Let’s get one thing straight first: Yes, I live in South Korea, but I’m affiliated with the US military bases scattered around the peninsula, and so I have access to American moola.

With that said, I am now a proud and happy owner of a $2 bill, and I type this with a big smile on my face. See, the military bases do not use pennies except at post offices (thank goodness, I suppose), and $2 are something of a rarity to many people here. Including me. My mother has one, but she refuses to let me have hers. Ever since her blunt refusal, I’ve been dying to have a $2 of my own.

I finally got my chance! A friend of mine went to California for a week, and he asked what I wanted from California. You can guess what my request was, and he granted it! Booyah! I told my mother, and she asked, “Where did you buy it?” I smugly told her that I got it for “free”. Then she said, “Ask him to get more for your aunts and uncles. We like to keep it in our wallets for good luck, you know.”

Uh, uno momento, Mother. My friend’s not going back to the states any time soon, so sorry to burst your bubble, haha. But yay! If that entire thing about the good luck is true . . . well I need some luck right now. I’m not one for superstitions, but having that $2 bill did bring something similar to luck: pure, unadulterated joy!