it's been a long time since i posted last. here's what's been happening:
i took some leave and headed back to the states back in may. spent a few weeks with family, spent a week in washington, d.c., and the final week in san francisco. and finally came back to vladivostok. got caught up on of american food, cinema, shopping, and visiting friends and family.
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traveling to the states was a 30 hour trip this time. but i was prepared with my mac, a good book and plenty of coffee and dining. the route was vlad, seoul, new york, washington d.c. (6 hour layover), des moines, 3 hour drive to the folks' place. in order to keep costs down, the department requires we fly economy during R&R's. if we want to stop over somewhere, we have to make it part of the round trip ticket. i.e. you'll fly through the same city both during arrival and departure. in this case i wanted to hit DC and san francisco. for some reason i didn't fly through san francisco on my way home, only on my way back to vlad. but i didn't question the logic.
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lied to my parents about my arrival time in des moines so they'd avoid the rush hour traffic. as i suspected my dad and brother came early so i was only waiting about 15min before they showed up.
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you can never bring home too many souveigners. this time i planned ahead and brought extras. i never left a friend empty handed. everyone seems to love the wooden russian nesting dolls. my girlfriend helped me gather alot of the items. my folks really like the 20 doll set that was unfinished. i got it for them as part of their 50th wedding anniversary. everyone in the family had to take a doll based on sizes and their position in the family and custom paint it. i turned mine into a painting of the world.
fishing trips were cut short due to inclement weather. but i did play a lot of golf with my dad during the good ones.
I gained about 10 pounds.
- i was able to catch up with every friend i knew in DC and SF for the first time in 5 years.
made it to vlad during a 3 day weekend, which still didn't help with the jet lag. by the end of the first week home, i felt back to normal.
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