Monday, October 12, 2015

the one-day work week

I'm off to work today, then I'm simply off on Tuesday, which gives me time to pack for my trip to the States. I'll be in America from the 14th to the 19th; I start my trip back to Seoul on the 19th, but because of the number of stops and the length of one layover (nine hours in San Francisco, baby!), I won't be back on the peninsula until the 21st. This is something to keep in mind when you no longer have months and months of vacation time (I had four months a year as a university prof): the length of your departing and returning trips. The 19th, the 20th, and the 21st... that's three calendar days eaten up by travel alone. Sure, it was a cheap ticket purchased on Kayak.com, but cheap tickets have that hidden price: the price of time.

That said, it'll be good to see my brothers and my buddy Mike again. I won't be able to see my goddaughter, Mike's eldest, however: she's in college in Richmond, at Virginia Commonwealth University. But I'll see the rest of the family.

I'm also glad that my flight doesn't leave Seoul until 4:35PM on Wednesday. This means I can wake up a bit late that morning and finish whatever prep I didn't manage to do the previous day. As for the prep itself: I'm still trying to decide whether all I really need, this trip, is just a carry-on with a single change of regular clothes, my hanbok, and my toiletries. What else am I really going to need, right? I'm not going to go on a shopping spree while I'm in the States—except, maybe, to buy a mess of fiber capsules and underwear, and that's all stuff that can be shipped to my place separately.

The cell-phone issue, too, seems to have resolved itself: instead of buying anything in the States, whether it be a SIM card or an el-cheapo TracFone, I'm just going to shut off roaming and rely solely on Wi-Fi. The resort where Sean's wedding is happening is doubtless equipped with Wi-Fi; if it's not, well... that's how I'll know I'm really in West Virginia. My final day in the States will be spent back at Mike's house, and he's got Wi-Fi there, too. I think I'm set.

Getting excited about the upcoming jaunt.


_

7 comments:

Bratfink said...

Have a great time! xoxox

Kevin Kim said...

Many thanks.

The Maximum Leader said...

You MAY see your goddaughter. We are picking her up from school on Friday and the two of us are going to a hockey game on Saturday. She will be home on Sunday before we take her back. So it will all be timing...

Kevin Kim said...

I'm coming back to Fredericksburg on Sunday morning/early afternoon... my student Amy says she'd rather meet for lunch than for dinner, so I might not actually be back at your place before late afternoon. Will the g-daughter still be there at that time, or will she be on her way back to VCU?

Charles said...

Have a good trip, man. I'm leaving tomorrow, so that should be fun.

Kevin Kim said...

Safe travels to you, too, Charles!

John (I'm not a robot) said...

Enjoy the trip and festivities. I don't envy you that return flight though.