7 Quick Takes Friday #1

I have followed Jennifer's 7 Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary for a while now, and considering the limited amount of time for posting I have this week, I decided to take her up on her encouragement to her blog readers to post a similar short weekly review. So, here goes.

Saturday. Better known as the day I learned that I was no longer young, on Saturday I accompanied study abroad students up the mountains in the southernmost region of South Korea, seeking out Buddha carvings on cave and rock walls and pagodas of the Silla dynasty. For the rest of the time I was in Korea, I could barely walk! Lunch was Korean style, sitting cross-legged on the floor. That was painful! Then, just to make sure I could not move, one of the people who had accompanied the students, a Tae Kwon Do instructor, insisted that I "learn a little" of this martial art -- of course, in front of the whole group, and of course I was not very good, especially with legs that no longer worked! In the evening, I had made it back to Seoul (the bullet train took only 90 minutes), where, via a friend, I was invited to attend an Oktoberfest at the Grand Hilton, with a real oom-pa-pa band from Bavaria and dark German beer, arranged by the general manager who hails from Germany.

Sunday. A friend took me to the International Catholic Church where the host is dipped into the wine; there was no alternative. Ouch! Our local beloved Fr. Ed would be aghast! (Question to the Catholics who read this blog: what is the practice at your church?) I was introduced to the church members at the end of mass by the Hilton general manager (small world!). After that I attended the church's annual BBQ. Talk about good timing! And they say there is no such thing as a free lunch! Then we walked all over Seoul and in the evening had dinner with other friends I had met from the church. We ate Korean style, cooking our own meat on a grate over burning coals that the waiter at the loved-by-locals, hole-in-the-wall-restaurant-with-delicious-food in the Itaewon district changed for us periodically. After cooking small pieces of meat, we dipped each in peppered oil and rolled it up in lettuce and basil leaves again and again and again. I ate too much!

Monday. I met with the administration (dean, vice-dean, and staff) of the university where the students are studying, gave my candid (positive) feedback of their program, and went to a cross-legged lunch with them. Ouch, ouch! After that, I was able to sit quietly at a theater and watch a performance of Nanta (Cookin') -- a marvelous farce that includes audience participation (all I had to do was catch and throw balls -- yes, no legs involved), cooking utensils as musical instruments, and a lot of good fun. The troupe has performed internationally in 26 countries, so maybe some of you will get a chance to see it.

Tuesday. I traveled with one of my senior managers by bus to Osan, where we have a branch office. Lots of issues to be fixed there, and the senior manager will be coming back regularly. I might also go back in early 2010 to make sure things are on track.

Wednesday. I left Seoul mid-afternoon to return to California. I arrived in California early Wednesday morning, thanks to crossing the International Date Line. What a weird feeling! I had most of the day to live over again. I lived two Wednesdays! I am still trying to wrap my head around that! I cannot even answer the question, "what did you do Wednesday morning," with one simple answer! I found out upon return that our son, Shane, who recently had surgery for a ruptured appendix (the day he brought his daughter Nikolina home from the hospital after spinal surgery) is well enough to go to work on Saturday! Hooray! The doctor said Shane came within two days of dying. Praise the Lord for his full and quick recovery! God continues to spoil the Mahlou clan! (And I would be horribly remiss not to thank the readers of this blog who have been praying for both Nikolina and Shane; your prayers are being answered, and I am grateful to you for them.)

Thursday. Punishment time for some of the fun I had in South Korea! I arrived to 672 emails! My assistants had done a good job of handling all the major tasks while I was gone, except for completing a realignment of our directorate with the reassigment of a manager who took it as a punishment that he would have a new boss (whom he does not like). I am still working that issue! I finally dragged myself home at 8:00 at night (another 12-hour day).

Friday. That's today. Just dawning here in California, and I need to crawl into bed for an early start at work. I will not have to work into the evening. I am having an early dinner with a former employee, who missed receiving her "goodbye mug," my traditional parting gift for employees, because I was out of town and could not give it to her at her farewell lunch. After dinner, I get to take the little soaps and shampoos that I collected from the hotel (one bottle of shampoo and one bar of soap always lasts me at least a week so I bring the rest back with me) to the homeless shelter in the town where Shane lives. Then, oh yes, I get to see him, Lemony, and my grandkids! Yippee! What a great way to end the week! And there is one more thing to be thankful for. This is the day (9/11) that brought so much sadness to so many, yet one of Lizzie's friends was spared. He worked on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center, but he "accidentally" overslept that morning. Hearing his voice when he called Lizzie to say he was okay was like seeing new flowers growing in a forest after a forest fire. Praise God that life continues! May the souls of those whose fate was not to escape rest in peace! And may God bring peace to their families!

That's a-l-l, folks! And now I am going to try to get the Mr. Linky at Jennifer's site to work and then flop into bed for a few hours before the sun tugs me out of it all too early. Have a good weekend!