Blog Post

Unprepared for Travel

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I’ve had a month off from travel, which has been nice. It’s been an interesting time catching up on things at home, and a nice break from the disruption to my schedule that travel entails. However, all good things come to an end, and last week I headed out on Thursday morning for another trip, this time to Slovenia and the UK.

I found myself woefully unprepared. A list of things I’ve forgotten:

  1. two pairs of bluetooth headphones
  2. phone charger cable
  3. usb adapter for phone cable
  4. two pairs of wired headphones
  5. external mouse
  6. HDMI wireless adapter
  7. gloves
  8. belt
  9. naproxen

At least I remembered to pack my laptop charger, wallet, and passport, something I haven’t always done. I also did get sneakers packed for the gym.

In the last month, I did spend a few nights in the mountains, and had some long day trips around Denver, during which I’d slowly moved a few things from my laptop bag, or roller bag, to use for a few hours. In the past I’ve been good about putting those things back in bags right away, so I’d be ready to travel. I usually keep my main luggage and laptop bag ready to go, since I travel so much. Often I can just throw a few changes of clothes in the bag and leave.

With a busy week last week, I was slightly worried I might have forgotten something, but I was in a hurry Thursday morning as I packed and didn’t double check myself. I did look for the wallet and passport, since with those I can likely replace anything I need.

When I got to the airport, I realized that I’d left the bluetooth headphones charging on my desk. I’d used one pair for a meeting while cooking, and grabbed another for the gym last week and didn’t put them back. Worse, I’d taken some of the wired headphones from a jacket and bag and used them at different times, getting lazy about putting them back. Same for the phone charger cable. I used that while cooking, and it’s sitting in the kitchen now.

These are minor issues, and I can certainly survive. Fortunately I’ve kept a spare pair of wired headphones and charging cable in my luggage for emergencies and pulled them out. I survived Slovenia without gloves, though it wasn’t that cold. I did have to buy a belt and some pain meds for an injured wrist, and I can live without the mouse.

This is the same type of thing I’ve seen in an office at work, where myself or someone deviates from a routine, gets lazy and then starts taking more shortcuts to get around the other shortcuts I’ve taken. I need to stick to a routine, and certainly adhere to any expectations I’ve set for myself and others. Hopefully I’ll remember to do this in the new year, with quite a bit of time off.

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