Report from Seoul

The trip to Seoul was wonderful. I went up on the bus with my friend Sara. She has a nursling just one day older than Shane. This seemingly extraneous bit of information will be important later.

We had a nice breakfast and cruised around the BX, which always has different stuff than ours. I admired this Michael Kors bag, but resisted its many charms. Then, off to the thrift store, where the universe delivered on the two bags it owed me after I lost my 'Kate Spade' totes in the great mold epidemic of '08. Note the resemblance between my $6 messenger bag and the $300 MK. I even like mine BETTER.

The highlight of the trip was a massage at the Dragon Hill Lodge salon. The massage room has three massage tables in it. When I went in, there was someone in there already, getting a massage. They pointed me to my table and stood there, waiting for me to take my clothes off. So I did. The massage was unusual in a couple of ways. First, she started on my... umm, errrrr.... 'chestal region'. I had been away from Shane for a couple of hours and I was a little worried that the masseuse would get an eye taken out by Colostra's golden bounty, if you know what I mean. And I think you do. I had my eyes closed and I didn't hear any screaming or dismayed-sounding Korean chatter, so I guess if she got hit it wasn't in a vital area. Then, she kneaded my innards. After that, my arms, legs and back got a lotion/hot towel/treatment and a vigorous slapping around, and she finished by yanking my hair for a few minutes. It doesn't sound very appealing, I agree, but it was surprisingly relaxing.

We had Mexican food for lunch, then got back on the bus to come home. The bus ride wasn't so fun; we had to sit on opposite sides of the bus so it wouldn't tip over.