Just a tiny update on the upcoming travels so that everyone knows I'm
not dead yet!

Thanksgiving this year will be fish instead of Turkey.  I'll be in
Cozomul, Mexico; you'll know me as the big red fish with the funny
tube coming out of its head.  (Sunburned, snorkled.)  Weishi and I
plan to hit the ruins and do some hiking as well.

Interesting note on the ruins; apparently the locals have decided to
"enhance" them for tourists.  A friend's mother is an acheologist and
noticed right away that many of the paitings and carvings were not
original.  Kind of sad, but I'm assured that the ruins are still
beautiful to see.  

I'm actually treating this whole trip as a belly flop into a tourist
sea.  There is no way to escape the loud, flowered, drunken, clueless
tourists that will swirl around us from the minute we arrive.  These
creatures in turn have surely made homes for what I'm certain will be
a swarm of related industry.  If I see an "authentic relic" that is
older than two months I'll assume that's how long it took them to ship
it from a sweat shop in China.

In the end with the right attitude, some creative and jovial sarcasm,
and the right people it will still be a great trip.  I'm sure we'll
have a blast.

Christmas should be fantastic this year; I plan to spend all of it at
work.  Fear not, however, as the day after I will race off to the old
country for a two week tour that includes Prague, Vienna, and Budapest
as well as many tiny nameless towns along the way.

On the gig front, a cool one is coming up.  Thanks to my few
connections here in Austin (thanks Crow!), I'll be working on theme
and background music for a "French for Scientists" educational CDROM
funded by UTexas and some French group.  Should be way cool and a lot
of fun.  Me name in print!  Wahoo!  I'll let y'all know when you can
send me checks!

Don't any of you dare slow down!
Kai

--------------------------------.-------------------------------------
 Kai Mantsch                    : "I started talking to myself once, but
 kai@jedi.net                   : people who talk to themselves scare
 http://www.jedi.net/~kai       : me so I ran away." -Kai Mantsch
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