Wiiiiiiiiiiii!!!

I am proud to announce, that after about 2 weeks of stalking the Osan BX (like more hardcore than I have ever done before), I was the lucky person who arrived at about the time the Osan BX opened and got to pre-purchase a Nintendo Wii! So how did this come about? Lets see....

After Cara and I moved to the new apartment on the 9th, we decided that we wanted an LCD TV as well as a Nintendo Wii. The TV was no problem, just go to E-mart (이-마트) and buy one. However, we didn't realize how popular/understocked the Wii was until we wanted one. Around the 15th (day after our TV was installed), I started walking into the BX daily and asking if they had a Wii in stock. I figured they might get it in whenever, and not announce it too much. I was wrong. I was always told to come back on either Tuesday or Friday, which where the BX shipment dates. Since thanksgiving was around the corner, I figured I'd try my luck on Black Friday--oh sorry, I'm not suppose to mention black anymore, it might cause an HR issue at work--The friday after thanksgiving. So I got up with the crowds, and stood in line at the BX, which was an impressive line considering this is Korea--but with $399-$499 laptops, I can see why. So I got to the head of the electronics department line, and... yup, no Wii. Oh well, at least I knew without a doubt that there were no Wiis. Not wanting to waste anymore effort, I started asking more pointed questions like: "Do you have any Wiis? No? When are you going to have them?" and after they gave me an answer, I'd repeat it back. Even if on Tuesday someone said come back Friday I still asked everyday. Sometime earlier this week I had gotten information from one of the clerks that the BX would be receiving 6 consoles. (wow... not a lot for the entire base of Osan...) So I decided to be very agressive, and eventually got some good intel that the Wiis would be coming in on the 29th @ 11am. So I decided I was gonna get there @ 10am and try to buy those. So I got up this morning @ 0940, and realized that I should have gotten up a little earlier to make it to the BX before all the Wiis are sold out. I jump outta bed, throw on some clothes and haul bootie to base. Luckily I live 6-7 mins when going the speed limit and like 4 when speeding (too many turns). And on a side note, I slowed way down when I saw a car turn over on the side of the road where I started to slow anyway. I think he wanted a Wii too. (j/k). I get to the BX around 0955, and its already open! ARGH! So I jet inside (after showing my ration plate of course) and jog back to the electronics section. I see a line, with more than 6 people in it... I almost give up, but someone mentions to another guy who's leaving the line that there are more. So I as I cut the guy off to get in line, I realize that it's just a Wii, and if I don't get one now, I can wait, so I let him get his spot back. But not the guy behind him. Turns out that there were 12(?) consoles, and I got the 9th one! Yesssss!!!! However, this was a pre-purchase line... the Wiis weren't at Osan yet. So I went back at 1730ish and picked it up. Ahh.... a Wii for Mii!!! (and cara too...) :-P

Happy Thanksgivings! And more...

Yes, we survived our many Thanksgivings! I baked a 26lb turkey (my first turkey ever!) made gravy which I wasn't sure about, but it was salvaged by a lady at church, made 3 pans of stuffing, and a cherry-glazed ham. Everything turned out well, thank goodness! Though, I was up baking fairly late several evenings. Mom called my grandmother for her stuffing recipe, and it was a hit for sure. We went to the squadron Thanksgiving on Wednesday, our church lunch Thanksgiving on Thursday, followed by a short stay at the Thanksgiving for Will's coworkers, and then a supper Thanksgiving with some friends from work - complete with the movie Swingers. Friday we had a post-Thanksgiving with some couples from church. All were fun, and the food was wonderful! It'll be awhile until I'm hungry again...

In our non-eating life, we now have a 42in LCD HD-tv on our wall, made by LG and with Korean menus. It's fun to be able to watch movies on something other than the computer screen! Also, Will is trying to get ahold of a Wii, but that has proved to be difficult. They are crazy expensive online and the BX is getting 6 of them at some undetermined (or just unreleased!) date in the near future. First it was 'Tues or Fri'. Then '1st week of Dec'. Each time Will asks, the employees try to avoid the question. Interesting. Hopefully we can get one soon, they're supposed to be super fun!

I'm taking another class online, and I'm keeping up so far which is great - I hate being behind. My next class starts in a few weeks, and I'll have an overlap, so hopefully I can handle that. I may intentionally fall behind in the next class so I can finish this one, which ends around Dec 28. The class starting in December ends in late January, and my next class is supposed to start in February and go through late May. I don't think I'm going to take that one, as I'm due in early June, and I'm pretty sure I'll be worn out by the rest of life at that point!

So far, the baby has been really nice to me, I was overly tired for the first month or so, but never really sick, and I'm not so tired anymore either. I'm 12wks, and I'm hoping it stays easy for the rest of the pregnancy :-)

Registry Woes

So, I spent an entire weekend - and I really do mean an entire weekend - building a baby registry at www.babycenter.com. I was so excited! I picked out all the perfect furniture that would fit in the Korean-sized nursery in our apartment, I researched strollers and car seats until I was confident I had found exactly what I wanted, every category was covered. We had some extra money this month, so I was going to get a head start and order a few things for the nursery - I figured the glider and ottoman were a great first purchase since I could enjoy them now. Well, I went to buy them, and I can't ship them to Korea! If I were to ship them to the states and Fed-Ex or DHL them, it would be the same price over again for shipping! I looked at several other items in my registry, and many of them can't be shipped over here. :-( So, it looks like I'll be stuck using whatever the BX decides to stock (and we looked at that the other day - in general, there are very few choices, with one high-end model and lots of cheap styles, none of which are what I want) or what the Korean version of Wal-Mart (aka E-Mart) sells. We're checking that out this afternoon. In the mean time, I'm sad because a good chunk of my registry can't be shipped to me!!! I looked at other places online, including the AAFES website which stocks the BX, and none of the big stuff can be shipped over here, even through the BX. I just get what they choose to stock :-/. And, there's no use asking them for certain styles, people try that, and get very evasive non-committal answers. So, hopefully the Koreans have cute baby furniture, or one of you has an imaginative way to get large items over here without paying ridiculous prices.