Whenever a person goes to a new destination, one of the first things they need to decide is what they are going to bring. And for most people, that depends on the duration of the trip and likely how far they will be traveling. If I go anywhere for a month or more, I often take one of my larger suitcases to minimize laundry. I figure since I am allowed to check a bag on the plane, I may as well take advantage of it. And since I usually rent a full apartment in a new location, I have room to store the suitcase. But when you have a suitcase it’s often hard to be spontaneous. If you go sightseeing, ...

I have this fear, especially as a guy with a bit of meat on his bones, that it'll always be hard for me to obtain clothing in other countries. It is probably unfounded, as not everyone in Buenos Aires was rail thin, but it's still one of the things I worry about when abroad. It's frustrating enough buying clothing for myself in North America and having things not fit my Ukrainian physique, but when you toss in a language barrier as well, it's not something I'm entirely looking forward to attempting one day. That's why prior to all my trips so far I've made a point of buying some new clothes that ...

I got back home last night at around 2am and promptly climbed under my duvet for a long night of sleep. I spent the evening with some old high school friends, and invited myself into a poker tournament that was going on in the evening. I somehow managed to come in second out of ten people, even though I don't really know how to play (which seems to always sort of happen - I won our first work tournament last year, and come in fourth out of thirty last time). I just woke up around 11:30am here, and feel fairly rested. My stomach is clearly not impressed that I have stopped antibiotics, but hopefully ...