Vagabond Jim

Son, exactly what intoxicant are you on and how much of it have you had. High on life, Sir.  It's been a good year.  Lots of great miles under my keel.  Literally. Bird, if you try to steal my watch I'm gonna make the deputy come back. Dude, your forehead is more reflective than your watch. Yeah, you should see it 20 years on.  Your feathers will be grey then.  And, at that time I'll be enchanted by Hornbills and Myna.  Just be nice and eat these fancy pellets.  Best guess is Holidays '03-04 in Newport, Kentucky.  Stick tap to: The King Amongst Sharks.  GKG!  Thanks, Sir.

 Ok, Jim, calm down.  It 's all good and you knew it.   Some thoughts for when you get to Miri and are stunned, beaten down, and just really wobbly in every way by the yin and yang that is the exhaustion and excitement of travel.  Raised to 4 dimensions, dropped to 1 degree of latitude, and without the bullshit of DST.  You're gonna forget you thought this...so to future me... No, you are not as handsome as Michael Keaton.  No matter what the FA/Customs Agent/Receptionist/Police Offer/Random Fool said. Jim, dear, ... yes, you are an idea man.  Crazy fucking idea man.  (The modifiers are neither dangling nor misplaced.  Just deliberately ambiguous.)    He had more hair that one day than you have had in all yours comb ined.  Put your hat back on.  Chill, my friend, chill. Samuel L. Jackson is not coming through the door.  He stopped in KL for a Ramly Burger - knowing that a Quarter Royale would be good, but better ...

Mar. 10 - 12 Fly to MYY (SFO-NRT-CGK-KUL-MYY is a long day.) 37.5K miles in coach.  70K in biz.  WTF do you think?  Biz.   Damn, do you think me stupid? I only need a MY-California-MY r/t after that - my last 90k should cover it*.   Mar 13 thru  +/-  7 days.  Relax and unwind from travel. Get to know Miri. Then, +/- 5 days in Kuching.  Paperwork, eating, relaxing, see a few apartments. Then, maybe, +/- 5 days in Santubong.  Reflecting, choosing a town. Then, +/- 7 to 14 days in the selected town.  Hopefully signing a lease and taking possession of a place. Then, back to the Central Coast. Close up, move out, be back on Borneo by my 60th birthday in June. A long weekend planned in Penang in July...a leftover ticket from September. The Borneo Int'l. Kite Festival in October is penciled in.  I wanted to see it this year but did not make it.  Hey, I've had a lifelong love of kites.  If that doesn't (1) make a prima f...

 I heard from my agent in Kuching on Tuesday.... APPROVED!!! 😃😅😰 😅 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 😃 (That's me adjusting to the equitorial heat.)

 What a fucking day.  Now, correction, WHAT A FUCKING DAY.   The headline is innaccurate; the typing will not be.  Typing is prima facie evidence that I'm very tight right now which is really Q.E.D.  Up at 0500. At airport (RSW for RSW-CLT-PHX-SBP) at 0630 for an 0825 flight.  All good.  Except.... ....Last night at 2200 I noticed a dense fog on the SWFL (SW Florida - not Single White Female, Lesbian, which was a mistake I made.  It was contextually sensible.  But on the other hand, I was sober. At 0500 I was awake, and sober,  and it was foggier.  Driving the 35 miles north to RSW (Ft. Meyers - South West Florida international airport "RSW") it got heavier but the conversation was good and I failed to notice that. 0630 Checked in, at the gate.  The wait began. FOG.   (30s)   FOG   (30s*)  FOG!!!!! Imagine a bathtub.  With a leaky faucet.  And, a clogged drain.  Focus on it...

Not much to say.  :) Passing my days dreaming of Shangri-La (PNG is close enough on the scale that matters:  https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Shangri-Survival-Adventure-Incredible/dp/0061988340) S-MM2H application was formally submitted in November.  6 months of "expected" processing time in Government hands. Running so many game theoretic models in my head (Me v. Nature; Prisoner's Dilemma, Night At the Opera, Opera versus Boxing) trying to find a stable equilibrium.  You can take me out of grad school, but you can't take the economic thinking out of me.  No real action expected on my part until March, at the earliest.  Sigh.  Making the right move sucks in the short time frame.  I'll be fine. I have some ideas.  Most of them are bad.  So, I keep running models and mulling over ideas in my head.  I'll figure something out* I'll spend the holiday with family.  Low key: Reading walking, sleeping, eating, chatting, figuring shit out. ...

 But struggling to adjust to: * Sleeping at the right times- but I am at least sleeping * Eating at the right times - but I am least eating * Eating the right things - McDomalds and Dominos are unfortunate safe foods * Avoiding anxiety attacks - but I am limiting them. * Freezing my ass off - it has not cleared 70F yet and the nights at literally 1/2 the "Humiture" of Kuching It's a lot of SUCKITUDE, but I'm dealing with it. I'll be fine in a few days or a week....

 I have flown across the Pacific a lot.  Here's a list of some of the cities and carriers. Landing in: {Tokyo (HND, and NRT}, Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney}; connecting to: {KL, Manila, Bali, Fiji, Manado)  on (Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines.)  Fair warning, until this year it was always first or biz (miles!) Not one of those was a work trip.  All fun, all the time. Asian airlines, especially flag carriers are usually wonderful. Japan Airlines is a constant disappointment. They actually suck. Bad food.  I don't know how but it's always bad. Bad schedules - maybe because I'm booking on American.  Still: daylight TransPac flights and massive airport changes (NRT <-> HND is easy but non-trivial in terms of time and effort.)  Lousy on time performance.  I don't think any of my JAL flights have left within 20 minutes of schedule or landed within 30.  This time were 4 minutes ...

 Silly little things.  Dan Dan Noodles in the CX lounge. Really, you knew I'd being doing this. Really good yoday. The dread SSSS...of no consequence here. Security was fine. The South China Morning Post (SCMP). Hong Kong's primary English paper and a good one. When oppressive governments want to improve sex ed I am  (1) always supportive of sex ed,  (2) confused by their motive  Why don't red states do this??? Updates Added in flight CX's Hot & Sour (vegetarian) Noodle Soup. Unsurprisingly, it was stunningly good. Lots and lots of coins for kids.  Ringgit, Yen, and somehow Yuan coins... Sneaky stuff slipping somebody the wrong change.  But I obviously do not care. This flight is a drag,,,

Greetings from Tokyo. I was up early to get to the airport well before my flight - my streak of never missing a flight continues. KUL-NRT is long, 7+hours.  (~NYC to Honolulu perhaps?)  Today it was bumpy.  The typhoon just made the flight "jittery."  The plane, not me. In fact, I slept the first three hours of the trip!  A huge wine. After landing it was Immigration and Customs.  Bonus: my ABTC (APEC Business Travel Card) lets me use the diplomats' line.  Fast!!! A bit of a wait for a bus.  I killed it by looking for food.  None to be found.  I really hate NRT. The bus was a long slog. At Haneda I looked for food and was successful. Egg salad on crustless white - might be the epitome of safe food. Japanese pre-packed egg salad is legendary.  Deservedly so. Kyoto Lemonade tastes like Malatysion Lemonade.  Good. Apple juice is always wonderful. My tradition of fine dining in the Metropolitain Hotel continues! I love looking at t...

Hawker Center History (from Wiki) Anthony Bourdain made the Maxwell Street Hawker Center in Sing famous in the West.  Tian Tian Chicken Rice there is world famous.  (Chicken rice is so simple but so spectacular.)  They're really special little places. I see them called makams a lot.  But, a Google search doesn't jibe with that.  That's because I used the wrong word... Mamaks Makams are mausoleums.  Ooops. Food in these stalls is dirt cheap.  Meals of delight and flavor for less than $5USD.  Frequently less than $3!  All cooked to order.  All family run businesses.  The best way to eat in Malaysia or Singapore.  I did not really experience them in my visits to HKG. Hmmm, I just looked through my pics.  Nothing showing anything but food.  Because every time I thought about taking a photo, I decided it seemed invasive in the lives of ordinary people.  I don't do that.  I'm actually proud of that.  Wait, I ...

Always a bittersweet thing. I had a good day yesterday.  Summarized nicely thusly: Dragon boats have been common sights lately. This has been an amazing and wonderful month.  I could not have asked more of Malaysia, Sarawak, or myself.  The heat is still mean but it no longer whips me into submission.  I've walked miles everyday.  I feel good as a result. Although, I may be catching a cold.  I don't know.  Certainly a bit of congestion.  We'll see how bad 18 hours of plane time can be in the next two days.  Not much I can do about anything at this point but get sleep tonight (KL suburbs) and tomorrow (Tokyo.) There's a cyclone/typhoon/hurricane that has basically shut down Taiwan.  But the flights do not appear to be affected ... so far. I awoke to heavy rain in Kuching.  At 1230 The Jonathon showed up and we picked up another client at the Hilton.  Somebody who lives in San Luis Obispo!  They're a few steps ahead of me on...

After dinner tonight I was really worried that I could not remember what I had for breakfast.   I walked (OK, stumbled, wandered, and waddled) all the way home.  Beginning to think I'm losing my mind. Then I remembered I di not eat breakfast.  I had a quick errand to run with The Jonathon. We needed to get my physical results "certified."  RM 40 and it was done.  They had a scale though.  I have dropped at least 5 kilos (203ish when I left, below198 now)*  of real weight since arrival.  It's hard to assess. I am drinking and sweating litres every day...how much is my body carrying?  The right amount is all that matters.  But, I have also put some muscle on my (already stunningly gorgeous) legs. What matters more is I feel generally healthy. Generally.  Uneven sidewalks, high curbs, slippery surfaces and thinly soled unpadded shoes have my legs and feet feeling a lil' beat up.   I have walked a lot this month.  I ...