i miss having pockets

Stands up. My name is ******** and I am a pocket addict. Last winter the clothes I wear started to feel itchy. Not in a hygienic sense, I promise. Rather, I started to feel wrong in them. In London my philosophy was efficiency and preparedness. You must carry all the things you need while staying dry and mobile. In the metropolis, the ability to navigate and get somewhere quick, when you are hours away by foot from home, is paramount. The war zone necessitated a way of dressing that was adapted to it. I gravitated towards technical wear. Pockets, waterproofing, velcros, quick-drying polyester blends. At one point I had 12 pockets, and each had a purpose. Life felt good, I was ready for anything. Those days are over. Unlike London, Lisbon is not actively trying to annihilate me. It doesn't matter if my phone battery runs out, or if I get soaked, or if my cards are in the wrong place when I have a queue behind me. In this tiny city, I can walk home from anywhere in less than an hour.…