The more stuff that's mine, the better.

Some of my favorite things, like chocolate and tea, blueberries, alcohol in moderation, stress management and cannabinoids found in marijuana.

I got my things and left. This, the opening line to Dambudzo Marechera s The House of Hunger, apart from being the coolest opening line in African fiction, is a fair summary of the writer s life.

When you think about it, it would have seemed like a crazy idea, even a few years ago, that I would swap my stuff with a total stranger whose real name I didn't know and without any money changing hands.