Melissa is gone, booooooo!

* They have these hand towels that are perfect for traveling! Just add water and they unravel from dinner mint size to a washcloth. I love them, I grabbed a whole handful before I left the restaurant.
* Melissa got the best hat ever! It came free with a purchase of 20,000won at the bakery. Anyone who knows Melissa knows that she can spend 20,000 won at a bakery no problem! It was amazing, we ate nothing but donuts, cupcakes, and muffins and we both managed to lose weight over the 3 weeks she was here! Anyways, the hat was a wolf in sheep's clothing! Its reversible, but makes the most sense to have the sheep on the outside and the wolf underneath. I hope it is large enough for her to wear over her snowboarding helmet.
* Speaking of snowboarding helmets, Melissa, Hye Jung, Hye Jung's husband, and I all went snowboarding together. Hye Jung won a weekend at the company's resort condo. It was beautiful! The view looked out directly over the ski slopes. It also had a jacuzzi tub and full kitchen. Melissa and I got to sleep in the traditional Korean bed rolls on the floor. It was so much more comfortable then I thought it would be. I sleep on my sides so I thought it might pose a problem but I slept soundly through the night.
Staying at the condo also allowed us discounted prices on lift tickets and gear. The lift tickets are really neat, they don't attach to the outside of your jacket like the ones back home. They are basically like plastic hotel keys and you step though an automated turn style which opens for you if the key is in your pocket. Anyways, we were able to get the lift tickets and rent all the gear for a really great price, although they did not rent helmets. Which really isn't a problem for me as long as I do the falling leaf thing all the way down the mountain. Which I did for a while but then realized that since I hadn't fallen once I was ready for the next step which is making 's' lines down the mountain. And since I had my original snowboarding instructor with me, Melissa, I though this would be a good opportunity for me to take the next step. Big mistake. I fell a bunch, but one fall in particular took me out of commission. I fell backwards and hit my head really hard. I should have known better than to try something new without a helmet. Sure taught me as I completed the walk of shame down the mountain.
* Melissa was not the only person Chin brought over to work for three weeks. She also brought two other guys, Shannon and Reed. Although Reed only stayed for one week, Shannon was living with Melissa at the abandoned apartment where I threw the Thanksgiving party. Shannon worked in the office with us doing the same writing projects that I have been working on for the past 4 months. Although Shannon was trying hard, his computer was really old and slow. So we would joke that he e-mailed files by carrier pigeon because it would take so long to get. So one day I printed out a life size photo of a pigeon and gave it to Melissa to cut out and attach a scroll to its leg. Melissa snuck into the office when he went to the bathroom and attached the pigeon to his window. Shannon didn't notice the pigeon was there for 3 hours! And then when he did notice it he though it was real and questioned why it wasn't moving. Melissa and I were dieing!!! I hope Shannon took his pigeon home with him as a reminder of how much fun it is to work with Melissa and me.
* I bought the best humidifier ever! Its a large frog and steam comes out of its eyes!!! Winters are very dry here so having a humidifier for the house is essential, but having it be a hypno-toad is a bonus! It was on sale for 12,000 won so I just couldn't say no!
* Before Melissa left we went with Bonyun to a place where you can dress up in traditional Korean clothes and take pictures. We had to pay 10,000 won to do it but that's ok, we had fun wearing the headdresses and outfits. The photographer allowed Bonyun to take pictures of us with her own camera and her pictures turned out way better than the photographers! I was really surprised but Bonyun was not. She said that "only someone who loves you can take a good picture of you." That seems so very true! Tempest you must love me a lot! Anyways, as soon as Bonyun sends those pictures to me I will share them. Hey Melissa, did you take both copies of the photo? If you did then just give it to Lucas or my folks with the rest of the x-mass gifts. Thanks lady!