OK, enough dwelling on that which had yet to happen. I suppose the reason I have the time to do this tonight is because Susan is off in Orlando escorting some 350 high school seniors on a trip to Walt Disney World. I am sure she is having at least some fun, although I know this is NO easy task trying to keep track of all those little hormone bags and trying to minimize/ prevent problems from arising. So that leaves me and the girls to fend for ourselves. I think we can handle it; they are good little girls when you really look at it. But I must absolutely thank everyone that has helped out so far and plans to help the rest of the weekend: Mimi, PopPop, Grammy, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Kathy. Without the loving support of our family to get Liv off the bus, pick up Kira, play referee for a few hours until I get home from work, etc.... I would be in deep, deep trouble. So please accept my and the girls' sincere thanks. Susan will be home Monday night and things will get better again. But don't cry for me, the girls and I have a nice weekend planned and should have some good weather to get out and play. It would be nice to sleep late, but alas, I am sure I will get the "I AWAKE" call from Miss Kira down the hall at a bright and early 6 AM. Oh well, that's why the coffee business is a multi, multi billion dollar a year industry, right? OK, enough dwelling on my little issues.
Finally, and certainly not least. All those who know me, know that I am rarely to be taken seriously... or at least figure that anything I say doesn't have some slice of wit and sarcasm. But, if I may be serious for a minute...
Please try to share a few prayers for the victims, families, friends, and survivors of this most heinous tragedy at Virginia Tech earlier this week. I cannot tell you how horribly affected I am by this situation. I just think back to my college days and how I wold have reacted in a similar situation. It just makes you be fearful that it could happen anywhere, any time without reason; LIVE LIFE EVERY DAY!!! Unfortunately, this does affect us in a personal way because there does exist an unwarranted, ignorant, and senseless backlash against the Korean community. And it has even gotten as far as the Korean citizens lighting votive candles and holding vigils, as well as government statements decrying this young monster's actions. We do hope it does not tarnish the US-South Korean relationship and negatively affect our adoption process. But I digress and I am sorry for personalizing in that way for us. I suppose this would be a good time to hop up on the soapbox to discuss gun control.. something like who in the HELL other than police and the military need semi-automatic weapons?!?!?!? You can not and will not convince me that anyone in the public sector, like hunters or collectors, need to fire off hundreds of rounds in less than a minute... at anything, any time... rabid squirrels?? dive bombing ducks??? vicious deer??? P'SHAW!!! Sorry, I really did not mean to prosthletize... I just think we need to focus on the proper causes of these types of horrific acts like lax gun control or misidentification and mistreatment of mental illness, and less on skin color, ethnicity, etc.
Well, enough for now because I have probably distressed or depressed you, but figured I had to get out the information. All in all, we just want to thank you for all of your help, support, and positive thoughts over these past few months, and we hope that we can start blogging from Korea in the VERY near future.
Scott
2 comments:
If it was me, I'd vote for the flight that gets you in at 7:30 at night. You're going to feel crappy either way, but trying to sleep for a few hours in the morning will just leave you feeling disoriented, I think. (Plus, that's assuming you can fall asleep immediately when you get to the hotel. You might be too wired just because of the new environment, and the fact that it will be light out on your way from the airport to the hotel.) But if you take the one that puts you in at 7:30, then you can get to the hotel, have some dinner (there's probably something in the hotel, so you don't have to feel like you need to navigate the streets), and unwind, then get to bed at a more regular bedtime and hopefully sleep the whole night through. You'll be more adjusted to the local time if you do that. Just my two cents.
plus, I think given the fact that you would have to leave after midnight and would get in at 4:30 AM, it will feel like 2 really long days, but in the other situation it will only feel like 1 really long day.
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