Year: 2015
-
How to Nail a Long Layover
When I’m booking a flight, I don’t search by shortest duration, I sort by longest. My favorite flights are those that include one or more really long layovers during the day in an interesting location. Earlier today I hiked up Diamondhead, ate a Hawaiian burger, waded into the ocean at Waikiki, and visited the Honolulu…
-
Why I Only Travel with Ten Pounds of Stuff
Whether you think I’m a minimalist or maximalist isn’t important to me. In some ways I am quite minimalist, but in others I’m the opposite. I have a lot of teaware, for example. Way more than I really need. But when it comes to packing, I don’t think there’s much debate. I pack very lightly.…
-
Assets, Experiences, and Indulgences
Nothing makes my way of thinking about it the one correct way, but I think of money spent as three different things: Assets, Experiences, and Indulgences. I do this because it helps me create rules and guidelines for how to spend my money so that I can do well in the long term without having…
-
The Uncertainty of Life
Steam rises from my little glass teapot. It’s the fifth brewing of the Tung Ting Oolong, so it’s a little bit weak even though the color is still a clear gold. Employees of the tea shop are in front of me, an older couple across the way, and a single girl behind me. In the…
-
The 2016 Gear Post
Welcome to the 2016 Gear Post! This is my most anticipated post of the year, which means that it’s the one I’m harrassed about the most. Due to popular request, I did individual photos for each item, which takes considerably longer to do. My curent backpack weight is around 10.5 pounds, and as you probably…
-
The 2016 Gear Post Prelude
I would have forgotten about my promise to post this in November if it wasn’t for, well, everyone else very tactfully reminding me that I said I’d do it. The timing works, though. My bag is packed for a two month trip that will bring me to thirteen countries by plane, train, car, ship, and…
-
Excuses We Give Ourselves
My friends and I do a quarterly accountability group. We come up with our own individual goals and pair them with punishments and rewards. For this quarter, I have a list of ten things to do on CruiseSheet. It’s halfway through the quarter, and although I’ve made progress on a few, I haven’t completed any…
-
Retire First
Here’s an idea for people who are done with school and aren’t too excited about the standard life staring them in the face. Instead of grinding through life to retire later, why not work as hard as possible to retire first, and then live the rest of your life on your terms. There are probably…
-
Island Two-Year Update: Shipwrecked
We were all excited about this most recent island trip. Brian, Elliot, and I would be flying together from Tokyo directly to Halifax, and would be joined there for a few days by Todd, and then by Ben for a couple days afterwards. It was to be the first island trip with no critical imminent…
-
Up in the Ether
When I was a kid, I had flannel blankets. Blue and green, if my memory’s accurate. My bedroom had big french doors to the outside that made my room cold when it was winter. Even before computers, I was a night owl. My parents would make me go to bed at ten, I’d crawl into…
