Today I turned 28, and celebrated with mom over dinner.

My last bills are coming. After this month, I will have no more cable, phone, electric, cell, rent, car insurance, or car loan to pay. Strange, but liberating. Theoretically, my money will last a long time without bills, if I can keep day-to-day costs down.

I finished reading Colin Thubron’s “In Siberia” today, and heartily recommend it if you are the least bit interested in Russia and its people. Thubron’s trip was amazing, going far off the beaten path, visiting gulags, and being invited into people’s homes. Not knowing a word of Russian, all I can hope for is getting off the train and looking around. I started Paul Theroux’s “Great Railway Bazaar,” which is pretty much required reading for the type of trip I am taking. I enjoyed his musings on the beginning of his trip:

Unfortunately, I have no cold (just hay fever), and will be flying from summer into winter. I do have thermal underwear, long sleeve tee shirts, and fleece, though.