Three Years Later

Almost three years to the day since I lost Trotsky Bear, I have a new dog. A permanent addition to my household was probably inevitable since I started walking dogs at the Albuquerque Animal Welfare Department last November and started doing Doggy Days Out at the Bernalillo County Animal Care and Resource Center. But I've … Continue reading Three Years Later →

Almost 45

Over the past week, Facebook has given me a number of reminders about when I moved into the "Chicken House" in February 2017. I posted about the first visitors I had, the first mail I received, and the housewarming gifts that friends gave me. No, I didn't buy the house, but I was embarking on … Continue reading Almost 45 →

A New Language

Last year when I was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I drove past the New Mexico School for the Deaf many times, and for some reason, got it into my head that I wanted to learn American Sign Language (ASL). I'm not sure what it was about that moment in time. We had a … Continue reading A New Language →

El Salvador – The Tourist Post

Now that the political and linguistic musings are out of the way, what is there to do in "the little thumb"? Quite a bit, but most of it is outside the city. Santa Ana Volcano The first thing that most tourists do is the famous Santa Ana Volcano, and that's exactly what I did first, … Continue reading El Salvador – The Tourist Post →

To E Or Not To E

If you read my first post on El Salvador, you might have noticed that I wrote "Salvadoran" to refer to the people. And this is the correct spelling in English. And if you watch some YouTube videos about the country, you'll find more than one person proclaiming loudly that the correct pronunciation is Salvadoran, as … Continue reading To E Or Not To E →

Another Cool Dictator

What do you think of when you think of El Salvador? Most likely gangs, and specifically MS13. The country has one of the highest intentional murder rates in the world with as many as 107 homicides per 100,000 people in 2015. Compare that to the also violent United States, which had 5 homicides per 100,000 … Continue reading Another Cool Dictator →

The Bird Has Landed

Something monumental happened eight days ago. If you've been following me on Virtually in America, you know that for the past three years and three months, I've been a digital nomad. From El Calafate, Argentina up the western hemisphere to Banff, Canada and bouncing over to places like Montenegro and Vietnam, I've been all over … Continue reading The Bird Has Landed →

So, Has My Relationship With My Phone Permanently Changed?

No. The answer is no. In case you missed it, I lost my phone while on vacation in Portugal. I had nine days of driving around the country planned, for which I needed my phone for navigation. And funny to think that on the first day of driving, during the morning when I still had … Continue reading So, Has My Relationship With My Phone Permanently Changed? →

On a Lisbon Weekend

If you fly into Lisbon and don't go to any other major region of Portugal, you'd still have plenty to do for many weeks. There are lots of great day trips you can take from the capital, either on a group tour or in your own rental car. Sintra, Cabo da Roca, & Cascais Sintra, … Continue reading On a Lisbon Weekend →

No, This Is Not Nigeria

For the final leg of my Portugal trip, I flew down to the Algarve. In Faro, I picked up a boring Renault Clio, which was not nearly as cute as my tiny Fiat Dolcevita 500 with its sunroof and race car styled interior. I booked an AirBnB for three nights in Lagos with a plan … Continue reading No, This Is Not Nigeria →