There's a Mad Hatters tea party on, Megs, Ben and I head there in the van. The party is at a massive warehouse with an upstairs living area, downstairs being home to two art studios and a band room. I have no trouble meeting new people, talking to them, I dont feel like an outsider, or worried. Getting along is easy, everyone has something to say. We eat and drink and be merry!

I meet Martina, she makes holograms. I also meet Mike, Gus and Dave, who play in a band called 'Battlesnake'; and a charming british type who makes me a sequence of bloody marys. I have no trouble remembering everyone's name.

As the day draws on more people show up, I hear a bass line and follow it downstairs to the band room. I walk in and after watching for a few minutes I ask to join in and the band hesitantly agrees. But i'm on a roll and catch the wave perfectly, before we know it we're having a progressive psychedlia jam. We smile at each other and play on while a blunt gets passed around. The jam finishes and I head upstairs.

"Hey man! cool jam! What's your name?!" the bass player asks.

"Pablo, what's yours?"

His name is Simo. I ask him if he knows anyone who wants to form a band.

"I may know just the person" and he takes my number.

We and a few others chat about how nice a time we've all had in Melbourne as M&M's get thrown about for fun. We go in to eat Henrys well labored lamb and Martinas much loved charcoal potato bits. Ben's crazy friend Caroline entertains me for the night, she's hilarious. We make fun of the dancing students across the road and of anything else we can think of.

Next up is a gig in the city. Caroline, Ben and I wave everyone goodbye. The gig is in the city but easy to get to thanks to the Tram. It's at Hells Kitchen, a small upstairs establishment, in a stylishly seedy alleyway in what looks like a cross between chinatown and New York city. People are relaxed and smoking indoors! The band is average but the drummer is good. I complain about the small beers but everything is funny and we leave the strums of an acoustic soloist dressed in a suit.

To another party at a pub where I run into Zoe, a girl i'd met a the tea party earlier. I kind of like her. She's traveled, and she's got a cute bookish thing going on but with fiery eyes and loud attire. I talk to her and Corrine about how good it's been. I go to buy a beer.

"A New please!"

The waitress looks at me with disdain..

"You're in Melbourne now buddy, No New here. Coopers or Draught only"

"OH! I'll take a Coopers!"

Zoe is going to funk dancing at another club, I like her and will go. The others leave us and we enter inside to dance. Zoe dances like a maniac. Like a demon possessed. I try to keep up but after a few hours I hit the wall. I feel like leaving. Zoe wants to dance a little more. So I wait then we leave together.

Drunken courage and fatalism dont mix. I ask Zoe out.

She replies something in the negatory, along the lines of not going out with anyone. I feel like an idiot but go with it.

"What do you mean by going out, anyway?"

"You know.. like gosh, we're not gonna have children, sheez, you know like go out, i think you're cool and im on a good run, why not?" I reply.

"Well I only go out with idiots who I hate, and I like you, so you're already off to a bad start" she informs me.

Our Taxi comes. I don't push the issue but babble on about it. We hold hands for the Taxi ride. I pre emptively call on my stop and jump out after a quick kiss, to save myself some dignity.

I hit my head against the wall and walk home.