tonight i had multiple shots of eighteen dollar a shot whiskey. in an attempt to get me to like the stuff. and that is only part one of my confessions.

part two of my confessions, right now i'm wondering if it is possible to marry an electric blanket. it provides me with EVERYTHING i could possibly want. including the fact that i feel like i may pass out every time i get into bed because i am so utterly euphoric. anyway, the fifty dollars i spent at briscoes may have been better value than the fifty plus dollars on whiskey is all i'm saying.

so, after laughing my socks off (and squirming a little) at one of the wellington heats of the 48 hour film festival, i got home to a parcel. this is kind of standard at the moment, due to my shopping addiction. but then i realised, due to the whole branded box thing, that it was my first installment of books from amazon dot com. cos i'm reading ten books in ten months as part of a blog challenge. and it is obviously easier to order things from the states than go to my library. hmmm. anyway, ignoring how i repulse myself, i had a parcel.

i open it. get out my books (there were three of them) and notice that amazon had put in a little somethin' somethin' for me.

and all i can say is: MISJUDGED!


and yes. it is a mcd's voucher you see in the top right corner. even if i didn't find it disgusting, how am i supposed to use a US coupon. and did the amazon people even check to see what country they were sending the books before they added the cellphones for soldiers bag? i mean we're not hostile here*. but there are more supportive countries.

anyway, needless to say my celly remains where it is and i stop ordering from amazon. which i was going to do anyway, but their goddamned cheap prices always got me. until now that is.

*for eg, see what the socialist world says here.

i am basically addicted to vietnamese food now. it only took three days.

i have had culture shock and spring rolls. i have played yatzy with swedes and swum in halong bay with the french. i have eaten salad even though i promised my travel doctor i wouldn't. not to mention the precut fruit i have risked my health for.

and the shopping. i have become a bargaining machine. i walk away saying "too expensive". and you'll all be pleased to hear that i may have bought even bigger sunnies than i already owned.

i am in hanoi. the capital of vietnam. but have only spent two days here. the bulk of my time has been in halong bay - the unesco world heritage site. it took my breath away. my journal, which i have been obsessively keeping, is full of gush about it. i needn't repeat it here. but i have been blown away. my legs are sore though from the number of steps i have climbed to get good panoramic shots of the bay.

tonight i will eat pho. my favourite vietnamese dish so far (although their croissants rate very highly too). a reunion with my swedish and french companions. i can't wait to tell them about my bargain hunting...