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…

A certain compact, rambunctious busy-body here in Iasi has repeatedly raked me over the coals about the fact that I only write in this blog about who’s pissed me off lately in Romania, never writing anything about incidents where people were nice to me.  This is true, once I commit…

My intended September/October travel plans have taken a small twist.  Instead of traveling four countries in Southeast Europe by train, Lonely Planet is flying me to San Francisco for an author workshop!  Who else didn’t see that coming? Moreover, since I’ll be right there, I’m going to do a three…

The guy didn’t use the headline I suggested (‘Beckham Look-a-Like Brings Travel Writing World to its Knees’), but nevertheless I appear in New York Times in a story about guidebook writers.  Unfortunately, you have to register with the nytimes site to view anything past the first two lines.  Copyright prevents…

I knew this day was coming.  My little Dell Latitude 200 that has been with me through three years of untold rain, snow, oppressive heat, flights, buses, boats, trains and meandering hikes through large, confusing cities in 38 countries is showing its age.  After 25 or so Windows updates, an…

On Saturday June 10th, I will turn 36 years old.  I love getting older.  Each year I get wiser, blissfully more deranged and, reportedly, better looking.  I’m told that I am afflicted with the ‘George Clooney Effect’ where, although I wasn’t unattractive when I was younger, I somehow become better…

Have I mentioned that I’m a juggler?  Yep, for, oh god, 24 years now.  I started young and as such I was one of those punks that learned everything five times faster than the adults, who mostly loathed me as a result.  There was a window of opportunity somewhere in…

I normally spend a ludicrous amount of time in front of my laptop, but the past three weeks have been particularly intense. So much so that I think my eyeballs sinking into my skull, trying to retreat from the screen as a natural defence. Moreover, for the past week I’ve…

I happened on a reality TV show a while back that redefined the phrase ‘fresh out of ideas’. The show focused on the lives of a bunch of Americans teaching English in Taiwan. Sweet Jesus…  I don’t think a more tiresome and monotonous group of people exists in nature, yet…

Without the benefit of TV or radio, I nevertheless enjoyed the entire range of emotions from last night’s Eufa Cup semi-final game between Steaua Bucharest (Romania) and Boro Middlesbrough (England). That’s soccer for my fellow Americans.  I was sitting in my apartment quietly enjoying a dignified Kvint cognac from Transdnistria…