Back at this after a long time absent. I logged 56 lessons of OT in the month of July, hence only two days off. Due to this work intensive lifestyle, I haven't had much time for anything of interest. All work and no play makes Matt a dull boy. I plan to keep up at this pace until December when I move to Thailand. My apologies for lack of wry prosiac insights into life in Asia, but I''ve never felt more Japanese than when doing fifty plus hour weeks.

Been a while since I've updated primarily due to the recent move that I've made. That done, I again have some free time, but not much as I'm pulling six and seven day work weeks in preparation (financial) for my upcoming move to Thailand. Tentative date is December 15th. I hope to be a bit better about contributing to this, but I am still at the mercy of my room mate as I sold my desktop and have yet to get a laptop.

Anyway, great stay in Kuala Lumpur at a very expensive hotel that was well worth it just for the view of the towers. We also had lunch at a rotating restaurant on the KL tower, so I got a good feel for the city and its layout. We took a plane for about one hour and a taxi for another to get us to a jetty from where it was another thirty minutes to the island. The journey was worth it for the isolation. It was probably the nicest place I've ever been in terms of well preserved beach/jungle and lack of people. However, we were reliant on the resort for all our meals and the food and service left something to be desired. The snorkeling was great. Coral lay at both ends of the half-moon shaped beach. It was the best snorkeling I've ever done and it was right off the beach - no boat necessary. Coming back we stayed at Khota Baru one night. It's a conservative Muslim city - everyone in full dress. Very interesting. I claimed I was Canadian at this point in my stay when questioned by a vendor sitting directly in front of a mosque, otherwise I said I was from the US and didn't get any special reactions. All and all another excellent trip that was much too short. The pics this time around weren't great, but definitely worth a glance. Just check out the picture link at right.

I'm back from Malaysia. Great trip...for the most part. Fascinating mix of cultures, ethnicities and religions. As usual, I've got a slew of pictures that I will post, but as I'm now at the mercy of internet cafes and friends for my online access, I will not be able to post pictures immediately. A quick rundown of the trip - after one night in Bangkok (no not the song by Murray Head)we flew budget airline Air Asia - you have to pay for food and no assigned seating - to Kuala Lumpur. After a long taxi ride we arrived at the Mandarin Oriental. This five star hotel was situated right next to the Petronas Towers, the tallest buildings in the world. From the 21st floor of the hotel we still had to crane our necks to look up at the towers. Anyway the hotel room was expensive, but well worth it. We hit a posh nite club and drank too much. The next day was shopping and a great Indian restaurant. (To be continued)

I've been told that this blog hasn't been online, but then again neither have I. Off to Malaysia today. Will keep you posted as much as　possible, but my modem is busted so...

The Alien is very tired, even exhausted, so it's probably good luck that he couldn't find overtime today. You can tell things are coming apart when you start talking about yourself in the third person. My passport came back with some new pages inserted. I'm very excited. I'm also reading a book by Anthony Burgess (wrote Clockwork Orange) about the post WWII period in Malaysia. Very interesting stuff. I think that I'm up to about two fifty in page count on the novel. I think I should take a nap. I'm looking for a new default homepage as I've decided that reading the New York Times everytime I sing on the net is depressing. Oh, by the way, the Alien has gone vegetarian, well, not really, but a little. It's almost impossible to avoid meat in Japan. The other day I bought a piece of bread that was advertised as corn and mayonnaise, but the still managed to conceal some ham in it. You may ask, "why the reduced meat diet?" That's for another entry.

Funny thing going to the American embassy in Tokyo, the security was tighter than a virgin's..., whoa, hold up, my mom reads this thing. Anyway, before I even got within three blocks of the building there was a cop asking me where I was going and why. I told him I wanted to get pages added to my passport. He let me through, but I played the Q&A game twice more before arriving at the gate. Before getting buzzed through the gate I had my bag searched and went through a metal detector. I was, then in the compound, but not in the building. Once in the building there was another metal detector and a Marine behind bullet proof glass buzzing people into the area, where, finally, I could talk to a paper-pusher about my passport pages. I felt damn important, I'll tell you that much. Thing is, after all that serious security, I get to talk to your typical happy go lucky American embassy staffer who can't resist sharing the latest lawyer joke he's heard. Gotta love the States.

In unrelated news, I'm adding a Japan section to my picture pages, so click on the pictures link to see what I've put on recently.

Undoing the chain and turning the lock simultaneously, he opened the door. She walked in holding the tray at chest level. There was no water. This maid looked a bit young, not young and pretty, but young nonetheless. “Where’s the water?” She was headed toward the dresser to set down the tray. “Water?” He asked again. She didn’t seem to understand. There was something about her uniform. Paul blocked her path and lifted the silver food cover. Nothing. Set up. Somkiat was already coming through the door with the shock stick. Paul grabbed the tray and flipped it sending the few utensils on the floor. Holding it like a shield he tried to block the two electric prods on the end of the baton. Somkiat kicked the tray hard. Paul was on the ground. He shit himself. The big Thai had his ankle in one hand and was applying the stun gun to his right thigh with the other. He yelled hoping someone would hear. The skinny Thai was closing the door now. Too late, he already had the metal taste in his mouth again.

Interesting to be in Japan right now. The kidnapping of three Japanese journalists has further polarized public opinion around the Japanese presence in Iraq. The usually opinion-less Japanese are actually expressing some views on this issue, albeit relatively subdued and wavering views.

In other news, I've been a bit stressed out running all over the greater Tokyo area, chasing down overtime on my days off all the while trying to grind out pages of my novel. Tomorrow I'll go into to Tokyo and add some pages to my passport. The good news is that today is payday, which means... I'm getting paid. And it's about time as I don't have any money in the bank. Nothing more relevant to add, sorry.

Our Sprawling, Supersize Utopia: "Just out of reach, just beyond the next ridge, just in the farther-out suburb or with the next entrepreneurial scheme, just with the next diet plan or credit card purchase, the next true love or political hero, the next summer home or all-terrain vehicle, the next meditation technique or motivational seminar; just with the right schools, the right moral revival, the right beer and the right set of buddies; just with the next technology or after the next shopping spree -- there is this spot you can get to where all tensions will melt, all time pressures will be relieved and happiness can be realized"