Friday, March 30, 2007

Dollars

Every time going back home on business trip my pocket is fulled with coins. I used to put them in the basket for donation, UNICEF, at an airplane or airport. It was always hard to use and count the coins as an alien.

US paper currency has had many nick names. The notes themselves are generally referred to as bills and any combination of US notes and coins as bucks. - Federal Reserve Note from Wikipedia

(그러니까 five-dollar bill 또는 fifty bucks 이렇게 얘기하는 거다)
  • Bill or Paper money
    1. Banknotes
      There are 7 types of bills that are currently used, $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 $50, and $100. I hardly see to use bills larger than $20.

      (실생활에서는 $20 까지만 많이 쓰는 모양이다. 처음 미국 출장 갔을 때 Market에서 약간의 물건을 사고 $50를 내밀었더니 점원이 당황하던 기억이 난다.)

    2. Large denominations
      Today, there is no bill larger than $100. At one time, however, 5 larger denominations, $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, $100,000 were issued. One thousand dollars can be referenced as "Large", "K", "Grand or "Stack".
  • Coinage
    1. Today circulating coins exist in denominations: $0.01, $0.05, $0.10, $0.25, $0.50, and $1.00.

      (1¢(Cent)는 Penny로 100개 있어야 $1가 된다. 우리식으로하면 10원. 5¢는 Nickel 그러니까 50원. 10¢는 1Dime이며 1¢보다 작다. 100원에 해당하니 만만히 볼 넘이 아니다. 다음 $1/4에 해당하는 Quarter가 있다. 우리식으로 하면 250원이니 애매하다. 이외에 50¢(50-cent, Half dollar or piece)와 $1(Golden dollar)가 있는데 잘 통용되지는 않는다고 한다. )

Monday, March 26, 2007

Place for living in Bellevue area

Near the office, WA 98007, I'm looking for the good apartments for living. Currently I have 4 candidates. To compare one with others I made a simple sheet. After fee for rent is added, the followings will be considered to choose one.
  1. How far is it from the office? Can I go to work on foot?
  2. How mush do I pay for rent?
  3. How nice is the school for my kid?
  4. Is there a library and market nearby?
  5. Doesn't that apartment have a bad name?
  6. Dose a garage follow the floor plan?
  7. Is there a washing machine at floor?
  8. When was the apartment built?
  9. ...

Sunday, March 25, 2007

The 3 things I have to do upon arrival in US

I listed up the 3 things I have to do upon arrival in US. There is nothing to be easily done for foreign align who never knows culture and system in US.
  1. Obtaining US Social Security
  2. Obtaining Washington Driver's License
  3. Opening US bank account
These days I'm memorizing some useful English expressions to do above 3 things. I think I can post a couple of funny stories in which a align will try to settle down in strange planet.

Opening a US back account

You need to bring the following documents with you at a bank.
  1. Original Passport with Visa stamped on its page
  2. Original I-94 card issued to you when you arrive at US airport
  3. Original of employment Letter which you accepted with signatures
  4. Original approval of your Visa issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Service - Form I-797
  5. Receipt of the application for your Social Security Card
The banks, Bank of America, near the office are located at below addresses:

  1. Bank of America: lake Hills - near DOL(Department of Licensing)
    15550 Lake Hills Blvd, Bellevue, WA
    (206) 358-2500
  2. Bank of America: Overlake Park - near the office
    2400 148th Ave NE, Redmond, WA
    (206) 358-2423

Obtaing Washington Driver's License

Upon applying the US Social Security card at US Social Security Administration Office, you will then proceed to apply for your Washington Driver's License. The Washington Driver Guide can help you prepare for the written and road tests. You can find more information at the Online Guide to Washington the DMV. The Driver Guide translated in Korean is also available at the WA State Licensing.

You will bring with you the same documentations that brought with you at the US Social Security Office.
  1. Original Passport with visa stamped on its page
  2. Original I-94 card issued to you when you arrive at US airport
  3. Original your employment Letter which you accepted with signatures
  4. Original Approval of your Visa issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service - Form I-797
The Bellevue Licensing Service Office is located at the address below:

525 156th Ave SE
BELLEVUE, WA 98007-5335
(425) 649-4281
- Click to see the map with the MS live.com.

Obtaing US Social Secutiry - The first thing I have to do upon arrival in US

Upon arrival in US you need to go to the Office of the US Social Security Office Administration to apply your SS number. You must bring the following documents with you.

  1. Original passport with visa stamped on its page
  2. Original I-94 card issued to you when you arrived at a US airport
  3. Original your employment letter which you accepted with your signatures
  4. Original approval of your H1B/L1 visa issued by the US Citizenship and Immigrant Service - Form I-797
The address location of office where I will go is found using Google map:

US Social Security Administration
505 106th Ave NE # 301
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 450-3936

Thursday, March 22, 2007

JungDong-Jin

At last weekend I went to JungDong-Jin in GangWon Province with my family. It might be last travel before I leave Korea. We slept for a night in hotel Suncruise.

A view of JungDong-Jin from hotel room


Hotel Suncruise. It's on a hill, imitates a ship


Small beach at JungDong-Jin

I loved PDA

Palm m505
The first PDA I had was the PALM Pilot. It was amazing and fantastic. It was exactly what I dreamed. Compared with cell phones that had only 4 lines B&W LCD, PALM had large 160x160 LCD and touch panel. It displayed graphics and supported handwritten recognition.

Then I worked for Computer Division of Samsung Electronics. I was sured that devices like PDAs would defeat cell phones. That was the reason I volunteered for new division in which IZZI Pro and IZZI Palm was developed.

The Palm m505 shown at above picture is my 3rd PALM. I'm still using it for every minutes.

Packed up

At Monday I was day off and packed up clothes, books and a bike for sending them to Seattle. The next day two people from Hyundai Shipping took them. The Hyundai Shipping is the largest shipping company in Korea. There are lots of shipping companies but many of them are infamous for asking additional charge or breaking due date. Comparing those companies I thought Hyundai Shipping is better and choose it. But rate isn't chip enough.

Standard 3cbm costs 1,350,000Won (about $1350). 250,000Won (about $250) is charged each additional 1cbm.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Get a H1B visa in Korea - in my case

* This posting is just from my personal experience. It couldn't be used commonly.

After you accept the offer letter from US based company, a lawyer of the company will proceed the visa process for you. I got a H1B visa status at last year, 2006. It took almost one and a half years since I have accepted the offer.

1. Visa quota for H1B - just 65,000 cap at FY 2007

The applications are able to be accepted from April 1. The screening of applications is started at beginning of the fiscal year(FY). The start of FY in US is October 1. The applicants who pass both screening and interview are able to start working from October 1.

The quota usually reaches in a few months. At 2005 the quota for 2006 reached at around July. Nobody expects when the quota is reached. The faster is better.

2. Interview and finger-print at US embassy

Congratulations on passing the screening of applications. The lawyer will send you whole application documents including I-797, your resume, offer letter and job description. You can reserve the interview through the website of US embassy in Seoul. Remind yourself to prepare all documents listed.

The Consul who was my interviewer asked 3 questions. "How did you find the company?" "How long have you worked for the branch in Korea?" "What'll be your responsibility for your job position in US?" It took only 10~15 minutes. Please speak loudly with confidence.

Reserved a ticket for Seattle

Now I'm in Korea . At 9th April I'll be in Greater Seattle area with my family.

At previous week, I reserved an airplane ticket for Seattle. The small venture company in Seattle had hired me for 2 years. Instead of paying the H1 visa processing fee, the company asked me to return just after 2 years and work for the branch in Korea. Only 2 years in Seattle isn't enough to do everything I want to do.

It passed about one and a half years since I has made up my mind to transfer to US. But I'm not sure whether I correctly decided for my career path and happiness of family.

I'm taking a step towards a completely unknown and foreign place. But I'm sure that I can handle things that will be encountered there. I'll prepare for them and deal them wisely.