Thinking about packing

This is one in a series of boring posts,  which I hope you will find helpful about how I pack for trips so that I'm ready for anything and nothing gets wasted.  First you need to think about your trip and I give you several questions to think about before you start the process.

I wish I could say I’m a packing pro, but I’m not.  My conferences and meetings do not happen in boardrooms or ballrooms. I don’t possess a navy or black suit with three contrasting silk shells. I’m more of a skirt and sweater girl, but even that can be pushing it depending on the meeting I’m attending.  I saw more cargo shorts and polo shirts at my last meeting than business casual attire.

These days I’m doing more leisure travel which can be even more vexing in terms of packing.  I’m not confident I’ve picked the right mix of clothing types.  Will I sweat through every t-shirt I bring and what happens if I get a blister and need to swap out shoes? What if I get cold or too hot?

The great thing is most of the places like I go are in the first world and thanks to globalization – I’m likely to be within spitting distance of a GAP, so I can replenish my wardrobe if necessary.  Better yet, I can subscribe to the weather alerts for the places I’m visiting to get a better idea of what to expect on the ground. 

So, here are my rules to pack efficiently for a trip to the first world.  It takes time and a few iterations to get it right, just like product/market fit.  My objective when it comes to packing is to make sure that everything I bring get used during the trip.

Before starting to pack ask yourself these questions:

What is your packing goal for this trip?

Are you checking luggage?

How are you traveling? Will you be moving around or staying in one place long enough to dry your smalls over night?

Are you participating in an activity that requires event-specific apparel and shoe wear?

Are you the kind of person that can eat a ripe peach wearing a white t-shirt and have it remain white?

Are you averse to washing out smalls in sinks if necessary?

Are you okay wearing the same shirt or pants two days in a row?

Are you comfortable relying on hotel bathroom amenities and leaving your own stuff at home?

Are you planning or willing to buy new clothes on your trip?

How much electronic/craft equipment will you be bringing along with you?

Once you answer those questions – you can start thinking of the most efficient way to pack for your trip so that you can feel confident in your choices and not get cranky when you find you packed five pairs of socks and no smalls.

The Single Payer System

Le Crillon, Dec. 2013. We are so fancy.

I love travel, loyalty programs and  I love eating. These are the three truths. I also love to plan. I would have made a terrible hostel goer or backpacker back in the day.  I am not a seat of the pants traveller either, I like to have a decent idea of where I'm going and what I'm going to see.

I also hate waiting in lines, all of them.

I'm a big fan of online reservation systems that ensure that I don't have to wait in line for food, museum exhibitions and ticket machines that only take exact change. For dining, I use OpenTable as much as possible to make restaurant bookings. I have even been known to fire up the app on the way to a restaurant just to ensure I'm not going to be hanging out in the parking lot with one of those ugly pagers.

Restaurants sometimes run promotions through OpenTable to get people to dine during off hours. Typically a diner earns 100 points for booking through OpenTable, but sometimes that bumps up to 1000 points.  Points start to add up fast when you book them at these odd hours and for those who love their points, it can mean convincing your loved one eating dinner at 545 is really a very late lunch.

What does this have to do with the Single Payer System?  Most of these promos require a party of two to get the 1000 points.  The solo traveller is just as likely to eat either earlier or late, but they don't qualify for the promotion.  Shouldn't we be getting at least 500 points?

I know that the restaurants pay to be part of the OpenTable program and it costs them x number of dollars to give out these points, but who is to say the solo traveller is not going to order a more expensive entree, a better glass of wine and perhaps linger over a cappuccino before heading back to their room to watch Dog the Bounty Hunter?

The same thing goes for restaurants that will not book tables for one. I use the French and UK equivalents of OpenTable to book restaurants and often times they will not take a solo diner.  I end up booking for two and bring my bear to lunch (Kidding, sort of) . Instead I'll sheepishly say that my companion was not going to make it and hope they don't put me next to the bussing station.

I think it is time for the single payer/diner to be recognized.  We can easily just order room service and sit in our pjs, but we choose to adventure out and try the newest kombucha on tap hotspot, so rejoice and give us our damn points for trying.