It’s Monday today.  Nothing significant happened today, which I suppose is a good way to start the week.  I now have four more days to look forward to until next weekend.  I woke up this morning to the sound of Paul Harvey‘s voice on the radio.  The Armed Forces Network (AFN) carries Paul Harvey’s broadcasts every morning.  Paul Harvey is like an old friend to me.  He’s been on the air for ages.  He’s a broadcasting icon in the same pantheon as Dick Clark, Kasey Kasem, and Garrison Keillor ("Prairie Home Companion").  I used to listen to Paul Harvey faithfully at lunchtime while I was a college student many years ago.  He has a wry voice and reads the news as if he’s reading a newspaper to his listeners.  He starts the news with "Page (insert page)…" and ends each broadcast with "Paul Harvey…good day!"  No one can make advertisements entertaining like Paul Harvey can.  His voice has weathered over the years, and it’s easy to tell that he isn’t as young as he used to be.  Still, his voice is clear and a welcome change from what the rest of the mainstream media has become.  He actually shared an Easter message this morning in honor of Easter (it was Easter Sunday in the U.S. this morning).  Can you imagine that?  No news about Michael Jackson, Paris Hilton, or Martha Stewart.  I must be getting old, because the media’s incessant focus on famous people’s trials and tribulations and on human interest pieces (e.g. Laci Peterson or Terry Schiavo) too often supplant news.  Paul Harvey is different.  It’s easier to face Monday waking up to his familiar voice and easy-to-listen-to broadcast.

All in all, life wasn’t too bad today.  I was in a zone at work and was extremely productive.  I ate my favorite kimchi, a sweeter spicy cabbage kimchi, at restaurant downtown with a friend.  My poor coworkers survived the kimchi breath I had after lunch.  I went home intending to go to a board meeting for our local association and instead stayed home and spent time with my son so my wife could go to a resume review session.  The day was sunny and the atmosphere here was upbeat, although the temperature cooled from the balmy 50’s we enjoyed yesterday.  My son got his latest "Thomas the Tank Engine" toy, a battery-powered engine that can two his other train cars. 

I’ll try to end the day tonight by tackling a few ongoing action items I never can seem to complete.  If I can’t finish something immediately, I tend to put it off until I have time finish it.  This has been especially true since I arrived in Seoul.  I really want life to slow down, and I’ve done my utmost not to get caught up in the perpetual busy mode I was in while I was in Washington, D.C.  Thankfully, life here in Seoul feels much more relaxed and slower paced than it has for me in the past three years.  Seoul is not a slow-paced city by any means, but our life here allows us to decide for ourselves how hectic life should be.  Right now, peace and quiet is what I crave.