Monthly Archives: August 2006
Making peace with and getting the f*ck out of Romania
Mission Control, Space Cadet First Class Pettersen here kindly informing you that at exactly noon Eastern European Time on Thursday August 31st, I will permanently abandon my post here in Iasi, Romania, merrily leaving this accursed, gasping laptop behind to drag someone else’s potential productivity to a crawl. Seven days…
Space Cadet First Class Leif Pettersen – The first travel writer in space
That’s right suckers, I’m calling dibs on this one right now. Chuckle if you want, but I guaran-effing-tee you that space tourism geared for the average schmuck will happen in our lifetime, thus the need for a space guidebook written with flair and authority. I’ll go out on a limb…
Blogging; self-indulgent, attention-getting device or sole connection to the outside world?
I consider myself to be a reasonably funny guy. I’ve gone to pains for much of my adult life to be ‘the entertainer’ whether it be on stage, in writing, at funerals (yes, really), whatever the occasion. Unfortunately, I’ve been in Romania for over a year now, where the language…
The sickening power of the guidebook author
Guidebook authors can’t brag about much. When you’re on the road, it’s a solitary, sub-budget, exhausting existence. When you’re not on the road it’s a solitary, sub-budget, tedious existence. Broadly, the main perks of this career path can be narrowed down to three categories; 1) The freedom and giddying uniqueness of…
Newbie mistake – fear the word count! Fear it!!
If you’re just joining us, you might be interested to know that I’m long-winded and I don’t care. That is, I didn’t care until I decided to ‘moonlight’ in guidebook writing. Up to that point, I had managed to consistently find (or be found by) gigs where word count limits…
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