We just bought 2 new cat toys. One is a little doll that zippers open and comes with a test tube of catnip. The other is a long cloth tube with a spring-like wire sewn in. It packs flat but pops open to create a cat sized tunnel. Plus the fabric has stuff in it that makes it kind of crunchy. Later tonight we will charge up with little doll with catnip, spring open the tunnel, and toss it in. And then the kitty kwazyness begins!

galanter wrote:We just bought 2 new cat toys...

Nice! Only one of our cats is a pothead and we have this mouse that has a secret catnip compartment that when filled, makes him insane with rage and spazzage. It never fails to make me laugh.

My detail: After a day of shopping with my lady, I just took a nice 30 minute Vespa ride around town. Temps in the high 70s, not a lot of traffic...good times. Zoom zoom.

==========
Yesterday
==========

Hey everyone, I am in Krabi and I smell. Bad.

My overnight bus and all that has been, well, a series of traveller ghettos and insane lorries. A kitten and I fell in love at Ghetto number 3, and a bunch of us on route together met up and got through it together. The joys of budget travel are found in the mutual smells and jokes.

My ferry to Ko Phi Phi leaves at 3, it is 11.30 right now, and I am hanging out with Stella and Renee. Megan and her guy left for Ko Samet or something. Rasheed and the Germans left for their hostel here a bit ago, and the French couple stayed behind at ghetto number 4.

So glamourous. So, so smelly. Two hours of sleep. Yay.

That being said, the steep white cliffs here meet lush rainforest and it is absolutely gorgeous. Aside from a view of my nasty self, that is.

all my love

bumble, looking forward to getting to Phi Phi at 5 and taking a shower. Travel time equals 25 hours. A flight would have taken 1. Yup! ha ha ha

==========
Today
==========

So, it took 25 hours to get here, the last two of which were spent on top of the deck of a ferry.

Now, when you think of a ferry, you might think of Staten Island ferry or something you put cars on. You know, a boat that's heavy and impervious to, say, VIOLENT WAVES CRASHING OVER THE DECK.

It was fun. Fun fun fun. The salt water mixed with layers of deet, sunscreen and plain old nasty to make a truly memorable reek. That was fun, too. I have my sea legs and had a blast, but there were quite a few people feeling/getting sick. Let's hear it for sea legs.

I talked to some young British kids, half of whom were in law school. At first glance, they seemed ne'er do well party types. They were that, too, but then we had a great conversation about education and politics and, y'know, stuff.

Phi Phi is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Ever. There are limestone cliffs plunging straight down, surrounding a bay with a beach. Everything is lush and green. The town is small and charming, and I found a nice little yellow (!) room at the quiet end of the beach for about $13/night. Every minute of those 25 hours was worth it.

You know how people talk about warm seas? I thought Miami had a warm ocean. Miami is crap. The water in Phi Phi is actually warm. I spent sunset in the ocean, watching the limestone cliffs turn an opalescent purple, glowing in the fading sun.

Send my stuff, I think I'll stick around here for a millenia or two.

p.s. - I can't stop thinking about the kitten at Ghetto 3. If anyone has the time, knowledge or inclination, would you please let me know what it takes to bring a cat back to the states? The kitten would also have to go to the Philippines.

I would rather not take the cat than leave him in quarantine for 3 months.

Andrew L.ad? Did you do something like this? I keep thinking about Mr. Smuckles back there.

Just walked in the door...a 14-hour workday. The lead for this job...a party for affluent Boeing employees and their families...is a severe diabetic, and is in the throes of a hypoglycemic episode when my co-worker and I arrive on the job, pacing in circles and rummaging through meaningless packs of gear. 6:00 AM, and the fun is already in full-force. After we lock up the truck, we realized that no one packed audio cable...

Relatively easy set. I thought I was there just to set the gear, but as I was leaving, we realized that no one was left to tech the show...guess I'm on for the tech and strike. Joy.

I realize, an hour before the live, that the whole purpose of this event was to project a video feed of the new 787's release into the world of passenger flights. This feed was apparently agreed upon by the hotel's head engineer, who happens to be on vacation this week. The feed was supposed to be handed to us at 10:00 AM...it's now 3:00 PM, and the room is filling with engineers and their families.

The client logs onto the streaming webcast, via the hotel's wireless network. You've all seen YouTube, right? Well, that's what it looks like. We work out an actual cable to run to the hotel's network. At the beginning of the show, every time the audience claps for Tom Brokaw's marketing speech, it overmodulates the feed, and we get some pretty awesome stuttering breakup and blackout. Reminds me of my early, frustrating experiences with internet porn on a dial-up connection in the country...

Part of the crew for this set is of the 'lighting' camp, which is one way of saying that they apparently don't do anything else...a recent development. The show's over, and we start the strike. When the lighting is done, half of the crew disappears. At first I assumed it was a smoke break, but it starts to dawn on me that it isn't. It also points toward the fact that I had three hours of sleep last night, maybe, as I wasn't planning on working longer than 6 hours in the morning. We load up the truck. I swallow a tennis ball of angry bile.

The boss gives me a ride home. He is a good guy, but doesn't manage his business...well, doesn't manage it at all, for the most part. Meanwhile, I reflect on the fact that my personal time is being destroyed, and that I am turning into one of the sullen assholes I've always hated to be around.

Electrical work is starting to look appealing at this point. Or painting houses. Something like that. Unfortunately, I like playing with expensive toys, the likes of which I will never own or even have a practical use for.

Now I will smoke pot and play video games, in my underwear. I'm sure the women will come running as soon as they realize how cool I've allowed myself to become.

I need to get a band together, quick. Any takers?

Very soon I will be a poor man.

Being broke will never feel so good.

andyman wrote:Very soon I will be a poor man.

Me too! Unfortunately this is because my mobile bill for this month is £50! This is mainly due to a couple of mobile-to-mobile calls (one costing £25!!!!!) to my girlfriend, who is in Trivandrum, India.

Guess we're going to have to find a cheaper way of staying in touch....

bumble wrote:

Andrew L.ad? Did you do something like this? I keep thinking about Mr. Smuckles back there.

I've heard the Phi Phi islands are some damn thing. Sounds like it. I'm afraid I'm no help to you on the kitty front. I brought a kitten from Taiwan to Canada (via Hong Kong). Quarantine for my cat was (I think) 24 hours in Taiwan and zip in Canada. Couldn't say for you. There is many a kitten or doggie in need of love in Southeast Asia. It's okay.

Happy trails!

[quote="kerble"]much awesomeness from a bent night in a convenience store[/quote]


I am breaking my lurking status just so I can ask....

can i hang out with you guys?

haha. at the gas station? sure! come on by.

night_tools wrote:

andyman wrote:Very soon I will be a poor man.

Me too! Unfortunately this is because my mobile bill for this month is £50! This is mainly due to a couple of mobile-to-mobile calls (one costing £25!!!!!) to my girlfriend, who is in Trivandrum, India.

Guess we're going to have to find a cheaper way of staying in touch....

The wonderful world of the phone card my friend.

Us long distance lovers are experts on it.