The last week has turned out to have been a rather dull affair on the blog front, with no great misadventures had or exciting stories to tell. I've been working hard during the week and staying in and being cozy with my new girl on the weekends.

I'm starting to worry that the extraordinary is becoming the norm in this crazy town. Friday night while walking home from work there was an elephant parked on the footpath outside my local 7-11, not 50 yards from my home. Blocking the way as it was, without missing a single stride or stopping to stare and consider the oddness of the situation, I simply side-stepped the giant beast and continued on my way. "Nothing to see here, move on" was what I was thinking at the time.

In my continuing quest to butcher the thai language, this week I learned that for the last 8 months I have been asking for "sweat" (ngeu-a, low tone) in my noodles instead of "beef" (ngeu-a, high tone). The funny thing is that I'm sure some streetside food stalls bowed to my request because sometimes the taste was a little...funky. At least now it explains the quizzical looks and shakes of the head from the puzzled vendors.

In other news, I've 90% decided to come home for a holiday in mid-April during Songkran (Thai new year and water festival). I missed Songkran last year, but the idea of having buckets of water thrown on me by random strangers everywhere I go for a whole week doesn't sound too appealing. I'd rather come back to Melbourne and stuff my self full of Turkish kebabs and Hoegaarden beer - much more to my liking.

...Ral Shoomacka, he velly hansum, he Formura One velly big!

Speaking of Melbourne, I told my girlfriend on Saturday that I wanted to watch the Grand Prix on Sunday. She went on to tell me that her mother enjoyed Formula One too! I jokingly told her that she could invite her mother around to watch the race on Sunday (despite us not having met yet).

The invitation promptly went out and was graciously received. The thought of me sitting in my underpants at 10 am, drinking beer and discussing fuel/tire strategies with a 55 year-old Thai woman whose english was limited to "Ral Shoomacka, he velly hansum, he Formura One velly big!" didn't exactly appeal. Thank god she didn't actually take up the invitation, and I enjoyed the race and the views of that beautiful city on my own.

On the up side, at least now I know I've got a fellow armchair sportsfan to rely on when I'm stuck for friends. I wonder if she likes to watch the Sports Illustrated swimsuit specials as well...