After almost a 4-month hiatus and surprisingly high number of complaints from my loyal readers, here I am...back at my usual, favorite blogging spot in my light mustard leather sofa with the Olympic divers jumping off a 3-story platform on TV with little splash...(WARNING: This one is going to be lengthy, so buckle up, everyone).
OK...where do I begin...I KNOW I need to put some sort of a closure to this past summer...one of the most incredible summers I've ever had and without a doubt, the absolute best one for my young family of five.
The day after I finished my Marketing class with Cohort 28 in SF, I flew out of SFO, on a Korean Air flight with my family for 12 long hours. It was a homecoming of sort for me personally. When you pledge to start a completely new career in your mid 30's, taking your family to an unfamiliar territory to pursue a Ph.D. in the middle of nowhere in the rural Northeast Colorado, you go back home only one way - the only way I know - if you feel you've accomplished what you had set out to do...Yeah, I guess it had something to do with what we call amongst Korean men a "face issue" too, but more importantly, it was one promise that I had made to myself - I ain't ever going back home if I don't make it here as a professor.
My family had not taken an extended vacation in five years. In those five long years, we had gone through a lot - mostly positive and exciting experiences, but certainly the ones I am not sure if I can ever replicate if I had a choice. I had owed my wife this vacation, I had owed my parents this homecoming, and I had definitely owed my kids this peek at their daddy's homeland.
THE FIRST MONTH...
My gosh...the receptions by family members, friends, former colleagues, and old acquaintances were truly unforgettable. Some of these people I had not met in almost 6-7 years. Before I got on that airplane, I had estimated about 13-15 get-togethers with various groups of people that I HAD TO meet. I ended up with 12, I think.
I might have mentioned in class that the "Asian way" of doing business (or closing a deal) typically takes place over a couple of adult beverages (AB). The only problem is those couple of AB's almost always end up being couple of BOTTLES of hard liquor before the night is over. I had gone through that for more than 10 years when I was working in Asia and it's a friggin' miracle that my liver is still functioning as one. Well...even after 5 years of prolonged absence in those wild, wild replenishment sessions, there are some things that just don't change.
I would say that an average Korean, white-collar office-worker would end up getting hammered at least 3 nights per week (not counting the weekends, of course). That's just the work culture that almost everyone accepts and lives with. It's a physically challenging thing - staying out with clients or superiors until 1-2 in the morning and trying to make it to your 9AM meetings with some semblance of sobriety...2-3 times a week for God knows how much of your professional career...it takes SERIOUS "gutting it out" (literally!) and special enzymes for your mind and body to withstand that much pounding to your pipes. The sad news is...your body is the most adaptive creature in the world and the more often you do it, the better you get at it. Nothing more idiotic than to brag about your alcohol tolerance, but you do it long enough, getting hammered three nights in a row becomes do-able. The bottomline? Half the men I know who make ton of money and gets all the respect in the sporting industry SHOULD belong to a local AA, but they think their lifestyles ain't so bad. Who am I to argue against that? All I know is that by the month's end, I was real glad that I didn't have to do that as part of my job descriptions. I found out that I could still do it :-), but I knew that wasn't what I needed at this juncture in my career.
THE SECOND MONTH
All the people I met in Korea weren't necessarily for pleasure or catching-up purposes only. I did manage to meet a lot of people who could play an essential role in making the Study Korea Week (SKW) possible next year. I knew them well, they were happy to see me back, and that's how the conversation about the SKW got off the footing. Here is a typical excerpt from one of those typical evenings in Korea...
Me: So, any special plan for the Lunar New Year's next year?
He/She: Not really...the usual family gathering and chilling out during the long holidays...
Me: That's good because I need your help prior to or after the Lunar New Year's next year, I think.
He/She: What help? You don't need my help?
Me: Yes, I do...I need you to do your thing in front of my TWENTY grad students for about an hour or so and buy us lunch. Can you do that for me?
He/She: What??!!??
Me: I am trying to organize this Study Korea Week for my students early next year and need people like you to step up to the plate and deliver for me. Do a short business overview for maybe half an hour and open up for Q&A... a piece of cake, right?
He/She: In English, you mean?
Me: Damn right...:-)
He/She" No waaaaaay~
Me: Use a translator then, but you KNOW I ain't gonna pay for that. Plus, how many times a year do you get to show off your (broken) English in front of REAL Engllish-speaking crowd? :-) It'll be cool.
He/She: What about the lunch part?
Me: You belong to a well-respected/recognized organization in Korea, can you not get your company to pick up the check? These students might be poor grad students right now, but they'll make it somewhere in the sport scenes one day. Who knows what and how they will pay back the favor, you dumb XXX?
He/She: (thinking)...
Me: Mark your calendar and I'll email you the official memo, so that you can get your cash advance :-)
He/She: We'll see...we'll worry about that later...bottoms up...(a shy way of saying "Sounds OK"...)
Using this somewhat primitive yet efficient approach, I think I have semi-successfully seduced the following "victims":
- 2 Sport Management professors,
- 1 Sport Editor in the biggest newspaper in Korea
- 1 Sport Media veteran (one of the best TV rights guy)
- 2 sport brand marketers (Puma and Sports Toto - legal betting company)
- 2 sport venues managers (1988 Seoul Olympics Promotion Agency, 2002 FIFA World Cup Venue)
- 2 Sport Marketing Agency people (Arguably the most active ones in Korea)
- 1 policy maker (now working in the Korean White House affectionately called "The Blue House")
Of course, I do not anticipate all of these people to deliver at the end, but I am pretty sure that more than half these people will come through for us. The exciting news is that some of my "victims" are proud alums of USF Sport Management people!!! and I KNOW they will step up to the plate for us (incl. the Blue House guy who in reality might have enough power to MAKE the rest of these people come clean for us :-)
(USF Sport Management Alumns in Korea - over BBQ dinner!)
I've also managed to work with an agency I know forever to work on the logistics of this thing incl. the costs estimates. It depends largely on the air fares, lodging (single vs. rooming up), and meals, but we're hoping to make it under $2,000 for the trip (excl. the USF tuition for the no. of credits that you will have received once the University approves this as an Elective course).
THE SECOND MONTH - Part II
I know I can't close this one out without mentioning my "Magic Johnson" moment...I can now chuckle about it, but it was a close call back then. My mom's been on my tail all summer, totally adamant about my getting a full physical check-up before I came back to the US. The check up that the Korean men get every couple of years are far more sophisticated than what we get here in the States for insurance purposes. They go through stuff like ultrasounds, stomach endoscope, colonoscopy among others...Why?? Read the paragraph titled "FIRST MONTH" of this posting :-)
I had not done this in probably 7-8 years and mom was getting worried, saying that "Men should start paying more attention to their bodies once they reach forty!" (Mom!~!~)...I knew I had something that required some sort of light treatment to my digestive systems, so I postponed the exam until the last minute. Why? I didn't want to ruin the summer by checking in at the hospital and wasting 1/3 of my summer!! Sure enough, when I finally went in for the check-up, the dreaded Ultrasound Room to be exact, the doctor stopped in the middle of scan and said..."Wait a minute...What;s this funny looking thing in your liver? Something of this size warrants a CAT Scan...right away." Those were the exact words, I swear and my heart just DROPPED right there. The next thing I know, I am looking at myself entering one of those tunnel-like, high-tech camera which shoots and produces 3-D images of my EVERYTHING! Yeah, by this point, it was no longer funny... They told me that the test results would come back in a week and that they think it's some sort of TUMOR - could be nothing serious but then again they wanted to be sure (meaning that it could be something horrible like a cancer.
That afternoon...my God...my entire family was acting like they were all at my funeral to be and to an extent, I couldn't help myself joining them in on it. It was the biggest reality check...putting things back to perspective...All I could do was holding onto my daughter, my first love...and keep praying...
I also kept telling myself that I've never done ANYTHING so evil to deserve anything like that..and that it was going to be alright...That week seemed like eternity and the final week of my amazing summer hit the brick wall...It turned out that it was indeed a tumor but a benign one. Something that might have existed since birth but the technology might have been advanced enough to detect it on camera until...well...today...they said... It's OK to be leave it on my liver as long as it does not grow...If it does, I gotta take it out...A big sigh of relief, you say? When you experience a close call like that, your knees just buckle and have to find yourself a seat. It took that much out of me, I guess... The big learning was...again about the family and close friends around you...and to love them even more and not forgetting to tell them how much you love them, because if you're EVER hit with something like that, time is your biggest enemy...
Especially after this awakening experience and when I heard that Professor Randy Pausch (of "Last Lecture") had finally lost his battle against cancer last month, my heart truly broke. All you fathers would agree with me on this, but the hardest thing for him to give up was his moments with his kids.
Watch ABC Special on Celebrating Professor Pausch' life...
Some things in life you just do not own...
THE THIRD MONTH...
The last month of our vacation took place at my sister's condo in Honolulu...Yeah, the initial reaction ? NICE, right? I couldn't complain but it wasn't what you'all think it might have been. I think I might have spent most amount of time inside the minivan driving and picking up family members to various places and also at doctor's offices for my mom's treatment and my wife's...etc. I was ready to come back to the Bay area. The thought of leaving my house unoccupied for three months started getting to me. I knew that my backyard would be just about ready to call for Tarzan and Jane...and the Post Office was long done with forwarding my mails after the 1st month. Yeah, the reality bites...:-)
When we flew back on July 29th to SFO 2 days short of THREE months to the day we had left, we were all kinda relieved and thankful. We were mostly thankful that the kids were healthy and excited about their experiences in Korea. We must have taken about 300 plus pictures of the kids in Korea this summer. My mom used to always tell us that the more you play, the faster you grow and it was no exception for our kids. They GREW so much over the summer it's incredible. They also learned the Korean language after about 2 weeks completely on their own and they had absolutely no previous proficiency. Totally amazing...
So...here we are...finally back to our comfort zone, our routines, and our lives in East Bay...took us almost couple of weeks to get back to normalcy...my laptop's been down twice and gone in for repair twice...no excuse for lack of blogging, but you'd understand...My next Marketing class with C30 and C10S kick off the first week of September...one of my favorite months...(Chris Isaac sung this wonderful song called the "September Blue" or something of that sort, I remember and I am not if that's available on iTunes...)
What a summer it was..I think we needed that...I am so refreshed and thrilled about this upcoming season... Stay tuned for more posts...I need to share with you my Random Thoughts post on the Olympics, iPhone, and the upcoming Fantasy Football season....among other things...
Good night and good luck in the new school year...
Yay! Finally a new post!
Great to hear all about your amazing summer with your family!! Glad to hear everything is well with your health! I was worried that it was too many ABs! haha! Great to see you at the social the other week as well!!
Take Care Choi!
Cassie
Posted by: Cassie | August 24, 2008 at 05:54 PM
Well, I cannot help but be a tad bit envious of your extended vacation. I always say that men of your stature have earned that time off (and I still believe that), but it never fails to resurface in my mind the desire I have for such an endeavor. I am glad to finally see the extensive happenings of Operation Korea. Being an older young buck, I have seen those days of ABs washing down more ABs on more than one occasion. But, to read about the madness that occurs in the land of Korea, I quickly realize that any tolerance I may have gained over my short number of years on the wagon is nothing compared to the drinking machines of Asia. I definitely tip my hat to you.
I know how it is to see old friends, especially the last month, and I am very happy you had the great opportunity to meet up with all of your buddies. Compound that with the drink and many good times are usually had.
The conversation about Study Korea Week you shared with us is absolutely hilarious. Just thinking of it again is bringing quite a grin to my face. To be a part of such a week would be a great honor and privilege and I certainly hope I get that opportunity.
About that scare; didn’t really enjoy reading about that first part of it. Really enjoyed reading about your good health though.
Glad to hear that your kids were able to pick up Korean. It will be such a useful tool for them as they continue to get older. I only wish my German was up to par right now. I imagine a few months in Germany would do the trick, but I do not foresee that happening anytime soon. Well, it was nice to read about your vacation and it was even nicer to see that everyone had a wonderful time. It is good to have you back in the United States and look forward to potentially seeing you around the Southern California campus
Posted by: M. Clark | August 25, 2008 at 03:16 PM