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We’re having a nice time with my mom and dad in Seoul! It has been a packed week, and we’ve got two more days together. See the photos page for some of what we’ve been up to. Last night, we celebrated with hundreds of thousands of other Seoulites downtown at Jonggak. We shot off roman candles and wished everyone, “Say hay bok mani baduseyo!” We even saw Super Junior perform, that’s right, the ‘N Sync of Korea.

We wish you the very best year yet.

-Jessica

As a child I fantasized that I would be a full-time singer in the Christmas genre. Though I have branched out a little, many of my favorite songs are still Christmas carols. When I recorded my album, Tonic, in Nashville, it was fitting to open it with a Christmas carol. Then last Christmas in Paju, some talented musician friends and I recorded another carol. Now, another Christmas, another carol.

I have begun a quest. I hope to add to this list of carols every year as a gift to you and a fun project for me. Take a listen and download them for free. Merry Christmas!

Angels We Have Heard on High, Christmas 2007 with Zach Bardon

Free download here

Peace on Earth, Christmas 2006 with Nolan Riley and Nathanael Nicol

Free download here

O Come, O Come Emmanuel, from my album Tonic released in 2006

Free download here

I hope you enjoy them. Have a wonderful Christmas week.

-Jessica

p.s. Thanks to Zach for finishing this song to share with everyone despite his stuffy head and persistent cold. Zach, I hope you feel better very soon.

p.p.s. You can buy my album Tonic online at iTunes, or buy a CD at CDBaby. They ship anywhere in the world, and if you order today, it might get to you by Christmas .

MERRY CHRISTMAS from your elf friends, Adam and Jessica. We have a special Christmas greeting for you, so click here to see it!

There was a whole elf dance party. Here is our friend Lucy…

And my parents! We get to celebrate Christmas with them in Seoul this year!

Hope you have a merry week!

-Jessica

So, things have been busy– good, fun busy.  Things change so quickly here, it’s hard to keep up, let alone keep everyone else up to speed.

Here’s the short version: I was a teacher, but now I’m a professional voice actor.  We had a new apartment in Seoul, but we moved to a new new apartment in Seoul.  We were in a band, but now we’re on a TV show.

Details to follow.

-Jessica

Britain has died. So has Brutus. And Britty Cakes. One in the same, this 18 year-old cat of Adam’s adolescence has passed on to the great wide scratching pole in the sky. Named Britain in the peak of Adam’s Anglophile stage, Adam’s mom took to calling the prissy, aloof cat Britty. To offset the boy cat’s cutesy name, Adam’s dad called him Brutus.

When Adam and I were dating, I walked into his parents’ dining room to see his mom nuzzling the fluff-ball cooing, “awww Britty Caaaaakes…. you the momma’s boooooy…. yes you are…. you the momma’s boooooy, Britty Caaaaaaakes.”

How could I resist? I grabbed onto Adam and began cooing, “awww Addy Caaaaakes…. you the Jessi’s boooooy…. yes you are…. you the Jessi’s boooooy, Addy Caaaaaaakes.”

Thus, to this day, my beloved husband is Addy Cakes, or Cakers, sometimes Mr. Cakes, or simply just Cakes. And I am Jessi Cakes, Mrs. Cakes, and so on… which is funny because as a little girl, my dad called me Cakes too. I guess I’m just destined to be Cakes.

So here’s to Britty Cakes… he was a surly, old cat but loved all the same.

-Jessi Cakes

I’m very happy. We’re so busy with things that I always dreamed I’d be busy with. Sorry I haven’t written recently, I had band practice, you know? And, well we’ve had cool new people staying in our living room for the last few days. And, well, we’ve been going out to hear some really cool concerts. And we’ve been hobnobbing in the local Seoul music scene, harmonizing with former lead singers of popular local bands and stuff. Yeah, that’s how we roll.

Peace.

-Jessica

Adam and I are in a band. I can’t tell you how happy I am. I love to sing, but I’ve always sort of dragged my feet to really pursue anything ongoing. I have craved collaborators, partners, teammates. I think I’ve found them.

Through an ad I placed on Craigslist.com in August, we have now joined forces with some really skilled players. Even better, they’re great guys that we love to be around. We have a French bassist, an Indian-Canadian drummer, and an American pianist. Adam is going to sing, too, and he sounds great! We’re heading in the direction of a fun jazz/rock fusion. I was afraid to say much about it before because I didn’t want to jump the gun, but we just had a great rehearsal, and I’m stoked.

If you’re in Seoul, please come to the Big Electric Cat in Itaewon at 10:30 p.m. this Tuesday night, October 23. We’ll be playing our first short set, and we’d love to see you there.

I’m really excited. My hopes are high.

-Jessica

I love a soft bed.  I really do.  Really.
But, if you’ve been to Korea, you know my predicament:

After centuries of sleeping on the floor with no more padding than a thin mat, those Koreans who have now ventured to beds prefer beds that emulate the floor-sleeping experience.  There are infomercials– long ones– selling beds on the merit of how hard they are.

Our first bed was hard, but we got used to it.  It softened up a little, once you got to now it.  But, since we’ve moved to the city, our new bed has been a regular… well… pain in the arse.  Adam and I have regularly been seen walking down the street, punching at charlie horses in our backs, legs, and necks like native Koreans.  Piling our bed with extra blankets and pillows did little to change our plight.

But last night, everything changed…

We were exploring the little neighborhood directly behind our building, and we found a treasure chest.  It was a junk shop full of Western creature comforts like tobasco sauce, pez dispensers, children’s books, bedding, and… MEMORY FOAM!  Yes, nice, thick, cushy, queen sized Memory Foam!  In unopened packaging, we bought this long dreamed-about luxury at a fraction of regular retail price!

I slept soundly last night, and today I don’t hurt! This is going to be a good year…

-Jessica

Accompanied by painfully heartfelt love ballad sung on the deck below, we watched the skyline float by, lit with neon crosses and a flashing Cass beer sign. The crowd of happy middle aged women laughed and sang along as the cruise performer transitioned to a favorite pop song. And I clapped along with them, on beats 1 and 3 of course.

I started laughing, and Adam asked me why. It had just hit me again that we live in Korea.

Tonight we took Seoul’s Han River boat tour with our CS guest Andrea from Taiwan. It was a beautiful evening to be outside on the river. Although it lacked the class of the Chicago dinner cruises I might compare it to, it was rich in culture.

Being on a riverboat on a cool evening made me really crave some classic jazz. This time of year, I have a strong nostalgia for the “Sleepless in Seattle” soundtrack. So, now back at home, I’m belting it out with the likes of Jimmy Durante, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Harry Connick Jr.

…Now my heart is music
Such a simple song
Sing it again, the notes never end
This is where I belong

Just the sound in your voice
The light in your eyes
We’re so far away from yesterday
Together with a wink and a smile
We go together like a wink and a smile

-Jessica

We have just been back a week from our little trip to Gangneung, and already there is another public holiday.  Not sure what this one is, but I am happy to have another day off in the middle of the week.  Adam and I are being lazy this morning.  I’m emailing, and Adam is  listening to some recording that is supposed to help his swiss-cheese memory.  Soon we’ll get up and see some sights with our current CouchSurfer, a Taiwanese girl named Andrea.

Seoul has turned cool, and the change of seasons again reminds me of how long we’ve been in Korea.  I’m feeling very comfortable here.  It’s so beautiful in the Fall.

-Jessica