Articles by mgedwards

Seattle basketball surprise

I haven’t been following sports too closely lately, but I’m pleasantly surprised at how Seattle’s basketball scene has played out. Last summer the Seattle Storm won the WNBA title. Now the University of Washington Huskies men’s college basketball team is on the verge of winning its first Pac-10 title in 20 years. The Seattle SuperSonics have also been stellar this season in the NBA. As a Seattle sports fan I’m used to letdowns and disappointments, late season meltdowns and bonehead roster moves. It’s finally nice to see that two area teams have overachieved this season. I wish their mojo would rub off on the Mariners, but I’m not optimistic the M’s will do well this season. All the best M’s players (except Ichiro) now play for the New York Mariners…er Yankees. I would not be surprised in the least if Ken Griffey, Jr. ends up in pinstripes too.

The #10 Huskies demolished the University of California Golden Bears 106-73 last night to improve their record to 24-4. They are tied with the University of Arizona Wildcats for a share of first place in the Pacific 10 Conference. If they beat the Stanford Cardinals, they could win the conference outright if Arizona loses or if they have a better record against the Pac 10’s third-place team. It’s quite a change from the 1990’s, when Huskies football was the only college game in town. The football team is terrible now, so the men’s basketball team has stepped in to give Husky fans something good to root for. The women’s basketball team has also done well in recent years, although they were disappointing this season. The Huskies should be ranked #1 or #2 in the NCAA Tournament. An NCAA championship would be great, but I’ll settle for a Pac-10 championship.

The Seattle SuperSonics have also been a joy to watch this year. The team wasn’t expected to contend for an NBA title, but now it’s March already and they’re 12 games up in the Pacific Division. Other teams such as the San Antonio Spurs have better records, and the Phoenix Suns have been the darling of the NBA this season. Still, I’m glad to see the Supes doing well. It’s better than the alternative! Whether they can translate their dominance during the season to an NBA championship is debatable, but it’s nice for a change to see the Sonics atop the standings.

On a personal note, I fell ill today. The flu bug has been roaming the halls at work, and several people stayed home this week. I really wanted to go home early, but I was too busy. When I got home I slept for several hours. I feel a little better now. I’m planning to have a nice long sleep tonight and hope to be healthy again by Monday.

Meeting Dr. Kissinger

Dr. Henry Kissinger, a Nobel Prize winner and former Secretary of State for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, visited Seoul today.  I was immensely honored to meet and shake hands with him today after his brief remarks.  Dr. Kissinger is regarded by many as one of our country’s greatest Secretaries of State.  I’m very lucky to have met a statesman of such stature during my first year in the Service.  As one colleague put it, "I’ve been waiting for ten years to meet him, and you get to meet him during your first weeks here!"  Yep, I’m lucky I guess.  I thought I would have to keep working in lieu of hearing him speak.  However, everyone was invited at the end of the day to a meet and greet.  I’m privileged to have had an opportunity to meet the man who played a crucial role in U.S. foreign policy and is largely credited with spearheading normalized relations between the People’s Republic of China and the U.S.  Dr. Kissinger remains a giant in foreign policy and still consults on numerous foreign policy issues.

Last night I was happy to get reacquainted with an old friend, my personal computer.  I received it yesterday in my air freight and set up late last night.  It still functions just the way it did when I disassembled it back in Virginia (technology can be so touchy sometimes).  For the first time in an eternity I have a perfectly functioning home network.  My computer runs great, and my secure wireless network works seamlessly.  I may jinx everything by mentioning how well it’s all working, but I can’t help but mention how happy I am to have my computer back.  I had been using our old laptop until it arrived, but the laptop is much too old and slow to do everything I want to do.  Now that I have my computer back I can start using technology to do some tasks that require a top-of-the-line system, including video editing.

Superdad

Today I was Superdad.  What’s a superdad?  He’s the guy who wears many hats in the family.  You often hear about "supermoms," the moms/wives who do everything.  Today I can honestly say I was Superdad for my own family.  I know, a true Superdad is a Superdad everyday.  However, the start of my tenure as Superdad began after we arrived in Korea.  I previously found it difficult to juggle the many responsibilities of a Superdad, because my primary focus on learning Korean and on our move to Korea.  Today was different.  I worked a full day at the office, and I multitasked after I came home.  I played with my son, cooked dinner, did the dishes and spent the rest of the evening putting our home in order.  Our air freight arrived today, so we have yet more things to sort through and put away.  I cleared most of the furniture out of one room to make way for our new den, and I moved the furniture to another room.  When I came home the air freight was scattered throughout the house, but now it has been pretty much been put away.  In an odd way it is very liberating to be free to do all of those things.  I’m sure it will get old after awhile, but for now it’s a nice change to be Superdad.