Odds n' Ends Again

I have to start with another mea culpa. I'm about to commit the same error I complain about in a lot of blogs I read: not posting for awhile, then bringing forth an epic. Internet media ain't easy to read in large doses, I know, and I thought about breaking this into two or three posts. But I didn't.

Well, I spring is actually here after a couple of false starts. We actually had snow last week and had to turn our heat back on. Today, there are people walking around in shorts. I can only hope it sticks this time.

Yesterday I manned a booth at a fair in honor of the month of the military child. Somewhere between scrambling to keep craft materials on the table and chatting with patrons it hit me how colossally awesome my life is. I love the military community and my role in it. Medical professionals field questions about friends and neighbors' health problems, mechanics provide free car advice, and I get to talk about books. There are a lot of readers of all ages over here, and I never tire of talking shop with them. I admit, I operate in somewhat of a utopia—inside the gates, everyone has healthcare, housing, and food. I think my former colleagues at PLCMC would be surprised at how reasonable patrons are when the bottom of their Maslow pyramid is taken care of. I have bad days like everyone else, but it's hard to ignore how fortunate I am.

And on that note, allow me to pay homage to customer service in Korea. Bobby and I had lunch downtown last week. We ordered a pizza, a salad, and a coke. We received these things, garlic bread, and coffee and tea, the last three free of charge. This is called “service,” and it's so common here I've started to take it for granted. We order dinner at a restaurant, and they'll bring us a coke and say, “service” (here, a coke comes with glasses for everyone at the table, and no one drinks the bottle alone. I can't say for certain why asian people are so thin, but part of it probably relates to the much smaller portions in which they take sweets.) We buy a bag of apples, they come with some oranges. I once received a hat with a cake. When I lived in Wales, the brits called courtesy and solicitousness in sales clerks “American service.” I'd have to say Korean service knocks American service out of the water. Sometimes this can get creepy. Sometimes shopping involves nervous clerks following us around stores, clearly feeling that they should help but unable to say anything to us.

That's it for now. I'll keep up with my postings from now on, I swear!