A hearty HELLO to all in a hearty Chicaaaago accent!

That's right kids, I have not let the power of Texas overcome my solid
midwestern upbringing.  Y'all should know better than that!

So where should I start?  To most of you I have been nothing but a
ghost for a while now.  Cut off from the world without a connection to
the now famous super-hypeway I was even without a phone for a while.
Thankfully all are now back in my service and I guess I should start
by dropping that info on ya...

( Sorry kids, not on the internet version! )

Phone (till Nov 1):    (512) ***-**** 
Phone (after):         (512) ***-****
Email:                       mantsch@uiuc.edu

I use this email address to forward to wherever I am lurking at the
moment, and it will be valid for at least another year if not two.
Please use it!

So after a miserable period in which I was forced to live in the Hyatt
Regency and drive a Mitsubishi 3000 GT around all day in a city of
eternal warmth, I am now slightly better off in that I don't have to
endure the pain of maid and bell service.  Boy, that was rough.  Now I
have to deal with a huge new apartment with vaulted ceilings, a big
balcony, a large fridge full of fine locally produced brews, and the
pain of guilt in that I am mooching it all and sponging off an
innocent new PhD grad... (Weishi says hi!)

Soon I will move myself and my piles of crushed brown cardboard boxes
to my final destination where I will have ISDN (direct internet) and a
much bigger pool and hot tub much closer to my dwelling.  (Oh, did I
mention that?)  Should be Nov. 1st, and I had damn well better have a
job by then!  Ah yes, jobs...After serving as "house dude" for a while
now (waiting around for packages, furniture, etc...) I am finally
getting to the point of my travels to Austin.  I have sent resumes to
about 10 or so headhunters/contractors in the area.  I have had brief
interviews with a few of them-- everything from a Yugoslavian
physicist to some guy who said, "yeah I just learned about this
'internet' thing and I was looking for sports.net...  you say you know
HTML... that's some sort of internet thing, right?  Is that, like, a
graphics language?"  Actually a surprising number of people here have
clues about the computer world.  The guy who wandered into the
apartment and began gluing a broken cabinet drawer back together began
a long monologue (after a rant about the OJ Simpson verdict) about
messing with realsound and upgrading his sound card... but I am
digressing in typical Kai fashion.  On to the point before you demand
that it be something of relevance!  It sounds like most high-tech
companies in the area hire on a contract or contract-to-hire basis.
This is something that I am going to have to get used to.  I guess as
long as it doesn't involve my wearing a suit it will be OK.

So that is how I am getting myself primed for a life in a cubical
hell, let me tell you about the more interesting things that comprise
what has come to be known as, "having a life."  I found the local Kuk
Sool Wan dojo and will be checking out a class tonight.  Gotta get
those old legs limbered up for a few kicks.  There is a huge cliff out
here where people do climbing, and the local REI rents out gear.
There is also an indoor practice center where you can get higher level
climbing instruction.  I found a beer brewing supply
store... everything you could ever want or have ever seen in any
catalog!  It rocks!  Huge bins of grains, malts etc and even those
dumb "bottle trees."  I found it right across from one of several
brewpubs... oh yeah, and the Brewfest, where several streets are
blocked off and homebrews are exchanged, sampled, and compete with the
best of the micro brews, will be in early November.  There is a free
tasting class for those who would like to volunteer as judges...
Probably the best of the latest is the Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror
writers convention, Armadillocon, that I attended this last weekend.
There were panels on many topics of concern to professional writers
and a great opportunity to attend readings and meet with some pretty
cool people.  I got some good signatures at the price of a few good
books.  At one reading I realized, at the end, that the excerpt was
the unpublished first two chapters of a the fourth book following a
trilogy I had read when I was in Jr. High and LOVED.  I turned from a
cool, professional novice writer (can I say that?) to a babbling,
shaking fan in seconds-- somthing I had promised I wouldn't let myself
do.  (Barbara Hambly, for those of you who know.)  Oh well.  I just
hope I can do that to someone some day!  On that note I'll be joining
a local writer's group tonight.

There are also fantastic authentic Vietnamese noodle places here. Cow
stomachs, tendon, and pig toes are all really great if you aren't sure
what they are.  Now I love it!  It goes down even better with a glass
of cold coconut milk.  Yum!  If anyone thinks of anything else that is
really cool and they can't live without, just drop me a line and I'm
sure I can back to you with a story about it being here in
Austin... Santana, Jeff Beck, Van Halen, and BB King have all played
locally in the short time I have been here.  It's endless!

Ok, speaking of endless, this letter is getting a little
long... um... I got an '89 Honda Accord that is like new, but is still
a maroon, four door family car that I am afraid to be seen in.  It
looks extremely boring next to the gleaming green MGB...  Actually, it
is starting to grow on me.  The fact that it always runs is a plus.

Ok, if I forgot anything, tell me.  If I didn't, tell me that too.  I
expect to see my e mail box fill with great speed!  

Love, topless green cars, live music, and bright sunshine,

Kai


mantsch@uiuc.edu