Sunday, February 13, 2011

Packing Light, Sort Of

Weekend Assignment # 357: The Art of Packing

When you go on a trip, do you travel light, or try to make sure you have everything you might conceivably need? Specifically, what do you bring along by way of electronics?

Extra Credit: What's the most important thing you ever lost, broke, or forgot to bring on your trip?

I used to travel light.  Before the electronics.

I don't bring a ton of extra clothes.  I never bring a hair dryer.  My suitcase never weighs more than 50 pounds.  But I am always plugged in.  I am on vacation.  With me are:

The Laptop
Personal Cell Phone
Work Cell Phone
Kindle
Digital Camera
iPod
Equipment to charge the above

The Kindle barely counts, as it is not about being plugged in so much as about not carrying six books with me.  For the rest, I have no excuse.  And I no longer care.

I forget things so often that I literally started a tag for it on my blog.  When I visit someplace for the first time, I make it a priority to find the nearest drugstore.  (Anne's free tip:  Beyond the emergency "what I forgot" stuff, it is less expensive than the vending machines for drinks and snacks.  Buy yourself a two-liter and find the ice machine on your floor.)  I can't recall any catastrophes, but I do annoying things like go to Washington DC (where I visit  an office at least six times each year) and forget my key card to the building.  Or my Metro card that still has $17.00 on it.  Or my frequent visit card for Auntie Anne's pretzels.  Also, there are always extra hotel room keys in my bags when I arrive home.  That is a bit embarrassing.

This time, I forgot the sunscreen.  To go to Hawaii.

Now, I am going to get the hell offline and go to the luau.  

2 comments:

Fluffycat said...

I almost never forget stuff but I don't travel as much as you. I have my list on my computer that I go off of, and usually bring what I need. I remember when I was younger, I'd forget something important like underwear.

Karen Funk Blocher said...

Good idea about the two-liter bottle. We used to live on peanut butter sandwiches during sf conventions. Meanwhile, I'm going to have to make a Walgreens run for batteries, so I'll probably take your advice!