I was in for a big surprise this afternoon. My replacement as chair of our association asked me to meet with him about something. He told me about a past issue we were having and asked me to join him on a walk to discuss it. He took me down to our coffee shop, and out popped half of our association board and the general manager gathered there to throw me a surprise party. They gave me a really nice certificate laminated to an oversized oriental concrete roof tile (see photo below), the same kind of tile we used to repair the association building roof. I was absolutely surprised, beside myself…and touched! I couldn’t believe it. It’s one of the nicest things anyone has done for me. The tile is heavy and believe it or not, pretty expensive. Their thoughtfulness is priceless. I stepped down from the board last September, and I thought that would be the end of it after one year as chair and one-and-a-half years on the board. Of all the special moments I’ve had during my time in Seoul, this one ranks near the top. It’s been a trying two weeks for me at work, and this was such a welcomed respite from the onslaught on my desk waiting to be done. My certificate and roof tile are now proudly displayed on my shelf behind me. I’ll carry that 15 pound concrete tile around the world with me.
For the Shutterbugs: I posted some photos tonight of Halloween activities from the past week. My son is the one dressed up as Batman (see my previous blog entry). I also posted some photos of our pet spider, a golden orb weaver we named "Charlotte." Charlotte is still around and as big as ever. She must be two-and-a-half inches long by now. We’ll be sad when she finally crawls away in a few days or weeks.
Happy Halloween!!!