These are all writings that originated as e-mails to update my friends on my travels and adventures abroad. Unfortunately, I didn't write travelogues for most of my trips, and the few times I kept journals on my trips, I did it with pen and paper and have never gotten around to digitizing it for your viewing pleasure. Not that I would share that kind of stuff with you people anyway. It's best you don't know EVERYTHING I do when I'm traveling.

Border Life - A slightly disjointed e-mail I sent to my family towards the end of a 10-day stay in Xishuangbanna province of Yunnan, China. I had a great time there, but I composed this e-mail while watching movies in a foreigner cafe there, so it is somewhat jumbled, lacks my typical twisted sense of humor, and doesn't come close to covering all the juicy details of the trip. But still worth a read if you wanna know about one of the best trips I ever had. (7/9/04)

Mean Mr. Altitude - An update from the first few days of a one-month trip I took through western China in Summer 2004. I ventured off to Litang, supposedly the highest town in the world at 4700+ meters. This was my second visit to Litang, and although I was fine during my first stay there in 2001, this time Mr. Altitude kicked my arse! But I got to see the spectacular Tibetan horse race, which was thoroughly enjoyable (and very photogenic, if you could of course squeeze your camera between the 30,000 other photographers packed together there). (8/3/04)

The Longest Journey - To Kashgar and Back - The rest of the one-month trip I took through western China in Summer 2004. This trip took me from Chengdu to Lanzhou, from Lanzhou to Dunhuang, from Dunhuang to Turpan, from Turpan to Urumqi, from Urumqi out to Kashgar, from Kashgar down to Karakul Lake, and after that up into northern Xinjiang. Basically it was my "Xinjiang Trip" and involved some VERY LONG bus rides. Unfortunately, I never actually finished this update/travelogue, so I never actually sent it to anyone. It still remains unfinished, but since it covers most of the trip, I figured I would go ahead and post it. (8/23/04)

Stories from Danba - The story of my experience filming a documentary in China in the summer of 2005, complete with juicy details about long bus rides, stone towers, drunk Tibetans, dysentery, panda bears, and more. Be forewarned though; this is a novel. It's by far the longest thing I've written in one sitting, if not the longest thing I've ever written. Don't say I didn't warn you. (7/17/05)

Jay's Juicy Japan Junk #1 - The original Jay's Juicy Japan Junk e-mail. The one that started it all. It's actually kind of funny to go back and read what I wrote during my first year abroad. This first one is just about my first month of adjusting to life in Japan. I was only 19 years old, and I was living away from Houston for the first time in my life, so try not to laugh at it too much. (11/10/97)

Jay's Juicy Japan Junk #2 - An account of my first live Sumo competition. One of my teachers gave me and some friends free tickets to the Fukuoka Sumo competition. It was an awesome experience. I came away with a profound respect for Sumo and those wrestlers brave enough to compete this sport. (11/19/97)

Jay's Juicy Japan Junk #3 - An e-mail about my travels around Japan during the winter. I also talked about some of the trips I was interested in taking during my spring break. Funny how I ended up taking the slow trains all the way up to Hokkaidou instead of visiting other Asian countries like I had originally planned. (1/24/98)

Jay's Juicy Japan Junk #4 - A slightly exaggerated account of how I found my homestay family, my first few months in the homestay, and my spring travels. (5/3/98)

Jay's Juicy Japan Junk #5 - A continuation of my original Jay's Juicy Japan Junk e-mails that I sent out during my first sojourn abroad many years ago. The original Jay's Juicy Japan Junk series were sent throughout my year-long stay in Fukuoka, Japan, where I was studying as an exchange student. This e-mail, however, was sent in October 2002 after the first two months of my stay in Bumblefuk, Japan (i.e. Hiraka, Akita), where I was teaching English at a public middle school under the auspices of the JET program. It's rather long, and unfortunately was the only Jay's Juicy Japan Junk e-mail I sent out that year. (9/26/02)

Just a few random, inane e-mails I've sent to the East West Center Participant Association listserv during 2005. If you don't know what the East West Center is, or who Wilmar Salim is, then you might as well not bother reading.

Internet at Hale Manoa - One of many ridiculously long e-mails I've written in an effort to procrastinate on more important work. This one was sent in response to several people complaining to the East West Center Participants Association (EWCPA) listserv about our slow Internet connection here in the East West Center dorm. If you've never lived at Hale Manoa or don't know anything about the East West Center, you probably won't find this very amusing. In fact, even if you do live at Hale Manoa, you probably won't find this very amusing. I could care less. Read it and suffer. (9/15/05)

2005 EWC Olympics Soccer Competition - I coordinated the 3-day soccer competition for the newly revived EWC Olympics. In the process I sent out several update e-mails that only slightly embellished on the details of the matches. (3/18/05 - 3/22/05)

These are just random things I've written over the years that were sitting around my hard drive collecting dust. I have plenty of other stuff I could put up here, namely my academic papers, but my intention here isn't to bore you. That's not to say any of this stuff will necessarily interest you, but it's much more entertaining than the stuff my professors get from me.

Rice University Asian Studies Newsletter Article - This is a short article I wrote for the Asian Studies department of my alma mater several years after I graduated. They asked me to write about how my Asian Studies degree had helped me in my pursuits since graduation. I thought they were joking at first. I mean, come on - an Asian Studies degree helping you out in the real world?! Maybe that's why I'm getting my M.A. in Asian Studies at the moment. (7/28/05)

Personal Background Essay - Just a short little essay about my personal background that I wrote for a leadership class I took at the East West Center. I got a CHECK PLUS for my grade. If that doesn't make you want to read it, well... (1/26/05)

Granddad - An essay I wrote recently for inclusion in a gift my mother put together for my grandfather's 80th birthday. My grandfather has been one of the most influentual, inspirational people in my life, and if you want to know just how awesome he is, keep reading. (3/26/05)