(Excerpted from a letter to Chuck.)

It is now about 12am and I am far from sleepy. Instead of waste this precious time, I figured I'd fill you in on what's happening here in the states. Sorry for taking so long in responding to your last letter, but I've had very little to write about. My life is still in the same rut it was in a couple of months ago. And so it goes, and so it goes.

I'm still working at Coopers & Lybrand. As I was telling you during my last letter, I've changed groups at work, and I'm much happier now, but of course not content. I'm working more with C++ windows programming, which was more challenging at first, but is slowly becoming tedious. The people I work with now are much better. They are more relaxed and down to earth, as well as being friendly, and around my age. I still spend about four hours a day playing video games (Descent mostly--3-d wanna-be spaceship in a tunnel type game), and another couple of hours goofing off, but I do manage to spend at least fifteen minutes a day doing actual work. (I know, I know, you must be saying: but David, they just don't pay you enough to do fifteen minutes of work a day. But, alas, I do pity their mortal souls and try to contribute some crumb of my being towards their essence. But, I digress.)

Remember way back in the beginning of the letter when I told you I was not sleepy? Let me try to clarify that for you. I just received my green belt in karate last Friday (applause, applause--what can I say? Shannon is home right now waking up in a cold-sweat at the thought of me), and I've been killing myself going there. I go about four times a week (Mon. Through Thurs.) rest on Friday, and then play a couple of hours of basketball on Saturday (weather permitting--which happily has been cooperating lately.) I went sparring today after a grueling workout yesterday, and I almost feinted. My poor little body just can't handle the strain anymore. The problem is that I ache so badly from bruises and just plain exhaustion that I can't fall asleep. Hence the letter. Not that I haven't been planning on writing you for the last couple of weeks, but you get the picture.

Aside from my minor ailments and complaints I've been surviving. I do tend to get lonely on weekends (outside of work and karate I haven't made many friends--go figure, Mr. Excitement, Mr. Outgoing.) But this has paid off in other ways. I've been once again revisiting my philosophical beliefs. I am a lot more spiritual than I ever was before. Not religious mind you (God forbid!), but I have a firmer respect for the body/soul relationship and where everything fits in the world around us. I've also been slowly and painfully redoing my thoughts on people. As you might or might not recall, I believed that the majority of people were dumb, and were not worth getting to know or taking up space on Earth. Since then, I've come to the conclusion that although I was right that most people are dumb and a waste of good fertile earth and yummy oxygen, there are a few who are not such a drain on the resources of the earth. And, (don't you just love starting sentences with 'and'') if I go about my business of assuming everyone is not worth knowing (for reasons stated above notwithstanding, or hitherto), I'll never get to meet those truly valuable people. Makes a lot of sense, huh? Took me a whole Metro ride home to think that one through. How do I do it you ask? You just really don't want to know, trust me.

I'm sure by now your staggering under the weight of that last paragraph, so I'll lighten the topic a bit. Syracuse is looking better and better for next year. I've sent my deposit in (finally), and will start looking for apartments probably next week (Shannon will give me some phone numbers, and I'll work from there.) I'm still not sure about Law School. I think I'll enjoy school--the challenge, the tests, the desperate girls--I'm not too sure about enjoying the actual working in the field of law. For a couple of days there I was serious thinking of becoming a vagabond, but that thought quickly ran-off as I realized that I'd be poor, and wouldn't be able to play video games anymore. Since I have no purpose, and I'm not all that happy where I currently am, I figure why not Law School? It seems a lot of my friends from high school are having that same thought. Two of them are preparing for the LSAT with fairy-plumb dreams of practicing law. When in doubt, go to Law school. Disgusting isn't it?

I am working with two people from work who are trying to start their own programming firm. Although nothing will probably come of it, both of them are pretty smart, and they have some good ideas between them. I figure I might as well try to see if anything happens. I'd hate to find out I was saddled with a Bill Gates-protégé, and wasted my time going to Law School. So far nothing has happened, but we'll see in a couple of months if anything materializes through that.

I have been reading like a maniac lately. I've read close to forty fantasy novels (such great train reading), and a great book called About Time by Something Davies. It explains Einstein's theory of relativity and the more recent and ancient musings on time. It fits quite well into my thoughts on the metaphysics of life around us. I've also been reading some mystic Jewish books. Very slow reading (have to take notes to decipher anything) but it's worth it. Extremely interesting and spiritual (there's that word again.)

Like usual I have very little to report on the relationship front. Being the born-loser that I am, I have yet to meet any females of the human species who want me. . .umm, let me rephrase that, they all want me, but I'm too much of a chicken to ask them out (yeah, that's the ticket, I'm just a feathered mockery of a man.) Whatever the reason, I'm still lonely. I speak with that Asian chick I was going out with at the end of school every so often, but she's in Arizona now, so there's very little chance of anything happening there. There's also a girl in karate who I'm pretty sure likes me (also Asian, I'm definitely not catching your disease, have no fear) but, she's too weird for me. Sigh. I'm sure your life is a hell of a lot more exciting than this.

Speaking of your blood-sucking, Asian-leeching, money-making, school-learning life, how are you doing? Hopefully the white man does well over in the backward world of the Orient. And hopefully you still remember enough English to read this letter, or I just wasted a lot of toner. Are you still writing? Anything I'd understand? Fill me in, I need vicarious-fluids to survive. Shannon's been very disappointing lately. He has some interesting stories, but not as many as he used to have. Sigh. I'm sure you can pick up the slack. Vampires always seem to have great stories.

Welp, I think I've bored you enough with my pitiful life. Drop my a line when you get a chance. So long from the rat filled race known as my life.

'To dream is to know the impossible; to know the impossible is to live.' ' Me