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Met up with Trevor this afternoon, and MY and Angus were there also. Here are the happy mother and son:

During the seminar we had a break and took a walk around the nearby park. The park, indeed the whole area of the city, appeared completely deserted! I felt like Will Smith in the recent movie "I Am Legend". In fact, this huge park we were wandering around in was built years ago for an international technology world's fair called the Expo 93. Here are few shots of the deserted area, including one of a hippo I made for The Stumbling Mother.

CH and I took a day trip to the city of Daejeon on Monday to attend a seminar. We took the KTX bullet train (pictured above) which took about 50 minutes. The ride was just as comfortable as the Japanese Shinkansen which I've ridden many times. The train runs normally at 300 km/hr, or 185 mph for my American friends. That's really fast!

Arrived at the South Daejeon Station:



Then to the seminar which was held at the convention center.





After the seminar, they offered a full dinner buffet spread for all the participants. Here we all after dinner, and I was steaking strawberries from CH's plate:



We departed from the main Daejeon train station



taking the regular Korail train which took 1 hour 40 minutes, but was not actually too much longer since the station in Seoul was quite a bit closer to our office.

It was tiring, but fun.

My latest addiction:





As I'm busily watching a baseball game and eating Laughing Cow cheese cubes and crackers, I was too lazy to photograph these myself - instead I stole these photos from Korean online shopping sites.

Had dinner last night with some friends, and I was asked the most unusual question twice, by two separate people, in different situations. One was a taxi driver, and the other was a retired cellist. The taxi driver asked me if I was a Swedish man. The cellist asked if I was from Norway, or another Scandinavian country! No one has ever asked me that before, certainly not twice in one night.

I also received an interesting voice mail on my USA cell phone. It was a nice performance of "Let It Be" by some piano player/singer, apparently in a night club. I listened through the whole song, trying to identify some voices in the crowd. After the song ended, there was applause, and a second song began. I gave up after that - I have no idea how long the message was, nor who sent it. This might be someone joking with me, or it could be an example of what I've heard called "butt dialing".

On the return trip to Korea, I flew to Los Angeles for a side business trip. I drove a couple hours on the Ventura Highway (although it should be more properly called the Ventura Parking Lot) to a small town near Santa Barbara called Carpinteria. Stayed at a Holiday Inn, and couldn't resist taking a photo of this sign in the bathroom:

DEAR GUEST:

Due to the popularity of our guest room Amenities, our Housekeeping Department now offers these items for sale (price list follows).

Each guest room attendant is responsible for maintaining the guest room items. Should you decide to take these articles from your room, instead of obtaining them from the Executive Housekeeper, we will assume you approve a corresponding charge to your account.

THANK YOU

They have very cleverly re-worded what should have been "don't steal the towels, or we'll charge you". Talk about spin! For creativity above and beyond the call, this sign writer should be given an extra bonus, or at least a bath towel.

By the way, Carpinteria, or what I experienced of it in a short overnight stay, is a very pleasant small town. Quite a contrast from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles.