Leavin' the Laptop Behind

As promised, Korea pics! I left the laptop behind for the first time ever, but apparently I did not leave the guilt. I THOUGHT I had, since I made a conscious decision to make the Korea trip a total writing vacation. But then, as I was window shopping in Insadong, Seoul, I saw this:



I'm sure it says "Starbucks", but the instant I saw it, a little voice in my head translated it to, "Why are you shopping when you should be writing? In here? With a venti nonfat latte nearby and oodles of words flying onto the page?"

But since I refuse to write by hand (it's completely illegible, even to me), and the laptop was a few thousand miles away, I marched right down the street and plunked down some Korean Won for a funky green pot to put on my desk. Then the next day, I visited the DMZ, which I highly recommend doing if you're ever in South Korea. It is the ultimate way to NOT think about whatever writing/cleaning/other project you should be doing.

Other trip highlights: Visiting three different Buddhist temples (one at 4 am so I could be there when the monks rang the morning bells), three different palaces, and two local markets (mostly so I could check out the food, which is sold by friendly people like this):



The highlight of the trip, however, was completely unexpected. While walking in Namdaemun Market, I was approached by a group of teenage boys who begged me to take a picture with them. So I did!



Yep, I'm the blonde one. Also, the only one not wearing Converse. Go figure!

Unfortunately, I came home to Fenway Park and witnessed a nasty game three playoff loss to the Devil Rays. Fenway sure didn't feel like Fenway with the Sox struggling from the get-go (even with the smell of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and Fenway Franks in the air.)

Here's hoping they can rally in game five tonight!

O Niki, Where Art Thou?

Check the date? Yep, it's been a solid month since I've posted. HORRORS.

So here's the scoop on where I've been since San Francisco:

1) Two weeks in Colorado, which included a Fish Episode (as in, I caught four trout plus a gigantic sucker, which is an ugly bottom feeder that slimed me when I pulled it out of the stream.) But I did take some great non-fish pictures. Like this one:



And my brother took this one of me, sitting at the one-mile mark at Coors Field for a Rockies/Reds game:



You know I couldn't manage to travel to Colorado without taking in a game, right?



2) Remodeling the bathroom. I'm not doing it myself--though the idea of knocking out the ugly old fiberglass tub enclosure with a large hammer held a certain appeal--but I still spent oodles of time picking out a new tub, faucets (who knew there were so many out there?), tile, and everything else. Construction got going in earnest last week as the contractor ripped everything out--the vanity, all the old tile, the cheap toilet, even the aforementioned ugly tub--and this week, stuff starts going in. A couple days ago was the new tub (hooray!) and today is floor day. Like the blue? The walls will be a pretty white tile, and a new white vanity goes in late next week. In the meantime, my garage has become a dumping ground of sinks, faucet parts, tile, and grout.

3) Getting ready to go to KOREA! My husband has to go for work next month, so of course I'm cashing in the frequent flyer miles so I can tag along. Though I'm pretty well-traveled (side effect of being an Army brat), I've never been anywhere close to Korea. I'm completely pumped--I'll have three and a half days to soak in as much of Seoul as possible. I've been immersing myself in guide books, online travel sites, and history books on Korea. I think I could easily find a month's worth of things to do, but I'll take the three days in Seoul. I plan to visit as many palaces and temples as possible, take a tour to the DMZ, shop, and eat all kinds of foods I've never tried before. (Thankfully, I've had kimchi and I like it...so I'll always be able to eat that!) If any of you have been to Korea (or live there!) send me your must-do-in-Seoul suggestions. I'm up for anything!

I promise to post pics when I get back, so stay tuned. And when Korea pops up in unusual ways in my next book, you'll know why!