Articles by mgedwards

On my own

I took my son and wife to Incheon Airport yesterday.  They flew to Shanghai, China and will spend the next five weeks there visiting family.  Alas, I will stay home and hold down the fort.  Am I happy or sad or both to stay home alone?  Both, of course.  It is tough being separated from one’s family.  Last summer we were separated for almost five months.  I was very glad when we reunited last July.  It took my son awhile to warm up to me after that separation, because he hardly knew his father.  This time will be different because our time apart will be shorter, and he’s a bit older and more aware than he was last year.  Of course I’ll miss my wife too.  After many years of marriage, we’re very comfortable in our relationship.  We survived many periods of separation, and we survived many times when we were distracted by obligations to our son and family.

 

I have to admit that I am glad to have some time alone.  One, I can enjoy peace and quiet.  I can sleep in and not have to get up early to take care of my son.  I can finish consolidating our home in peace.  Our home is a disaster place right now.  I am reorganizing everything while they’re gone.  I accomplished more yesterday afternoon by myself than I did in the last two weeks.  Between caring for my son and keeping him preoccupied, I have had very little time to manage our home.  It’s nearly impossible to keep him away from the piles of stuff lying around.  If there’s action going on such as moving furniture, he’s there to “help.”  I don’t mind having him around, but I can now concentrate on rearranging the house without being disturbed.  This is important because we have too many belongings that need to be put away, sold, or given away.  In addition, when you move frequently, you need to be organized or you end up losing some of your belongings.

 

Secondly, I can focus more on work and community service.  I volunteered for a few community activities in the coming weeks.  For example, later this month I will judge Korean high school students in an English speech contest.  I want to do as much volunteering now as I can so I can cut back later when my family returns.  I enjoy volunteering, and it’s important for my career.  However, my family takes priority over my career, so it’s best to do as much now as I can.  Thirdly, I can do things now I couldn’t or don’t want to do while my family was here.  For example, I can join in some of those Friday Poker nights I’ve missed or sing at a noraebang (노래방), or karaoke joint, with friends.  I have yet to get together with friends here for a soju (소주) party.  (Soju is Korean rice alcohol.)  When I was living solo in Washington, D.C. last summer, I had a wonderful time hanging out with friends and colleagues.  I wouldn’t trade having a family for the single life again, but there are simply things you cannot or should not do when you have a family.  You’re much too busy to go out and socialize all the time.  I can’t bring myself to leave my family home to go out and have fun.  One of the benefits of separation is that it gives me a chance to socialize a bit more than I have been here in Seoul.

 

Tonight I went to our community Association’s annual dinner.  I was elected to serve on the association’s board of directors.  It is quite an honor.  I’m new to Seoul and wanted to find an appealing volunteer opportunity.  The Association manages substantial investments here in Seoul, including a neighborhood Starbucks Coffee and 20 extended-stay apartments.  It will soon lease space to a Quizno’s Subs shop.  The board position will hopefully give me a chance to use the MBA I earned in 2003.  I don’t often use the quantitative skills I learned in my current position, but managing a large investment is an MBA’s dream.  Speaking of my MBA, I was very happy to read that my alma mater, the University of Washington MBA program, is now ranked #18 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.  When I first started in 2001, University of Washington barely registered in the national MBA rankings, but now it’s rocketing up the charts.  Once the new business school building opens, the program should rise even further up the ranks.  Right now it’s housed in an ugly monstrosity disparagingly known as “Balmer High (School)” and “a model of Stalinist architecture.”  I’m happy that the value of my MBA is increasing dramatically, and I’m glad I attended in the old days before tuition and minimum GMAT scores began to skyrocket.  If you’re looking for an MBA, check out the University of Washington.  It’s an underappreciated gem of a program, and it’s still affordable relative to other top 20 MBA programs. 

A Tribute to the Pope

Pope John Paul II (born Karol Jozef Wojtyla) passed away on Saturday, April 2 at 2:37 p.m. Eastern Time.  He was a wonderful man.  He was one of those great men one can admire regardless of political persuasion or religious belief.  More than anything he did, he was inspiring.  He inspired millions around the world to seek faith, social justice, moral values, and religious tolerance.  He gave hope to people.  After he was nearly assassinated in 1982, he recovered and went on to serve long thereafter.  He gave a voice to those who needed a voice, whether it was for the unborn or for the sake of peace.  His convictions transcended partisan politics.  The archbishop of Philadelphia said it well when he said, “Above all, he will be remembered for finding his purpose and holding fast to that purpose.”

Although I am not Catholic, I admired Pope John Paul II.  I am thankful I had a chance to see him in Vatican City many years ago during one of his weekly public addresses.  I’ll never forget it.  I didn’t understand what he said because the Polish, Italian, German and other languages he used were spoken with a thick Polish accent.  Nevertheless, it was very moving moment for me sitting in a holy place listening to this great man talking about something that transcends language.  I remember him standing at the altar above the tomb of St. Peter, addressing those who were gathered.  A few months later, I visited Krakow, Poland where the pope served bishop before his election in 1976.  I visited some of his old haunts.  I saw the cathedral where he was bishop and stayed for just $2 a night at a rectory in his diocese (I was a poor, starving student traveler at the time). 

In reflection, it is amazing when you realize that this man—the first Pole and the first non-Italian elected pope in hundreds of years, was chosen to serve as pope during the height of the Cold War.  At the time, Poland was a Warsaw Pact nation, a member of the Soviet Bloc, and officially an atheist nation.  Religious presecution was prevalent.  Wojtyla’s election then was a radical move by the Catholic Church.  It has sometimes been said that Pope John Paul II, like President Ronald Reagan, was instrumental in bringing down the Iron Curtain.  He inspired the faithful behind the Curtain to put their trust in something other than communism, and he may very well have been a guiding light to movements such as Solidarity in Poland that instigated the collapse of communism.

Pope John Paul II will be missed.  The Catholic Church has a huge task ahead of it choosing the next pope, and the next pope will bear a huge burden emerging from the shadow of Pope John Paul II.  I hope the next pope will be as great as Pope John Paul II was.  It is a daunting challenge.  God rest his soul.

A Rant Against the Taxman

It’s not much of a rant, but it’s a rant I know most taxpayers have from time to time.  Why do I have to pay so much tax?  The Beatles popularized a song about the nefarious Taxman.  The only things sure in life are death and taxes.  The April 15th U.S. Internal Revenue Service income tax deadline is soon upon us.  My brilliant wife finished our taxes early, and I will mail our forms and payment to the IRS on Monday.  Fortunately, this year we don’t have to pay much to the Federal Government.  Unfortunately, we realized while doing our taxes that we need to pay a substantial amount of income tax to the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Keep in mind that I stayed in Virginia temporarily and that my permanent home is Washington State.  However, because I worked in Virginia longer than 183 days, I need to pay Virginia income tax.  It slipped my mind because I do not need to pay state income tax as a Washington resident.  Also, my employer did not require me to fill out a W-4 for Virginia, so I did not withhold any Virginia income tax last year.  Consequently, we now have a big Virginia tax bill to pay.  It’s manageable but still bites.  I would have had to pay it anyway last year.  It’s not fun though writing a big check to a place where you don’t legally live.  If you’re assignment temporarily in Virginia for work, keep in mind that you will have to pay local income tax if you live in the Commonwealth.

On a happier note, this blog passed its 2,000th page view yesterday.  That is astounding considering I haven’t done any advertising.  Thanks to everyone who’s stopped by to explore World Adventurers since it launched in December.  I hope you enjoy my daily, random musings about life and our adventures overseas.  I also hope you find that this blog is a little different from other blogs.  I try not to focus on a single topic and like to mix it up everyday.  When we move to another country, the blog will go with us.  It’s sort of like a James Bond movie without the suspense and beautiful women— it’s written on location in many different settings.

From the Things that Make You Go Hmm… Department:  Wouldn’t wrinkle-free business suits be great?  Would you buy one?  I unpacked one of my business suits today.  It’s very wrinkled.  I will have to either iron it myself or have it pressed by a dry cleaner.  I can’t live without the wrinkle-free shirts I bought at Men’s Wearhouse.  The shirts never need to be ironed, relieving me from ironing them once or twice per week.  I still have to iron those darn business suits.  They wrinkle much too easily.  Suits are easier to press than dress shirts, but I would pay a premium to buy a good, wrinkle-free suit.  I’m sure that I’m not the first professional to feel this way.  The future may of suit technology may lie in nanotechnology.  It may be another 10 to 15 years, but I am convinced that wrinkle-free suits will eventually come to market.  It’s a market waiting for a product.