My Pedigree

Before leaving the States, I started researching my family tree (at Ancestry.com). It's really kind of fun, following the chain of names into the past. You notice all sorts of interesting data in your searches. Looking at census data, I find that my great-grandfather had 19 year-old Danish women as servants twice. My grandfather's grandmother was a widowed mother of 8 children by the year 1910.

The search can be frustrating, too. When you're looking for someone with a fairly common name, there can be hundreds of records and no way to tell which one(s) apply.

All in all, I've found it fascinating. Mapping out the major relationship events of a family member that died a hundred years ago intrigues me. How might I have lived in their shoes? How did their experiences shape who I am today? How will my experiences change, knowing what I've learned?

I need to bust some mad rhymes, yo

We get a few "back home" channels here in Korea. One of them (naturally) is ESPN. I don't think it's the flagship ESPN; maybe it's ESPN 8 (the Ocho). I am currently watching a show on this channel called Hip Hop Hold'em. Wow.

I used to watch Celebrity Poker Showdown very regularly, until they replaced Phil Gordon with Phil Hellmuth. (Who'd have thought Hellmuth could be so bland?) This show is roughly the same concept, only all the people associated with it are associated with the Hip Hop scene. Even down to the "tournament director" who calls all the action: Ed Lover. The biggest complaint (and one I heard often) about CPS was that the celebrities really played badly; the quality of poker just wasn't there. I'm here to tell you, they were all WPT finalists compared to the poker on this show. the betting strategy seems to be based on ego rather than any logical or sane ... well, betting strategy.

I've got to find a way into hip hop so I can get on this show.

I'm Here

I made it. And I finally got back up on the web (Thank Goodness). I've been incommunicado since posting last. My mobile phone doesn't work over here; my phone didn't get connected until today (when my internet was also connected).

Fun.

This Is It...Here We Go

It's 5:30 in the morning on Monday 7 July, and I'm getting ready to go. In a few hours, I'll be on a plane to Atlanta. In a few more hours, I'll be on a plane to Incheon, South Korea. A year of separation awaits. A year of pitfalls to avoid. A year of vid-chats, e-mails, playing Hellgate with someone half a world away.

Bye.