On the Road Again...

"Every journey begins at home."

If you read that twice, you might think it is a deep and profound thought. What is he saying? Does he mean that no matter how far you travel, both physically and meta-physically, the journey must take you back to your roots; you're humunculous, pre-natal roots? There the answer lies. Maybe he means that before we explore both the world and ourselves, take a brief moment for contemplative meditation, find your beautiful inner-you, and reflect upon the road that stretches ahead?

Nah. I just mean that you have to pack before you leave your house.

That's where all travel begins. In your closet. In your dresser drawer. In your sibling's closet. Under the bed. Wherever your possessions may lurk. Might I offer some of my tried and tested advice to you?

Keep it simple! Mountains of stress can be avoided by simply packing lightly. When dealing with airports, adhere to the Buddhist creed: if you have no possessions, then you have none to lose. Fewer bags means fewer moments of waiting at the freakin conveyor belt that I so desperately wish to gleefully ride, and the less time you spend there, the better. True, there are friends to be made as you help the cute college backpacker with her cinder blocks packed in a steel reinforced trunk (she doesn't read this blog), but it's fleeting. She's just not into you. You might think she is, but hell, who wants to make friends at a time like this? When I am waiting for my luggage, I'm so angsty I could strangle a baby seal. That's not a quality the ladies are digging these days. I digress...

Simply, you won't lose your bags if you are carrying the only one you need.

Travelling forces you to assess what you value most.
That's deep.
I mean, do you really need six pairs of jeans? Truly, the stone-washed Guess ones look exactly like the Seven vintage ones. There's no need to bring both. Nobody will notice and your lower back will thank you. Do you need five pairs of shoes? Nope. Find those casual-yet-classy-yet-comfortable ones that can serve many purposes. So much easier. And tie them to the outside of your bag. They take up an unnecessarily large amount of interior bag-space. Especially if you are going to be moving from place to place, stopping for only a few days at a time, the less you pack the better.

Ugh. I am reliving those sweaty memories where I am trying to get my overloaded green suitcase into a youth hostel, but the fucking steel bump in the doorway is impeding my progress. I try and try, but fail. Repeatedly. More sweat. Get a running start and... it tips over. Some kind local tries to help but I just grunt and try to muscle it over. Sweating profusely. I get it over, only to have to wait in line to sign in. After thats done, I find out that my room is on another floor. A cheerful baby seal walks in the front door...

In the end, after you are done packing, chances are that you don't need 30% of the crap in your bag. Re-assess. Be ruthless. Pack plenty of socks.

Cheers,
Matt


Eh. I'm gettin bored writing this post. It sucks. I'll change it later. But hey, at least I have a new theme. AND I can incorporate my odd thoughts on the mundane INSIDE of the blog. Cool. I'll come back to this.
-MR