It's good to know I'm not the only non-driver who's nevertheless still a Melway lover. On my days off lately I've been further exploring the West - I mean, have you ever actually been to Altona? I didn't think so. It's got a sandy beach, and a few old guys with metal detectors wading around near the pier. A little panel near the beach explains how it was once sold to people in the early 20th century as "the Miami beach of Melbourne", though things didn't quite turn out that way. The shops and general feel of the town isn't quite Williamstown, though at least they have an actual beach to speak of.

In Williamstown a few days earlier, we found an old confectionery shop that sells Terry's Chocolate Oranges (they even had a white chocolate version), huge Toblerones, Fry's Chocolate Creams, Walnut Whips and heaps of plain-wrap Allens lollies, among other things. I've been practicing my self-control, you see - in the face of all this, I managed to come out with only 3 things.

I've also avoided buying a pile of other things, lately: Ben Sherman shirts (I reckon twenty-something of them's about enough, though about half of them are too big for me now that I'm no longer XL-sized), CDs (I've cut my purchasing by about a third compared to last year, I reckon, and I'm not mentioning numbers here 'cause it's too frightening to contemplate), books (I've been too busy/lazy to find anything to read, these days). I've done plenty of window shopping, mind you - it's depressing to think that on a weekend I can't manage to amuse myself sufficiently without at least popping into a few shops at some point, even if I don't actually buy anything. Don't I have enough CDs to last me a good few years? Enough clothes to survive a nuclear winter? Certainly.

Fortunately, I still have the western suburbs to keep exploring. Now the weather's picking up, you might see me wandering by, taking photos of signs and stuff. Another lonesome cowboy, so far from home...