Vagabond Insider

You can’t take everything with you. (Photo: BrittneyBush)

The act (or is it art?) of packing light is different for everyone. In my previous article about being prepared for being unprepared, carefully choosing the gear in your packing list is worth the time spent.

Packing light to some people might be just going around the world with just a jacket like Rolf Potts (I’ll do this within one year).

To others, it may be having just two full suitcases of clothes and gear. I don’t recommend this approach at all because even if you are not going from place to place, it becomes a reason to stay where you are.

Think why you may have not moved yet. Wouldn’t it be a pain to get all that stuff you have to your new home? Buying boxes, buying tape, getting movers or renting a truck yourself. Packing the boxes, and moving them onto the truck and moving them off the truck and unpacking them, and organizing it all.

Some people love the process of moving. Is it a really effective use of time? Could you be building your business? Spending more time with your kids and loved ones?

Wait, what does this have to do with packing light? Well, everything.

Are you ok with having an apartment full of stuff while you are trekking the world? This choice I leave up to you, but I didn’t want to have stuff to worry about while traveling.

If you decide to pack light (I say one medium sized back pack and one small bag works just fine) you’ll gain mental freedom [...]

Posted 6th November 2010.

Ni Hao.

Ok, I haven’t talked about this much. I moved around California a lot, even to big weird cities like San Francisco. It was a fun experience, though not the place for me.

I didn’t really plan where I was going, I just found things which interested me and choose to seek out the areas.

I’m now across the ocean in a far time zone away from the places I called home. I packed my 28L bag, and side bag and flew away.

This awesome tropical island I’m at is called Taiwan. I don’t speak Mandarin at all. Doy-ba-chi.

I have to say the people here are very friendly. It started raining and I stood there in my shorts and no umbrella near a jewelry shop. I took the rain cover out of the bottom of my backpack and covered my backpack. The shop owner walked out side and beckoned me to come over to him, he handed me an umbrella. He made the motions to throw it away when I’m done with it. This was awesome.

I went to the local 7 eleven (they are on most corners, literally 1 block away from each other) and bought an umbrella. I brought back his and thanked him.

I didn’t come to Taiwan prepared for a lot of things, I took the time to figure it out while I was here. I prepared myself with clothes, and the ability to reach the internet, though beyond this, all I did was book a plane and a hostel (the day before the flight) and figured my way around as soon as I landed.

Some folks I talk to here say I’m really prepared when it comes to my gear. Not really. I just put a lot of research before hand to have stuff which works great around the world. I’m not prepared for everything, just most things.

It basically boils down to this, be prepared for 20% of the important stuff, and you’ve covered 80% of the important things. Of course this is the 20/80 principle or whatever, just apply your numbers in whichever way works for you.

This 20/80 principle basically applies to all of life. The numbers might look like 10/90 or 5/95 or even 30/70.

If you focus on the important aspects of ANYTHING, the rest usually falls into place or is worth putting mediocre effort on [...]

Posted on October 31st 2010.

Our spines support our whole body. (photo: diice)

Do you have back pain?

Does it bother you when you sleep? When you wake up?

Does it make it difficult to do what you really want to do? Spending time with loved ones or doing kinky things hurt by your back?

Hey, I’m in my twenties, and I have back pain. That’s right, I’m in my twenties and I have back pain. Not as bad as some people, though it gets pretty bad sometimes.

It gets to the point where I can’t even go out and do anything.

I know a lot of older folks and even younger who also have immense back pain.

Some people try to fix it with Icy hot, or some bengay cream. Some use ice as well. This is all temporary relief. It doesn’t last for a long time.

Remember when I said to fix the system not the symptom?

This is one of those situations.

Do you want to know one of the biggest causes of back pain is?

Guess. [...]

Posted on June 20th, 2010.

Anti-social is the new social.

Have you seen a group of people typing away on their phones instead of talking?

I have. I use to be one of these people in fact. I had my blackberry (aka crackberry). Now seeing these people waste precious time they have with their friends to type away on their phones, allows me to value my time spent with others.

It isn’t just about being anti-social either. It is a big time waster to type away on these phones most of the time. I know a lot of people who use unproductive behavior as an excuse to not be productive. Do you find yourself tweaking with your new iPhone App instead of finishing that paper or making that sales call? Do you press on the iFart application and laugh in the corner?

I would find myself wasting time on my phone doing useless things like tweaking settings here and there instead of working. When hanging out with other people I would pull out my phone every few minutes to check email or other items. Now, with a few tweaks, I can focus on the important things in my life. Dinner and special time will be interrupted no more. To me as a Vagabond, these few steps allow me to focus on relationships more.

I’m actually planning to experiment life with no phone and only use Skype. Though I would actually want to keep a phone just to keep in touch [...]

Posted on January 26th 2010.