I had to go to Basilicata for a week. It was partly for work and I had built it up so much in my mind that it had turned it into a major event. Then, three days before leaving I met an old friend who said he was going to Thailand in a few days time. He had got a good deal, he said, with some Finnish airline - I can't remember their name now - and had only paid eight hundred  thousand lire for the round trip. My trip to Basilicata was going to cost nearly five hundred thousand which was a sizeable sum of money and meant I'd have to work hard if I wanted to finish the month with some money in hand. Another friend came along and the two started talking about people they knew who had gone to live in New York and Venezuela, and about another Italian girl from Chicago who wanted to come back to work in Bologna and then go to the missions in Mexico or Guatemala. For me who worked - or better still tried to work - in Bologna, the idea of going to Budrio or Castenaso for a job was a huge hassle, never mind going to Guatemala. That evening I found out that my trip to Basilicata had down the tubes because of funding that hadn't arrived on time. Then I thought that, all things considered, eight hundred thousand wasn't a lot for a ticket to Thailand but it was still more than I could ever afford. So I went to bed and didn't think about it anymore, I couldn't care less, Thailand can wait. And Basilicata probably can, too. Sadly it looks as if I'll be heading for Budrio or Granarolo over the next few days. Or I could even stay at home, in town, and go to the cinema and see a film. A film by some hugely talented director that tells the story of people who never leave home, people who have no fancy notions in their heads and no money in their pockets. A really funny film. I think I'll go and see this director's film, I  hope he exists. Then, during the film, there'll be this scene of a guy who spends all his time in town going to his friend's house for dinner. And his friend introduces him to a hot chick who he asks round to his house three nights in a row and the sparks really fly. And fuck Basilicata and Thailand. Specially Thailand.