Applied for SSN

Tuesday(April 10) at this week, I went to the Social Security Administration office at Bellevue. Obtaining US Social Security is the first of the 3 things I have to do upon arrival in US.

It's easy to get to SSA from office. Using the Bel-Red road go to the west-south direction and turn left to take the 124th Ave. NE and immediately turn right to take the NE 8th street. When reach 106th Ave. NE, turn left.

After pulling out a number ticket and writing a simple document, a officer gave me a sheet of paper including following 'Important Information'.

.They will check the documents with the agency. It will take about 4 weeks.
.If that agency tells us their records agree with yours, we will mail you a Social Security card.
.If they tell us their records do not agree with yours, ...

(이주 화요일 SSN을 신청했다. 4주 걸릴 것, 못 받을 수도 있다는 간단한 설명과 함께 종이 쪼가리 한장을 받았다. 빨랑 보내주란 말이다~)

How to order at Starbucks - 스타벅스에서 커피 주문하기

Seattle is famous for a Starbucks as well as rain. At the Seattle downtown there is 1st Starbuks. Ordering a cup of coffee at Starbucks is as confused much as memorizing street numbers near office, for me.

1. Decide if you'd like to drink a hot or cold.
   찬(Cold) 음료와 뜨거운(Hot)음료를 결정한다.
   
   
2. Choose size.
   다음 중에서 컵의 크기를 결정한다.
   
   1)Short(8oz), 2)Tall(12oz), 3)Grande(16oz), 4)Venti(20oz)
   
   *여기 사람들은 Tall 사이즈를 주로 마시는 듯, Short은 메뉴판에는 없지만 Order하면 준다.
   
   
3. 모든 라떼(Lattes) 종류와 카푸치노(Cappuccinos) 그리고 마끼야또(macchiatos)에는 에스프레소(espresso)가 들어간다.
   
   1 in short and tall
   2 in grande and venti
   
   Americanos와 Mocha Valencias에는 이보다 1잔 정도 많은 에스프레소가 들어간다.
   
   
4. How to order. - for example
   실제 주문하는 예
   
   Tall Americano with room please. 또는 Can I get tall Americano with room?
   (room란 크림을 넣기 위해 비워두는 공간을 얘기한다.)
   Short no room Americano.
   
   Tall Green Tea Frappuccino Blended Cream.
   (프라프치노는 얼음에 커피,물,우유 기타 시럽등을 갈아만든 것인데 여름에 마시면 꽤 시원하고 괜찮다. 그러나 발음을 잘 해야 된다는 거ㅡ.ㅡ)
   
   A double tall non-fat extra-dry cappuccino.
   (해석하자면 non-fat milk넣고 거품(foam) 추가해서(extra-dry) tall 크기 카푸치노 주세요. 어렵다. ㅡ.ㅡ)
   
   * 이외 extra-dray나 non-fat 자리에 쓸 수 있는 말:
   extra-dry(거품 많이), wet(거품 적게) , extra hot(더 뜨겁게), soy(콩 우유)
   

I couldn't understand language in Starbucks, a cuple of days ago.
그저께 스타벅스가서 아메리카노를 주문하는데 벌어진 일.

1.I(나): "Can I get Tall Americano?"
2.clerk(점원): "room for cream?"
3.I(나):
...
(I'm wondering whether there is 'room' for cream??? Finally I said.
멀뚱멀뚱, 무슨 크림에 방이 있나? 내가 잘못 알아들었나? 망설이다.)
No thank you...

There are a lot things to know to just order a cup of coffee. To know those things is to know their culture that is totally different from ours. They may think that how can we don't know kinds of simple things. But it's just because we're not familiar with theirs, we have lived in different culture.

Anyway, to live here WELL ENOUGH, I have millions of things to know and learn.

Rent an apartment - 아파트 구하기

Today I have looked an apartment nearest the office. I can go to work on foot if I live there. In addition the libraries and market are near. But monthly fee is very expensive.

I preferred 2nd floor. But at this time just 1st floor is available and it's a little small, 883 square feet (~24.8Pyeung). I'm worried whether it's too cold in winter because the living room window is towards the north. Still I don't decide to move in.

• Unit for area of the house - Square feet
  
  1 Pyeung = 35.583 sf2
  
  
• Useful expression while trying to rent a apartment
  
  
  1. I'd like to rent an apartment.
     (아파트렌트하고 싶은데요.)
     I'm looking for a two bedrooms, one bath apartment.
     (방두개 욕실 하나 짜리 찾고 있어요.)
     Do you have available?
     (지금 방 있나요?)
  2. Is there a security deposit?
     (보증금 있나요?/계약기간이 끝나고 기물회손여부에 따라 돌려 받을 돈)
     Are there extra fees?
     (추가 비용이 있나요?)
     Is there sufficient parking spaces?
     Is it furnished?
     (가구가 들어가 있나요?)
     Do you have a washer and dryer?
  3. How will the rent be prorated if I move into it in the middle of the month?
     How many keys can I have for my apartment?
     May I see the different floor plans before I sign a lease?

(회사 가장 가까이 있는 동네에서 비싼 축에 속하는 아파트 구경을 갔다. 막상보니 883sf2 크기가 작아 보였고 1층, 북향이라 어두워 보여 결정을 못하고 돌아왔다. 위치로는 회사로 날 좋으면 도보도 가능한 거리고 근처 편의 시설도 좋은 곳. 내일 점심 때 거기서 2년간 살았던 회사동료를 만나니 몇 가지 의견을 물어보고 결정할 예정. 더 외곽으로 나가면 차 두대는 필수라 애매한 상황이다.)

Arrived at Sea-Tac airport - 9th April

Finally I arrived at Sea-Tac airport, 9th April 2007. The road was wet. It was drizzly, typical weather in Seattle.

When the last time I visited here, it was early September, I could see the shiny bright sky everyday. I can see clearly that the rain will be gone, before long.

(여기 시간 9일 오전 11시20분 경 Sea-Tac 공항에 도착했습니다. 전형적인 시애틀 날씨, '이건 비가 오는 것도 아니고 안오는 것도 아니야.'를 떠오르게 만드는, 그러나 맑은 공기 덕분에 저멀리 구름 사이로 햇빛이 비추는 것을 볼 수 있었습니다.)

The office where I will work is at the 1st floor of the building in Bellevue.

After 13 hours, I'll be on an airplane

It's 2:46am Monday. At last day I packed my clothes, laptop and ... in bags, "이민가방". After about 13 hours I'll be alone on an airplane to Seattle, my family will be in Korea till end of this month. Still I don't know whether I did decide correctly or not.

While drinking beer

Changing moneny at a good bargain

I changed some Korean won to US dollars today. To change money at a good bargain:

1. Use Korea Exchange Bank (외환은행)
2. Use internet to get 55% discount for commission

I used Kookmin Bank because there is no KEB nearby. Compare when changing $1,000 at 6th April.

1. KEB: To buy $1, you should pay 948.20 won. After applying 55% discount, 939.24 won for $1. So you pay 939,245 won for $1,000.
2. IBK(기업은행): To buy $1, it costs 951.35 won. After applying 30% discount, 945.75 won for 1$. So you pay 945,755 won for $1,000.
3. Kookmin Bank: You can get 50% discount when using internet. Exchanging rate is 2ndly low, follows KEB.
   

(환전. 은행 마다 환율이 다르다. 외환은행의 환율이 가장 좋고 인터넷을 이용하면 55%의 수수료 인하를 받을 수 있다. 공항에서 환전하지 말것. 환율이 안좋은 은행과 외환은행을 비교할 때 $2,000 정도 환전하면 1만원 넘는 정도의 차이가 난다.)

The last working day in Korea

Today is the last day for work before leaving. I'm suffering from a hangover because I boozed with my coworkers until 2am. I must missed such a warm Korean-style party, boozing bottles of SoJu to the death with close buddies.

(새벽까지 술 먹다. 여비 마련하느라 여기저기서 쌈짓돈 끌어 모으고 있는 중 어제 한방으로 큰 타격 입다.)

Improve mass storage access speed with USB2.0 (3) - Alternative HW design

• Limitation of speed with HW design, Fig.1

With the HW design, Fig.1, there is a bottleneck of speed when it connects with PC. To get maximum speed, the transfers, (1) and (2) should be done at the same time. But usual device driver for mass storage isn't designed considering it. For example, with Intel PXA27X BSP for Microsoft Windows Mobile, the transfer is done one after the other. Cause the FIFO size for USB endpoints is very small, typically 512Byets, comparing with the size of HDD, larger than 128KB, the speed is reduced even by one-fifth of its maximum.

• Alternative HW design

The Fig.2 may be alternative HW design. With direct connection between HDD controller and USB controller, a fastest Ultra DMA could be used. Typical currently used USB controller supports direct connection by ATAPI standard interface, like Ultra DMA.
In case of connection with PC, we can get the maximum speed without any CPU load, (1). When it is need for CPU to access the HDD, (2), DMA can be used.

Arpeggione sonata by Schubert

One of my favorite classical piece is Arpeggione sonata by Schubert. I love this piece played by cello of Rostropovich.

Improve mass storage access speed with USB2.0 (2) - Use DMA

• Use DMA
  

Using a DMA is the common way to improve transfer speed and reduce CPU load. There are roughly 3 types of DMA transfers used by USB peripheral controller, like Philips ISP1583.

1. PIO mode - Usually use a small size of transfer buffer, for example 8KB FIFO. Slowest and make CPU load high. DIOR/DIOW and IORDY signals are used.
2. Multi word DMA mode - DREQ and DACK signals without IORDY signals are used. According to specification it has almost same speed with PIO mode. But it's faster and makes lower the CPU load in practical implementation.
   
3. Ultra DMA mode - Such as HDMARDY and DSTROBE signals are needed. Highest speed.

* For further investigation, refer the ATAPI specification.

With CPUs commonly used for handheld device like Intel PXA27x(passed to Marvell), PIO mode or Multi word DMA mode can be implemented. The data transfer of connections (1) at Fig.1 should be implemented with Multi word DMA.

Improve mass storage access speed with USB2.0 (1) - Domain

For the handheld device, it becomes being smaller and having more functionalities, USB 2.0 interface is likely to be used more frequently with huge capacity of storage device, HDD. Comparing other interface like as CF, it requires less pins to connect with peripherals, only 4 pins, D+, D-, ground and Vcc.

To get the maximum speed of transfer it's best way to make connection directly between the USB2.0 controller and storage device. But some of hardware design may cause bottleneck of transferring speed(see Fig.1.). I'll deal how to improve the speed of accessing mass storage device, HDD, with USB2.0.

How to send money to US account with H1B visa status

Yesterday I went to the bank to check how to send money to US. To buy a car and rent a house at least $20,000 will be needed. As a result it's difficult to send money to US with H1B visa status.

(은행에 들려 몇 가지 알아 보았습니다. '해외체제자'로 등록 가능해 연 10만불 까지 송금가능한 유학생 비자등과는 다르게 H1B 비자 소지자는 외환법상 '비거주자'로 분류 되어 송금이 어렵더군요. 합법적으로 10만불 이상을 송금하려면 한국은행에 신고하여 송금해야 하는데 이 때 자금의 사용처에 대한 증빙을 작성해야 합니다. 이외 아래와 같은 다른 방법이 있다고 합니다.

1. 한국의 친지를 통해 '증여성 송금'을 한다. 1일 1만불 이하 연간 5만불 이하 가능. 자금출처가 명확해야 하고 증여세를 추징당할 우려가 있음.
   
2. 출국 시 필요한 돈을 모두 환전해 나간다. 1만불 이상이면 출국시 그리고 미국 입국시 신고 필요. 이때 신고서를 보관하고 있다 귀국시 사용용도 신고)
   

Buying a car - What a difficult in US!

Let me show you how to buy a car in Korea. Every motor companies like Hyundai have their own agencies. The car price that a buyer will actually pay is almost same as the list price on the catalog released by motor company. There are no kind-of car dealers.

So to buy a car, after choosing a trim and checking price on the catalog and then go to a agency nearby and pay for it. That's it. It's up to you how to pay, a credit card, cash or getting loan. Usually 1 week later, a agency will take your new car near your home.

In US, there are lots of dealers who sell a same car with different packages and varying prices. I am confused with new terms such as MSRP, in-voice price, OTD, ARP.... Above all things there are too many fascinating cars in US to choose just one car and I have no enough budget for it.

(몇 일 째 미국에서 차 사는 법을 공부하고 있다. CarBuyingTips.Com을 들여다 보고 있는데, 한정된 예산에 차는 두대를 굴려야 되겠고 새차 헌차 차 종류는 많지 차 사는 시스템을 좀 알려고 하니 뭐가 이리 복잡한지 정리가 하나도 안되고 있다.)

A Wet Haegum With Rain

A Wet Haegum With Rain by Kang, Eunil
(Plz click the play button to listen to it)

Eunil Kang plays a Haegum with other present-day musical instruments in this album, named 'Ancient Futures'. A Haegum is a Korean traditional musical instrument, a Korean fiddle.

Her play makes my mind be relaxed and I feel getting strength.

Korean calligraphy and antique: A photographer's Blog

At last week I met a high school colleague. It's been 3 years since I met him. He majored in German literature and Philosophy. Comparing that almost all of my colleagues are salaried workers, he who is interested in translation of Nietzsche's literary works is unusual man.

He may be in Finland at this week to attend a exhibition featuring the photographs taken by himself. Gosinga.Net is his blog where you can read essays about Korean antique and see photos. (What does it mean, Gosinga?)

(신학교를 지망하던 친구가 이제 불교에 관심을. 내 좁은 인간관계에서 엔지니어와 셀러리맨과는 다른 길을 가는 친구를 가끔 만난다는 것도 행운이다.)