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Riches and Eye bags

I’ve been starting to crave for a little bit of stability in my life. Due to the entrepreneurial life, I feel like I’m stuck in a state of imbalance and inconsistency. It’s weird that a constant in my life is inconstancy. Ironic, right? And it’s like it won’t be resolved until I hit the ‘eject’ button or maybe pick up yoga… but that’s not going to happen any time soon because I love what I’m doing right now and I hate yoga. Working for myself, it’s all about instability. I deal with a lot of unexpected situations, pay is unpredictable and the days ahead of me are a little unclear. I feel like I always have a million things on my mind and an endless list of things I have to remember to do. When work depends on me to always be on my toes, it gets a little tiring and wears me out.

Sometimes I look at my closest friends and wish I had some parts of what they have in their lives. Having a stable job, having a stable schedule, having regular meet-ups with friends, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever had a stable full-time job but I imagine it would be a little comforting to have consistent hours and a clear idea of what’s going to happen tomorrow or the days ahead. I’ve also never had an office job but something about it is starting to look really appealing to me, especially having one’s own office. I think it’s something about having a workspace that’ll always be there for you that’s yours and not anyone else’s. Right now, the line between work and my personal life is a little blurry and with an office space, it seems really easy to leave work behind and out of mind. It’ll be a while until I’m behind a desk, wearing pencil skirts and drafting docs out the wazoo because I’ve put school aside to work on some more business endeavours.

I think the toughest thing for me right now is that I go weeks and months without seeing the people I love. And it’s hard — not because I need to see them, but I fear that they think that I forget them or don’t value their friendship. It’s a constant worry I have even though it seems like the closest people in my life have already accepted my lifestyle. I’ve never expressed it to any of them but I love them so much for accepting that part of me. It’s hard keeping strong relationships when I’m never around and I’m always hoping deep down that my favourite people are perfectly fine with picking up where we left off.

It’s not that I don’t miss people; I think I’m just a lot less emotional than the average person. I’m just less needy when it comes to constant interaction with friends and family. I’ve been told by my parents that they think I am less caring because I don’t talk so much. I’ve lost friends because they assume that I don’t have time for them. It’s frustrating. It doesn’t help that I don’t chat much online anymore. As time goes on, I just find myself spending more and more time off my phone and that’s what makes me happy. That’s one of the things that makes it difficult to make new friends. Many people can’t seem to understand why I can’t keep in touch or make time for them and they just think I’m just a cold and distant person in general.

While my life is in constant chaos, one thing I can count on are the friends I have now. No matter how long I’m gone or how far away I go, my favourite people are always there and are willing to make time for me. They are among the handful of stable things in my life. I feel so grateful but also guilty that I can’t do the same for them. I’m a little afraid for the day when things settle down for me and they’ll be too busy for me. That, or they become tired of my tendencies before then.

I want to reach a balance of everything some day; I just don’t know when. Whatever instability I have right now, I’m going to continue coping with it, along with all the stresses that it brings along. I might be at the beginning stages of being worn out but I also think I’m just in a love-hate relationship and it’s the case of the grass is greener on the other side. Sometimes when I’m home for only a week, I really can’t wait to get on a plane. Maybe the core problem in my life is that I’m always wanting. I’m never really completely happy with what I have; I always want more. Like an appetite that’s never satiated. What’s wrong with me?

Maybe I thrive on this way of living. I am definitely some sort of experience junkie and love to do things I haven’t done before. It’s definitely very mentally stimulating for me. And I guess sometimes the uncertainty is somewhat exciting. It’s interesting to see where I find myself and what I am doing every few days. I don’t even usually like to eat at the same restaurant twice… It’s a life of high excitement with high stress. That’s what I signed myself up for. I really wonder if I’d be happier if things were toned down and a little more balanced in my life…

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Thoughts on Tampa

Downtown Tampa was a little barren but the beach, at least Clearwater Beach, was an amazing place to be. I had been waiting all summer long for a beach day and it took me until October to get it. The water wasn’t as nice as I expected; it was kind of murky actually and not as “clear water” as its name makes it out to be. But that aside, I was happy to finally get a chance to go out for a swim. I was a little confused why there weren’t a lot of people swimming so I actually asked people on the shore if it was safe to swim. I was told that it was indeed safe. I guess it might have been because the crowd was just a little different on the Tampa Bay beaches. Surprising to me, there weren’t a lot of young people. It was mostly made of families and older couples. Definitely not what you would expect in let’s say Miami. I swam far out from shore and I was still feeling a little nervous so I asked a couple of people that I saw there with me. I had to ask:

“Do sharks swim here?”

“Sometimes, but not that often.”

“Oh.”

“But there are sharks everywhere you swim.”

“Not where I’m from.”

It was especially disconcerting because I was just finishing up the last few days of my period and my tattoo had just finished scabbing up. Terrifying, right? Easy meal for a shark’s deal. Thankfully, I got a good long swim before I started to really freak myself out. When I was on the shore, I googled the keywords “florida” and “shark” on my phone, which funny enough has a case shaped like a shark. The first result was something about Florida being the leading state in shark attacks and the second was about a three-year-old being bitten by shark at the beach. I didn’t think too much of those so I went back out in the water but after some time being there, I swear I felt something large and fleshy press against my leg. Once that happened, I swam like hell and was thoroughly terrified so I just ended my swim time.

Florida in general seems like a really dangerous place to be in. When I was in Busch Gardens, one of the guides asked if I knew what fire ants were.

“Yes… why?”

“Oh, because they’re all over the place here.”

“Oh.”

Luckily, nothing bad came out of that. But black widows, alligators, jellyfish, and yeah, I don’t even know where the crocodiles are yet but my current impression is that they’re all chilling by the river waiting to get me.

I didn’t have any encounters with wild dangerous animals but I saw a lot of these guys on the shore. The ones with the orange beaks kind of look like seagulls with a balding head of hair. You know when a balding guy doesn’t get hair cut for a while? Yeah, that’s kind of what it looked like to me. Turn’s out they’re terns. Royal terns to be exact. Terns remind me of this Whose Line Is It Anways? skit:

Terns also remind me of Colin Mocherie.

After a swim, I went for a beachside run with the setting sun on my side. When I was in a more secluded area, there was a time where I took a rest, looking out into the ocean and, like in a movie, I saw a dolphin jump up and out of the water. IT WAS AMAZING. Actually, on first impression seeing its fin, I thought it was a shark with all the sharks on my mind. I was hoping to see it again but that was it and even though it was a matter of seconds, it was super surreal.

This is where I saw a dolphin! You can see a sandpiper there.

Saw some other creatures along the way like scrambling sandpipers and lizards hopping out of my way. I stopped in time to watch the sun disappear over the horizon, leaving only a wonderous display of pastel skies.

Apart from the beach, there were a couple of cool animal things that I got to do while I was around. The first was to visit the Big Cats Rescue; it’s a sanctuary dedicated to large cats like tigers, lions, cougars but they also house a few smaller cats like bobcats, civets and even house cats. They claim to be the largest accredited sanctuary in the world dedicated to rescuing abused and abandoned big cats. They have a number of different tours and the one I got to go on was the one that is the most up-close and personal, The Keeper Tour. For this tour, the guide basically takes a small group around (we had five people) to visit a few of the cats while they were fed and received enrichment. Enrichment, which is often provided for animals kept in captivity, are things done to keep the cats stimulated so they stay healthy emotionally and mentally. Everyone on the tour got make two kinds of enrichment for the cats. One was rolled up paper bags, filled with either herbs, spices or cat nip. The other was toilet paper tubes and towel paper tubes sprayed with perfume. Apparently cats like that sort of thing. Who knows, but man those cats were spoiled; they got CK’s Obsession and sometimes they’d even get Chanel No. 5.

The tour itself was alright. The guide talked a lot of about the background of each cat like where they came from and she had some fun facts about the species themselves — the typical kind of thing you’d expect from a tour. Although there wasn’t ever a direct interaction with the cats, I got see some pretty exotic species and take a few cool photos. Taking photos was a little tough. The cats spend the majority of their time sleeping and they were fenced pretty far from where we could see them. Even while they were eating, they weren’t very animated. They kind of just paced around until they got their food and then stayed in one spot to eat. I thought it was a little expensive for what it was but in the end, all the money goes back to taking care of the cats so that’s nice. While I just love animals in general, everyone else on the tour seemed to be a crazy-cat-person. All of them mentioned about their cat at home a few times. I wish I had a more of a stable lifestyle to be able to own a cat.

What was way cooler was the Keeper for a Day tour at Busch Gardens. What’s really neat about Busch Gardens is that while it is an amusement park with your typical rollercoasters and thrill rides, it is also one of the largest zoological institutions in the States and offers all sorts of animal encounter experiences. The tour I went on was just one of several different kinds of animal encounters but this particular tour was a very private tour. When I say very private, I mean a one-on-one tour which explains why the price was so steep. But don’t get me wrong, it was definitely worth it and something that I would recommend to anyone travelling in the area. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I got to do a bunch of things that I imagine that I wouldn’t get to do anywhere else. I got to personally feed a bunch of animals and I don’t mean tossing feed. I REALLY fed them; I had food and put it in their mouths. It was crazy. I fed a rhino, a giraffe, a kudu, a tortoise and a flamingo. And that wasn’t all. I got to see a bunch of other animals up close and personally without being fenced away from them. Funny thing: one of the things that they feed the tortoises were sweet potato chunks. I wore my running shoes that day which are a bright neon orange and the guides joked about my shoes looking like giant sweet potatoes which the tortoise, Bubba, was walking towards. Also, got bit by a penguin named Mr. Banks. He just went for my ankle and holy hell it hurt a lot. I still have a scab from it that’s still healing. The guides blamed it on my sweet potato shoes. I just think it’s my cursed right foot. I’ll write about that another time.

While the animal tours were really fun and cool, what I really want to do is see more wild animals. There’s something just way more exciting about catching sight of an animal in its natural habitat. Speaking of which, I’m really behind on my dream of starting on some animal photography. I really need to get on that. But as always, I’ve been distracted with travel which isn’t so bad. Anyways, write soon!

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I cried during my last tattoo sitting.

This past Tuesday I went to finish up the colouring on a tattoo that I had. I had it outlined last year October so it had been a long wait for me and I was very excited to finally finish it up. It was a chrysanthemum and a couple of leaves on the backside of my arm; I went to the studio earlier this year with intentions of finishing it but I just ended up getting another chrysanthemum on the front of my arm. The last sit was extremely easy; my chrysanthemum was outlined and coloured all within a session with just one break in-between. There was definitely a lot more area to cover this sitting though. Some space on the back of my arm had already been filled in, but this chrysanthemum was a lot larger and there was work to be done right by my shoulder, all the way down and onto my elbow. I wasn’t too worried about the pain this time around since I’ve already had the outline in and that’s usually one of the most painful parts. The absolute most painful part of getting a tattoo so far, at least in my experience, is when single needles are used for really fine lines or details. But for colouring, the needles cover a larger surface area so the impact and the pain is less concentrated. It definitely still is a very painful experience but I knew it was bearable.

And it was. I actually didn’t have much of an issue with the entire backside of my arm. Even when the needles were going over my elbow, I handled it well. Of course, it was extremely painful on some parts of the elbow but there were other parts where I felt like I didn’t feel any pain at all. I was fiddling on my phone and I had pretty interesting chats with the artist, Travis, about all sorts of topics from nuclear bombs to hannya masks.

What really broke me were the touchups on my older tattoos that Travis wanted to do afterwards. There are times that some colour will get lost when a tattoo has fully healed due to the scabbing process so there were some small patches of missing colour that he wanted to fill in. He said that there wasn’t much work left, maybe around half an hour or an hour at most. We were already three hours in and I was a little too stressed out at that point but reluctantly, I took it on. He prepared the other colours and we got started. A few minutes in, I found myself wincing. It surprised me because it was the same area that was really easy to sit the last time around. But I took it. A few minutes longer, my body started to shake. Travis told me that if I kept moving that it would take much longer so I tried hard to focus or tune out or whatever I was doing. The needle went right on and I just shook again. It didn’t seem like I had any sort of control over my body. When he looked at me with a disapproving look I told him I couldn’t help it and we should probably just leave what was left for next time. He told me I was psyching myself out and that because we were so close to the end, I was convincing myself I couldn’t take it anymore. “How many years do you think I’ve been doing this for?” His rhetorical question really convinced me that he was right; it was all in my head and I was kidding myself. He told me to toughen up and once more, the needle went on and this time I writhed. Hard. My backside just came off bed. He started scolding me again but before he finished his sentence, it was like all the tears that I could possibly produce in that instant just came down my face and soaked the disposable sheet under me. After he finished his sentence, he didn’t say anything more and I knew he was done with me when he started wiping me down. I just waited for him and the tears continued flowing. I was embarrassed and felt extremely guilty because his paints were going to waste. I felt weak and small.

Travis was quiet for a bit and he didn’t speak until he was bandaging me up. He apologized to me for pushing me too hard. “I really like to push people.” He said it helps people get to the end but he also admit that sometimes he makes a mistake with understand what certain people’s limits are. I felt a little better about feeling small and I tried to tell him that I was okay by my voice kept breaking. I still felt embarrassed though. I mean, mentally I was just fine but it was like I had no control over what my body was doing.

I think what happened was that my body had simply run out of adrenaline. Even though I was only around three and a half hours in, it was definitely the most area I’ve handled in one sitting. It felt like after a certain point, the degree of pain just shot up the scale in an instant. It was indescribable and the worst kind of pain I’ve ever experienced. It could have been a number of other things as well. I usually pop in a couple of extra-strength tylenol tabs and maybe one during the break but I had forgotten them at home and we were running late so I didn’t have time to drop in at a pharmacy. I also hadn’t been getting much sleep and didn’t have much to have to eat that morning. Additionally, we usually only take one break but we took three that session. Maybe it’s a little bit like running; once you stop, it’s hard to finish the race without stopping again and the more you stop, it gets exponentially worse.

Whatever happened, I cried. I don’t ever think of myself as a pansy or a quitter but it happened to me. I accept that everyone has a limit and I guess I have an idea of what mine is now. I’ll be waiting until February to extend my sleeve and complete my touchups.

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Thoughts on Edmonton 

When I touched down in Edmonton, man it was cold. I didn’t even step outside yet. I’m just talking about the airport which was freezing. People seem to have a much lower temperature preference in Eddy and I wasn’t used to it at all. That really sucked for me because I prefer a warmer-than-average room temperature than the average person. My lower threshold of comfort is 24, 25 degrees while everyone else seems to prefer 19, 20. People must be so accustomed to the cold there.

Before taking off, the captain had announced that while the temperature was 27 degrees in Toronto that it was -1 in Edmonton. I didn’t figure it would be so much colder so I didn’t pack any jackets, just a bunch of sweaters. And I think I psyched myself a little bit because the first thing I did was go buy myself a Canada Goose jacket. I got the Trillium Parka in Army Green. It was definitely an impulse buy but it was totally worth it. I mean, they have the lowest tax rate in Canada, my current Canada Goose jacket at the time, the Kensington, wasn’t keeping me warm enough and I was looking for a jacket in army green anyways. It was cute! Plus, I felt a lot better — warm and toasty after having it on.

I was wearing my snazzy jacket everywhere only to get bombarded with the same question: “Why are you wearing jacket?” Cause it’s fucking cold that’s why. I was the butt of the joke when all I wanted to do is not be cold. People were telling me that it was actually very nice weather that week. It’s autumn season and it was fluctuating between 0~5 degrees which is very much jacket weather to me but many people there were wearing tees like it was summer. To them, bad weather is when it’s -30 and apparently that’s becoming the norm in the last few years.

I had a few chats with some friends and other Edmontonians and many of them told me they’ve have never actually had a snow day in their lives. There has never been enough snow or a cold enough day for them to cancel school or work. What? I think every school-kid’s favourite day in a Toronto winter is a snow day and I remember having several in my life. One guy, a friend from Calgary, just a few hours south of Edmonton, didn’t even know what a snow day was.

“People are telling me here that they’ve never had a snow day.”

“What’s that?”

“Where there’s so much snow or it’s so cold they have to cancel school”.

*laughter* “No, that doesn’t happen”.

What? Apparently the most that an Edmonton kid got was that they might of cancelled outdoor recess and held recess indoors instead. Holy.

Fortunately it was 24 degrees on Monday so I took advantage of it and went on a run. The leaves were just starting to change colours and it was beautiful as hell. Edmonton has an abnormally high number of stroller-mom runners which was strange.

I’m writing from Tampa and I’ve been stuck indoors and been freezing because of the AC. That’s why I’m a little bitter about the Edmonton and the cold in general. I can’t wait to get out and into the heat for either a run or a bike ride in the humid heat….

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Thoughts on Calgary

Thoughts on Calgary

I have to say, Calgary is a pretty strange city. To be fair, I went during the week that Calgary Stampede had started but man, it was weird. I arrived to see people walking around town, decked out in cowboy boots and cowboy hats, everywhere. Among the the first people I saw was a Chinese guy and there’s something very funny about a Chinese cowboy. It’d be more accurate to say wanna-be cowboy because the majority of people who dress up are not cow wranglers or farmers. Calgarians tell me that people don’t dress up all year round. I mean, you have the one-off guy who does but it’s mostly just a two-week long St. Patty’s day for the whole town. And just like how everyone’s Irish on St. Patties, I guess everyone’s a cowboy or a cowgirl. That, and common between both holidays is that everyone’s very fucking drunk. And everyone’s in on it. Apparently workplaces are prepared for their employees to be drunk and not be productive at all during this time of year. When I say everyone’s in on it, I really mean everyone. There are paintings of horses and cowboys wrangling horses on windows all over the city. Restaurants and stores put bales of hay outside their establishments. I passed by a cosmetic surgery clinic that had bales of hay too. I wonder about the people who are capitalizing from all this. Is there one guy painting horses for everyone? Or a hay wholesaler? Bales-R-Us? Speaking of which, people were selling cowboy boots everywhere. And boy, they weren’t cheap. I think the average price was around $30CAD for a hat. That was just the price for a standard hat. There were much more expensive hats, some costing over $100 that were adorned with stones, gems, jewels or trimmed with leather, etc.

Even the government is in on it. You know that human figure in signs like in a pedestrian crossing sign? In Calgary, they have cowboy hats on them. Even the the bike lane sign had a little human figure, holding his bike with a cowboy hat on. (Wouldn’t a hat fly off cursing on a bike?)

Here’s an example of one of those signs. In Calgary, these +15 Walkway signs are everywhere. They basically mean that any building with this sign is connected to a public pedestrian walkway system. These walkways are weather protected and provide alternative routes to get around the downtown area.

The Calgary Stampede itself was a typical carnival-type event (very much like CNE for my home friends), complete with food vendors selling bizarre things and carnival games that make you lose money. The Stampede though, definitely has more of a country vibe and had more events that had to do with farmers or Western culture like the Heavy Horse Show. Besides everyone dressing up, the Stampede was a lot less cowboy-y than I thought it would be but it was definitely a lot of fun to check out. I spent my day watching tractor pulling, a talent search, winning money at the horse betting wheel and ended the night eating ribs in the women’s washroom, hiding from the storm.  .w.v

That’s all I really have to say about Calgary. There are some really amazing food spots in town to check out. Here are some of my recommendations:

sweets @ Ollia, Mari Bakeshop

breakfast @ OEB Breakfast Co., Blue Star Diner

dinner @ Calcutta Cricket Club, 10 Foot Henry

cocktails @ Proof, Milk Tiger Lounge, Model Milk

Also found out that Nickelback is from Calgary. I can’t help but to think that it makes so much sense now.

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RE: How to Travel Well

I’ve been a little bit of a travel fiend lately and it has caught the attention of a few friends who often ask me, “How do you do it?” I don’t think there is an easy way to answer this. People have many different methods for travelling and I think they just need to figure out which one works for them and their own lifestyle. Start by asking yourself: How often do you want to travel? Where do you want to travel? Do you have any other travel goals? I think once you answer those questions, you will have an easier time working to achieve your travel dreams. Sometimes it’s just a matter of starting up a rainy day fund and other times it’s about revamping your entire lifestyle. While I can’t give you a step-by-step guide to achieve your travel dreams, what I can do is talk about what I do to maximize my own travel time. To give you an idea on my current travel situation, I’ve been travelling, on average, to two-three cities every month. Most of it is for work but I’m able to pepper in a lot of leisure time. I have struck a balance with work and play that I am pretty comfortable with. To have an idea of my own travel goals, here are my answers to the questions above: I want to travel all the time, as much as possible. If I had a choice to travel full-time, I would. Ideally, I would like a little less work and more free time for myself. My current minor goal is to visit every state in the United States. My major goal, my ultimate travel dream, is to visit all 195 countries of the world before I hit the ground. It’s a little eager but I’m working up to it as much as I can. I think it’s just a matter of making minor tweaks to upgrade my current lifestyle. While I’m working on that, these are the things that currently help me achieve my travels and how to best enjoy them too:

Having a job that allows me to travel.

I think the most important thing is having a job that allows you to travel. The two most important factors of your job here are money and time. In terms of money, it’s not so much about earning a lot; it’s more about using what you earn to travel in a way that suits your financial situation. If you would like to live a little more lavishly, you might just have to push a little bit harder to get that. My friends always ask me, “How do you afford to travel all the time?” My answer is always the same: “I work a lot”. I am fortunate enough to own a couple of small businesses which allow me to fly out and give me that scheduling flexibility but I am also always doing extra things to help me gain finances for travel. I sell things on Carousell and Ebay. I work a couple of part-time jobs including working at an antique shop. I try to save money on the things that matter less to me. Just how hard are you willing to compromise and work to travel?

In terms of time, your job has to complement travelling, either because it gives you the time to travel or because your job requires you to travel. Depending on how often you want to travel, the number of vacation days available and your earnings may be a roadblock to your plans. While some people are okay with the vacation days they are given, I understand many want to travel way more and there are only a few jobs that allow you to do that. Having your own biz definitely gives you that flexibility but there are other jobs that are out there that you just have to try applying for. I’m not going to teach you how to get that job. There are too many factors at play including your credentials, your capabilities, your limits and maybe a little bit of luck. My own suggestion is to look for shift work and jobs that allow you to work remotely.

If you really want to travel so much that you’re reconsidering your job, it might be time for your to evaluate what your priorities are. The strongest advice I can give is to strike a balance that you are comfortable and happy with. Finding the dream job for your dream travel is not easy but once you land it, the rest is a breeze.

Travelling with a friend.

While I very much like to travel solo, it doesn’t have many of the benefits of having a travel buddy (or buddies). Having a travel buddy means splitting costs on accommodations, sharing food to save stomach room to try more things, keeping each other on track, etc. Most of the time it simply means saving a lot of time and money.

You need to be a little choosey about your partner and make sure their priorities line up with yours. There are a lot of things you should figure out before a trip: What is their budget? Do they want to sleep in? Are they they have dietary restrictions? Can they do athletic activities? Can they swim? Do they want to do more touristy things or the more unpopular things? etc. The smallest factors make the biggest effect on the vibe of a trip.

I think it’s very important to choose a partner according to the place you’re going. Some things I’ve learned on the way, in the hard way. It’s a little tough eating out in Spain and Japan with a vegetarian. Hawaii’s a lot less fun if you’re going with someone who isn’t athletic and can’t swim. Smaller cities will be a drag if you’re with someone who doesn’t have an open mind.

I say take some time and figure out what you’d like to do in a city before going and then decide whether or not if would be better with a travel buddy. If so, discuss each other’s expectations, do some compromising and then go on and have a blast!

Discovering my travel style.

Once I really understood my travelling preferences, I had more direction and an easier time organizing my schedule on a trip. It takes a few times to get into a comfort zone but after some exposure, most people start to have a hang of how they’d like to travel. Due to my schedule and spur-of-the-moment-type personality, I’m not an avid planner and I like to do much of my planning while I’m actually on the trip. I really enjoying doing things as I develop a mood for them and don’t enjoy being pinned down for time. I know this doesn’t work for most people and that’s fair because everyone has their own travel style. Besides, I think it’s better not to follow my example and do a little bit of planning ahead of time. There are plenty of times that I lose out on a few things because it’s been fully booked, sold out, etc.

Each person just needs to find what’s comfortable for them. After figuring it out, it just makes travelling the more enjoyable. I encourage people to do things at their own pace and for people to stay true to themselves. It’s only when you travel with others that you might have to make some compromises. I’ll leave a little outline about how I organize my own trips at the end of this post for anyone who might need a general outline.

Getting good at packing. 

Learning how to pack is a valuable asset. Most of the time, lacking this skill won’t be the end-all to the trip but becoming a master packer will help save a lot of time, stress and money, especially in the cases that something was forgotten behind.

Here is my typical travel packing list:

for the flight

dress warm for the flight

passport

wallet

earphones/headphones

snacks

book/ipad/other form of entertainment

pen for customs for international flights

for the trip

phone + charger

external battery

currency of where you are travelling

extra cash for for conversions (ideally USD)

sunscreen

sunglasses

glasses/contacts

thin rain jacket

clothes including extra underwear + socks

PJs/lazy clothes

running shoes + sports gear + sports wear

at least one formal wear outfit + shoes

swimwear + flip flops

comfortable walking shoes

convenient bag to travel with

universal charger [international]

tissues/napkins [Asian countries]

extras

camera

computer + charger

painkillers + meds

jewelry

toiletries

toothbrush + toothpaste

shampoo

conditioner

soap

hairdryer

towel

razor

contact case + solution

skincare

nail clippers + tweezers if long trip

make-up

Of course, avoid overpacking. I’m quite a heavy packer myself so I suggest those like me to invest in a large sturdy luggage. The luggage I live by is the Dakine 110L Split Roller. I love them so much, I think I have a total of six of these babies. It’s at the maximum dimensions for check-in allowance but it’s super lightweight and it and can be collapsed flat when its storage space is not in use. Also, they have a limited lifetime warranty. I have made a warranty claim with them before and I can vouch that Dakine’s customer service is great.

Booking the best flights.

If I’m not using my flight points, I find that the cheapest flights are when flying in on Tuesday or Wednesday and then flying out on Tuesday or Wednesday. The best time to book, from my experience, is Tuesday during work hours. I always find it worthwhile to wait past the weekend until the weekday rolls around but only when booking weeks ahead of time. If you’re booking within a week or two, good luck. During high season (summer, holidays and long weekends), it’s inevitable that flight prices will be higher so I try to set my vacations during the low season months of September, October, February, and March.

Using a flight points card.

If you travel a lot, it’s foolish not to take advantage of a flight rewards program. The credit card that I am currently using is Aeroplan Infinite but I’ve recently been thinking of upgrading it to the Infinite Privilege. I can’t tell you which program you should get; each person needs to determine whether there is enough value to offset the initial costs. These programs are usually only worth it if you spend a lot and fly out a lot. All I can say is that you have to be smart about both acquiring and spending your points. For example, I’ve learned to use my credit card any opportunity I can. Depending on the program, some free flights are worth booking more than others. Just take some time to do some research and see what works best for you.

Adopting a travel attitude.

I respect that everyone has different personalities but it’s helpful to develop some characteristics that would be helpful for travel. If I had to pick three traits for solo travel, they’d be independence, caution and having an open mind. For groups, it would be flexibility, being considerate and again, having an open mind.

Also, travel smart and safe. When travelling it might be easy to get too comfortable when instead we should be prepared and be on guard. There are many dangers that we are simply not aware of when we’re out of home base. Scammers, thieves, the environment in general, etc. There are a lot more scummy people out there than you think so try to conform as best as you can and don’t make yourself a target.

Picking the perfect place to stay.

Obviously you’d like to book your accommodations well ahead of time. I personally like to stay in the city and somewhere near a river or a trail for my runs. I don’t have much else to say except that there are other options other than hotels such as airbnb or staying with a friend. And of course, if you’re paying for stay, you have to balance being closer to the city and quality of the place against spending more.

How I organize my trips

As I mentioned, everyone has their own travel style and maybe you haven’t discovered yours yet but here’s a little idea about how I organize my trips to help you figure that out.

planning// before the trip

Unless there is a major reason for going to the city I’m going to, I usually just star a bunch of the things I want to see on Google Maps and kind of create an efficient route to see everything in each area and then divide them over several days. If I’m having trouble finding things to check out or don’t get the chance to plan, I’m perfectly fine just strolling through the city. As I mentioned, I’m not an avid planner but I like to have an idea of what I’ll be doing before the day comes so I keep in mind the main things that I usually revolve my trip around:

>Try as many local foods and flavours. Maybe one luxurious meal, mostly high to mid-range dining and some casual dining and snacks.

>Cocktail bars!

>Go on a casual run or some other athletic activity.

>Do something nature-y, maybe a hike or go searching for animals.

>See some of the major touristy things.

>Walk in the different major neighbourhoods.

(Get nails done.)

(Meet up with friends in the area.)

I don’t religiously follow any sort of travel blog, magazine, etc. but I will occasionally jot down things that I would like to see in a city even if I have no current plan to visit there. For example, food is certainly very central to my travels so on my phone, under the “Notes” app, I have a different tab for every city where there is a specific kind of dish I want to try or a restaurant I want to check out. It might be a little excessive for some people but it’s nice to have a readily available list of places to check out if I’ve ever on a last-minute trip. I’m often flying Air Canada so when I’m in the plane, I love to jot down restaurants and must-see things from the Enroute magazines.

during the trip

I’m not too great at having a mental map of things before I see them so I usually have a phone in hand as I’m navigating through a city. Other than that, I don’t spend too much time on my phone because I like to take everything in, all the time. I don’t feel comfortable being without data so I usually will have a phone plan or have purchased a SIM card with a lot of GB.

I really love asking locals for suggestions. I end up discovering a lot of cool spots that I wouldn’t have been able to find on my own. I don’t go around asking strangers; I usually ask people working in the places that really impress me. For example, I will usually ask for suggestions for cocktail bars from the bartender if I’m at a cocktail bar I’m really enjoying, etc.

When I find places to eat, I depend heavily on Yelp, Google and suggestions from friends I trust. If it’s a larger city, I usually go about looking for local specialties or a specific cuisine if I feel like it. i.e. When I use Yelp in the States, I’ll type in “breakfast” or “American” instead of searching restaurants in the area in general.

I love shooting pictures on my trips and a professional camera has been too clunky for me so what I’ve been using is gear from Moment, who sell lenses that can be attached onto the camera of a mobile phone. It’s very easy and quick to set up and very lightweight too. I’ll be writing about some nifty things I like to carry with me on my travels within the next few blogs.

When I’m in an unfamiliar city, I usually like to follow crowds when I see them. When a lot of people are walking all towards the same direction, it usually means there is more to see in the area or they might be heading towards a specific event. I’ve discovered the flag raising ceremony in Beijing this way, discovered some pretty surprising restaurants in Tokyo and it generally leads me to the areas that I want to be in when I’m just aimlessly walking through a city.

I find that most of my friends don’t like doing this but what I really enjoy doing is eating on the go. It ends up saving a lot of time and it’s kind of like a meal with some live entertainment, haha. Keep in mind that this isn’t appropriate in all cities; in certain places like Japan and Singapore, walking while eating is frowned upon.

after the trip

I don’t usually have a lot of trouble with jet lag but on the off occasion that I do, I like to treat myself to some melatonin just as I’m going to bed to get my sleep cycle regulated.

I suggest leaving plenty of time, maybe a day of rest, before heading back to work.

That’s just about everything I can think at the top of my head in terms of prepping for travel. If there’s anything you’d like me to touch-up on or add, let me know, here. I love to help push my friends out of their nests and see them fly! In the meantime, be well and travel well!

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$30 Classpass referral link!

For anyone who enjoys a little variety in their workout regimen, I urge you to try out Classpass. I’ve been using it for over a year so far and it never fails me. I love my studio classes and it really pairs well with my travels. I can use it whether I’m home, in Vancouver, Tampa and many other cities!

The app can be downloaded on your phone. Here’s a referral link that lets you get $30 (and $30 for me too!):

http://class.ps/el7WT

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Wonder.

Went to Wonderland yesterday and holy hell, I must be getting old or something because those rides took a toll on my body. Every time I was on a rollercoaster, I was in so much pain getting knocked around in my seat. At least I didn’t feel nauseous. I took a couple of Dramamine just before going on any rides. It didn’t stop me from getting dizzy on rides that spun in fast circles so I had to keep my eyes closed for SkyHawk… actually, most of the rides left me feeling dizzy and I’m sure with fewer brain cells. @__@ I used to really like wooden coasters but now I think they’re just too rickety and bumpy for me. Sledgehammer’s still my fav.

Pretty happy the Chippery was still around. They had a new option to get chips smothered in nacho cheese but I opted for the healthier option of a simple bag of good ol’ salt and vinegar. Also shared a couple of BeaverTails to keep me going when my energy was down.

I’m kind of an unemotional robot sometimes and when I’m on a rollercoaster I’m okay with just sitting there and taking it all in. I don’t really understand the thrill of screaming or waving my arms around while on a ride. I guess it’s sort of an escape for some people.

I need an escape… flying out the day after tomorrow but have been slacking and I’m not prepared…

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Alien Birthing Tank

Float tanks! I had to write this up as soon as I got home considering the number of requests on this one. I had a friend treat me to a little Friday R&R today and part of it was going to Float Toronto, a float centre. He first proposed the idea of trying out float tanks earlier in the week. I’ve seen them in passing and since I’ve always been super curious about them, I decided to give it a try.

What Float Toronto and other similar float centres offer are flotation therapy and sensory deprivation. They put you in a tank filled water with a crap-ton of epsom salts. I mean 850 pounds crap-ton. The sheer amount of salt makes it denser than regular water, making your body float to the surface without having to fight against gravity. The tank is insulated from sound and constructed for you to be in complete darkness. The idea behind it is to create dark but ethereal environment, something you can’t find in the outside world. People claim that there are a lot of emotional, mental and even physical benefits. According to Float Toronto’s website: “People are drawn to floating to find relief from physical discomfort and stress, encourage personal development, or simply for some peace and tranquility. Inevitably, most people end up harnessing some combination of the many reported benefits. The most common testimonials are profound peace and relaxation, deep concentration and heightened creativity.” Forthright, no frills.

So we get in the shop and do the typical thing — sign a waiver and patiently wait for our time to come. The environment was like a spa; you take off your shoes, the lighting was dimmed with gentle relaxation music, infinite hot peppermint tea, and there’s a big sign right when you walk in asking you to turn off your ringer and to speak at a low volume. Kind of what you’d expect going in for a massage but with a much more hippie vibe. There were a couple of books on the table and coloured markers, each encouraging to let your creativity flow. If you ever find a rabbit and a giraffe in there, those guys are mine.

So our turn is up and the orientation is about a minute long. It’s pretty straight forward — You have ten minutes to shower before and after; don’t get the water in your eyes because it will burn them; don’t drink the water because it will be bitter; any scratches and scars will burn too so you can use vaseline provided, etc. There were also a few orientation tricks and operational instructions.

So we got sent off to our own individual rooms. I was a little nervous when I first saw it. Something about it just seems all to unnatural and little too eerie. You get into a small washroom-sized room and there’s a giant tank filled with a few feet of water and a dim purple glow. The first thing that came to my mind was “alien birthing tank”, kind of like one that you would expect to see in a sci-fi film.

Anyways, I did as I was instructed; I showered and towel-dried before going in. They provide pre- and post two-in-one float shampoo/soap and conditioner too. Stepping into the tank, the water was like a neutral body-temperature and it felt a little more viscous that regular water. It was subtle but nice and definitely a different feeling than soaking in a bath at home. I float in regular water so orienting myself in this crap-ton salt water didn’t come with any difficultly. It took me a few seconds to relax my body, let my ears go under and let my entire body float. There was a switch to turn off the purple lighting off for the full sensory deprivation experience and there was also a switch for soft music. I tried all the combination of the two and I was most comfortable with the light off and the music to be on.

While I was in there, I tried tuning out, I tried thinking about the next steps of my day or I just spent time trying to concentrate on the music. The music plays through the water and it’s really hard to hear unless you focus on it. To be honest, I didn’t really know what I was supposed to think about once I was in there but I let my mind drift. I didn’t come up with any revelations or sparks of creativity but it was a nice peaceful moment to stop and reflect on my day and my life in general, I guess.

Did it help me destress? I want to say yes but there were a few things that stressed me out while I was in there. I must have been doing something wrong because my body kept floating all over and bumping from edge to edge. First my head, and then my foot and then my arm… I never really stayed in one spot very well. Also, when I decided to sit up for a bit, some water came down on my face and into my eye. GG. I know the idea was to destress but with my body bumping into walls and my burning right eye, it was pretty hard for me to shut my mind off. Also, it was really difficult for me to tell when the session was coming to an end. Apparently they play music to cue you but I was already listening to the tank music so I was kind of worried about missing the cue. In fact, I ended up accidentally leaving the tank too early because the ventilation system came on and I thought I had outstayed my welcome so I’m there soaping myself as fast as I can with my post-float two-in-one soap. Stress! Also I have dry skin and the salt water dries it out even more. Stress! Crap, my makeup came off. Stress! I’m writing this blog post while shaking my head around because there’s still water in my ear. STRESS!!! If you’ve been considering to give this a try, take my words with a grain of salt… as if there isn’t enough already… (hah!); I get stressed much easier than the average person and maybe I’m still salty (HAH!) about the small issues I had.

So the most common question I got is “What does it feel like?” To me, it was simply floating in water in giant tub, in the dark. I definitely felt floatier, especially when I moved my arms and legs around. While I thought it was nice, it wasn’t spectacular. It isn’t something I’d do again. I’m sure many other people gain a lot from this experience but for me, it was just a nice to experience because it was something I haven’t done before. But to be frank, I’d rather have a nice spa day or a night with a Lush bath bomb. I think I rather feel pain from a deep tissue massage than have my senses deprived and feel less.

I want to make clear that anything I had to say is simply a reflection of my very narrow view. And to fully understand my view of things, you have to have a good understanding of the type of person I am. I’m not a type of person to slow down. I am constantly thinking about the next steps I have to take while I’m preoccupied with something already. I thrive on direction and when I’m forced to sit still, I have a pretty awful time. I had a pretty boring time in Bali because I didn’t know how to lay around and just do nothing. My idea of relaxation is going for an hour long run by the riverside. I am clumsy, haphazard and not a graceful person. I hate yoga. That’s a big one. I think there is a very close likeness between doing yoga and being in a float tank. Both are meant to be meditative, a moment to stop and reflect on your life and intend for you relax. For my experience with yoga, there’s just something about someone telling me to do things slowly, how to breathe and to relax that just stresses me out. When a yoga instructor says “relax” for the twentieth time in a class I have “I am fucking relaxed!!$%^&*” running through my head. But because this float therapy session let me have a room to have some time to myself, I actually preferred it much more than yoga. Yes, it was relaxing. Yes, it allowed me to take a few moment to tune out but as soon as I stepped out the door, it was back to reality for me. The sun’s glaring in my face and I’m back to returning a missed phone call, responding to e-mails and on my way to barre class.

Got a beautiful view of Queen W. during barre!

Also got to try an ube charcoal cone today from iHalo Krunch. Ube flavour tasted great but not worth having black teeth, black lips and an awful-looking smile.

Hope that was insightful enough! Have a good night, everyone. I’ll be spending a while trying to get this water out of my ear.

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A little bag of tea

I’ve been a little too busy these last couple of weeks and been lacking too much sleep. I got pressured to having a few sips of green tea at work today which is currently keeping me up. I’m hypersensitive to caffeine so I can’t even have a sip of coffee or a bite of tiramisu (yes, even in the morning) without spending the night wide-eyed and sour. People don’t seem to understand that it’s not a joke or how serious it is and because I’m such a pushover, I deal with this quite often. It doesn’t help that I fucking love tea. Fuck, London Fog, Tit Kwun Yum, Yerba-fucking-Mate — I love all that shit. On a very rare occasion I’ll treat myself to a cup, knowing very well that I’ll deal with the consequence of a shitty sleepless night.

I’ve had other reactions. You know those itty bottles of 5-hour energy drinks? Yeah, I had one once and I peed five times within an hour. It sucked.

It kind of sucks that buying a coffee for someone is such a regular custom. The same goes for bubble tea with the Asians. You have no idea how many beverages I have let go to waste and how many disappointed oh’s I have dealt with when I tell people I don’t drink caffeine. Sometimes if it’s a tea, I just take the hit, especially when someone is waiting for me to try it, just so I don’t have to deal with the disappointment. I love tea but not enough to always deal with the insomnia that comes afterwards. Please be a dear buy me some gin instead.

Bah. I wish I could be like the fiends that caffeine have little to no effect on. I guess tea’s greener on the other side.

2:12AM