It doesn't look like much

I guess I've just been desensitized by the mass media. We talk about how there is too much violence on television, but I don't think I will ever feel blahze about witnessing violence in real life. I've discovered that money is a different story. We so often see suitcases, briefcases, and wads of cash that are enormous...I never put in perspective how much money a briefcase could hold. Until today.

For a full 20 minutes today I was the proud owner of $44,o00 in cash. In Benjamins. It was fabulous. I thought briefly of taking it home, taking the wrappers off, and just throwing it all over the floor for pictures. I have a feeling that my money would not have been accepted if I had just stuffed it back loose in a bag, so I nix'd this plan. These pics are much more mundane, but still cool if you ask me. Before I got to the bank I was envisioning the briefcase full of cash...I mean $44K is a lot of money; it should take up a lot of space. Alas, I could have put the entire sum easily in my purse with the rest of the nonsense I keep in there. I cannot imagine how much money it would actually take to fill a briefcase.

And what new and bizarre government scheme is this you ask? Why am I toting around $44K? Don't worry, I haven't sold myself into slavery or started selling drugs. This is how they do rent here in Korea. I give two years worth of rent to the landlord upfront. Again, in a quirk of government excess, the taxpayer is getting screwed. Koreans pay all this cash upfront, but it is called key money, and at the end of their lease, they get the majority of it back. The landlord gets any interest from investing the money while he has it and keeps a portion of it, but the American government frowns on taking their money back. I don't get the money and neither does uncle Sam. The Koreans get to keep it. You can imagine how much they love having American renters.