I've Moved!

So I'm sitting in my new apartment on Soi Sama Han! Moving here is ridiculously easy, by the way. I had a massive hangover from the Hash Ball last night, and all I had to do was sit on the couch and watch movies on my laptop while 5 men rushed around, packing everything in blankets and paper and boxes. Then they left and I put Durian the cat in the car and drove down to Sukhumvit (he wailed and whined the whole way, making this by far the most stressful part). Got to the apartment and laid on the couch to watch some CNN (!) while the movers brought everything in. They even put stuff in the drawers and cabinets for you (last time it took me months to find my dive log that they had put in the bathroom =). So moving here is basically painless.

The apartment looks great, though the floor was a tad dirty and they are working on the apartment next door, producing some interesting noises and smells . . .

More pics tomorrow when my hangover passes.

I'm Driving!

** Cue Forrest Gump voice**

That's my ca-ar.

I don't know it well enough to name it yet, but it's a VIOS so I thought about Dios. Or Dio. After the Holy Diver guy.

** Cue Rain Man voice**

I'm an excellent driver. Dad let's me drive slow on the driveways on Sunday . . . but never Monday . . .

Har har! Always thinking of Rain Man as I drive here. I never drove in Indonesia, so my only taste of driving on the wrong side of the road (yes, British friends, the right side is the right side for a reason!) was in Australia, where I nearly destroyed Dave and Rene's car on several bridges in the Outback. So here at first I had to stop completely before attempting to inch through narrow gates, toll booths, etc. and had a couple of close calls with schoolgirls walking home and people trying to pass on the left on motor scooters (the outer 1/4 of any lane in Asia is considered public space for standing around, fixing your motorcycle, selling sate, etc.). So it's just something one gets used to.

Anyhoo, am now taking longer drives through traffic and finding its not so bad. As long as you assume that EVERYONE on the road is basically the equivalent of a 14 year-old American kid who is joyriding in Mom and Dad's Olds, you'll be fine. The driving test is your first clue about this: on the day I went, the reaction-time-measuring machine was broken. When I asked if I should come back later, I got laughed at. They just gave me a license anyway, like it was a coloring contest where everyone gets a certificate. Of course, you have to pay out the ass for the privilege, but hey.

So I am now trying to figure out HTF a traffic circle is supposed to work. The only one I recall in America is near my childhood home in Litchfield, OH, pop. 30. So I've never been in a traffic circle where thousands of people are honking and merging and nudging and crashing. I just seems like the stupidest idea on the planet. What's wrong with a LIGHT?

On a more positive note, I drove a whole hour last night to the hash, arriving on time and intact. Was easy cause I had directions. Driving home proved to be more difficult. I was trying to follow the signs back to Nonthaburi, only to realize that half the signs had been mysteriously stolen (or never put up in the first place, more likely). Got completely lost for 20 min. and finally came to a place I recognized, only to realize I was HOME! I can't remember the last time I got lost and ended up in the right place. Hopefully this is going to happen more often from now on.