Firstly, say hello to our newest resident. I’ve never had a rabbit before, but Drexel seems easy-going enough.

I’ve just (today) booked and paid for my next trip out East – I’m off to Thailand again in February. Hopefully I’ll get away next summer too – I’ve managed two foreign trips this year (Thailand & Ireland) and last (Thailand & Italy), and it would be nice to continue that pattern.

Martin will be living in central Bangkok by the time I visit – I’ll miss Sammakorn and the tranquility of the village lifestyle, but I won’t miss spending hours in a taxi every time we visit Bangkok. Popping out for a pint will be so much easier, and I guess the 14th floor of a condo block will be quiet enough when I do need a little piece. At least, I hope so.

Things have been a little hectic recently, with lots of friends moving houses (one moving in here permanently, another two lodging on my sofa at various points in time) in the space of a few short weeks. Hence the recent spates of online inactivity, aside from some embarassingly short posts. Terrifyingly, there are seven weeks of the year remaining. I started this site on January 1, 2005, and have somehow managed to post more than 150 entries, which is pretty surprising, at least for me.

Things have changed a great deal in the past twelve months – after feeling like a stranger for my first 18 months in this part of the country, I now have a local peer group of some wonderful people, and am living with someone I hardly knew two years ago, but who is now one of my best friends. I’m an uncle to Chloe, I’ve lost a little weight (still got a way to go though), I’m in a new, rewarding and fascinating job, working with some great and talented people, and I’ve even managed to somewhat resurrect my music career.

Oh, and I’ve even become a foaming Mac zealot in the past couple of weeks since I got my souped-up Mini. My Linux and Windows boxen aren’t even turned on 90% of the time, and I have no real desire to use either. OSX is a breath of fresh air – everything an operating system should be, and none of the things it shouldn’t.

This evening will consist of Coco Pops, Return of the Jedi, and a homecooked Thai green curry. A rare weekend of relaxation – this month’s remaining weekends are already filled. Christmas will come and go in the blink of an eye, and then it will be 2006 – I’m still writing 2004 on my cheques…

So whilst it seems a little stupid to be writing my end-of-year post in mid-November, it’s probably the only chance I’ll get. Here’s to the next 150 posts, and to another year of progress and surprises.