A Korean Koristmas

This Christmas proved to be a merry one indeed. We celebrated in our apartment, along with my brother, 3 boxes of fried chicken, endless amounts of beer, wine, egg nog, and khalua. We drank and ate all night long, watching old Christmas movies around the Christmas tree. Come midnight, we started opening all of our gifts. It really felt like Christmas with the surprisingly huge loot under the tree. Cheryl Parnell came through with a box full of wrapped presents for us, and our kids at school gave us some pretty amazing goodies as well. All of that, accompanied with Bryan, Khalil and I doing our own exchange, turned our floor into the warm-hearted Christmas wrapping paper mess that I have come to love.



Another gift Bryan and I gave ourselves was a trip to Japan. We had been thinking about it a couple weeks prior, but clicked confirm at 3am Christmas Eve. The morning of the 26th we flew off to Osaka for 5 days of sushi, sashimi, and Satomi, Bryan's brother's fiancee.


Selina and I in front of a beautiful waterfall in Monkey Park. Located in the midst of a mountain range just outside of Osaka, there are hiking trails seethed in packs of monkeys ready to surround and attack unsuspecting Osakians for their snacks. In Nara, Selina fed wild deer cookies. The deer are trained to approach tourists and politely bow for their food.



Thanks to Satomi, we truly had an amazing trip. She took us everywhere: temples, deer parks, Buddhist shrines, 20 story high ferris wheels, and amazing mountain top views of Osaka. We stayed right downtown Namba, shopped in some of the coolest neighborhoods, and indulged in some of the most delicious food I've ever consumed. It was Bryan's second time in Japan, but my first, and it feels good to have another country to add to the archive.





Us in front of the Golden Palace, made from real gold.




















We made it back to the 'dong the morning of New Year's Eve, and geared up our engines for what turned out to be the best New Years Eve celebration of our lives. DJ Steve Aoki blew the roof of the party, while pouring champagne and vodka into the crowd for an added treat. At one point during the night, we found ourselves operating a heavy lift machine that took us to the sound booth at the back of the party, with the best view in the house. Then I look over, and Bryan and Ian are triple fisting inside the BMW that was on display. Needless to say, 2009 was rung in in style. 2010, if you can beat this year, as well as that blowout of a party, I will be both pleased and ridiculously impressed.



That's all for now, let's see what 2010 brings.



Lots of love from South Korea. ♥