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We went on a little adventure yesterday. Took the subway to the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station and walked a short way to the Yangpyeong Costco store. There were a lot of cool things, most of them packaged too big for The Stumbler's small apartment. However, this place turns out to be a great source for cheese!! If only for cheese, I will be returning to this place in the future. They also had a cheap snack bar, similar to our Costco store in the USA.

(I had a hard time finding directions on the web - the Costco site assumes you are coming by car. For anyone interested, take the #3 exit from the station, turn left, and proceed west about 5 minutes walk. We actually turned 180 degrees from the exit and then went right, but I think any of those west-bound streets will get you there. It is a big red building, kind of hard to miss, just past a big green net covered golfing practice building. The household goods are on the first floor, and if you search hard near the entrance, you will find the ramp to the B1 level where the food is. Beware - the Korean shoppers were much more eager to eat the free food samples compared to the USA).

I have a short history of exchanging illuminated sporting items with The Stumbling Brother. After he began the trend by giving me the illuminated night time fishing line float, I reciprocated by giving him an illuminated badminton birdie. He almost got a new gift this time:



However, on closer inspection, this was not an illuminated Hockey puck as I thought, but instead it was a small light that was made in the SHAPE of a Hockey puck. I think if you actually hit it like a real puck, it would have come apart. Another manly gift I saw, but was too big to bring back on the airplane, was this small 18 million candle power flashlight. Perfect for looking for those lost keys under the sofa, or finding orbiting satellites in the night sky.



As you can see from the photo below, this flashlight would be a perfect accessory for Young Stumbler #4:



Last night was busy here at The Stumbling Apartment. We had a nocturnal visit by both the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy!!! This morning YS#4 woke up to find FOUR quarters under her pillow, and many easter eggs hidden around the home. (Apparently the Tooth Fairy didn't have time to exchange his money to Korean wons, so The Stumbler was nice enough to swap YS#4 4 quarters for 1000 won - I think YS#4 came out slightly ahead in that deal).

Happy Easter.

This morning, YS#4 finally was brave and came to me to have her loose tooth pulled out. After almost getting my fingers bitten off, finally the tooth came out. Here is the proud girl with a small gap, and the missing tooth:

Well, finally The Stumbling girls got to experience the Korean singing room, or no-rae-bang. We went last night with CH and JI, after eating a delicious dinner of Korea-style pot roast (갈비찜 for my Korean friends). At first, YS#4 was a little shy of the microphone, but by the end of the evening she was singing londly and jumping up and down with her new singing buddy JI.

Mr. Cool Guy CH...


The Stumbling girls sing a duet...


YS#4 gets a lesson in tamborine playing from JI...


The Stumbler hits a high note...


YS#4 figures it out... singing a solo here...


Here she's singing a duet with JI, actually in Korean! I don't know how she did it, but the language barrier didn't seem to matter, she was singing as loud as he was...


YS#4 chosing her next song...


I wish I had made a movie of this scene - they were singing a Korean song and jumping up and down, it was quite a sight!


Well, a good time was had by all, and the Stumbling Girls were introduced to some Korean culture as well. I think even they want to go back one more time before the trip is over!

Well, this Sunday being Easter, the Stumbling girls are busy preparing colored Easter eggs. We bought some eggs at the store, but they were worried. In Korea, almost all the eggs have brown, not white shells. So, when shopping, we decided to buy a package of quail eggs. I often eat these at restaurants, but never tried to boil them myself. Well, we did, and you can see the result is quite pretty. After Easter is over, I'll peel these and boil them in some soy sauce to make the style that is often served as a side dish here in Korea.

While I keep myself busy with work, I worry the other Stumblers are going crazy staying inside this small apartment all day. I tried to help matters by buying a Badminton set for YS#4





YS#4 went with me to get my haircut the other day, and had a good time playing with my camera.



One evening we went with CH, his wife HS and their new 2-month old baby girl ES to dinner. Here is Mrs. Stumbler and CH's girls:



Here is YS#4 giving me a gift - what an expression!



Last photos this post - I'm assembling a small lab these days. Here it is in a completely disorganized state. Once I get over some urgent work things this week, we plan to clean it up and make it neat and clean. Doesn't The Stumbler look like a real engineer in that lab coat??? And check out the serious engineering diagrams and calculations on the white board! Actually, I'm considering getting rid of that, or mounting it on the wall. It seemed like a good idea last year when I bought it, but I find that I am not using it as much as I thought, and also it takes up a lot of space.

The visit this time is not a vacation like last time, as I am very busy with work. But we did take some time Saturday to go around a little bit. I had to get a computer at the Yongsan electronics shopping area, and CH took us all there for shopping and lunch. Afterwards, CH drove us for a short visit to Samcheongak where we walked around and enjoyed the fresh mountain air.

Here are the Stumbling Shoes...




YS#4 in a small pavillion. Looks like something from a cartoon to me:


YS#4 and CH:


CH and The Stumbler:


After walking around for about 30 minutes, we went to the coffee shop. CH was surprised that the ownership had changed since he was last there, and the prices were sky high! I think one cup of tea for Mrs. Stumber was $10. If you read on the website link about, you will find Samcheongak was "first established in 1972 as a special Korean saloon for high ranks." I believe now days it is a "high-priced saloon for the regular ranks"...

Two members of the Stumbling Family arrived in Seoul for a few week visit, to be followed by 1 week business trip to Hawaii. Mrs. Stumbler and Young Stumbler #4 arrived at 6:00AM in Korea, a very early hour to be at the airport! That night, we went out for some Korean BBQ beef and had some birthday cake. YS#4 made a good friend last visit with SY, and was really happy to see her again.







And here's a birthday cake from the previous night - CHEESE CAKE. Delicious! Lucky Stumbler - I had two birthdays!