Money Money Money Money...money

Interesting days for yen holders. The yen/dollar exchange rate has gone from 120 yen to the dollar down to 115 in the course of several days. I am not displeased at this turn of events as I send a lot of money back to the US to pay back debt and make investments. The Economist has a take on the currency situation here for anyone as boring as I am. One issue that any career teacher in Asia has is that of what to do with any extra money - assuming that there is any extra money. I wouldn't feel comfortable investing to much money in Thailand, nor do the almost non-existent interest rates offered by Japanese banks appeal to me. As for trying to invest money in securities in either country I would have to have much better language skills to piece through the offerings, but who would I be kidding - the US is rife with financial services and information... why would I invest through a foreign intermediary?

There are several ways to send money out of Japan. The cheapest way is through a postal money order. This only costs a thousand yen, but requires paperwork, standing in line and most dauntingly - dealing with postal bureaucrats. A less painful solution is to use Lloyd's banking services to transfer money simply using an ATM and bank card, although there is an initial application process. It costs an extra thousand yen, but it may well be the best use of a thousand yen I make in a month.

Of course, in addition to working, I also take donations and the countless hours I put into this blog come at the expense of my time and health so if you'd like to throw some mullah my way contact me about options for money transfer in the other direction ;)

It's been well over a year since I posted last, begging the question why. Well, one reason is that I was without Internet until September of last year - an experiment in primitive living that included residing in a house without hot water (don't ask). Another reason is that my 7 day week work schedule is hardly conducive to creative enterprise or, for that matter, any enterprise beyond eating and sleeping. But recently I have found myself with some extra time in the mornings and have batted around the idea of re-starting this here blog. One of the difficulties that I face with this endeavour is material. Life in Japan is certainly more comfortable than in Thailand, but not a lot going on, at least with me. Also Japan isn't as picture-worthy as Thailand. In fact, this big Buddha snapshot was taken in '05 before my Thai adventure began. So what will be the premise of Asian Alien in the future? Hard to say, but I think I will try to focus on how the larger world affects/effects my life here in Japan with my Thai wife. I will focus more on world events and less on myself, not in an zany zen attempt to lose the egotistical self, but rather as a means to keep content here interesting because my day to day life is about as bland as plain tofu. So welcome back, my apologies for the long hiatus and I plan to post a minimum of once a week so keep tuned.

This could be any house in Japan, but as you correctly surmised it is the very one that I reside in. Sorry I have no more droll musings to add about life in the world's second biggest economy, but such is the nature of things. Financial stability has the downside of not being half as interesting as living in an impoverished state (and state) where cows are currency.

Hardly back with a vengeance, but back nonetheless. I am happy to report that I am employed full-time (only in the warped world of teaching conversational English could 27.3333 ad-infinitum hours be considered full-time) and hope to be back in the money one of these days...months...years? Also in the good news department, paperwork for Pocky's visas is coming along without hitch, which should hopefully see her here in a couple of months. Well, now that my absence and is explained and my happenings are elucidated, we can soon get back to the uproarious humo(u)r that this blog is so renowned for. Will post shortly ;)

Lom Jomthong, my father-in-law, passed away yesterday.

My visa has become non-renewable due to new regulations that state three months of unemployment render the visa invalid, or something to that effect. I will return to Thailand on the 19th of October and re-enter Japan on the 26th of the same month. Hopefully, everything will go to plan and I will be back to work at the beginning of November, otherwise I will have some serious recourse to another Visa - the capitalized one.

We are mooving.Sorry I couldn't resist. It looks like we will move out of Khon Kaen to Nong Sao on the 2nd of September if everything goes to plan (which categorically never happens as there is no plan in Thailand). One thing is for sure, today is my last day of work at Be Smart. Yipee! I will be offline for several weeks with the move, but I thought one last post with a picture of our calf would be appropriate. The mother is not pictured, but we bought the pair. Beef futures, baby! - or baby beef futures! It's obvious the stress has gotten to me.

I suppose I will drivel on a bit about my preparations to go back to Japan. Monday the 29th is my last day with Be Smart and had I been I probably never would have taken the job in the first place. There is always a sense of lifted burden when quitting a job, even a good one, but I can tell you that with these guys it will be like the lifting of a curse.

In other news, we have a rental house out in the village. The rent is ridiculously low. Next time you spend thirty dollars consider that we have a two-storey house for that much a month. The downside is that I don't want to be present for this move from Khon Kaen to Nong Sao. My wife assures me that I won't have to lift a finger, but the plan had been that she would move after I had left. "Don't worry, you can just watch." I feel like a mafia Godfather ordering a hit; I don't want to be anywhere near the scene of the crime. Moving, even just watching it done, is something I have done far too much of recently and it gives me great stress. In any case, September 7th is D-day for all Thailand headaches to cease and Japan ones to begin

I could drivel on about my preparations to go back to Japan, but instead I've decided to post a picture of some cute village kids. Kids are kids where ever you go and these guys always seem to be having a great time playing in the dust, dirt and debris. It is hard to imagine what kind of futures they will have given their economic conditions, but for now they are as carefree as little crappers the world over.

Well, the visit was a smashing success. Pictured right is the bemused couple discovering the 'real' Thailand. Right down to the sunny weather on the day were drove out to the country, and overcast, yet comfortably cool weather on the other days, everything went to plan. Dan's back to beating his head against the wall in Japan where I will soon join him for the forehead to mural structure fun.