Hostel Problems
Bad luck: returning to your hostel room post-shower, barefoot and wearing only a towel, to find your key card no longer works. Oh, and the front desk is in the building next door and the only phone available is your iPhone, which is in your locked room. This sounds like the first scene of a terrible horror movie where you definitely get murdered.
Good luck: after a few minutes, a fellow traveler walks by and you ask him to alert the front desk folk, who come rescue your awkward, chilly ass with a new key card.
CRISIS AVERTED! (Lesson learned: always bring phone to shower.)
How to Be the Worst Airplane Seatmate
1. Buckle yourself in with the wrong seatbelt, so the person next to you has to wear yours, twisted, and feels it every time you fidget, because the two are entangled.
2. Hog the armrest with your large, exorbitantly hairy arm, even though you are in the middle seat and everyone knows that means you don’t get an armrest.
3. Frequently reach over the person sitting in the aisle seat, to get the attention of your friend sitting across the aisle.
4. Eat a food that looks like tiny cigars wrapped in edible (well, who knows, but you sure eat it) tinfoil and smells like greasy mothballs wrapped in flea collars.
5. Eat it very loudly, with lots of lip smacking, which continues for at least 5 minutes after ingesting each bite. Stick your finger in your mouth to clean the chewed-up food off your teeth.
6. Frequently pass the box of mystery food to your friend across the aisle, directly in front of the face of your seatmate.
7. Loudly slurp your cup of Sprite with each sip, like it is made of hot soup.
8. Belch loudly and often.
9. Watch a movie on your cellphone with the volume so loud that the person next to you can hear every note of the high-pitched music.
10. As soon as the flight is over, push your way into the aisle, where you pass several large carry-on suitcases over the head of your seatmate, who is now trapped in the aisle between you and your two friends.
Follow these 10 easy steps and you, too, can make another human daydream for five hours straight about punching you in the face!
Hate. Packing.
(Taken with Instagram)
I’m going to San Diego for the long weekend and I’m desperately hoping to recapture the sense of contentment and serenity that I felt during my short trip there last summer. I need it so much more this time.
Study Says Solo Travel Is on the Rise
Sixteen percent of 1,500 U.S. adults recently surveyed by American Express say they will take a trip alone, up from 12% last year….
Independenttraveler.com waxes poetic about the joys of traveling without a companion:
“People who have never traveled alone often describe their first solo trip as an almost religious experience. To take in new surroundings unfiltered by the prejudices, tastes or preferences of a traveling companion can be heady stuff. Traveling alone gives you the chance to indulge yourself fully.”
I really love traveling by myself. Other than business trips to Chicago and San Francisco, I’ve traveled to Iceland and Italy on my own, and I’m heading to San Diego in a couple of weeks. Whenever I tell people I’m going somewhere, the first question they ask is, “Who are you going with?” and when I tell them, “Myself,” they’re always shocked. Why are 84% of people so afraid to do things alone?
I went on a date recently with a dude who said he could never travel by himself — or even, like, have brunch at a restaurant by himself, which I also enjoy — because he thought it was “too sad.” Well, I thought that was pretty sad and I didn’t go out with him again (also, because he said his favorite book was Harry Potter…and he wasn’t joking).
It took me years to work up the courage but I think all adults should take at least one solo trip in their lifetimes, because:
- It’s cool to be able to do whatever the hell you want to do, without having to compromise with someone else’s desired itinerary.
- You’re able to really observe and take in everything around you, without being distracted by your traveling companion.
- It’s easy to make friends, because you didn’t bring along a friend to chat with and you therefore must talk to strangers or you’ll go insane! (I think this is the main reason I like traveling alone, because I’m naturally quite shy and don’t typically talk to strangers unless I put myself in situations where I am forced to do so. I recommend staying at hostels/ guesthouses where other solo travelers tend to stay, rather than in hotels, because they probably want to make friends, too.)
- You can feel really proud of yourself for surviving all by yourself in a strange and disorienting environment.
- The 84% of your friends who are too scared to travel by themselves will think you are kind of a badass.
Honestly, if I can do it — let me remind you that I am bad at math/money, have no sense of direction and am regularly mistaken for a teenager — anyone can, probably. YOLO!
Unlimited Vacation Doesn't Create Slackers--It Ensures Productivity
The 17-year-old Motley Fool, a multimedia financial-services company, established “The Fool’s Errand” five years ago. Spokesperson Alison Southwick says it’s a monthly ritual where, at a meeting of all 250 employees, one name is drawn from a hat. That person must take off two consecutive weeks sometime in the ensuing month. Southwick says it’s purpose is twofold. “First, it helps make sure that people ARE taking time off, clearing their heads, and recharging their batteries. Second, it helps us fight against single points of failure within the company. When you suddenly take two weeks off, you need to make sure that other people around you understand what you do so that the company doesn’t come to a screeching halt if you’re gone,” she explains.
Love this idea.
